The Strange Part Is Not Knowing Yet.

Today, we are still in the waiting part.

I know that I have metastatic melanoma. I know it was found in the enlarged lymph node on the right side of my neck. I know the PET scan showed that node very clearly. But I still do not know what treatment is going to look like.

My first oncology appointment is October 5.

It is a strange place to exist in, knowing something this enormous is happening inside your body while still waiting for someone to sit down with you and explain what comes next.

In the meantime, life has already changed.

My rheumatoid arthritis treatment was stopped while my rheumatologist waits to coordinate with oncology, and my migraine Botox treatments have been paused as well. Plans for work and school have gone on hold. Heiko has returned home to Germany after spending three weeks here with us, including our wedding, so we are navigating this next part of our lives from opposite sides of the Atlantic again.

And then there is all the completely ordinary stuff.

Anwyn still has school. Groceries still need to appear in the kitchen. Appointments have to be gotten to. The house still needs maintenance and repairs. There are accessibility improvements we have been needing for both my mother and me. Bills continue arriving regardless of whether your brain has had time to process the word “cancer.”

That is why I finally made this Support Registry.

So many people have told us, “If there is anything I can do, let me know.” I have realized that I am not particularly good at answering that question individually, especially right now.

This is my answer.

There are different ways to help here, and I will continue updating everyone as I learn more about my diagnosis and treatment.

For this first update, I have just one request:

Please share our Support Registry.

You never know who might be able to help, whether that means donating, helping with something practical, or simply passing it along to someone else.

Thank you to everyone who has already been present with us through this very strange, very sudden turn in our lives. It means more than I know how to adequately say.