Wow, it's been one hell of a ride the last few weeks! I've done a lot of traveling, connected with old friends, held an amazingly successful fundraiser, and also went to the doctor. Let's start with the most important part...the doctor visit. When I last left off I was expecting to be put on the new treatment of Avastin and Irinotecan because most of the signs were pointing towards the conclusion that the maintenance drugs were no longer keeping things in check. I had a scan last week, and our suspicions were confirmed...the weaker drugs were no longer working and one spot on my liver had begun to slowly grow, and one spot on my lung had crossed the 1 centimeter threshold. It was much easier to hear these results than I had thought it would be, mainly because I had been preparing myself for the worst, and as it turned out, it really wasn't too negative. So this Thursday I'll be starting the new regiment which will consist of an hour long infusion with a whole laundry list of new side effects to be aware of. I'll lose some hair, but genetics and the dryness of the winter have already helped me come to terms with my future enrollment in the Hairclub for Men. The nausea is supposed to be pretty brutal, but I'm not too worried because I can always be medicated and sleep through it. Other than that, they just want me to report any discomfort during the treatment because increased blood pressure and blood clots are always possible, but they mostly look for those complications in elderly patients. I'll admit I'm nervous, not because I'm unsure of how successful this new tactic will be, but because I don't know what to expect. I don't know how badly this will suck. I don't know if I'll be bouncing back quickly and feeling better each day as I have in the past. All I can pray for is that there aren't any mouthsores...I miss spicy food!! I definitely wouldn't mind some buffalo wings with ranch sauce next time Ron comes down at Hooters haha. But we'll see what happens, I know my doctor and nurses will take care of me.
As for my travels, if you didn't know this about me, I can drive for hours on end by myself and be absolutely entertained with my music and the scenery around me. I drove to Charlotte, NC for New Year's because it had been so long since I'd seen my friends that I had grown so close with over the short two and a half years I spent down there for school. It immediately felt like old times as we fell into our old routine of sleeping in, staying out late, and making up mindless activities when we were bored (i.e. "House Golf"--using a pitching wedge and a putter with ping pong balls trying to chip and putt into drinking glasses...the wedge is only for use on the carpet and the putter is for the tile floor). It was an amazing time catching up with people I had grown to consider my family when I was at school so far from home. It was through these people that I realized home is not simply a physical place, it is the sense of family and belonging that happens when you have a group of people who care for each other. Of course this sense of family was at it's peak when we lived in our basic dorm rooms our freshman year because of our close proximity, but I can recall in great detail the first time I caught myself calling the dorm "home" over the phone when telling my friend we would wait for him to go eat dinner once he got back home...To all of my friends in Charlotte, thank you for all of the great memories and for those we have yet to form. It was an amazing time ringing in the New Year with you guys and one of these days when someone makes it big and gets rich I expect a private jet to fly me down there once in a while so I don't have to freakin drive the 11 hours!
On my way home I stopped at the University of Delaware to visit a friend whom I have reconnected with after a few years. We went to high school together and it was great seeing her. I also didn't mind being able to stop for a rest on my way back to Jersey haha. But I actually learned quite a bit about science while I was there and got to go into some of the labs and see some of the experiments they were doing. I was like a little kid in a candy store seeing all of this stuff that looked as if it should be on the set of something on the Discovery Channel. It was a short visit, but it was great seeing someone who I admire and have all the respect for in the world.
The trip to Connecticut was next for our first ever independent fundraiser "Bowling for the Battle". The toughest part was actually getting to CT. There's always traffic there, add some snow on top of that along with people who do not know their vehicle's limits = one hell of a drive up. Now I'm lucky seeing as I drive a Jeep Grand Cherokee that is an absolute beast and a blast to drive in the snow, but it was very frustrating knowing I couldn't utilize some of its capability while sitting in 5 hours of stop and go traffic for a journey that should only have taken 2 hours. So needless to say that sucked. But despite the consensus belief in my car, we made it to my aunt's house. The next day was one I had been looking forward to for months. It was overwhelming seeing old faces and talking with friends and neighbors as if we hadn't missed a beat. We had about 170 people come to the event and raised over $4,000 that we will donate to the Yale Cancer Center which has not only helped my mother defeat her thyroid cancer, but has been working closely with my family in terms of genetic studies in hopes to find the gene that torments my family and could most likely help others down the road. It was amazing hearing all of the stories of those I had not previously met, and those I've lost touch with over the years. The thing I noticed is that younger people don't really have any idea how to ask me how I'm doing or how things are going when it comes to my illness. I don't blame them, it is a delicate issue, and some consider it a very private matter. I'm not one of those people obviously. I don't mind questions about it, if anything I welcome questions because I hope I can educate and make people realize that they have to be the biggest advocate for their own health because no one else is going to tell you that the excruciating pain in your side definitely warrants a doctor's visit even if it turns out to be nothing. But the entire day was amazing. None of it would have been possible without my sister's hard work and dedication, along with the love and support of my parents, brother, aunts, uncles, and cousins. This was our first step towards our ultimate goal, it was a small step, but as I always say in golf "it was positive yardage". The only way we will rid the world of cancer is through the selfless volunteering and giving of the wonderful individuals out there. It's tough to believe, but even the smallest donation of time, money, or just listening can leave a lasting impression on someone for a lifetime.
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