Holding Pattern

Had another great week/weekend, with plenty to keep me busy. My youngest brother Kevin was home and it was great to see him before he headed off to school at Sierra Nevada College (this is not the brew making university for Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, though I'm quite sure he'll enjoy a few while he's there). Kristina and I headed down to Narragansett, RI on Saturday to visit with some of her friends from college who have a house there for the week; we had a great dinner in Galilee and enjoyed a nice day at the beach on Sunday before heading back to the Cape in time to see Tiger pull out another major victory. Unfortunately we also got to hear the Red Sox blow another lead to the Orioles in the car - brings the spread b/t them and the Yanks to 4 games.
As for cancer related news there isn't any, and won't be any for a while; I have a PET Scan scheduled for the 22nd and then follow-ups with my oncologist and radiation oncologist on the 27th. At that point I should have some clarity on exactly how effective the treatment was, where I will go from here and how radiation will be. Personally I've been a little tired since the last treatment, nothing too bad, but just a little run down, fatigued, etc. I'm enjoying the bald thing for now and will probably keep it that way for at least a few months...Kristina shaved it with a razor last night and it's looking a lot cleaner now, I also managed to get some additional sun on it over the last few days, so it's not quite so stark white anymore.
Tomorrow night is Jon Lester's first start back at Fenway since his diagnosis and I am going to head up to witness it. I remember when he was diagnosed (remember, we had a different diagnosis, but Lymphoma nonetheless) thinking how crazy it was that such a young guy, a professional athlete no less, had been diagnosed with cancer - it was difficult to comprehend. Then when my own diagnosis came many people recognized it, or were somewhat familiar with it because of the Lester connection. I watched some of his first game back and it was really special to see him out there, less than a year after the initial diagnosis, pitching a major league game. When I heard the other day he was scheduled for the start at Fenway I felt really strong about going and seeing this amazing recovery story first hand. So, I should be there tomorrow night to witness his return to Fenway and I am fully confident that the ovation he will receive will be incredible - Red Sox fans have a lot of respect for the game and take tremendous pride in seeing one of their own conquer something that is so frightening, something they may have dealt with in one form or another...I would imagine the crowd will be cheering for Lester, and for anyone they have ever known who has been touched by this terrible disease.
So, I am hoping for a strong performance from Lester and the Sox, and looking forward to an exciting month of no treatments, and some fun stuff too...heading out to MV in a few weeks for a mini-vacation, which is much needed at this point. Thanks again for coming by and I'll try to update any relevant, and irrelevant, information over the coming weeks...Gary