In a two-week period, I got my last ctDNA test results back, had a PET scan and hit my four year mark since I learned I have stage 4 colon cancer.  At four years, no tumor DNA was found and there was nothing remarkable found on my scan.  

Just before my anniversary comes every year, thoughts naturally start to come up.  Those thoughts change year by year depending on where I am in the battle.  This year was a reflection on the whole cancer battle, the ups, the downs, the surgeries, the stuff I missed out on while being sick and how I felt during each one of my three-day treatment cycles.  You have heard the term “the light at the end of the tunnel”, but in a cancer battle there is only hope of light and it may still burn out.  This made me ask myself the question, was it worth the battle.  The 100,000 miles I flew for out-of-town treatment, managing care at over four different hospitals and having access to some of the best Jewish deli food New York has to offer.   The answer is yes.  Every day I get to spend with my family and every day I get to do something I love makes it worth it. What is next?  I have moved from lab draws every two weeks to monthly for my liver transplant.  I meet with the liver transplant team GI every six months in person now.  I will meet with the local oncologist in the next couple weeks and then every three months.  I’m no longer meeting with my oncologist at MSK and have not met with her in over a year.  All of this could change if my health changes, but I will take it.