Boy, it’s been a busy summer and it’s not over yet!  Thankfully I’ve been feeling pretty good.  My dentist recommended Biotene mouthwash and toothpaste for my mouth and it’s working very well.

Enjoying the Jack & Jill Party

Jay & Heather’s Jack & Jill was a tremendous success.  Even though it was a very hot day, lots of people showed up.  The food, music and company were all great.  And, of course, the drinking went well too!  I must have had 2 gallons of water that day.  It was nice to see relatives, friends, work friends, and friends of Jay and Heather.  Julie came home from Sacramento for the event too!  It was at the P&F  Pond in East Hartford.  Who knew that we had this little piece of heaven in the middle of town.  It really is a nice secluded place.  There were raffles that were enjoyed by everyone.  There was a fun game for Jay and Heather where they put up each other’s shoe or their own to answer several questions about their relationship.  Everyone enjoyed that immensely.  According to reports, a group of them stayed there until after 1 a.m.  They watched a spectacular thunderstorm from the pavilion overlooking the pond.

My August 20th visit to MGH was a long day as they always are.  I had a CT scan at 11:15 a.m.  Then Ray and I had to walk across the hospital for me to have a MUGA test.  This is a test to see if the blood is flowing at an acceptable rate in and out of my heart.  They take blood from me and mix it with radioactive material.  I asked them how many days I’d be glowing! LOL That takes about an half hour and then they put it back in me!  Next they literally strap me (more like a cocoon) to a table and a large machine takes pictures.  They take 2 and it takes about 15 minutes for each one.  I actually fell asleep!

The results of the CT scan show that I’ve had additional shrinkage!!!  YEAH!  Heading in the right direction.  The lung report stated that all nodules were either stable or had shrinkage, there were no comparisons to the previous scan.  The liver report showed that the large tumor is 1 cm smaller, so now it measures 3.91 inches.  That was a 3.13% shrinkage.  When I was originally diagnosed in May 2014 that tumor was 5.9 inches, so this great news!  There are two smaller lesions in the liver that shrunk by 36% and 38%.  My heart is doing it’s job also.  So all is good.

We went to Boston on August 27th for my standard monthly visit and I had an eye exam, blood taken, EKG, and met with a different doctor, Dr. Clark, because Dr. Zhu was on vacation.  We discussed the CT scan results and know that all is good.  We had to wait for the nurse to give me my pill supply as she has to wait until all blood results are returned.  I took my pill at 3:15 pm.  We were finally out of there.  Because I have to fast, we hadn’t eaten since breakfast, so we stopped at the first highway eatery and had some delicious Boston Market.  Hit a lot traffic and didn’t get home until after 6 pm.

We’re looking forward to my niece Kelly and Ryan’s wedding this coming weekend–September 5th in Lancaster, NH.  It’ll  be on the property that Jim and Elaine bought about ten years ago.  They plan on making it a weekend event.  My wonderful sister Susan rented a big house on a lake up there so we all have a place to stay.  Julie is flying in from Sacramento on Wednesday and will be home for several weeks as Jay and Heather’s wedding is September 19th.  We’re planning on heading up north Friday.  The wedding starts at 4 pm on Saturday.

OH!  Great news is that Jay and Heather are having a baby girl!!!!  We’re so excited and, of course, so are they!  She’ll be named Clementine.  A favorite name for a girl that Heather has had for as long as I’ve known her.  Due date is January 7th, Heather’s birthday.

That’s about it for now.  I don’t go back to Boston until late September for a monthly visit.  Hopefully I’ll be updating here before that.

Thank you to everyone for your continued support, love and prayers.  You are my strength.  You are all so important in helping me to fight this cancer.  I also want to thank my angels up above for pulling strings for me!!!