Infusion 50 and a PET scan, and a complete response

It's hard to believe just 4 weeks has passed since my last infusion. Since then, Chelsea flew to DC, joined Jennifer and I as we attended a farewell reception at a friends house, then then next day turned around and flew back to SLC with Jennifer and me. We got Jennifer settled into her new specialized memory care assisted living facility, then I went with Chelsea to her house in Huntsville. The next few days were a blur of visiting Jennifer and taking her to her medical appointments, spending time with Chelsea, Josh, and the grandchildren, and readjusting to the slower rhythms of small-town life.

On July 9, Garrett completed his two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Jennifer and I met him at the mission home in Salt Lake City, and were able to attend the departing missionary fireside. Garrett sang "Be Still My Soul" acapella, then bore his testimony. It was a moving experience. When he finished, I moved and let Garrett take my seat next to his mother.  Jennifer laid her head on his shoulder and wept tears of joy.

The next day, Spencer and Kirsten joined us in Utah. It was the first time our complete family had been together since March 2016. I had wondered whether I would live to see that day. We went boating, played games, and ate together, soaking up each other's presence. We met with a social worker who guided the kids through a discussion regarding their mom's cognitive decline, and suggestions on sorting through their emotions. We also had a family council where we discussed the estate planning steps that Jennifer and I had taken, and made some decisions regarding family finances.

After nearly a week of family time, Kirsten and Spencer drove to Denver, where Spencer embarked on hiking the Colorado Trail from Denver to Durango (blog link here). It's "only" 487 miles, so unlike his thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail last year, he'll knock this out in a month or so. I keep telling him there's medication that can help cure his hiking illness, but he declines my sage advice.  The best medicine, I've found, is sold at Krispy Kreme.

On July 20, Garrett and I flew back to DC. On Sunday, July 22, Garrett gave his missionary homecoming report to his home congregation in Great Falls. He left a boy and came home a man. I also spoke.

Yesterday, I went to Kaiser and had infusion #50. The only side effects I've noticed so far from my increased dosage of nivolumab is some scalp itching and perhaps a tendency for my gums to bleed slightly after brushing my teeth. No big deal. I'll continue to monitor any side effects.

Last night I battled traffic for nearly two hours to get to Kaiser's Capitol Hill location for a PET scan. That's a drive that takes perhaps 30 minutes when it's not rush hour. I am not going to miss DC traffic. My Kaiser oncologist agreed to my request for the test a couple of days ago, so I was added to the end of the day for the end of the day. The nurse just called and said the scan showed no evidence of metastatic disease -- a complete response! Woo hoo! Dr. Ferrera recommends keep going with Opdivo for now. Based upon this news, I'm more likely to  eventually shift my ongoing care to the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake.

Southwest cancelled our flight to SLC this afternoon, due to the heavy weather that is forecast to hit the region later today. So we're no scheduled to return to Utah on Saturday. We'll stay for a couple of weeks, then return to DC on August 14. I'll deliver Garrett to college on August 18, then have another infusion at Kaiser  the following week. I'll also be meeting with both Dr. Hahn at Hopkins and Dr. Ferrera at Kaiser, and likely will confirm my decision to transfer my care to Utah. For now, however, I'm simply relieved to be back in remission.