reprieve

When Mark and I met with Dr. Campbell last week, Dr. Campbell made the decision to take me off of chemotherapy for four weeks to see if my tumor marker blood counts go down. He suspects that, once the liver is used to having been ablated, my markers will go back to where they were last summer. If they do, this could mean a change to milder treatment or simply observation (no treatment at all). It’s also a good time to give my body a break from chemo since my heart and kidneys are being impacted by the treatment.

While, of course, I would love a summer without chemotherapy, I’m focusing on the four weeks I have now without treatment. In a word, I feel: present. Participatory. Here. (OK, that’s three words.) I feel like having people over for dinner. Like painting the furniture I’ve accrued in the garage. Like walking the dog.

It’s nice.