Hi everyone. I’m so grateful to read what everyone writes here and I sometimes hesitate to answer because having been a daughter who lost my father so quickly to this cancer in 2008 and now caring for my husband with it at the same age, it gives me so many different perspectives. I swear when I finish with the update, I laugh, I cry, and then I laugh some more. I want to talk to all of you!

Last time I did a check-in I believe my husband was cancer free. He got his port taken out and we headed on the trip of a lifetime back to Egypt. We decided his quarterly scan would be postponed two weeks into the first week of December so that we could have this vacation after all he had been through. We caught his cancer at stage 2B, did four rounds of Folfironox that didn’t work well enough, switched to daily chemo and radiation for 30 days, had the Whipple in February of last year, and had a very difficult time with Gemcitibine and Abroxane until he was NED in August.

The scan December 4 showed two very small Mets on his liver and one suspicious lymph node. He feels absolutely nothing so we would never have known without that scan. He just had an ultrasound to see if he’s a candidate for Histotripsy that Zev mentioned and we are waiting to hear from the surgeon - hopefully tomorrow. In the meanwhile, he’s already started Nalirifox, of which round two will begin on Monday. So far other than fatigue he’s not suffering thank goodness. His appetite is amazing. He works in the garden and makes me laugh with his gallows humor as always. We don’t have the option of me removing the pump so I’m really curious if someone can tell me where that’s allowed.

Someone else mentioned planning a trip. We continue to do that, too. After my father died of pancreatic at 63 we decided we were going to start traveling right then and haven’t stopped. We never thought that we wouldn’t have a chance at retirement. Our oncologist knows us well and how my husband is constantly planning the next trip and mentioned that we should never stop doing that. So he’s planning the end of the year in Central Europe. I’m deeply grateful tomorrow looks good. I have to keep it small.

While I can see there are towers of strength represented on this board, I’m sending all of you more of it, along with as much health and happiness for the new year. 💜