Today Is Wednesday…

Just saw the oncologist recently, and once again there’s very little change. The pancreatic and liver masses haven’t grown significantly, and my CA-19 (blood cancer marker) level is still around 310. That’s down from an initial high of 1,600.

The recently completed chemo treatment was #12, so I’ve just logged six months of toxic drug infusions. Side effects continue to be minimal, though, so I’ll retain my li’l pump buddy and keep visiting the infusion center indefinitely. Said side effects have settled down to a routine that, in my mind, is based on the old Mickey Mouse Club: ♪Today is Wednesday, you know what that means! We’re gonna have a special guest—hiccups!♪ (And even the hiccups are much less frequent than in bygone days.) Thursday brings minor mouth soreness, and then… that’s about it. Digestion could be better, but all in all things are pretty good.

The insurance company, which has otherwise been excellent, continues to be a goober about paying for CyberKnife. While it would be nice to get radiation over with in just 5 days, if they haven’t approved it soon we’ll probably go with standard radiation, say over the course of 15 days. On the plus side, standard radiation can be done in Olney instead of Georgetown—much more convenient for me. The doc says there is no evidence that the CyberKnife is more effective, it’s just a lot faster.

The 2017 Plate List Tour kicked off last week with dinner at the terrific Filipino restaurant Bad Saint. Not only was everything delicious, it was also slightly exotic. I get to Indian, Mediterranean, Thai, and even Ethiopian restaurants somewhat regularly, but Filipino is a rarity. We enjoyed a kale and crab stew, slices of honeyed pork with red rice and a salad vinaigrette, dumplings, and—the pièce de résistance—a deep-fried morsel of poached apple in cinnamon sauce that was the most perfect bit of apple pie you’ll ever eat. Yummmmmmm.