Our 43rd Wedding Anniversary

 Today Mark had the 2nd SBRT radiation session directed at the tumor in his liver. The first one was Tuesday, a week ago. The Friday session was canceled. The radiologist indicated that there has already been shrinkage with just one treatment. The last treatment for the tumor near the pancreas was last Wednesday, and it has continued to shrink. Mark is in much less pain and not taking any painkillers. When I asked what the odds were that the tumors would be completely destroyed with this therapy, the doctor said it was about 90%! That's amazing!!

SABR and SBRT are abbreviations for the same thing: Stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR), also known as stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), is a cancer treatment that delivers extremely precise, very intense doses of radiation to cancer cells while minimizing damage to healthy tissue. 

We learned that the side effects of this radiation are cumulative; therefore, nausea and extreme fatigue continue to increase. It takes 3-5 weeks after the treatments are complete before Mark starts feeling better, and another 3-5 weeks before the side effects are gone. Hopefully, by September, he will be back to normal. Hearing that today was a bit disappointing for him. He is so tired of feeling crummy and anxious to get going on his growing to-do list. How we appreciate all of the help, love, and support we have received from so many!

Yesterday, we celebrated our 43rd wedding anniversary with some of our children and grandchildren, which brought us such joy! How well I remember wondering if we would make it to our 35th, and here we are, with hope for more to come.