I continue to have no cancer symptoms and my most recent high-resolution CT scan indicates no evidence of a cancer tumor. However, there is a tumor marker in the blood called CA 19-9 which continues to rise, triggering more frequent imaging studies. Details available below for those who care to learn more about that marker and its possible significance.

 

My physical recovery continued on a positive trajectory as Amelia and I traveled to visit with family and friends in New Mexico, Colorado, and Florida over 3 weeks in December and January. In January I entered two running races, including completing a one hour 10K (6.2 miles) race during Disney World’s Marathon Weekend. (Photo available at http://twitter.com/habichthealth.) Shout-out to Cigna, carrier of Cornell’s disability benefits, for their super-generous sponsorship of me in the race, in coordination with the Achilles organization for disabled athletes. Cigna provided Amelia and me two nights at a swank resort hotel, flights to and from Florida, wonderful meals, and Disney World tickets for two the following day. Then, this past weekend, I ran a mile in 8 minutes at a highly-regarded indoor running event, the 53rd annual Hartshorne Masters Mile, right here in Ithaca. These are noteworthy accomplishments for me since I was unable to complete a mile run when I first tried running one while visiting with family in Ohio in mid-October, a situation which subsequently inspired me to actually (gulp!) train for these distances and times. As many of you can appreciate, the race dates served as great motivators!

 

I also recently restarted an every-other-day "bodyweight" 30-minute workout program at home which has worked well for me many times in the past (Mark Lauren’s “You Are Your Own Gym” book). And I am fortunate to have the opportunity to work at Cornell at a lower-stress, casual appointment, currently putting in about 10 hours per week. I am learning new things in a supportive work environment, contributing meaningfully, and the work also gets me out of the house! I find I am needing to nap and otherwise rest more frequently as I do more, which is apparently to be expected at this stage of treatment and surgical recovery. In the months ahead I do hope to get back into flying again as soon as things align properly, including having improved weather. :-)

 

This paragraph is for those who care for further details on the CA 19-9 blood marker number which can rise in certain types of cancer, including mine, and can also rise for other reasons. My CA 19-9 was 2,500 U/mL at first detection in August 2018 and it decreased with chemo treatment. Following my surgery in mid-June, it was just 23 U/mL on August 18, 2019, which is below the "normal" upper range of 35 U/mL and thus was a very good sign. This compares to my most recent measurement of 357 U/mL from blood drawn Jan. 14, 2020. Looking at additional measurements made over the past few months, a rough approximation indicates that this number appears to be doubling about every 6 weeks. Note that although higher CA 19-9 numbers do not necessarily indicate the presence of cancer, they do indicate a high probability of having a recurrence of my cancer and thus do call on us to do more frequent imaging studies, such as CT scans. We continue to hope for an absence of visually detectable tumors in those scans, even as we look harder for such evidence, and for the continuing absence of concerning symptoms.

 

On my part, as long as I remain symptom-free, I see every reason to continue moving solidly forward to live life as it comes.