Update on the “Bob Front”

Sounds like I am about to give a weather report but I think I will forgo donning my bright jacket and clicker thing and just give you the news.

The latest new is that the TIL trial and treatment has been put on hold as it appears that Bob has more immediate things to deal with before he can continue. The MRI scans show 5 tumors in his brain. These have to be dealt with before he can continue with the other treatment. So the TIL cells have been put back in the freezer for later use.

So Good News/Bad News. Which do you want first?

Bad New? Yeah let’s get that out of the way.

• He now has 5 melanoma tumors of varying sizes in his brain, the worst of which is one that is in his brain stem.
• It’s hard to switch gears this fast. But speed is important in this case
• We have to start wading through the insurance mire again. Oh, $@#$! One of the many wonderful things about clinical trials is that they pay for everything. No insurance is needed. So it is back to fighting dealing with the insurance for what is in network and what is not.

Now for the Good News.

• There seems to be a clear cut path that we need to take. The next step is Whole Brain Radiation and possible Cyber Knife (which is really a type of radiation but much more focused in what area it hits.) Bob has an appointment with a radiation oncologist on Monday.
• Bob can receive these treatments in Asheville so we can be in the comfort of home while dealing with this process. And there is no place like home. The food is better here and you don’t have to wear those awkward hospital gowns.
• He is feeling well and once the shock of having to switch in mid stream settled in, he began  to feel strong and ready to move on to the next path before him. (Though he is frequently really pissed off by the whole thing, sometimes that can work for you.)
• Friends and support are near by. Our children are coming down this weekend and we will enjoy spending time with family.
• We feel loved, supported, and held closely in the hollow of the Holy One’s hand.

This is a song that goes through my head over and over. Sometimes we don’t need to know where we are going and we don’t even have to like where we are going or how we will get there, the comfort is in trusting that heaven knows.

WOYAYA
 

We are going, heaven knows where we are going,
We’ll know we’re there.
We will get there, heaven knows how we will get there,
We know we will.

It will be hard we know
And the road will be muddy and rough,
But we’ll get there, heaven knows how we will get there,
We know we will.

We are going, heaven knows where we are going,
We’ll know we’re there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1QM3_fguB8

---