Still Shrinking

“Do girls know about shrinkage?:  George Constanza 

We often joke about shrinkage because my tumors continue to shrink with every CT Scan.  We return to MDAnderson every 28 days and I get a scan every other visit.  Each one has shown the tumors smaller that the scan before.  I would say, the prayers are working…we could have only dreamed the new medicine would be this effective.  God has us in the right place at the right time. The doctors have a matrix that shows my overall cancer has reduced by 19.4% in just 7 months!

The last visit I had another rise in the protein in the urine.  As I’ve mentioned, this is the only side affect I have experienced.  The good news is it doesn’t manifest itself so that I feel any affects.  It’s mostly a doctor concern to protect my kidneys.  The protocol is to reduce my dosage by 50% for the next treatment.  But, as my doctor has pointed out, the dosage hasn’t affected the drug’s ability to kill my cancer.  My tumors continue to shrink regardless of the dosage.

Diane and I have been learning more and more about this new approach to fighting cancer…Targeted Therapy.  I’ll tell you my version based on my experience as an affected layman.  It all begins with Genomic testing.  Medical researchers are developing treatments, often in pill form, that are dependent on our DNA to fight specific cancers.  In some cases it depends on if you have a certain gene and others if you don’t have a certain gene.  In my case I had the gene necessary to qualify for this trial.  As I’ve mentioned, my medicine follows that genetic pathway directly to my tumors and “shuts off the growth switch”.  In my case it is even shrinking the size of the tumors.  I have two measurable tumors and at least 2 dozen microscopic tumors that can not be measured.  That 19% overall reduction includes the expectation that the microscopic tumors are also reducing in size.

So, Diane and I hope and pray that everyone who gets a cancer diagnosis could get genomic testing as soon as possible and bypass conventional, in some cases palliative, treatments like Chemo, radiation, immunotherapy.  Targeted therapy is where it’s at!  If you know someone in a fight against cancer please ask them if they’ve had Genomic testing and if things aren’t going well with their conventional treatment let them know about clinical trials.  I’m available to talk with them to share my story.  

So, there must be a catch, right?  Well, if you’re thinking that, you’re right.  Genomic testing is very expensive and many insurance companies are not paying for it yet.  There are over 6000 clinical trials around the country, many of them are having success with Targeted Therapies.  I predict many of these medicines will be successful and receive approval from the FDA in the next few years.  We will then begin to see many more people living much longer with cancers that used to be death sentences.  

My last two visits to MDAnderson my doctor has been unavailable so I’ve met with another doctor who also runs his share of clinical trials.  After my latest visit I received some telephone calls from nurses in charge of other trials asking me to pre-screen for their trial.  I started to feel like I was cheating on my girlfriend in high school because these other girls were flirting with me.  I told them my current trial is amazing, why would I break up with her?  Apparently, this other doctor got a look at my records and how I’m tolerating this trial and realized that I could be a candidate for these other trials should the need ever arise. These other trials are also genetic based and one of the pre-screenings will test for 320 additional genes I might have. 

That is the kind of thing that impresses us about MDAnderson, voted the best cancer hospital in the world for 2023.  They are always one step ahead and concentrating on what treatment is right for me. Being a participant in a clinical provides an opportunity to be a part something bigger than ourselves. 

We always meet someone new during our visits to Houston.  A few months ago we ran into the Ambadassador of Hope.

Meet Cary, The Ambadassador of Hope!

Cary has battled several cancers over the years and still has the spirit and hope to approach her treatments head on in the most positive way imaginable.  She is truly an inspiration as she makes her way around the hospital. 

Cary gave me this Warrior of Hope bracelet to encourage me to fight like a warrior!

Here’s the feel good stuff:

This Alaska summer has been amazing, especially when compared to last summer in the Arizona heat!  We’ve been traveling the state in our old Minnie Winnie and visiting friends along the way.  Here’s a few of our visits:

1. We took the Alaska Railroad from Anchorage to Seward to pick up our motor home which spent last summer at our friends Mike and Lisa Insalaco’s place.  Barb, Kip, Emily and Natalie joined us in their rig for a few days at Nash Bay Campground.  Nash Bay is a must-see campground for those visiting Seward.

2. I played with my Alaska Kings team in the annual Alaska Senior Softball Tournament.  We finished 3rd, which wasn’t too bad for being one of the oldest teams in the tourney. 

Our team also had the best Bloody Marys!

3. We took a weeklong trip down the Kenai Peninsula stopping along the way to visit friends.  We wound up camping in Homer with the Boomershines organized by their daughter Laura and husband Josh.  We had an absolute blast dip netting for Sockeyes in China Poot Bay across from the Homer Spit.

We played some pickleball with our Soldotna/Kenai friends.

We spent some time with Martin and Lisa at Camp Crowley on Funny River Road

We caught up with our old friend Brad and finally met Peggy.  We are standing in front of Brad’s latest project, a beautiful log home high on Skyline Drive overlooking Kachemak Bay

We had 7 families dipnetting for Sockeyes at China Poot Bay.  What a blast that was!

4.  We finally made it to Wayne and Jane’s cabin on Lake Pend Oreille (pronounced Pond-er-ray) in the Panhandle of Idaho.  They have been building this amazing property for the last ten years and now it’s their summer Snowbird home from their place in Florida.  They have asked us summer after summer to come visit but we’ve always said, “we don’t leave Alaska in the summer!”  Now, I wish we had gotten there sooner.  It’s an incredible lake and their log home is amazing. 

They did a magnificent job building this “cabin”

The weather was fantastic.  I told Diane, “I could live here!”

Lots of fun on the water.  The lake is 45 miles long and 3 miles wide!  I even water skied behind the pontoon boat…the MooneyToon!

Here we are at Kootenai Falls in Montana with their new dog, Bob!

Dining at the Floating Restaurant!

5.  Our latest adventure was a trip to Denali National Park. We took Minnie Winnie and Barb, Kip and Natalie were in their popup. We had two nice campsites for a few nights at K’sugi Ken Campground on a ridge overlooking Mt. Denali and the whole Alaska Range.  

Mt. Denali in all God’s splendor!

I’ve also been smoking a little salmon this summer!

Well, as you can see, we have been making the most of our summer in Alaska.  God has certainly been blessing us with his Goodness.  We truly appreciate all your positive thoughts and genuine prayers.  We have learned some ingredients for a fight like this: 

        Giving it over to God’s plan

        Support and Prayers from friends and family

        A good attitude

        Exercise and activity

        Positive thinking (Happy endings only)

        A sense of humor

Thank you for your prayers for continued “shrinkage”!