Monday, August 20, 2012

A Goal

Vacation mode.  As I spend the waning days of summer (or at least some of them) on vacation, I'm spending less time in front of a screen. At first, I was spending more time in swimming pools and amusement park rides.  Now I'm spending more time sitting on a deck and watching the sun reflect off the lake. Life kind of slows down at the lake and that's a good thing. But the combination of a leisurely pace and nothing new happening means not much to say on the blog front.  

That said - I did have one idea kicking around in the form of a goal.

The day after I turn 50, I'll start my fourth treatment cycle. 

That's the schedule as it stands today. And that could be the beginning of the last cycle. Even if it isn't, the treatment should end by February. That's the plan: 4-6 months of beating back the growing lymph nodes and then.... I don't know. The theory is, we go into remission but it's been a long year of living with growing lymphoma, that it's hard to imagine a time when they're not growing. And in reality, they probably will be growing, just so slowly that it will take a long time before they're noticeable again. 

Hopefully, a very long time.

 My goal: cancer free for my 50s. Given the average remission rates for follicular lymphoma, that may be an ambitious goal. But as far as cancer patients go, I'm youngish and healthyish -- and I don't expect that to change, even with a treatment plan that spans my 50th birthday.

--Michael 

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