Curveballs
Cancer Update 7/14/2020
I have a super quick cancer update for all friends, family, and #fightforben supporters out there. I have been pretty quiet the past month and a half about my disease; obviously busy fighting, but also getting beat up a little bit in the process.
Today was progression scan readings from my second block of chemo and the start of my third chemo block at UNC. It took a little effort to make it today...since my last readings some non-cancer curve balls have been thrown my way.
June 1 I was hit by a car while riding my road bike at Wrightsville Beach. A car ran a stop sign and hit me as I was traveling at about 23mph. I ended up going into their windshield and coming to rest in the hood of their car. God was looking down on me and allowed me to walk away with only a broken patella in my left knee, stitches in my right hand, and glass in my right arm. I missed chemo that week to let my body heal, but hopped right back on treatment the following week. My knee is almost healed and I picked up a new bike last week to get riding again ASAP.
July 1 I was diagnosed with a prevertebral infectious abscess in my neck. An extremely painful rogue infection of my neck and throat that landed me in the hospital for four days. Doctors don’t know where it came from but have been successfully treating it with three strong antibiotics that I will be on until the first week of August. Ann bailed me out of the hospital on July 4 just in time to shoot off some fireworks with the boys. Once again I missed a chemo treatment to let the body heal.
Curve balls thrown. Stare them down and continue to fight like hell. Cancer doesn’t take a time out while I deal with the shit sandwiches life has been serving for lunch.
Today we met with Dr. Weiss at UNC to look at my scans. I got to see my lungs for the first time in six months. And what I saw was more shrinkage. Blurry white dots of cancer on CT scans that got smaller with each picture. We progressed through five months of scans and watched this stupid disease slowly dissolve out of my body. There are even several small tumors that have decided they can’t handle the outpouring of love from all of you and aren’t even traceable anymore on the scans. It was a good day.
So where does this leave my disease? It is extremely stable and shrinking. My sinus tumor is pretty much non existent and my handful of lung tumors are down 30-50% in size since we started this adventure. We still have a LONG way to go in this fight to get to where we want to be, but we have put a good size dent in the disease (like I did to the Volkswagen SUV on June 1).
What’s next? We keep riding the chemo train and hope the tumors continue to wither away. We are looking for continued stabilization and shrinkage. We continue to smile and thank God for all of you who helped carry me through this year. I’m pretty mentally worn out and physically sore right now, and knowing I have all of you helps me push forward.
Thank you for all the texts, calls, emails, ice cream, front door delivered BBQ, new bikes, car rides to the hospital, fundraisers, positive thoughts, prayers, and LOVE.
Tomorrow is another opportunity for all of us to fight like hell, and I don’t expect anything less out of all of you.
