Hi family, friends, and fellow travelers,
I'll start with the latest medical update right up top. Today is my ninth chemotherapy infusion and we met with my oncologist this morning to discuss the results of last week's CT scans documenting the progress made over the past two months. Progress is, again, good. "Significant," in fact, according to my doctor. The largest lesion on my liver -- which in March was 3.8 x 3.8 cm in diameter has shrunk to 1cm. The other two remaining areas of concern are smaller. There is nothing new for them to monitor. This is all excellent news. I will continue with the next four chemotherapy treatments as scheduled and we will meet again in early October to determine where we stand.
The biggest hurdle at the moment is that the remaining areas on my liver are not clustered in one place but disparate, making surgery something that is not a straightforward solution. My oncologist is going to present my case to a multidisciplinary team that she belongs to here in Boston, from which she is hoping to get some suggestions other than chemotherapy, for dealing with the remaining disease. Our next check point will be in early October after the next four cycles of chemotherapy.
Sans surgery, I have the option to continue with a (likely less aggressive) chemotherapy regimen as a sort of maintenance routine beyond this initial six month window, particularly given that I have been able to tolerate the treatment and the cancer cells have been so responsive to it. What that would look like is not yet clear since we are waiting to see where this third chunk of aggressive initial treatment gets us.
Image: Rain droplets on a purple leaf.
Christopher
Our little fur buddy Christopher continues to have a difficult time this summer. He had a dental procedure at the beginning of June that has led to a much more comfortable mouth, but during aftercare has developed GI issues that have led to severe weightloss and diarrhea (whee!). We are in consult with the veterinary staff at MSPCA Angell here in Boston, and he is getting probiotics and other meds to try and encourage weight gain and a more comfortable tum (and less for us to clean up). It's been A Lot on top of everything else that's happening but we are hanging in there.
Image: Christopher skeeping on a cushioned chair with his back legs tucked behind his ears.
MHS Promotion
On July 1st, as our new fiscal year began, I was promoted to Senior Reference Librarian at the Massachusetts Historical Society. This is a new position the details of which my boss and I are still working out (it will be a slow transition, particularly given my current treatment and work-from-home status) but it came with a pay raise and will eventually allow me to spend more time looking at some of the big picture stuff that I enjoy, as well as develop a closer working relationship with our fellowship program, focus more on teaching with primary sources, and continue to develop my understanding and practice of critical librarianship. This October, I will celebrate my 14th anniversary at the MHS and I am excited to embark on this new chapter.
Image: Staffing the front desk at the MHS, circa November 2007.
Reading Romance (and Other Stuff)
I've been doing a lot of re-reading, most recently Roan Parrish's In the Middle of Somewhere and its sequels. I like the first book best, because it's set in northern Michigan (my home state), with lots of cozy small-liberal-arts college-town vibes (my home town vibes) BUT GAY which basically makes it queer comfort food. (There's also a lot of comfort food in the book so.) (Also: Content note for the death of a problematic parent.) I also read and enjoyed R. Cooper's latest: In Search of a Consort for the King and His Husband which is an m/m/m fantasy romance involving a palace librarian and an established ruling couple. It was a little slow in the middle, but ultimately sweet and hit all the beats R. Cooper's work typically does -- which is an endorsement not a downside.
Image: #QueerJoyGiveaway card featuring In the Middle of Somewhere by Roan Parrish.
In nonfiction I've been reading Curing Queers which explores the midcentury practice of aversion therapies to "treat" queerness in British mental hospitals. I'll be frank: It's one of the hardest topics for me to read about as a queer person, so content warning for that if you need to steer clear. Carol Anderson's The Second -- which examines the white supremacist nature of the second amendment -- is difficult for parallel reasons (guns in American = license for white people to shoot Black people). On a lighter note, I absolutely loved The Tragedy of Heterosexuality by Jane Ward -- about the straightjacket of, well, straightness that leaves cis hetero men and women in such unsatisfying and unequal relationships.
Image: Composite image of excerpts from Jane Ward's The Tragedy of Heterosexuality.
Crafty Goodness
As a reward for the latest round of medical appointments last week I bought myself some pottery supplies! It's been maybe two decades since I took any formal courses in working with clay, whether hand-thrown or on the wheel. All of the classes around here are expensive and/or filled and/or sensibly on pause during the pandemic so I decided to just get some things to mess around with at home. Thankfully Blick came through with basic air-dry clay and basic tools. This past weekend I spent a couple of hours refreshing my memory of working with slabs and coils, making a couple of pinch pots and a slab-construction perpetual calendar that (if it turns out decently) I hope to paint in rainbow colors and hang in my office when I return to onsite work later this fall.
Image: A skein of yarn from Cape May Fiber ("seaweed"), a gift from a friend.
Image: Views of clay projects, a perpetual calendar and two pinch pots.
Looking Forward
It's difficult to look very far forward these days, but autumn approaches and is a season both Hanna and I very much enjoy. So there is that to anticipate with pleasure. Our ninth anniversary will fall on September 14th. We are planning some sort of vacation week (probably a staycation week given COVID and treatment) in October. The holiday season approaches with the slowing down of work-related activities and the promise of hibernation. I am very much hoping to have the mental and physical energy this year to run the #TwelvetideDrabbles challenge as usual.
Everyone take care during the waning days of summer. See you here in September!
In solidarity,
Anna
Image: Flowers from our landlady's garden.
Image: Teazle stretched out along the back of the couch.
Image: Stuffed purple rabbit (left) from a friend that I have named after the beautyberry (right).
