Fall: Past Images

Quick health update: original plan was to do immunotherapy for one year, which would’ve ended with November’s infusion. Last month the oncologist told me I would be doing immunotherapy ‘indefinitely’. So, a little disappointing, but you just move on. Not everything in life has a beginning, middle and end.

All good 👍🏻.

🫶🏻

TBT: 15May 2010

Ferry boat traveling Puget Sound and Elliott Bay in 2010.

A couple of stats regarding this blog:

16 years ago I took the risk, by dipping my toe into this emerging medium of photoblogging;

To date: 49.8K views.

605 subscribers!

Very humbling to know my journey is out there with this level of exposure.

Thanks to all! 🙏🏻👍🏻

Portal to another World

Finished 3rd round of chemo a couple of weeks ago. That part is going as one would expect- usual side effects that pass after a week or so. My anemia is negatively affected by the chemo so I now have to get a Retacrit shot every week ( side effect of the shot is a constant, massive headache 🤕). As much as I like the staff at the clinic….seeing them weekly was not on my radar. The normal weekly dose of Retacrit is 20K units. I’m given 40K! It’s become a real battle between Anemia and Cancer 🤷🏼‍♂️😙. A bit absurd, but what can you do? It’s fun to watch the doctors as they react to these skirmishes.

The fourth ( and perhaps last 🤞🏻) chemo is coming up on Tuesday, next week.Enjoying feeling normal -relatively speaking-for the next few days.

The title of this blog post is a reference to a song lyric by Dublin singer, songwriter, writer & guitar player, Keeley Moss. Her band, KEELEY, is pretty amazing. Like me, she is a True Crime buff, and has a WordPress blog, The Keeley Chronicles, which is dedicated to the 36 years old, still unsolved murder ( in Larne, Northern Ireland-Ballypatrick Forest)of 18 year old German student/tourist, Inga Maria Hauser, in 1988. It’s a heartbreaking case that Keeley Moss has presented in a multitude of chapters or posts on her blog, with sensitivity and insight.

Anyway, here is a shot of me during round 3 of chemo, recently. Not bad for almost 73! Lol!! No close ups allowed! I’m more comfortable being on the other side of the camera lens 😉.

My best to all!

Don’t sweat the small stuff.

💪🏻👍🏻💙.

Water Colors

Health Update:

Met with my primary oncologist this morning. It’s been nearly two weeks since I finished the latest 15 SBRT sessions. Next up is chemotherapy over 12 weeks followed by one year of immunotherapy. In the next two weeks I’ll be scheduled to have a port installed on my upper, right chest, getting a variety of anti nausea drugs and other chemo related drugs plus attend a chemo class to help me understand what I’m about to face in this process. I have surgery scheduled for late August to deal with a pre cancerous issue with my right vocal cord. My August calendar is starting to fill up.

Staying positive, but a little overwhelmed at the moment.

🙏🏻💪🏻

Spotted on my walk Yesterday

Health update:

Disappointed, but not surprised. Pathology report came back positive for cancer-actually two markers- TTF-1 & napsin A were both positive. See doctors on the 19th and 20th, plan the next move. This is chapter 3 of this journey that started in early 2019.

🙏🏻

All good. 👍🏻

Health update:

Easter

I’m a week away from my follow up CT scan. This scan will validate ( or not) that the Targeted Radiation I did in Dec/Jan was successful.

Last Friday I had a dermatology appointment to address some skin issue I’ve had for a few years-actually started right after my first encounter with NSCLC, in 2019. It was a new dermatologist for me, so he wanted to do a full body exam. Everything looked pretty typical until he got to the back of my left, upper thigh. There/was a patch of red skin in a place I would have never noticed. He took a biopsy, but is 99% certain it is basal cell carcinoma. When the biopsy is finished he’ll call me with results and next steps. I’ve been so focused on my lung tumor …well, this event took me by surprise. So, now tracking two cancers in my body. 🤷🏼‍♂️🤔.

Wishing everyone a belated Easter. Warmer weather is on the horizon for us here in the Pacific Northwest 🤞🏻.

Blessings to all 🙏🏻.