While, initially, this news was distressing, it didn’t come as a complete shock. All summer, we’ve been wondering what caused the sizable blood mass in and around my adrenal gland (see Doctor Doctor…). Now we know. Melanoma some how made its way to another part of my body.

Frankly, since early June, I’ve expected this outcome. It’s the reality of living with cancer.

Now, some good news

With this sad news comes several positive developments. First, the PET scan (see The Waiting…) was negative for any additional cancer spread. That’s important because we want to keep the cancer contained as much as possible. In other words, right now, only two places inside my body have malignancy – my lungs and my right adrenal gland.

Second, the metastases around my adrenal gland, according to biomarker testing, contain the same genetic mutation (cKit) as the tumors in my lungs. That’s also important because we’re only dealing with one type of cancer (again, see The Waiting…).

Which leads to another (hopefully) positive development…we will continue my current treatment regimen – daily oral chemotherapy medicine (Gleevec) – with a new component: radiation therapy to tackle the adrenal gland. 

More details to come

This post will be short and sweet. Many things are coming together even as I write this. I’ll provide more details in a follow-up post (Another Twist, Another Turn). 

This is yet another twist and another turn in my melanoma journey. I’m confident the journey will continue for many years to come.

Finally, thanks!

I want to thank all of you who have made this journey with me. Your thoughts, your prayers, and your concerns are greatly appreciated. I’m absolutely humbled by it. Please focus your thoughts and prayers on Vicki, Emily, and Zach as they have been my guiding light in this crazy storm. In addition, prayers would be appreciated for my dad, my sister, my sister-in-law, and my entire extended family.

Thank you.

A thoughtful gift from Vicki’s true friends.

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