Allow me to set
the scene.
Yes, this is what
I'm looking at as I type this. Not bad huh?
Okay, now that
the scene is set for no particular reason, let me catch you up on the last few
adventures. I really hate that I've procrastinated on writing, because now I
have to catch you up on my Colorado Epic Experience, Boston, and San Francisco.
So I'm not saving
the best for last, because as Kelsey and Brandon would say, "Ain't no one
got time for that!" It gets to go first. Good god, I love white water
kayaking. I'm not being sarcastic this time! Those of you who know me well know
that when my dad took the family white water rafting years ago he took us on a class 4/5 (there are only 5
classes) and I just about shit my pants. But I absolutely loved the white water
kayaking. Epic Experience really
spoiled us with incredible adventures and kayaking took the cake. But even
better than the little excursions were the people. Every individual there was incredible. I was the baby of the group but was surprised by how quickly
I bonded with everyone. I was even more surprised that this group was more wild
and booty shaking than friends my age. Loved it.
Every second was
filled with some fun activity. Horseback riding, white water kayaking, bowling,
hot spring'in, hot tub'in, dancing in the short bus, the list goes on. I would
have been happy with just the 7W dude ranch alone, the scenery was remarkable.
I could go on
about every fond memory of this week, but instead just want to give a shout out
to this wild group in case they're reading: Mama Lou, Mr. Fuzzy, Wingman,
Pamster, Hollywood, MC, Scrat, Matteo, SoCo, SuperTrooper, Diva, Dudeman,
Flash, JoJo, Frosty, Yolo/ Camp whore, Princess, Tree, Otter, Doc Holiday,
Strings, Windfall, Hickory, and Glide, Thank you! You guys made the experience,
can't thank you all enough. And yes those are their real names.
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Guess what, I've
changed locations. Here's where I'm typing now and watching old people do tai
chi. Very relevant.
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Two days after Epic
Experience was Boston with the Pops. Best part was seeing two of my soul
sistas, Brett and Carson. But the excuse for doing a Boston trip was to attend
the Acquired Resistance Forum for us lung cancer mutants. So much information,
and it was remarkable hearing this information from the top researchers. I owe
them my life, literally. The most valuable information was that regarding what
drugs to take should the Xalkori stop working. And my favorite part was
learning how quickly this research and drug development is moving. As most
cancer people, I am also really intrigued by immunotherapy and can't wait to
watch this area develop further. I will admit that the room seemed to have a
slight solemn mood, very different from the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundatino 5k I walked
Sunday (talk about that in a sec), but it was surreal and wonderful meeting
some of my LC virtual friends in person.
LOL
Fellow ROS-1'ers (Thank you Tori for being my Ros-1 LC mentor!)
The Carson Corey kayak
This was my first
trip to the east coast, so I had to do all the touristy things, ie. the Freedom
Trail (totally recommend), Boston Museum of Fine Arts (recommend even more), checked
out Harvard (Cal is better), and kayaked on the Charles River (was gorgeous).
Besides hanging out with Brett, Carson, and Timmy Toes, eating was my favorite
part (real shocker). Best Italian food I've ever had was in North End, the
restaurant started with an A (I'm so helpful). And we had some drool-worthy
oysters at Mare, also in North End. Other things I learned about Boston: the
people are obsessed with Dunkin Donuts and Bostonian accents are not pretty.
Oh, and George
Washington had a male camel toe. Proof is below.
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Now you may have
guessed from the pictures that I'm in San Francisco. You're wrong! I'm in
Spain! Just kidding, but I swear I am going to Europe someday soon, preferably
when I can drink (a lot) again. So yes, I came up to San Francisco for the
Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation 5k. Besides being a solid excuse to
come up to the Bay Area to see my friends, the 5k provided the perfect
opportunity to meet and hang out with some LC peeps. Some of my friends joined
me on Team EmBen to walk/run the 5k. As always it was uplifting and wonderful
to see Emily and her fam and how cute they all are together, and it was also
comforting to meet other LC youngsters, Molly, Natalie, Lisa, and Brian. The
overall mood of the event was hopeful and inspiring, which is really the most
important thing a cancer kid needs. Yeah, I may have been the youngest one
there but I'm kind of getting use to that. If anything this young face is good
at getting research money for lung cancer! So go donate now. SF is glorious as
usual, and other festivities included Oktober (drunk) Fest at the pier and last
night was karaoke in Japantown, so I'm a happy kid.
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When I'm not traveling and am at home, I'm usually bored out of my mind, so I've been doing advocacy work with Lung
Force and may start doing some advocacy for a company that does molecular
testing to identify driver mutations (ie. my Ros-1). I recently attended a
kickoff event in LA put on by Lung Force and Generation Humanity. I gave a
quick speech that wasn't too painful and really loved the event because it was
full of young adults, which I was not expecting. It felt so good to have my
fellow peers rally for a cause so near to my heart (well about 6 inches away
from my heart in my left lung to be exact). Our OC Lung Force walk is coming
up, Nov. 8th! and you will be there, so go register, now.
LA Lung Force 5k kick off partay
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I know everyone
wants medical deets and updates but I don't have much to report this time. I'm
still only on the Xalkori, lower dosage, and don't have side effects. My first
scan to see how well the Xalkori is working will be near the end of October, which
might be hard to fit in. I have back to back trips during October: Portland to
Denver to San Francisco to New York, so I have about 8 days when I'm at home to
chose from for scheduling a scan. I'm probably an oncologist's worst nightmare,
but Dr. Reckamp seems to get me and knows I just really love traveling and
being busy. That reminds me, during my last appointment Dr. Reckamp gave me the
a-okay to move and work. I'm leaning towards Denver....I know I know, last time
I said San Francisco, but I think I need the outdoors more than I realize and
Kelsey is just really good at persuading so we'll see.
Convincing smiles
Convincing Denver sunset.
You know, I
almost just ended the blog post right there, but it didn't feel right. So
here's your dose of honesty corner. I don't want people to get the false sense
that life is easy, I was diagnosed and now I have a great excuse to go travel
and not work! False. As much as I love random trips, I miss routine, working,
and normalcy. Although most days truly are happy and I can achieve some sense
of normalcy and get cancer off my mind momentarily, some days it hits me really
hard. I've accepted that this is my new normal but sometimes I just really
really hate it. Yet, after a short pity fest I usually have a moment of clarity
and realize that if all I want is a guarantee of endless time, what would be
the point if I just use all that time worrying about the future and not being
present and doing something that will make me happy in that moment. I also
realize that everyone has something. It's easy for me to walk down the street
and envy others, assuming that their cancer-free lives are perfect. But who's to
say they aren't thinking the same thing about me? Everyone has something that
they're dealing with. And I will admit that every once in awhile I wish that
you could tell that I have cancer, particularly when it comes to asshole
drivers..."You just cut off a 22 year old with lung cancer
asshole!" So that's your dose of
Corey's Honesty Corner, if anything I hope you'll live in the present a little
more and not cut off lung cancer patients on the freeway. Adios.
