Blood draw hiccup, impending chemo, and freedom to speak

Today I was sitting in my office around 4 PM, looking through some papers, and realized that I was supposed to get a blood draw and start the chemo today. There was some kind of hiccup when they printed out my remote blood draw paperwork and the first form was dated for next Monday instead of today. If I hadn't pulled out the form that gives dates for the actual chemo, I wouldn't have known. I called the nurse in Houston and she said to get the blood draw as soon as possible and that I could start the chemo tomorrow if need be. So now I have to decide quickly if I'm going to do this or not. I'm leaning toward yes because let's face it- if my immune system crashes they will discontinue it anyway and then we will try something else. If there's any chance it might help, I feel like I need to do whatever I can. I had to track down Jason to drive me to the local lab (being dependent is such a pain in the ass) and I got there 30 minutes before they closed. The woman who took my blood looked at my head (I still have a few stitches) and we discussed the brain surgery being just a few weeks ago. She said that she'd never seen a brain surgery patient so bright eyed, with no facial paralysis, walking with no issues, and with such a great looking scar. She said, "Usually there is an indention where they didn't put the skull back together right and sometimes one or both eyes just don't look right." All I could think about was how happy I am that we ran away from Lubbock to get my surgery, that we have decent health insurance, that we have resources to travel, that we have such great doctors at MD Anderson, and that we have so many supporters who help us maintain. I guess if you have brain cancer you maybe shouldn't be worried about a skull indention, however, that's kind of a big deal. What kind of surgeon leaves you with a dent in your skull? That's scary. The woman was so surprised to see me doing well that she wrote down the name of my surgeon and asked me how she would get in if she ever needed brain surgery. I hope she doesn't, but I gave her the information anyway. I've seen people not doing great at MD Anderson, but never anyone like she described. Again, why can't everyone have access to the best care? Or at least high quality care? People travel to MD Anderson from all over the world and people in Texas, even though they get priority, don't have resources to get there. It's just so morally wrong.

Anyone who knows me well knows that politically I'm no conservative. However, until John McCain chose Sarah Palin as his running mate and became loony during his campaign, I always had a great admiration for him. So when I heard the speech he gave tonight in Philadelphia, it resonated with me. I immediately got on his website and sent him an email telling him who to contact in Arizona about the ketogenic diet and telling him that plenty of us are "living with" GBM and he can too.

What I loved about his speech is that he didn't pull any punches, he was right, and he had no fear in putting it out there. I recognized what all GBM (and probably other cancer) survivors know too well: he's got nothing to lose and his "give a shit" didn't just leave town on the last bus, it was run over by that bus. There's something absolutely freeing about facing the reality we live with. Impression management is an afterthought, unnecessary, and a complete waste of an opportunity. So, good on you, Senator McCain! Keep on keeping on so you can experience the family that the GBM (and larger cancer) community has created. The best part is that we enjoy kicking ass and taking names, just like you. So, welcome and Keto like a boss. Live long and prosper!