The treatment program is working. That’s what we learned today. The tumor in the lung has been reduced by more than 50% of the size before treatment. The lymph nodes have improved. And the lesion in the liver is also 50% smaller. This is meaningful positive progress. We are very happy and grateful.

As we received the report, Kathleen received a box of tissues and a “Happy tears” comment from the nurse practitioner. It was moving news.

My blood labs today were much better than they were three weeks ago too, for which we are also grateful. Red blood cells, platelets, and much more significantly the white blood cells looked better too. That’s great because I’m immunocompromised and, it turns out, there is a flipping pandemic out there.

The plan moving forward remains the same. It looks like two more rounds (six weeks) of targeted therapy and chemotherapy together and then a fresh PET scan to check for additional progress. Then we’ll pivot to a combination of radiation combined with chemotherapy for another six weeks. And then we’ll pause briefly, and run another scan to see how much more progress we’ve made and what, if any, work remains.

I am elated to be able to share good news with you. It’s way better than needing to rally you all and encourage you to keep the faith, by saying “We’re just getting started. We’ll make adjustments and we’re going to try again and we’ll keep trying until we get it right.” If I said it, I would have meant it and I would have believed every word. But suffice it to say this message is much more fun to post.

There is still a long road ahead of us. It may be full of twists and turns. We don’t know. And because of that, I am grateful for every prayer, good thought, and bit of positive energy that you send up for us.

It’s been a good day. That’s enough for today. Enjoy what remains of the day.