The Stage IV Life

Hey all! I wanted to give a quick update on my treatment and check in with y’all! Hope everyone is having a great summer–it has been a really hot one here, and as usual has been going really fast. It has been 95 to 100 degrees everyday since early June, or at least it feels like it, so needless to say I am looking forward to some cooler weather soon. Cooler weather also means marathon time, so that’s something to look forward to also. I have been running at least 4 times a week this summer training for a full marathon early next year and it has been going pretty well. I try to add on mileage throughout the weeks, but it is way harder than I thought it would be. The heat doesn’t help either as I have to get the milage in before it gets too hot. That said, I am progressing as planned and will be ready to crush it barring any unforeseen issues.

Speaking of progressing, I have moved to the next phase of my treatment protocol with the Cancer Center. After I received my results from the Greeks (remember my 4.0!) we made the decision (it is, of course, voluntary and costly) to continue my treatment with the SOT vaccine. To refresh, the SOT is a personalized vaccine created by the Greeks using my own blood that, in essence, fights the circulating tumor cells in my blood by using…my own blood. I don’t really get it either, but I do see the results that others have attained from doing it, so I am on board. It won’t be the first, or last, time I have no idea what I am doing and do it anyway. Kinda how I live, really…. Fake it ’till you make it?? Anyway, all that said, the point of the vaccine is I have a 24 hour a day cancer fighting vaccine flowing through me that lasts 4 months. The purpose is two-fold– obviously to fight and eliminate cancer, and also to get the 4.0 number down as much as possible. The goal is to have my number under 2, like you normal folks, but it may take some time. At the end of the 4 months, I will take another Greek test (ONKO) to see what my number is and if by some miracle it is under 2 than I will be cured!!! Okay, maybe not “cured” but definitely in remission. If the number only drops a little (like it did after my treatment was finished) than we will continue with another round of the SOT. It is a wait and see game we are playing now.

Unlike before, where the results of my previous treatment for the tumor in 2022 were all visual (MRI, PET, CT scans) this is a numbers game now. Although I will be having an MRI after this 4 month round of treatment, it is very much more about the circulating tumor cell number, and with good reason. We are getting ahead of it this time, instead of waiting for the “bad scan.”

I had my SOT infusion earlier this week, and so far so good. They say there are very few to no side effects from it (it is my own blood after all) and I haven’t had any thus far. I continue to maintain my diet and exercise routines, and take many, many supplements on the daily, so no real changes there, either.

I find that the hardest part of doing this treatment this way now is the mental aspect. It is difficult not knowing if what you are doing is working right now, and not being able to see actual visual results. That said, I am adjusting as this is the new “norm” for me. After all, I have to do my part and control what I can control and the rest, well, the rest is in God’s hands so I know I’m good either way.

Thanks for reading and everyone have a great week– I will update when I get any news or info, as always.

Talk soon!