26 going on 96!




I ate 2 dougnuts on my birthday. Haven't since

 

wild man on my bed

So what an exciting week on 8east. We had cards, balloons, signs, and most importantly our dog stoli (wild man).for a birthday blowout.  Margaret's Aunt Jennfier Arnold had brought him up to our room and he was the life of the floor, not saying too much if you see some of these bag-o-bones straggling out of their rooms including myself.

I apprecetiate all of the birthday wishes and I know there are a lot of others places to be or to things to be doing but we are getting cured of cancer which is something not many  people can say they have done. But don't worry Adam hopefully we can go to Six Flags next year.

I finished my 7th bag this morning and this will be our last bag this week. Once again lucky number 7.  It was not an easy week but once again we managed to get through the diaarhea, nauseuesness, lack of showers, and thats just Margarets symptons.

We are still at Emory and waiting while my body gets somewhat back to the norm and hopefully be released sometime tomorrow afternoon. As much as I love the hospital bed and can't wait to get back home.

Only one more round is left!!!! Thanks for the thoughts and prayers, and as Carolina Hernandez says, "congrats Neils body!"

the nurses at 8 East sing Happy Birthday to me... "get out."

DING DING DING Round 3.

 
Monday was my midterm exam, CT of pelvis, abdomen, chest, and neck along with an MRI of the brain. I hate tests and there was no way of cheating on this one, but I got the results from the biggest test of my life on Wednesday and I passed. MRI clear!! CT of chest shows shrinking of tumors!! No new spots!! Amen!! This medicine that I have been cursing while in the hospital is working. I don't like stats because they are usually very skewed, but the percentage of response to IL-2 is 16%. That means if 10 people are recieving this drug only me and some midget out there get the response that you want. (I do pray that I see Mr. White on Monday, we both started IL-2 together, and hope he got good news also). But we are seeing progress and it feels good to catch a break.

So round 3 of 4 is on Monday. Also I will celebrate my 26th birthday on Wednesday in style at the hospital with popsicles and pain pills. Times have changed.

I have to thank everyone for the prayers, inspiration, and motivation this past week the medicine only goes so far we need to give some credit to the Big Guy.
 

May=Melanoma Awareness Month







John McCain

2-time survivor



Eva Cassidy-deceased melanoma



It is officially melanoma awareness month. As you can imagine my family and I are fully aware of melanoma, but the majority of people are not familiar with the most deadly of all skin cancers. Melanoma is one of the fastest growing cancers in the world and every hour someone dies from the disease. It is the most common form of cancer in my generation, people aged 25-29. But if caught early it is very treatable with over a  90% survival rate. It is important to have screenings and know the risk factors involved.

We will be hosting the 3rd annual MelaNoMo'! fundraiser this year sometime in the fall. The goal here is to raise awareness, funding for the Melanoma Research Foundation, and have a hell of a time at our cabin on the Chattahoochee it will include listening to live music while playing cornhole after UGA just wins downing a cold beer with BBQ on the banks of the Chattahoochee on a fall afternoon. If this sounds like something you would be interested in check out www.firstgiving.com/melanomo (this is not an updated site) and stay tuned for more info.

Everything is great on the home front. Looking forward to a weekend with the new nephew in town and will have scans on Monday to determine my life, jk. Thanks for all of the continued support and inspiration. I am definitely not alone on this journey.

 




bob marley deceased
melanoma

 



My fundraiser! www.firstgiving.com/melanomo.