I'll start with the latest medical update right up top. Today is my ninth chemotherapy infusion and we met with my oncologist this morning to discuss the results of last week's CT scans documenting the progress made over the past two months. Progress is, again, good. "Significant," in fact, according to my doctor. The largest lesion on my liver -- which in March was 3.8 x 3.8 cm in diameter has shrunk to 1cm. The other two remaining areas of concern are smaller. There is nothing new for them to monitor. This is all excellent news. I will continue with the next four chemotherapy treatments as scheduled and we will meet again in early October to determine where we stand.
The biggest hurdle at the moment is that the remaining areas on my liver are not clustered in one place but disparate, making surgery something that is not a straightforward solution. My oncologist is going to present my case to a multidisciplinary team that she belongs to here in Boston, from which she is hoping to get some suggestions other than chemotherapy, for dealing with the remaining disease. Our next check point will be in early October after the next four cycles of chemotherapy.
Sans surgery, I have the option to continue with a (likely less aggressive) chemotherapy regimen as a sort of maintenance routine beyond this initial six month window, particularly given that I have been able to tolerate the treatment and the cancer cells have been so responsive to it. What that would look like is not yet clear since we are waiting to see where this third chunk of aggressive initial treatment gets us.
Image: Rain droplets on a purple leaf.Christopher
Our little fur buddy Christopher continues to have a difficult time this summer. He had a dental procedure at the beginning of June that has led to a much more comfortable mouth, but during aftercare has developed GI issues that have led to severe weightloss and diarrhea (whee!). We are in consult with the veterinary staff at MSPCA Angell here in Boston, and he is getting probiotics and other meds to try and encourage weight gain and a more comfortable tum (and less for us to clean up). It's been A Lot on top of everything else that's happening but we are hanging in there.
Image: Christopher skeeping on a cushioned chair with his back legs tucked behind his ears.
MHS Promotion
On July 1st, as our new fiscal year began, I was promoted to Senior Reference Librarian at the Massachusetts Historical Society. This is a new position the details of which my boss and I are still working out (it will be a slow transition, particularly given my current treatment and work-from-home status) but it came with a pay raise and will eventually allow me to spend more time looking at some of the big picture stuff that I enjoy, as well as develop a closer working relationship with our fellowship program, focus more on teaching with primary sources, and continue to develop my understanding and practice of critical librarianship. This October, I will celebrate my 14th anniversary at the MHS and I am excited to embark on this new chapter.
Image: Staffing the front desk at the MHS, circa November 2007.
Reading Romance (and Other Stuff)
I've been doing a lot of re-reading, most recently Roan Parrish's In the Middle of Somewhere and its sequels. I like the first book best, because it's set in northern Michigan (my home state), with lots of cozy small-liberal-arts college-town vibes (my home town vibes) BUT GAY which basically makes it queer comfort food. (There's also a lot of comfort food in the book so.) (Also: Content note for the death of a problematic parent.) I also read and enjoyed R. Cooper's latest: In Search of a Consort for the King and His Husband which is an m/m/m fantasy romance involving a palace librarian and an established ruling couple. It was a little slow in the middle, but ultimately sweet and hit all the beats R. Cooper's work typically does -- which is an endorsement not a downside.
Image: #QueerJoyGiveaway card featuring In the Middle of Somewhere by Roan Parrish.
In nonfiction I've been reading Curing Queers which explores the midcentury practice of aversion therapies to "treat" queerness in British mental hospitals. I'll be frank: It's one of the hardest topics for me to read about as a queer person, so content warning for that if you need to steer clear. Carol Anderson's The Second -- which examines the white supremacist nature of the second amendment -- is difficult for parallel reasons (guns in American = license for white people to shoot Black people). On a lighter note, I absolutely loved The Tragedy of Heterosexuality by Jane Ward -- about the straightjacket of, well, straightness that leaves cis hetero men and women in such unsatisfying and unequal relationships.
Image: Composite image of excerpts from Jane Ward's The Tragedy of Heterosexuality.
Crafty Goodness
As a reward for the latest round of medical appointments last week I bought myself some pottery supplies! It's been maybe two decades since I took any formal courses in working with clay, whether hand-thrown or on the wheel. All of the classes around here are expensive and/or filled and/or sensibly on pause during the pandemic so I decided to just get some things to mess around with at home. Thankfully Blick came through with basic air-dry clay and basic tools. This past weekend I spent a couple of hours refreshing my memory of working with slabs and coils, making a couple of pinch pots and a slab-construction perpetual calendar that (if it turns out decently) I hope to paint in rainbow colors and hang in my office when I return to onsite work later this fall.
Image: A skein of yarn from Cape May Fiber ("seaweed"), a gift from a friend.
Image: Views of clay projects, a perpetual calendar and two pinch pots.
Looking Forward
It's difficult to look very far forward these days, but autumn approaches and is a season both Hanna and I very much enjoy. So there is that to anticipate with pleasure. Our ninth anniversary will fall on September 14th. We are planning some sort of vacation week (probably a staycation week given COVID and treatment) in October. The holiday season approaches with the slowing down of work-related activities and the promise of hibernation. I am very much hoping to have the mental and physical energy this year to run the #TwelvetideDrabbles challenge as usual.
Everyone take care during the waning days of summer. See you here in September!
In solidarity,
Anna
Image: Flowers from our landlady's garden.
Image: Teazle stretched out along the back of the couch.
Image: Stuffed purple rabbit (left) from a friend that I have named after the beautyberry (right).