1-year Cancerversary

It's been one year since Matt was diagnosed with epithelioid sarcoma. What a year filled with trials this last one has been. Here's an update on the cancer situation.

The abscess-like growth that got spotted on his scans in May was biopsied and even though we were 95% sure it was a return of the cancer, it turned out to be scar tissue. That felt like a miracle. Our ward family fasted for him and we got the news a couple days later. While everyone else felt relieved, we still felt cautious. It was odd that we couldn't also feel like we had beat it.

We were able, however, to thoroughly enjoy our 2-week Washington DC trip. That vacation was amazing. Spending the 4th of July in our nation's capital should be a must for every citizen. My favorite was visiting Mount Vernon. And Monticello. And walking through the city. The kids favorite was eating ice cream every afternoon to help deal with the heat.

Ok, back to the cancer situation. For most of the summer Matt has felt well. The pain was manageable. Life went on. Busy, busy, busy. But in the past 2 weeks the pain has returned. In fact, it has intensified. Over-the-counter painkillers aren't touching it. Vicodin helps but he still feels it somehow. The pain started out in the area of the surgery and the back of his thigh but now he feels it in his whole upper leg and even down to his foot. When I rubbed his lower back the other day he said it made it hurt in his leg. What is the cause of this pain is our biggest question.

He had his scans last Thursday and his appointment with Dr. Myron is this Tuesday so we hope to get some answers.

* What do the scans show?
* Did the abscess-like tumor that was biopsied as scar tissue grow?
* What is causing the pain?
* Could there be metastases in the bone?
* How can he manage the pain?

We hope this appointment will answer these questions. We hope he gets feeling better.

Other than that, we are finding ourselves in a unique situation between homes. We moved out of our old house at the end of July. We have been living in the travel trailer as we search for a new one. The whole house buying process is taking so much longer than we expected. And living in the travel trailer is wearing on us. Abby said this morning, "Only 26 more days!" She was referring until our closing date. 26 more days?! I thought it would be 26 more days a month ago.

We had a hard time finding a house that we liked. We actually offered and backed out of two other deals until we found this third one. I think it'll suit our family well. It's a 2-story very old white farmhouse type home on the west side of town almost at the city limit. It's got a fair yard in front of the home but the home is on the corner of two fairly busy streets. At the side of the property is a veterinarian. At the back is a home that looks abandoned. There is no garage. The home itself, though, has been nicely remodeled and updated. There is a huge living room with ample space for our whole family to gather and be comfortable. The remodeled kitchen is open to the living room and has beautiful appliances which will stay. The dining room is on the other side of the kitchen. It is spacious with high ceilings. The laundry room used to be a porch and is on the side of the house. The main level bathroom is also off the kitchen and connects to the master bedroom which is a huge suite nicely redone.

Upstairs are three more bedrooms so the kids will share with one sibling each and a good-sized bathroom with double sinks which should fit teenagers getting ready. We'll have a lot of those soon enough. There is a lot of porch space. I think it'll work. I just hope the age of the home doesn't make it a money pit.

So there you have an update. We wait for the doctor appointment. And we wait to move in to our new house.