It has been a busy 10 days.  We think that we have figured out the kidney issue, Ashley and I got out of town for the weekend for the first time this year, and I had a minor surgical procedure.

We have heard back from the lab after they analyzed the mass that was removed during surgery.   

Well, the tumor removal surgery (officially known as RPLND) is almost upon us.  I received a call from our surgeon’s office letting us know that the date has been confirmed for August 8th.  Here we go... 

Well, my chemo port is gone. I had the procedure yesterday and all went well!  If you’re interested in the details, this post is for you.  If you don’t want to know what it’s like to be awake while someone cuts into you, don’t read this post.

WARNING: This is a long post. 
In this post I walk you through our day at the University of Iowa Hospital.  We met our surgeon and received the game plan for the next two months.  We learned a lot and feel good about the plan that is in place.

An update that includes the words Tumor Marker and NORMAL!   

It also includes the sentence “I’m really glad that I decided not to go through with the whole tongue removal thing”.  So, take that for what it’s worth. 

This post gives a recap of week one of cycle three, some new developments this week, and a few non-treatment related tidbits.   

This is a long overdue recap of week one of cycle two.  That is the big week of treatment and when many of the side-effects present themselves.  This time was a bit better and we were able to cure one of the more annoying side-effects! 

There have been a couple of new developments since my post yesterday.  One of them involves my beard and the other one involves a mask.  

Hey!  Here is a not so brief (just being honest) recap of the last week and a half. The first week of treatment ended up being pretty rough but -SPOILER ALERT- I’m starting to feel like a real live person again.

A quick update from Nick on the first day of treatment.  

Today, Ashley and I made the journey to the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center to get a second opinion on the treatment plan and diagnosis.  As a result of today’s appointments, there has been a change to the treatment plan.