I'm Back

Well, I'm back. Its been quite a long ride since my last post. A very special thanks to Maureen who did a fantastic job writing the last several posts over the last year or so.

A few weeks ago I underwent my quarterly chest CT scan which revealed stable results once again. The small tumor and enlarged lymph nodes remain unchanged in size. So we'll continue our plan to monitor the cancer on a recurring basis. I asked my oncologist when he thinks I'll need to resume treatment again and he simply smiled and said, "You keep making me look like a liar and we should ride this out for as long as possible." Simply put, it's impossible to know when the cancer will start to grow again. However, we now have an FDA approved targeted therapy as well as several clinical trials in our arsenal to try should I need to resume treatment. Its amazing what a year makes in the world of cancer research.

I did have a seizure back in February. Almost exactly a year since my previous seizure. This is progress for me. My neurologist has already told me that I probably won't ever have complete control over my seizures; despite being on two very high dose seizure medications. The biggest challenge over the last year or so has been dealing with the daily seizure medication regimen. Extreme fatigue, depression, reduced mental cognition/memory are just some of the side effects that I've been battling.

I was hospitalized for extreme depression in March for a few days and I took a month long absence from work. I returned to work for two months (in April and May) before deciding to go back out on medical leave for an indefinite amount of time. The main reason was due to the side effects from my seizure medication that I mentioned above and also trying to maintain an acceptable quality of life. We'll see what the future holds. 

On a more exciting note, I am starting my own YouTube channel. This is something I've never considered until recently. Its going to be centered around computer technology, which has always been a passion of mine. However, I also want to focus on what advancements in technology are helping advance medical research and intertwine some of my medical experiences in dealing with serious medical illnesses within the videos. I hope that this is something that not only others can benefit from, but myself as well. I don't have any detailed grand plans, but I'm passionate about it and we'll see where it goes. I'll be sure to post again when the channel launches in the next few weeks. 

That's it for now. I'll be looking forward to sharing more again soon!