Another Monday at CTRC...

...this time began cycle # 11 on LDE225, which translates into 40 weeks completed. That's over nine months on this drug. CT scans were done first thing, and in order to continue on the present course, tumors must be deemed "stable or better." Dr. Mita jokingly said the radiologists were wondering what treatment had caused the disappearance of the masses in my left lung. The ones in the right lung were virtually the same size, so we were very happy with that.

We have been considering the possibility of surgery on the right lung, but feel that I need more time to get over this one before doing so. So the "stable" report means that there should be no urgency to do the surgery. My next scan is in eight weeks, so we will see what is going on at that time. In the meantime, our schedule looks the same as it has been for most of the past nine months.

I have not been doing much for the past couple of weeks. We have enjoyed our time at home, and it has given me some time to recover from surgery. My regular breathing is pretty close to normal, but any time I exert I am easily winded. Time will help with that, as well as gradually increasing my level of activity. I haven't been back to work yet, but plan to begin on Monday.

The biggest problem I am having, and it seems to be working into a bigger one, is eating. Much tougher than I anticipated, it's gotten to a point where absolutely nothing tastes good--everything tastes bad. It's a struggle every day to figure out something I can eat, and it is becoming a real problem. Please pray for us about this.

Thanks to all of you so much for all of your love and support.