Good morning to all.  It has been a while since I have updated, all you have missed is the day to day process of improving health on all fronts.  Small flashes of improvement here and there; hardly ever a setback;).  I have been primarily waiting for the next chance at anything resembling noteworthy news, which brings us to Monday's quarterly PET Scan.

A little over a month ago Kristy said we needed to watch a 20 minute Youtube Video. I can't remember the exact title, something along the lines of "The Man That Wants To Kill Cancer".  It was one of hundreds of videos featuring Dr. James Allison who won the 2018 Nobel Peace Price for Medicine, a result of his studies and creation of Immunotherapy as a treatment to battle cancer.  This particular vid was a lecture given at The University of Texas at Austin I believe.  The most notable takeaway for me was this: After diagnosis of Stage 4 Metastatic Melanoma the MEDIAN life expectancy is 7 months.  Less than 3% are alive 5 years after diagnosis.  This all being if left untreated.  So, in my own words; considering the advanced stage I was in and the aggressive "type" of Melanoma I had at diagnosis, I would most likely not be here to provide todays update.  I was that close, and we had no idea.  

So, there is that.

Well, as we were on pins and needles awaiting the PET Scan results this all came flooding back to me; how real it is, how precarious my own existence "was", and how small the world really can be.  Last quarter's results were very positive, with everything shrinking and or no longer evident, we cautiously hoped for that to continue.  Thus Monday's results:

    - First off, the largest and most prominent of my masses / "lesions" was the size of a hockey puck (3" x 3 1/2" x 3/4") on the lower lobe of my left lung.  As of Monday only 1/8 of that lesion remains!
    - A lymph node on the left side of my chest was originally enlarged to 1.7 cm, last scan it was down to 2 mm, and is now the enlargement is completely resolved and back to normal size.
    - My liver had "Multiple large hepatic metastatic lesions measuring up to 5.4 cm" 7 months ago.  I do not have a current physical measurement, but preferred practice currently is to measure and compare "radiotracer uptake".  This is the gunk injected by IV that flows through the system for 30-45 minutes prior to scan and is drawn to infections being fought in the body and is most attracted to cancer.  So, my liver uptake began at 15.5, was down to 6.2 3 months ago, and is now down to 4.1 SUV (Standardized Uptake Value).  So, down to 26% of original uptake.
    - The T4 vertabrae that was repaired during surgery is almost clean.  A mass in my right hamstring ( which has never seemed to have been much of a concern is down to 3.2 from 5.6 uptake as well.

I could bore you with more details, but that is all pretty much the gist of it.  Nothing but improvement, at least to our eyes.  Though I am not yet NED (no evidence of disease), we are heading that direction.  There was just too much there to begin with to be rid of it all in a month or two, yet we are still hopeful and truly expecting to be NED in the months to come!

I have Immunotherapy session #2.4 next Wed., and will go through all of these results with my oncologist at that time; I can only imagine she will be tickled.

On the mobility front, I ditched the cane about 5 weeks ago, attend PT every week or two, am able to walk up short flights of stairs often without holding the railing.  All of that being said, with each step I take there is still no guarantee of success; I must stay very attentive and not get too distracted with the wonders of Spring wakening around me.....unless I stop to take it all in of course;)  But, I am improving, I am beginning to up the challenges of my physical routine, and hope to do some uphill wilderness trail hiking soon (more for mobility improvement and some cardio).  Though they will be relatively short in distance and duration to begin with, I hope to get to the point that I can run them too.  At my ripe ol' age, that I can run high elevation steep wilderness trails has really grown on me the past couple of years; rain, snow, or shine.  With dog for entertainment (and sometimes momma too:p ), it is a pretty cool and rare opportunity that I really need to get back to again.

All of that being said, and once again, thank you ALL for the love, support, and kind wishes from each and every one of you!  I am not me........without you. 

Dang it, that made me tear-up....

Love!

Rick