Grace

I have greatly appreciated all of the thoughtful words from around the world in the past two years.  I truly consider myself lucky to have friends, family, and colleagues thinking of me, pulling for  my health and for our family to weather this storm.  Somedays, I believe it has been these thoughts and prayers that have helped buoy me when I've been flagging.  Everyday, it has been innumerable graces, large and small, that have carried me along.

Another Turn

If you don't know San Francisco, UCSF is the large complex at the foot of Sutro Tower

We woke up Sunday morning to find the fog lifted and the glorious Bay Area fall had begun.  The scent in the air is different, the light is transformed, and one has the unmistakeable sense that a new season has arrived.  It drives me nuts when I hear the refrain,"I like California but I wouldn't want to live somewhere without seasons."  A day like Sunday is as distinct and dramatic to me as the explosion of color in a New England hardwood forrest.  You just need to adjust the sensitivity of your perception.  The signs are subtle but the difference is rich and varied.
This is somewhat analogous to how attuned you can become to subtle shifts in your body.  Doctors are pretty frank about the fact that the MRI is an imperfect tool; a remarkable one but a window into the brain that lacks fine sensitivity.  I could feel the change in my cancer before it showed up on a scan.  
The good news from here is that after nearly a month of radiation, I'm feeling much stronger than when I started which has confounded my expectations in an entirely positive way.

14 Days Done

Home sweet home for the next sixteen days

I've almost reached the halfway point in my radiation treatment.  I am happy to report the second and third weeks have gone significantly better than the first.  There are side effects - I look like a Bavarian Bürger who cooked a bit too long on Mallorcan beaches and my hair has indeed started to fall out in disquieting clumps - but overall, I'm doing well.

Welcome To The Dungeon

Workers had only recently taken down the "Abandon all hope,  ye who enter here," warning and put up the only slightly more uplifting "Radiation Oncology" sign.

Six down only twenty-four more to go.  I started radiation last week and I must acknowledge, it is one of the few things I've encountered that lives up to, or even exceeds, the hype.  Which is to say - it is pretty miserable.