oncolgy update

hello to all who follow. yesterday, thursday, was oncology day. this was the first report since starting the new chemo Xeloda three weeks ago. as usual, the report was mixed. the good news was the blood tests continue to indicate that all body functions are normal and one of two tumor makers had not increased. the not-so-good news was that a second tumor marker, the one that has continually increased, has once again increased, but at a lower rate. since the drug was tolerated well at the lower initial dose [about 1/2 normal], the oncologist decided to take an aggressive approach and immediately increase the dosage to the level that would be normal. we remain optimistic that the new dose will get the job done. we recemtly had a very nice 10 day road trip with visits to nathan, jen, connor and dylan in pacifica, michael, brooke, cassity and iris in manilla, and jill and robin in san anselmo. it was nice to get away, and as always, nice to return home. we learned that car travel works for diane since she is able to recline the seat to a comfortable angle and also has a hot pad to keep the back happy. we're looking forward to thanksgiving in bellingham wa with gretchen and fam, then christmas in manilla with michael and fam. love to all. diane and tom