lunhs cancer

Next week I'm headed to the University of Colorado Cancer Center, one of the research hubs for my cancer's ROS1 mutation. Many thanks to the amazing Bonnie J. Addario and her lung cancer foundation who helped to coordinate this for me. Although things are going quite well for me right now on Xalkori, I know this won't last forever. The median time before progression, meaning when the cancer becomes resistant and starts growing again, is eight months (there's that pesky eight months again). While I definitely hope to be on the far right side of the graph, I want to get Plan B in place for when I need it. I am really excited and nervous to discuss possible options, trials and so forth. I am also nervous about weird stuff, like the fact that I will be flying while carrying my ridiculously expensive and life-saving meds on my person. What if TSA finds some reason to confiscate them? Jason assured me that it would be completely illegal for them to take my prescription meds,...

Okay, so nail polish is not the cure for cancer, BUT if you donate $25 to the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation , they will send you a bottle of purple polish as part of their super cool "Purple Toes" campaign. What better opportunity to introduce my girls to nail polish (I asked Zander if he would like to join in the fun, but he declined). The girls were intrigued but a little confused and hesitant, so I painted my toes first. I am not a particularly glamorous person, and I realized my kids have never seen me do my nails, or put on makeup, or use hair products, or any of those sorts of things, so this was quite an adventure. Honestly, I can't recall ever painting my toe nails before.  Zander helped out with the drying. Here we go! Painting squirmy two-year-old toes is very challenging. Autumn was still skeptical about all this. Eventually, she decided to join in the fun. 30 purple toes for a great cause. Click here to make your donation and get your purple nail po...

There are few times in your life when it is nice to be called "unremarkable." At scan time, it is quite nice. My liver is now "unremarkable." It looks just like any normal liver, meaning no mets. The bone mets are sclerotic, essentially like scabs or scar tissue. My primary tumor in my lung is 16mm, which is slightly smaller than a dime. Unremarkable feels pretty remarkable to me.