Been a While

My wife got after me for not updating this sooner.  It has been a slow couple of months with not much happening.  In May I did the TACE treatment.  My follow up was in June I think with an MRI of my chest.  It really didn't show much change and did not sure any new areas of concerns.  Physically I am still doing fine.  Mentally it weighs constantly on my mind.  This past week I had a PET CT scan and an MRI of my brain.  The doctor said that he considered it stable disease.  I am not exactly sure what that means.  I know that the disease is slow growing but it doesn't seem to be spreading too much.  The doctor seems to think that the best thing to do at this point is try to get my immune system to recognize the cancer as a disease.  Once the immune system recognizes this it will kill it.  My form of cancer he said is very bland without any mutations which makes it a little more difficult.  The things we have tried in the past are similar.  Pembro is intended to build up your immune system to fight and try to recognize the cancer.  The trial I went on used a combination of Ipi and IMO-2125 to try and make it seen.  The next thing we are doing is going to try something called Sting.  STING is a signaling molecule that plays an important role in the body’s first line of defense against pathogens, such as bacteria and viruses (innate immune system). When activated, STING triggers the production of inflammatory proteins that can stimulate the immune system leading to the deployment of T cells, which are important in generating an effective immune mediated response to cancer cells.  Merck makes the drug I am going to take called MK-1454.  I will do this in combination with Pembro.  You can read more about this study here.  https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03010176?term=mk-1454&rank=1  I am still trying to qualify for this trial but it looks promising.

We have been really busy.  We took a trip to New York and had a great time out there.  We saw the Statue of Liberty, 9/11 museum and memorial, the new One World Tower, Empire State Building, Central Park and more.  The reason we took a trip to New York was because Easton played in a baseball tournament in Cooperstown.  This has been the highlight of sports events so far for me.  Such a cool experience for the boys and all those involved.  Our baseball family surprised us with shirts prior to going into the Baseball Hall of Fame and we wore them the rest of the day.  The hall of fame was spectacular.  The people you grow up hearing about come to life at this place.  It has a way of rejuvenating your love for the game. 

  

The tournament was so much fun to watch.  The boys played great.  They won 4 games and lost 4 games.  They played some of the best competition they have ever seen.  My favorite moment came in one game.  He had struggled at the plate for much of the year.  Not really making great connections but working hard to improve.  The game was tied (don't remember the score), bases were loaded and he had full count on him.  That's when he hit a rocket up the middle and cleared the bases putting the Bandits up 3 runs.  His smile after the game said a lot.  Jen got it all on video and you can see it all happen below.  Don't mind the screaming, it was extremely exciting for all of us. 

We were also lucky enough to spend some time at the church history sites.  We went to the Aaronic Priesthood Restoration site, Whitmer farm, Sacred Grove, Hill Cumorah, Grandin Building (where the Book of Mormon was first published), Martin Harris's farm, The Smith family home, The Hale's (Emma's parents) home, Palmyra Temple and much more.  Below is a picture of us in the sacred grove and a picture of the sacred grove itself.  It was a pretty surreal experience to say the least.  Humbling and testimony building all at the same time.  To walk in the same place as Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and prophets like Moroni and Joseph Smith was amazing.  Not to mention it puts a reality to the history of the church that has never really been there before.