a summer view

Let's just say - this isn't the summer that we'd planned.  About ten days ago Alice was diagnosed with breast cancer, and whereas we thought for almost a week that this might be a relatively simple matter, it turned out, last Friday, that she would need six sessions of chemo, followed by surgery of some kind, followed by radiation treatment ...that takes us pretty much through 2018.  The ultimate prognosis is really good - so no reason not to be optimistic - but it'll be a long summer here in Los Angeles.

So this is the view from the chemo unit at the top of USC's hospital.  If one has to be there, it's a pretty nice view.

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Like nothing else in the past nine and a half years, this has raised questions about what I do and don't write about in this blog.  I could have chosen to say nothing about it - and yet, of course, it's been preoccupying - and how else to explain, anyway, that I'm not where I thought I would be (file under: New Mexico, Rome, London, etc.)  I should say that I talked with Alice about what to do, and we're following my suggestion: to write about it today, and then, probably, not very much.  What I'm now going to do is to post today's bulletin that I sent round Alice's close friends when we got home this evening - and to say: if you want to be on the bulletin list, and you're not on it already, PM or email me, and I'll add you. Otherwise, you will totally be spared all the details.

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Hi everyone,

We're back after a long day at Keck Medical Center of USC: everything began at 8.30 a.m.; we were home by 5.45.  Alice is doing ever so well - it'll surprise none of you that she managed to be upbeat and cheerful throughout, although she's of course somewhat fatigued by now (and watching Rachel Maddow and eating crackers).

The new chemo unit, in a new Keck Building, is wonderful - shiny and clean and with huge windows: they have solid cubicles (no curtains) with walls to about eight feet off the ground: imitation wood and decorated clear glass panels above that, and lots of power outlets - presumably for medical stuff, but it comes in very handy for charging a day's supply of devices and phones (Alice got through a fair chunk of Amy Chozick's Chasing Hillary).  Best of all were the huge windows overlooking the San Gabriels (and smaller hills before them).  The staff were terrific: two Filipina nurses, who were upbeat and sensible; and a gay guy from West Hollywood, who was great fun.  All of them are experienced and know their stuff very very well.

So four separate lots of chemo drugs were dripped into Alice, and we trust that they are hard at work poisoning the bad cells and stopping new ones from developing.  She had absolutely no adverse reaction to anything (which was, of course, a huge relief).  She found out that the blood work she had done earlier this week was excellent; all other markers (blood pressure, etc) stayed equally enviable.  She's come home with a very large patch which will inject Niaquin into her in 26 hours time to help her regrow some white blood cells.

It's not quite clear what to expect next other than fatigue; probable nausea for three days (though she was pumped full of an anti-emetic first, and has anti-nausea pills to take); and then equal probable reactions in something like five to ten days time - such a vague timetable that it comes down to saying - everyone reacts differently, but most likely she'll be feeling fairly lousy for the next two weeks.  Her next appointment is on June 21st: she should be feeling at her best for the week preceding that.

I know Alice would want me to thank you all for all your messages of love and support - they've been truly great to get.  Emails to her are always welcome! but (she says, and I endorse ...) don't expect a rapid reply ... We've said - every morning after 10 a.m. I'll be prepared to answer any queries about whether she's up to phone calls, or visitors, or - well, whatever - we don't know yet.  No visitors with even the mildest suspicious hint of anything infectious, of course (though we have a collection of surgical masks worthy of a planeload of Japanese tourists) ... 

More when there's more - though probably rarely at as much length as this!