doing what it's supposed to.

sometimes i feel like this, i'm the dog and the cyclists are my cancer bearing down on me.

(i found this photo on the interwebs a long time ago.  i didn't take it.  i don't take credit for it)

I have good news for you on this first triple-H day of the year (hazy, hot, humid here in West Chester).  I had a brain MRI and chest CT yesterday and Dr. Evans was happy when she walked through the door - a very good sign.  My chest showed no new signs of spreading cancer and the nodes have continued resolving.  The brain MRI showed no new disease but a couple of spots that warrant surveillance (that Dr. Evans is not worried about, so I shouldn't be, either) so we'll do another MRI in two months instead of four.  I feel fine with this, I model my reaction to Dr. Evans' so I will not worry about it (too much).  They only showed up on one out of the four or five tests that comprise a brain MRI and the most important part of the report was the part stating no evidence of new cancer.

So.  More pills in hand, I'm due to check in and get another 28 days' supply in four weeks, and four weeks after that I will have my scans.  At that point it will be mid-August, the week before my Livestrong Challenge (http://www.livestrong.org/fundraising/lizdols2014).

I have been feeling really good and feel like I have another new lease on life with this new medicine.  There have been a couple of hiccups, but they are largely related to my radiation last year.  I've lost some high and low frequency hearing at a rapid pace since I last had it tested in August, which might be associated to the thorough burning my ears endured.  Mostly, though, I really surprise myself when I think I am in a clinical trial and undergoing treatment for cancer.  It is hard to think about the fact I'm walking around with it.  And that's a good thing.

The past two months have gone so quickly; the highlights were many, but among the tops were getting to spend time in Siesta Key, Florida over Memorial Day, a short weekend in State College playing beanbags and seeing old friends, and getting to spend time with one of my favorite people, Ben.  I'm sure the next two months will go just as fast but I'll do my best to slow it down and savor summer a bit.  I'll be in Maine at the end of this month and Wisconsin at the end of July.  I hope to spend some of the time in between catching up with friends along the east coast.  I'll be riding my bike, doing yoga, and getting into the gym, too.  No wonder the time flies. 

I often think about so many of you and wish there were a way to get everyone together in the same place at the same time, but until that can happen, have a wonderful first couple of months of summer - take time to enjoy it.  We don't get these days back, even if we work hard.