A Much Needed Break.

As many of you know, this latest type of chemo has been very hard on Kevin.  He has been having quite a bit of pain and the side effects have been snowballing.  He has been on a 3 week cycle, in which lately he has only had 2-3 good days.  He had a scan two weeks ago Friday.  Last Thursday he was scheduled for chemo.  We kept the appointment with the intention of talking to the doctor about taking some time off.  Kevin wants to take July and August off so that he can spend some time with the girls while they are out of school for the summer. 

During the visit, the doctor reviewed the scan and saw some things on his spine that he wanted to check out further before making any decisions.  Last night Kevin had an MRI, and today we learned the results.  It was good news.  The stuff on his spine was not cancerous, but rather residual from the radiation therapy he received in the beginning.  I must say that the time between last Thursday and this Thursday crawled very slowly.  For the first time, we found ourselves putting things kind of on hold as we awaited more info.  We are grateful that it was not the spread of the cancer. 

Kevin is going to take the much needed break that his mind and body are asking for.  When he starts back up in a few months, it will be with a new treatment.  He is going to try a new immunotherapy drug.  The drug has had favorable results, but is only FDA approved for a couple types of cancer.  Esophageal cancer is not one of them.  Fortunately, he was able to get approved through the drug company to trial it.  From what we have heard, the side effects are minimal compared to what he has been experiencing. 

We are thankful that we have been given the gift of more time together.  Kevin was diagnosed on October 27th, 2014.  At that time, they gave him 12-18 months of life.  As he reminded me on April 28th (ironically the day he was honored at the middle school track meet), he has won some battles.  He is a warrior.  He has fought harder than I could have ever hoped and imagined.  He will continue to fight, but for the moment, he will recuperate.  Now, off to have some fun!