Hello again.

I have a confession. I am a horrible blogger. I must apologize to all of you for keeping you guessing as to what is going on with me. More importantly, I must apologize to all those who had to answer lots of questions from caring people that I should have answered for myself.



As of 9 am this morning (Nov. 17th), I have finished the recommend regime of 33 days of proton beam radiation. Please insert appropriate cheers and applauds. Due to appointments with other specialists, I will need to stay in Boston one more week before going off to spend Thanksgiving with my family in Maine. If all things go to plan, David and I should be in our house in Farmville on December 1st. Please insert louder cheers and applauds here.


Though the immediate side effects from radiation have been a little more server on this round of radiation than the last, overall I am very fortunate in the way my body has handled the treatment. I have a few radiation burns, a few bald spots in my hair, and swallowing continues to be difficult. I also have a general lack on energy reserve so I need to eat and nap frequently. But now that I have finished treatment (you can still cheer and applaud if you would like) all these things should improve. With radiation, particularly with two treatment regimes in the same location, there is an increased chance of long term complications from therapy. These however, may not present themselves for many months, to years into the future.


I will continue my current oral chemotherapy for another week. My oncologist hopes to then place me in a trail of another oral chemotherapy for the stabilization of bone tumors. He did not have a lot of information on the medication at the time of our last appointment, and I will keep you up to date as I know more about it.


My radiation oncologist is adamant that doing any scans of the tumor now would be next to useless, due to the amount of inflammation that radiation causes. She will not order another scan for 6 to 8 week. This thought is rather anxiety provoking given in August and September I received such frequent scans many showing the tumors growth at a frightening rate. However, I believe at this point, how I am doing clinically may be more reliable than a scan can be. To be blunt, there is really no place for the tumor to grow without me showing additional symptoms. Furthermore in between the last two scans, several more nerves were affected by the tumors growth, but the area is so small that the scans could not see any change. As such, since my symptoms have stayed the same since the beginning of treatment in early October, I am very optimistic that there has been no progression.


David and I continue to be thankful for everyone’s endless support and love. You all continue to uplift us on even the most difficult days. We are so eager to get home and see everyone. Love you all and see you in the near future.

Katherine