It's been 12 days since I stopped taking the chemo and three days since I came home from the hospital.  I've been feeling much better--still some fatigue, but not nearly as much as before and generally able to function somewhat normally.  Monday we went out to do some errands, and then in the afternoon had two sets of visitors, including Doug and Raylene, who brought a delicious pot roast and dinner rolls.  My appetite has returned, and food tastes good for the first time in a long time.

Yesterday, a beautiful fall day with the leaves beginning to turn, we drove to KC to have a consultation with Dr. Van, the oncologist.  We had already scheduled a series of tests--full skeletal x-ray, CT scans, etc.--for October 28, so we decided that I'll stay off the chemo till then.  That means I should also be able to skip the three blood pressure meds.  So with a full month with no Votrient, my body should have time to return to "normal."  And then after the time off and the results of the tests, on the 28th we'll make the hard decision of what to do next:  should I return to 400 mg of Votrient and just more carefully monitor what's going on?  should I reduce the Votrient to one pill of 200 mg?  (No one seems excited by that prospect.)  should we switch out the Votrient for another medication (Sutent) of the same class of drugs unsure of what would the efficacy and the side effects of that decision?  or should we try another class of chemotherapy that generally has fewer side effects but is also generally less efficacious?  In the meantime, there are fewer pills, fewer naps, and a new obsession with the Beach Club sandwich from Jimmy John's.  What the cancer cells are doing inside my body without their toxic enemies fighting back is, for the moment, an unanswered question.