Good times with a touch of yuck.

Since I last wrote in December, we’ve had quite a journey. Let’s see if I can roll it all into a single massive paragraph for you… (I apologise in advance to my high school English teacher Mr Clarke).

Kirby went back on chemo. Yuck. We had family (Nikki and Trav) visit us over Christmas. Trav did my yearly quota of handyman work around the house (mostly fixing all my mistakes). The pink test in Sydney was rained out but still awesome because we got to see everyone. Noah’s got a lovely girlfriend which is equal parts wonderful and terrifying. Kirby got more chemo which was super yuck. We went camping in a tropical cyclone and the tent and dog got blown away, so obviously we’re never camping again. Kirby had some scans and the chemo wasn’t doing much, so she changed to a different type – which was also yuck. The kids went back to their school and are happy. Chemo. Yuck. We had more family (Graeme and Tonia) visit us. Kirby and I went to Tassie for a weekend to see the Waifs (which were super awesome) while Graeme held things together here with our two lunatic (but kinda cute) kids. More chemo. More yuck. We had plenty of our mates come to visit (Anna and Jez, Alicia Perry, Alisha Smith, Dan and Kate). I ran over the dog with an electric scooter, but he was ok (after minor foot surgery). More scans. More chemo. Yuck. Kids and Kirby got ‘Influenza A’. Yuck. I did not. They got better and we all went to Tassie for a month. Yuck. Just kidding. Kirby broke her ribs again by coughing and ended up in the emergency room for a weekend (boo). But they patched her up and she got a chance to see everyone (yay). We came back to Townsville. Kids got gastro. Yuuuuuck. Kirby made a lucky escape from the house and stayed at a hotel for a few days. She got more scans… and the chemo has still not stopped the cancer. And that ends the world’s longest paragraph. Yuck.

The scans are obviously a cause for serious concern. The cancer is progressing no matter what we do. The oncologist seems to think that something called ‘double agent immunotherapy’ might be the best way forward. To me, this sounds like the immunotherapy wears a tuxedo and works for our government as well as the Russians, so it’s a bit suss. The immunotherapy takes up to eight weeks to kick-in and can’t be given at the same time as chemo. This treatment isn’t covered under health insurance and is likely to cost upwards of $20,000 every month (yuck) – but if it gives Kirby extra time with us, then so be it. But if Kirby comes off the chemo for eight weeks, there is a real chance the cancer will get out of control. It's all a shit sandwich. 100% certified yuck. For the moment the oncologist is trying her on a different chemotherapy this Friday, we are hoping it helps. 

On the bright (or perhaps just slightly less yucky) side, Kirby’s chemo treatment is only once every three weeks rather than weekly, so she has a bit more time to recover in between sessions. This means less time in the hospital and more time with us!

Our plans for the future are entirely dependent on how things go with Kirby’s new treatment. Everyone has been so unbelievably supportive throughout this whole saga and we’ve received so many wonderful offers of support. But unfortunately, we can’t commit to anything much beyond a few weeks in advance at the moment. While Kirby is still well enough to travel, we certainly plan to experience everything we can together. So, if you’re planning on visiting us in Townsville or doing something special for Kirby – go for it, but please bear with us if plans change at late notice. 

Thank you also to the people who recently donated to the GoFundMe page ( https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-kirby-fight-breast-cancer?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_lico+share-sheet ). It’s been a tremendous help. 

Every setback is an opportunity. 

Chris