Day 60, Year 10: It’s Working
Date: Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Weather: Mostly Cloudy; High Temp in the 50’s F, Low in the mid-30’s
Location: R Dock, Lightkeepers Marina, Little River, SC
It might have a funny name and we might not understand just how it works, but nevertheless, Mark’s current cancer treatment seems to be doing the job. We got the news from Mark’s oncologist here today that the Vectibix (panatumumab) appears to be keeping his cancer under control. Masses that were enlarging now measure smaller and no new growths were recorded. We were ecstatic and feel like we have been given the best Christmas present ever. No one has any idea how long the Vectibix will be effective, but we are grateful for the time it is giving us. The oncologist here, Dr. Cody, has been very helpful and accommodating to our travel schedule. She is having Mark come in on Sunday for one last blood test before we leave for Puerto Rico and she recommended a few more vitamin supplements to add to his arsenal. Then she scheduled his last treatment here for Monday, December 29. That means that we now know our departure date from here. We will be sailing or motoring south on Tuesday, December 30. Tonight we celebrated today’s good news with Patsy and Joe. This morning when I called to tell them about the CT scan report, Joe immediately insisted that he and Patsy take us out to dinner tonight. We had a fantastic dinner at the Midtown Bistro in North Myrtle Beach. Thank you, Patsy and Joe!
Years ago a friend of ours developed the ‘pea ball’ theory for the way some people think. His explanation was that the brain is really an empty metal sphere with a little magnetic pea ball inside that attaches to one part of the ‘brain’ and then is drawn across to the other side and attaches there. Basically it never stops, it just keeps bouncing around. One minute you are talking about one thing; the next minute you are on to something else. Right now, I am definitely pea balling. One minute I’m researching what documents are needed to check into the Bahamas and the next minute I’m looking up the results of Mark’s blood tests and trying to figure out why some things are going up and others going down and what to do about that. Then I switch gears and order a few Christmas gifts and the next second I’m out shopping for food items on our provisioning list. I could go on, but I think you get the picture. Tomorrow is a busy, busy day, so I’ll end this and get to bed so I have plenty of energy for pea balling.
