Here are the latest:

• Anya has had a total of four rounds of intra-arterial chemo so far, with three directed to arteries near her lower spine and one to her brain. Most of the chemo was pretty tolerable, but the latest one targeted to her brain did cause significant side effects, including lots of vomiting, becoming immune-compromised and having such low hemoglobin that she required a transfusion for the first time in almost seven years of treatment. We also think there are some signs of "chemo brain," with increased issues with memory, brain fog, etc.
• Her April chemo was postponed due to blood readings still being off, and Mayo is planning to do a final round directed at her lower spine again in mid-May. That will be followed by a full set of scans (PET, three-part spine MRI, brain MRI, neurofilament light chain test) in mid-June, to see whether the chemo has worked and to decide if they want to try to piggy-back some other treatment on top of her ongoing targeted (oral) treatment.
• On the good news front, the issues with bladder/bowel after the December spine surgery have resolved.
• Anya has officially moved home, although she had actually been staying there since last summer due to a series of issues with her VP shunt, shunt surgery, cancer progression, open spine surgery and then after-effects of that surgery. She is not at all happy about the move and has struggled with serious depression in recent months. She looks forward to stabilizing enough to be able to live on her own again.
• Despite that, Anya continues to exercise and take classes regularly at the JCC, to attend all her therapy appointments, and to volunteer at multiple food shelves every week, and as a photographer for theater and community organizations. She enjoys using her Spanish-translation skills immensely at the food shelves.
• In May, she'll be going to Florida for a week with me, her sister and an aunt. One thing on the agenda is to swim with manatees in Crystal River. She is very excited that her sister will be able to go, and we're all looking forward to it. 

- Colleen