Friday update

Yesterday I went downtown and had lunch at a hole-in-the-wall Vietnamese place that I like, Tu Lan. In the afternoon I took BART over to North Berkeley, where Tami picked me up with her two adorable daughters Clara and Kate. Over to Tami and Peter's beautiful house, with views of the bay, where we had Indian food for dinner (thanks Tami and Peter for dinner!) and watched the Giants win Game 2. Tami and Peter are such nice people; it felt very comfortable and relaxing to be there.

Ethan

Giants!

Yesterday I took BART downtown, walked to Chronicle Books, and had lunch with Sarah and Lindsay (thanks Sarah for lunch!). Afterward Lindsay and I walked around AT&T Park (the Giants stadium) to soak up the atmosphere before the first World Series game later that day (which Lindsay attended - Chronicle Books got two tickets and her coworkers voted to give them to the biggest Giants fans in the office, Lindsay being one!).

Back to Sarah & Jonathan's to rest and finish "World War Z." Folks gathered there to watch the Giants game: myself, Sarah & JK, Eric, Tami, and Wally and his three cute kids. The Giants won and it was great to be able to watch it with SF friends. Afterward Eric, Sarah, and I walked along Mission St, where people were celebrating the win, to the Latin America Club (near my former condo), where Lindsay joined us for a post-game drink. We walked home - it was still pretty warm out. I was tired but happy.

Ethan

SF update

Yesterday morning I drove (thanks to Jonathan and Sarah for lending me their car) over to Deepak and Shareen's house in Cow Hollow just off Union St. They completely renovated their house a couple years ago and it looks amazing. They took me over to Fort Mason and we walked through the lovely community garden, which I had never seen before, and to a lookout point with great views of the north side of the city, the bay, Alcatraz, Angel Island, etc. It was another beautiful warm sunny day and the bay was a beautiful blue color. Then we went over to the Presidio and had a nice lunch at the Presidio Social Club (thanks Deepak and Shareen for lunch!). Afterward we took a walk through the Presidio to an overlook with views of the Golden Gate, Marin headlands, etc. You couldn't ask for a nicer day.

After stopping back at JK & Sarah's house to rest and read, I met Eric at the Connecticut Yankee, a New England-themed sports bar/restaurant in Potrero Hill, where Eric and I used to go to watch the Red Sox, Celtics, Patriots, etc., to watch the opening game of the new NBA season between the Celtics (now with Shaq) and the Heat (now with LeBron). The Celtics won, although they didn't look great and the Heat looked awful, besides LeBron. We were joined by Michael and Jon Burke, down from the North Bay, Wally, over from their new house in the Sunset, and O'Neal and his wife Sarah, who live in Potrero. It felt good to be there together.

Ethan

San Francisco!

I flew from Bellingham to Oakland this morning. Michael picked me up at the airport and we drove over the Bay Bridge to SF. We parked downtown, walked to the ferry building, and met Jonathan at the Slanted Door for a delicious upscale Vietnamese lunch with views of the bay. It was a beautiful warm sunny day. Then Michael dropped me off at Jonathan and Sarah's house in the Mission, where I am staying. I walked over to Bernal Heights, past the house on Coso where I, Eric, Sarah, Peter, Leo, and many others lived at one time or another, and up to the top of Bernal Hill, from where I had great views over the city and all around the bay. Walked back to Sarah and Jonathan's, where I rested and read "World War Z," which they had on their bookshelf and Eric had previously recommended. When Jonathan came home from work, I convinced him to get a burrito with me for dinner. Pork al pastor - yum! Toby and Jacob got back from kung fu class and we had an interesting conversation about submarines, Somali pirates, and Dungeons & Dragons.

I'm feeling good and it feels great to be here. Thanks to Michael for picking me up and for lunch and to Jonathan and Sarah for hosting me! I am truly blessed to have such wonderful friends.

Ethan

Update

Grace and I met with my oncologist Dr. Nestor yesterday afternoon. We decided that I will go on a "maintenance schedule" of just Avastin every three weeks for now. Dr. Nestor thinks that we have achieved "treatment to the best response" - that is, given the good response that I've had to the chemotherapy, more chemotherapy seems likely to have little additional benefit, and not enough benefit to outweigh the cost of making me feel bad (the fatigue would be expected to get worse and worse, and it had already reached the point of unacceptability to me). However, Dr. Nestor did not recommend taking a break from treatment entirely, so I will drop the "FOLFIRI" drug combo but keep the Avastin, which has less side effects. We will continue to monitor my condition via the CEA blood marker, occasional PET scans, and how I am feeling. When the cancer starts spreading again (apparently it's a matter of "when" not "if," barring a miracle - keep those prayers coming!), I will have to decide whether I want to resume the full chemo or not. The "time to progression" (when the cancer starts spreading) is unpredictable.

Dr. Nestor estimates that people typically regain 60-80% of their energy 6-8 weeks after stopping chemo. That matches my experience, in that it's been 5 weeks since my last full chemo, and I am still nowhere near my normal energy level. I am able to do some stuff, but I still spend a fair bit of time just sitting around and resting. Fortunately watching baseball suits my current energy level. I used to find baseball games too slow to sit and watch all the way through, but now their pace and rhythm suit me fine.

Ethan

A milestone

Today I played full court basketball for the first time since I got sick. I played two games (went 1-1). Boy, am I not in basketball shape. At first I was jogging up and down the court but by the end I was walking. Still, I was out there and even made a few plays.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the blood drive at WWU this week. Apparently they had a record number of donors (http://onlinefast.org/wwutoday/news/puget-sound-blood-center-concludes-best-ever-blood-drive-wwu). I know Grace and Kristi waited two hours to donate blood on Wednesday. Fortunately I haven't needed a transfusion in a while, but I am still grateful for you donors.

Our friends Kate and Lew, San Francisco natives and Giants fans, came over for dinner last night and to watch the Giants fail to clinch a spot in the World Series. I really hope the Giants win one this weekend, because then they would be in the World Series when I am in San Francisco next week (knock on wood)!

Ethan

A few good days

Sunday my mom and I drove up Route 20 into North Cascades National Park and looked at the mountains and lakes. The air smelled clean and sweet up there. Yesterday I went to the university and played basketball (3 games of half court, went 3-0) and stopped by my office. In the late afternoon my mom and I took a walk on Semiahoo Spit in Birch Bay, with views over the water to Mt Baker and the Canadian Coastal Range.

Today my mom and I drove up Mt Baker Highway to the end at Artist Point and did a couple of short hikes (Artist Ridge and Bagley Lakes). Beautiful fall colors. It was so warm I was hiking in a t-shirt. I'm glad we went today because it's supposed to start raining soon. I'm still tired but much better than last week. Pics: http://remmel.shutterfly.com/1900

Ethan