There's no place like home

Being home is quite a blessing.

I miss our friends back in Hong Kong but I do not miss slow elevators, apartment living, or pollution. I do miss walking to places vs. all the driving it takes to do things… It is lovely to be back in our old home after three years away. Quite a relief to have our dog home with us happy and healthy. Being able to go visit my family members or simply call them on the phone is beautiful.

We’re adjusting to life well enough here in Oregon. I love the temperature, feels pretty darn good to have a cool breeze. Getting together with friends and former colleagues is special too.

We now have some furniture and I got pictures up all over, so it feels more like a home now. Cannot believe how many books we’ve saved, I’ve unpacked them and am taking my time with various projects before I enjoy organizing them all.

I’m excited to have a job in my old school district, this time with a heavier focus on technology which is just fine, looking forward to having a new work home to settle in. Waiting on a few boxes to arrive from Hong Kong and organized another workbox at home to bring in… Not much since I cleared out and scanned everything that was important to me three years ago.

Today I went to my new oncologist. There is no miracle cure. There is no real solution presently for me- especially since I have metastatic cervical cancer; there are no trials presently for this cancer. I told my oncologist that I was frustrated to not find any people that have my cancer/stage to follow and learn about trials from and he said that’s because they are dead… Honesty. I’ll take it, I guess. He also said that if I did nothing, my tumors are in places that could grow for the next year and I could have around a year or so of life without any treatment… hmm. Abysmal but at least we have thoughts on things…

The oncologist said that he’d refer me to three specialists- cardio-thoracic surgeon to see about removing the lymph node up behind my lung on my back- my oncologist liked the idea of at least getting a sample of the lymph node for genetic testing… (I immediately thought about my nightmare experience with the needle sticking out of my side with the biopsy on my lung a year ago- in and out of the CT scanner with that needle sticking out- hold your breath, don’t breath, ok, now breathe… ech. But I know this is a very different area to biopsy/operate on… nerve wracking anyway…)

He wants me to meet with a radiation oncologist to see if it is even feasible to radiate the lymph node – if this lymph node is anywhere close to the other radiated area, can’t do it, shall see.

And also I will be sent to another doctor who is facilitating medical trials on immunotherapy. All the immunotherapy drugs presently on the market are more for others like breast cancer, lung cancer, skin cancer patients, not at all cervical cancer, so there’s a long shot for finding anything that might fit me. Shall see. I’m good with trying to find that long shot. My oncologist wasn’t certain what might be going on with my other tumor on the adrenal gland. He’s not as concerned with that tumor as he is the lymph node in my chest cavity since that lymph node can cause more problems quicker.

I need to research on immunotherapy options myself as well. My oncologist said that he’ll do his research and try to find as many options and possibilities for me. He said, “I can tell, you are the type of person who wants to explore every option. You won’t be happy unless you feel like you’ve left no stone unturned.” Very true. I explore, I research, I care.

So… here I am. Home. Adjusting. Appreciating life. Not adventuring much yet. More just enjoying the day-to-day life experience. Not quite relaxing yet but I’ll get there. Organizing is one of my specialties, so I’m enjoying the energy and stamina I have to complete projects. I love being able to do things right the first time if possible. Getting things sorted so that we can locate and enjoy them later is a beautiful thing… Happy to have a little time to do so. Now, also want to make more time to read again, books are beckoning and the public library is just a hop up the street. We don’t really have internet for another week, but finding ways around that presently but can't upload any pictures to accompany this post... I'll be flexible...

Thanks as always for journeying with me.