Moving back to New York
It’s not the greatest news in the world when your oncologist starts to talk to you about “quality of life”. At the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, it was difficult to hear, for the first time, that we may not have much time left. Rusty has returned to Seoul to pack his things to move back to New York.
On my end, I’ve sent an email to my editor to let her know what’s been going on. She spoke to management and one option is for me to take no-pay leave indefinitely. I would stay here in New York with Rusty when he returns. This was not how I envisioned my return to the city.
We have a plan. New York University has a clinical trial that Rusty may be eligible for. It is a Phase II trial with Pfizer testing a drug that to date has had three complete responses (CR) among patients with wildly metastatic melanoma. It is a long shot, but it is a shot nonetheless. Rusty returns to New York on Oct 23 and he will take an MRI to see if the cancer has spread to his brain. If so, he will not be eligible for this trial.