My Journey

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted and I’ve really not mentioned too much about the workouts.  I’m still trying to get 6 workouts a week of 10 miles or more.  This past Saturday was a glorious fall day so I celebrated with a 21 mile trip on the Cape Cod Rail trail.

On the days that it’s wet or too cold I head to Planet fitness and work on a stationary bike.  It’s a good break because I can work on keeping a cadence and the workout options will throw in random climbs so the workout is pretty good.

I’m slowly building up my endurance and plan to do some distance fund raising rides next summer….

~jerry

We Survived !!!!    We traveled to North Andover, MA to Harold Parker State Park.  Even with the full season upon us, mid-week days are relatively slow at most state campgrounds this year.   We arrived in mid morning as we knew that setting up would be slow and I might require some rest stops.

We had a lakeside site complete with visiting geese and evening appearances from a Great Blue Heron as it stalked it’s dinner in the shallows of the lake edge.

The tent went up fairly easy as did the screened dining area.  It was probably the most strenuous day I’ve spent in a long time, but we survived.  The BIG tent is fantastic with an attached enclosed “screen room” it gave us a spot to sit out the rainstorms. (we went through 5 thunderstorms in two days).

The only pre-planning problem was that I didn’t have a large tarp to cover a cooking area.  The stand alone screen room wasn’t adequate.  SOOOOO it was out to eat most meals because of the frequent rain.

The rangers far outdid themselves with dining suggestions.  The first night we asked for a pizza house.  Not just any pizza house, but one that might make them “Greek Style.”  They had us off to Andrea’s in North Reading.  FANTASTIC.  On Wednesday night M suggested Chinese and after checking on the Garmin (Suzie) we found about 30 in the area.   Way too much info. Again we visited the Rangers and were told to go to Lee Chens in a nearby town.  Another home run.  Atmosphere, quality, service, quality… it was out of sight.

We were able to enjoy campfires both evenings as storms abated for a few hours around twilight.  Our pond was loaded with very rambunctious bull frogs who seranaded us well into the early morning hours.

We cut our trip short and returned home on Thursday, drove during a thunderstorm.  Traffic was brutal all the way home.  Seems that half the world that was coming to the Cape for the holiday decided to leave a day early…. *G*

We are already planning a 5 day trip for next week which will be just before my next set of scans and treatment.  If the side effects from the treatment are relatively mild we will be off the following week for a few nights.

Monty, the wonder dog, doesn’t really like this as he spends his time at “doggie camp”  Not his favorite place.  No laps to sleep on, etc..

bye for now.

Jerry

1986 Toyota Tercel 4wd SW.  My brother nicknamed the clown car due to it’s size and shape.  It looks like 20 Shriner’s clowns will jump out the door at every traffic signal.

Anyway it’s a bit tired, has 210,000 miles on it.  Body needs work almost as badly as I do.  I sent it out to have the carberator adjusted last week and it came back with the advise to “junk it, it will be too expensive to replace the carb and get it running.”   You have to understand I’ve gotten quite fond of this little car.  It is very comfortable to drive.  (once I get in it) and is very economical to operatate.

So I went on a quest and was initially disappointed.  I could not find a rebuilt carberator for less than $300.00 and some of those places were kind of shakey.  So as last resort I went to Ebay.  I found not 1 but 61.  Seems a fellow in OHIO had purchased the contents of an auto warehouse at auction.  Included were a large crate of carberators rebuilt by champion.  I bought the carb for $119 including shipping.

It arrived Monday and I waited for the weather to clear (my garage is full of junk) so I could work on it in the drive.  I also needed to make sure that I would be well rested.

I started this morning and had the swap completed about noon.  Took a bit longer than normal, but I needed to pick up an extra gasket and I took my time on the install stopping for a rest as needed.   The best part is the little beast is running like a sewing machine.

I wish I knew how to do body work *G*  That would keep me busy for a long long long time.  Maybe I’ll just have to teach myself this summer.

jerry

Tuesday we went to Boston for the 20 week checkup and scans. …. Major Drum Roll….. You have to understand that my medical team is VERY, VERY conservative.  They said that the Neck MRI showed some swelling that we will look at again in10 weeks and that the Brain MRI and the Trunk CT showed stable.  Then when pressed for more details on the brain MRI they said that the reading radiologist “could not find” two of the tumors.  They are not ready to start dancing yet, as I said they are very conservative seeing the form of cancer we are dealing with.  But the results are promising and show that the treatments are working.

I go back Saturday July 18th for scans and Tuesday for clinic.  If the scans are stable or better I will get a “maintenance” treatment of the drug that afternoon.

Next week is week 20 of the trial. 3 sets of scans, bloodwork and team visit.  We have an extra MRI in the set. During the last visit I discussed the neck radiation done prior to entering the trial with the team. After taking into account  the generally positive response I’ve had to ipi (Ipilimumab) they agreed that it’s time to see what the results of the radiation are.  They do not expect to see any of the met remaining, but if there is a portion of the tumor left they will start tracking it on a regular basis.

If all the scans show reduction or stable mets and all the blood tests are in the correct range I move on to week 24 which is another set of qualifying scans and blood work followed by treatment #5 of ipi.

I’m in the maintenance phase now.  After week 24 the scan interval goes to 6 weeks and possible maintenance infusions every 12 weeks.

Jerry

I’ve added Moble device capabilities to the the blog.  I just ran a test on my blackberry.  What a great plug-in.  If you find it convenient please let me know.