Personal Journey Entry # 30

We had talked about planning some day trips this summer to branch out from the Pond and explore more of what Maine has to offer. Well, after speaking with Drs. Lassaletta and Boland, this week, we will be on the road a lot. We will be traveling from Hartford to Topsham or Bath almost every day for the next three months. My last day behind the wheel of a bus is June 13. My first day with a chemo port will be June 16. This begins the next chapter of our fight to conquer Esophageal Cancer. I am ready to get to work.

I had to correct Dr. Boland during our Zoom meeting this morning. He said that he was so disappointed in the latest turn that my case has taken, and he said I cannot catch a break. I had to set him straight. From the first call from Dr. Tompkins in January, I think we have caught every break possible. We detected the cancer very early. The esophagectomy was suspended, but it paved the way for me to see Dr. Boston and the endoscopic solution. We left Boston thinking we had rung the bell, but I think Shay and I were refraining from too much celebrating, for we knew that something could go awry, and it did. So now, we need to spend a few months with chemo and radiation, doing the bulk of the work. If this plan works, the cancer will be gone, my esophagus will be intact, and we will win. We may have lost a couple of battles, but we won the war. I am not popping corks yet, but the bottles are on ice.

Your thoughts and prayers are so comforting. I am still positive that we are going to beat cancer. I thought it was too good to be true that we were done in four short months, but I will gladly surrender the summer for a clean bill of health.

Thanks for stopping by. May God bless you and keep you in his arms. He is with each of us, and he does not leave a job unfinished. He will be with us until this project is behind us.

Ray