Happy summer (well almost)

Another beautiful day in Seattle where we have great weather. :-) My garden is in full bloom and about a month ahead of time due to all this warm dry weather we are having. I've enjoyed the work in the garden but must admit it has been squeezed in-between a host of other activities. I now know first hand how people say that after retirement they are busier than when they were working.

I'll just try to list briefly the medical points and not go into the many trips and fun things that are interspersed with all the medical appointments, treatment and research. As mentioned previously, I went to Stanford in early May and was allowed to participate in the Clinical Trial for the Ga68 scan. Stanford's fund paid the $30,000 for the scan for me, did blood work and genetic testing to see if I have the hereditary type of NET's. The results so far have shown that I do not have the hereditary type - which is great news. The scan showed that there is very little new cancer that we didn't already know about except in the right leg, hip, knee and back. As you may remember from the last post I was curious about why I was experiencing pain on that side. The new bone mets are very small in size which is why they were not picked up on the bone scan in April.

Group Health denied coverage of the genetic testing so I had to pay $1600 on my credit card for it. I have since appealed and am hoping to get reimbursed someday. They also denied coverage of Lanreotide which I had hoped to switch to for my monthly injections because it is a smaller, less painful needle and is water based. Lanreotide was finally approved by the FDA earlier this year after several years of study. Dr. Feldman, my Group Health Oncologist, has appealed with me to have the drug covered considering the difficult time I've had tolerating the injections at the injection site.

I've increased dosage of the thyroid drug since labs showed my TSH levels to be off. Hopefully this increase will help me loose a bit of weight which could alleviate some pain on the right side. I've been exercising pretty regularly but my diet has been up and down as I've celebrated my birthday and several other special events like anniversaries and birthdays of others that give me an excuse to have sugar or carbs. I also love the scones at PCC which is only a few blocks from my house. :-)

Oh well, "everything in moderation including moderation" is one of my new favorite quotes.

As always I am happy to be alive and enjoying the many other people that I love and taking care of myself. It is all an incredibly sensitive balance of not over doing it and getting too tired but living life to the fullest at the same time. I am so blessed to be having this time where I feel pretty good. I think it is time to start planning that trip to Italy and get my kayak out of the garage and into the water.

I hope each and every one of you are enjoying all that life is giving you and the endless possibilities to see and feel beauty all around us in the present moment. Be well!