Is all it takes……one sneaky little cell. I have been on my current clinical trial since the end of February which involved a pill, shots and an immunotherapy infusion. Well the time has come for me to move on from this current treatment as we just discovered that there is a new cancerous spot on my liver that was not there before. My other tumors (bone and the original liver tumors) remain stable and reactive to this current treatment but one sneaky cell, with a suit of armor, as described by my brilliant oncologist managed to outsmart these meds and create this nuisance. I had a gut feeling that something was going on. My tumor markers have been rising and something inside prepared me for this news. I had done my own research on what my next options could be (something no cancer patient should ever do) and have spent the last week devastated about my options. I had prepared myself for one option that would make me very sick daily and then for another option where i would lose my hair. Both options terrified me and really pissed me off. SO when my oncologist came in and confidently had a plan that involved neither of my self researched treatments i felt relieved. I am so blessed to have the doctor that i do. She came in with confidence, options and reassurance that i would be OK. That this bump is not the end of my road. She is an amazing doctor with so much knowledge but she is also a kind person who takes into account what is important to me and my life.

So next i move on to another clinical trial. I will receive the same shots as i have been getting for the past nine months but a new drug- Verzenio- will be added to the mix. This is a new class of medication so we are hoping that this will kill/stop these cells from attacking my body. I have lots of appointments and testing in the next few weeks to prepare for this new trial but we will get started on December 4th. Here’s to hoping that this new trial will work wonders for me and that the new side effects will be manageable.

On top of all of the chaos that surrounds my cancer we lost our dear dog Buddy this past weekend. His death was not unexpected as he was almost thirteen years old and had been battling different medical issues for the past 6 year. We are taking it hard and our home is not the same without him. I remember the day that i was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer, i had to be given a sedative at the hospital and came home to sleep off the pain of my diagnosis. Buddy laid next to me for 5 hours, never barking or asking to go out to the bathroom- which was abnormal for him. He just laid there next to me, silently giving me so much love. He was the best, my very first child, and a part of our family. We will miss him terribly.

Trevor, the kids and I are taking off in a week or so to celebrate Thanksgiving in Aruba. We booked this trip last Spring after I had started on the immunotherapy trial. It is just fitting that it is now coming up after we received this news and are starting on a new trial. My family and I have never needed a vacation like we do now. I am so excited to relax, slow down and reconnect with the ones that i love the most.