Keep The Faith

    Nothing endures but change. Heraclitus  In the two months since I started receiving the clinical trial drug which still has no name, I have mentioned a few times that the medical team is trying to walk the line between helping and harming. Tomorrow, as we begin cycle 4 of the chemo protocol, there will once again be an adjustment that is aimed at keeping the treatment on the "helping" side of that line.  The clinical trial drug will continue as is. Thus far it has resulted in over a 90% drop in the proteins that are markers of myeloma! One of the other established drugs, a steroid, will be eliminated completely because of its effects on our day to day life. The third drug will be dosed differently, in the hope of reducing some of the negative effects it has on peripheral nerves. One enters a clinical trial hoping for a steady path to healing but as it turns out, that path is characterized by enduring change and adjustment.  I am #thankful God provides brilliant people tha

This new course of chemo has me thinking once again about the lessons of these past 34 months.  Now in the middle of Cycle three* of this clinical trial, I have learned a new lesson: Sometimes it is better NOT to google information. Since my diagnosis in 2018, the Cross Cancer Institute has been a huge part of my life. It has been a place of healing and hope. And, ever since I began going there, I operated under the assumption that "The Cross" was named that because, like many hospitals, it was founded by a branch of Christianity.  I was wrong.** Oh well.   Unfortunately, my past is checkered with times where being wrong did not stop me. Why let it stop me now? As I undertake cancer treatment during this season of Lent, the significance of " going to the Cross " has not been lost on me. It has become both a literal and a metaphorical journey. Every time I go to the Cross , I am struck by the multitude and variety of people that are there. Young and Old. Male and Fe