ding ding ding...round 3...

I got a call from Dr C yesterday morning (at 7:15am - early!) and he confirmed what I, somehow, already knew.  While the bone scan and lung CT looked stable, there is clear progression in the liver.  As Dr C put it -- the good and bad news is that this tumor is quite content to just throw a party in your liver. 

Because this progression came within 6 months of my last dose of Abraxane, it's an indication that the tumor was beginning to adapt to the Abraxane and grow in spite of it (it couldn't have grown this much in just 4 months).  We'll be changing up the weaponry and the tentative plan (pending insurance approval) is to attack it with two new chemo drugs:

• Ixempra
• Avastin

The stomach pains that started just before our trip to Africa have gotten a bit worse and I knew that was a sign that things were just not right.  I'm so thankful that I know my body as well as I do.   I'm thankful that Mike and I took the trip to Kenya when we did.  It gave us two weeks to focus on us and not think about cancer or work or any of the normal-everyday-unimportant-issues that we stress about.  We focused on the beauty around us and between us and for that, I am truly thankful.

Jambo

April and May passed rather uneventfully.  I've been working and playing ultimate and, generally, starting to feel human again.  June is the month we've been looking forward to.  With my body gaining strength during this chemo-break, Mike and I decided to take some time to travel to places that chemo wouldn't let me go.  We find a travel company (based on the west coast) called Aardvark Safaris and after a few discussions with John (our contact there), we decide to travel to Kenya in June. 

Preparation for the trip is crazy.  We will be limited to 30 pounds of luggage each for the in-Kenya flights and so efficiency in packing is critical.  We each visit the travel clinic and after $1500 we are declared immunized against the threats that await us in Kenya:  yellow fever, malaria, measles, polio, hepatitis, and tetanus (for Mike, who hadn't been to the doctor since he was at RPI ~2003). 

The trip was incredible.  The scenery, the wildlife, the people, the culture... like nothing I've ever seen.  We visited 2 locations in the north, the Masai Mara in the south and then spent a few days on the coast.  We're working on a blog to describe our trip and share pictures, so for now, I'll just share a few of my favorites...