Cancer update...and my new book

My routine oncology visit to Pittsburgh last Tuesday was, thankfully, uneventful. I calculated that this was our 11^th trip. We were in and out in less than an hour – a new record! Typically, my bloodwork is scheduled for noon and then we wait for nearly an hour (or more) to see Dr. Villaruz at 1pm. This time, we walked out at 12:52pm. My scans are stable, and I return in 4 months. I also learned last week that my pulmonary function test results are back in the normal range. That is a big relief. It seems the lower number from my January test was a fluke.

This Wednesday is the launch of the book I co-edited with Rakhat Zholdoshalieva at UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL). in Hamburg, Germany. Family and Intergenerational Literacy and Learning: International Perspectives is a free, open-source book published by UIL. (You can register for the April 2 book launch here.) 

Why do I mention this in my cancer blog? Because this three-year book project is intertwined with my cancer story. The call for chapter proposals went out in February 2022 during my sabbatical in Hamburg, and the chapter authors -- writing from/about 15 countries from Argentina to Uganda -- were to submit their first drafts on June 13, 2022. I was admitted to the LungenClinic on June 9 and diagnosed on June 14. I’d been emailing with various authors during that hospital stay while my world was turning upside down, but didn't share what I was facing.

Rakhat and I had divided up the chapters, so we each planned to read and provided feedback on about 9 chapters. Since Leland and I had to wait 2 excruciating weeks for the results of genetic testing (to see if I was a candidate for targeted therapy), I decided just to hammer out my assigned chapters. It gave me something to do and helped the time pass more quickly. The second drafts were due in mid-October. By then, I had been hospitalized three more times (including my 2-week ICU stay), I still had to use oxygen 24/7, and I was on a reduced workload for the semester. When we embarked on the book project, I never imagined my life would unravel like this.

To explain the delays over the coming months, Rakhat and I sent a couple emails vaguely referring to "serious health crises" or some such language. (She also had her own share of unexpected challenges over the three years, and there were other delays--like having to create the book index from scratch!) A few chapter authors wrote back to wish me good health, and then I let them know the backstory. A couple people started following this blog. Upon receiving the recent notice of the book publication, one of these chapter authors sent me a bouquet of flowers, even though she lives in another country. I was so touched by this thoughtful gesture.

I am celebrating the publication of this book not only because it’s a professional accomplishment, but also because it reminds me of the arc of my still-unfolding cancer story: I went through absolute hell and now, thanks to Tagrisso, I can just live my life and do meaningful work.

Also, yesterday marked 2 years, 9 months since I started Tagrisso.