Happy Thanksgiving, and greetings from the family homestead outside Chicago. Coming home is a wonderful thing, especially after the last month plus of being home alone not working. I'm feeling renewed -- in part from finally feeling some benefits from the radiation and chemo, in part from being among family and friends. One cannot underestimate the power of friendship for boosting the spirits and increasing one's joy for life.
I am reminded of that book on heaven I'd been reading, and some of the discussion/comments from before. Whatever else heaven is like, it is to be that place where every desire is satisfied, every pain quenched. Home is as near an approximation as I have in this life, and to have such an approximation leaves me feeling especially thankful today. I am convinced that our greatest desires are relational, that we are made to know and be known, to love and be loved. It is here where I am most known and loved, where I in turn know and love, more than anywhere else on earth. While anticipating heaven (perhaps soon, but not yet!) it is nice to know I have such a retreat.
A quick update, while I have your attention: I am feeling good, like I mentioned. I'd mentioned in a previous post that I was finally feeling some relief from my pain, thanks to the radiation treatment. Ten days after my first round of chemo, I can say (with some confidence, if not full confidence) that it is working again to reduce my pain still more. In what is now a pleasant surprise that should not be a surprise, I find that one week after resuming this chemo I feel better than I did before receiving the treatment in the first place. It always comes as a surprise, because of course the chemo leaves me feeling especially bad for a good seven days, before the side effects quite suddenly subside, leaving me, as I say, even better than I'd been before starting.
I see Dr. Mulcahy on Wednesday, and it will be nice to be armed with some preliminary, if qualitative, "results" from having resumed chemo. As I've mentioned, I hope to speak with her about, among other things, the so-called Theraspheres treatment. Researching the Theraspheres this morning, I stumbled upon a little video here. Presents a nice summary of what the treatment is like, better than I could put into words, or than you might get from reading their web page. The emphasis in the video (and on the web page) seems to be on cancers originating in the liver, but I have been told that the treatment also works on metastatic disease from other places. They also mention that up to 25% of folks receiving the treatment experience a significant tumor response. The odds may not be that great, but I think I'm due for a break. Here's to hope -- for this life, and the next.
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