Hello again!
I'm back with another report of NED--no evaluable disease. Huzzah!
On clinic rotation this time I met with Dr. Yang, who was the first-ever attending physician that I met at NIH. It was Dr. Yang who screened me for the TIL trial back in 2015. I often recollect his parting words of that day, "Mrs. Ryan, the stars really seem to be aligned for you." He was referring to the slow-growth of the tumors thus far, the fact that I had declined more chemotherapy after the first line failed, and that I had found the TIL trial at all.
At that time, I did not consider that my path to NIH was "aligned" in any way (they rejected me twice after all), but Dr. Yang's use of the word "stars" that day did make me remember the miracle of Our Lady of Guadalupe (the stars on her cloak match the constellations as they were when she appeared to Juan Diego). It was a comfort to me.
This clinic visit was a happy one! Though Dr. Yang wore a surgical mask* his smile was evident nonetheless. He decided that my next scans should happen in two years' time rather than annually. "After that," he said, "we'll discuss whether any more scans are necessary."
Imagine that!
Today marks the 8th anniversary of being declared NED. This is the day, eight years ago, that I woke up with one fewer lung lobes and zero cancerous tumors. I shall toast with a celebratory G&T this evening!
*NIH still requires masks in all "patient areas." Mask stations were in place at all reception areas, and we were expected to change to a fresh mask each time we entered a different patient area.