Day 40.

This is really an update on how Kevin is doing.  Last Monday, Kevin woke up and asked me if I knew what day it was?  I racked my brain trying to think of what significant event I may have forgotten (anniversary, birthday, dentist appt???).  After I gave up he replied, "It is my 40th day of radiation."  Yep, not exactly a milestone you want to reach. 

The protocol they have been following, which seems to work well in knocking down his tumors, is 13 consecutive days of the maximum dose to a very targeted spot.  Kevin and the oncologist jokingly refer to this as spot welding.  He received a spot weld to his esophagus when he was first diagnosed.  At that time, the radiation effectively shrunk the tumor in his esophagus such that he was finally able to eat and drink again.  That was the first miracle!

Last Christmas, they discovered a new tumor in his thyroid.  They hit it with 13 days of radiation.  After a short time, that tumor began to shrink.  At Easter, they found a tumor on his adrenal gland.  Thirteen more days of radiation, bringing the grand total to 39, which brings us to last Monday. 

A few weeks ago, they did a scan and found some growing tumors in his lungs.  They mapped his body and determined that they would be able to 'spot weld' the area without overlapping previous radiation treatments.  Monday he received Day 1 of 13 days of radiation to his lungs.  At the end of these next couple of weeks, he will have had a total of 52 days of radiation.  It is a miracle that he does not glow when we turn the lights off!  All the while, he continues to go in every other Friday for IV infusion of an immunotherapy drug.

Aside from the lung tumors, everything else has remained largely the same.  It is truly a miracle.  Though it does not always feel miraculous.  There are days that we get very discouraged.  I was commending him on how strong he is the other day.  He replied, "It is not like I have had a choice."  I reminded him that there is always a choice and that he has fought, and continues to fight, a very big battle.  One day at a time.  One foot in front of the other.