Hello from the in-between!

It’s been over two months since last I wrote, so I wanted to give you all a catch-up… with relish? ;-)

Way back in 2023, mid-December, I had my every-three-months-MRI. Results showed that the liver and pancreatic tumors continue to decrease in size. Woot woot! Subsequent monthly blood tests continue to paint a similar picture of cancer-retreat; or at least cancer-stasis. My liver enzyme markers that were hiking peaks in the summer have settled into cozier valleys of normalcy for the fall and winter seasons. My appetite and energy continue to be normal, and I’ve beefed back up to 200 lbs from my low of 167 this summer.

All this leads me to feeling pretty normal, to almost forget some days that I still have a tumor the size of a golf ball on the tail of my pancreas. It was more like a grapefruit in July, so I’ll happily take the now over the then. Sarah and I rejoice in my good fortune, but in quiet moments the sadness sometimes bubbles back up.

Of course the dread is still there. Dread that the kick-ass CAP-TEM regimen that I’m on will run its course and loose efficacy someday. Dread that the tumors in my liver will reestablish blood flow and wake from dormancy. These things will probably happen, actually, but for now I’m doing just fine in the in-between.

It is good news that I’ve responded “above average” to my triumvirate of armaments—embolization, chemo, and somatostatin—and have the gift of relative youth and otherwise good health on my side. Embolizations can be repeated. Somatostatin can continue indefinitely. Science continues to search for modern miracles of immunotherapies and the like. We can rejoice in that, and choose to live in the light and love. Thank you for being part of that community of light for us!

I’ll write more this spring after my mid-March MRI. Please keep keeping in touch and sending those good vibes. Peace, love, and happy 2024 to you all!

~Joshua