Returned yesterday afternoon 5/6 to 80 degree weather in Seattle. It had been only 50-60 in NOLA. The view of the mountains coming in was fantastic. I remembered my Grandma VanBuskirk, my mom's mom since she loved Mt Rainier and May 6th was her birthday.  My very good old friend Louise picked Peter and I up from the airport (and watered plants in our absence). Although it was a long day, getting up at 3 am to catch the plane with 1 lay over, I arrived with lots of energy and got busy with yard work, going through mail and having several work calls. I got to speak with our wonderful auditor for CDSA, Mary Joyce. It is always a pleasure to work with her. My extremely competent assistant at CDSA, Maile spent an hour filling me in on the finer details of what occurred in my absence. She is a joy to work with a huge blessing in my life.

Last night I went to the second in a 5 part series on a diet called "To Quiet Inflammation" TQI diet. The author of the method, 2 books and lecturer in class is Kathy Abascal; the book is called the Abascal Way. She resides on Vashon Island and happened to know my brother Ed and his family who live there. I began the elimination phase today. I am cutting out all sugar, dairy and wheat products and eating vegetables, fruit and protein (no red meat). It is 2/3 vegetables (especially leafy greens) and fruits to 1/3 protein and grains in 5 meals a day. No sugar substitutes (even stevia is removed) and no alcohol. No eating 2 hours before bed and no snacking. I really recommend the book as a prevention tool for avoiding cancer as well as a great way to build your immune system even if you don't follow the whole diet. I will be strengthening my immune system in preparation for the surgery I will have soon to remove as many of the tumors as possible in the liver. It is also a great way to eat for a fast, healthy, recovery period and during any treatment I may need after the surgery. As Dr. Wang, the surgeon, emphasized last week, we want as little stress to the body as possible so that the immune system will be very strong. This type of eating does not "stress" the body and organs including the liver but builds health while reducing inflammation. I also promised Dr. Wang I would be taking care of other kinds of stress in my life; things I worry about. Exercise, watching my work schedule, being joyful and talking to friends and family reduces anxiety. My mom has been there every day for me. My daughter checks in daily and my son keeps close tabs on how I'm doing and invites me to fun things like dance and drumming events where I can also enjoy my grandson Kimani. Peter continues to be ever present and available.

I expect to hear from Dr. Wang this week with prospective dates to schedule the surgery. I should also hear from Dr. Wolterings office with the results from the biopsy taken last Friday during the Ultrasound Endoscopy (EUS) procedure. EUS shows both ultrasound images and live video of the GI track. A flexible tube called an endoscope is used. At the end of the scope was a tiny camera and light. The scopes also contain a very small ultrasound device, which uses sound waves to create images and send them to the monitor where the video camera also transmits live images. The scope  had a needle at the end of it which was used to take a small sample of tissue for testing (a biopsy). A second type of needle was also used to take a sample of fluid. That was called a fine-needle aspiration (FNA). Both were done and those biopsies should result this week.

Also this week on Wednesday at 1 is my every 28 day injection of Octreotide. I begin the Cancer Lifeline Qigong class this week and continue with the Team Survivor North West (TSNW) yoga classes. Both of these are complimentary to cancer patients.

On another topic this Friday is my husband Peter's last performance of his Jazz group for the season. He leads the Peter Jamero Project and plays jazz keyboards. The show will be at Vino Bella's, a wine bar, in Issaquah on Front Street. I'll be there but will not be eating cheese and drinking wine. :-) I could have kale and grapes though. Everyone is invited.

Next week I start off Monday 5/13 with an ultrasound of the pelvis and thyroid at 4 pm followed by the TQI class. On Friday 5/17 I'll have a head to toe bone scan to make sure the cancer has not spread to the bones. I don't know how long these things will take to result. In a way, all of this is further preparation for the surgery since we still want to know where the primary cancer is. It is still deemed "unknown primary" since the pancreas was found to be clear in the EUS last week. If we know where the primary is at the time of surgery we would remove it if we could. Now that the thyroid is suspect (due to labs) we would remove all or part of it during surgery if we find it is cancerous. We can live without a thyroid! Even if we do not find a primary it is worth it to do the surgery since the liver function is the most life threatening issue moving forward.

Thanks again for all the support from many of you. I enjoy getting the emails that you've read and liked the blog. My good friend Shari in Hood River has been a caring presence through out this journey. Our birthdays are just 2 weeks apart and we're the same age. She'll turn 56 this Wednesday and 2 weeks later I'll be celebrating another year on this incredible journey of life on this beautiful planet earth. I know I'll be by the ocean somewhere to celebrate; being on and near the salt water has  been important to me through out my life. I was born in Hoquiam/Aberdeen, near the Olympic Peninsula and spent time as a child at the beach. After being in the south I realize how much I love Seattle and the NW; it is so beautiful here especially when the sun in shining.  For my birthday I may just watch the sunset at Lincoln Park in W. Seattle with my toes in the sand.  I'm sure we'll all enjoy the next week of sunshine.  Thanks again!