After a moving Easter Sunrise Service on the beach, and an Easter egg hunt at our house for Jeff's children, we traveled to Houston for April 2 and 3 appointments.

The last of Rusty's four scheduled chemo / immunotherapy treatments was March 13.  The appointments on April 2 and 3 were to determine the status of the cancer and the effectiveness of the treatments.  CT scans, heart diagnostics and blood work Monday were followed by more testing and a visit with the melanoma team Tuesday.  Good News!  The scans indicate "significant improvement" (words on scan report) in tumors in chest, abdomen, pelvis and leg!  Some tumors previously visualized are so diminished as to no longer be measurable.   We are so grateful!  The melanoma team  is happy with the response to treatment, and has decided to do at least two more chemotherapy treatments, one today and one three weeks from today, then stop the treatments for awhile and keep assessing status.

                                         

Navigating the MDAnderson campus by shuttle

In general, Rusty feels better .  Even thought he is still anemic according to the lab work, he has somewhat more energy and stamina than last month.   He is able to do a little work in the yard, in his workshop and on the truck.

 

Jeff and Rusty installing toolbox in new truck

Spring is bustin' out all over Houston!  The weather is beautiful, the trees are in full leaf , and flowers are everywhere on the MDA campus!...a fitting environment for healing and for spiritual distraction from the worries of cancer and its treatment.

We will be coming back on April 16 and 17 for  diagnostic brain studies (MRI and EEG), to visit with the neuro-oncologist, and  to have an additional follow-up visit with the radiation neuro-oncologist who performed the gamma knife surgery.

These two MDA days have started at 5 AM and finished at about 6 PM...we are both pretty beat.  Tomorrow we are headed, with the RV, from Houston to Blanco State Park in the Hill Country for some R&R on the river for a couple of days, then on to Wimberley for our regular monthly Market Days gig.  We plan to be back home on Sunday April 8.

Thank you SO sincerely for your prayers, good thoughts, messages, cards, faith and love!  I think it "takes a village"...and we are blessed to have the best village in the world!