Here's some good news for ya.
Well, it is for us - I was ringing and texting everyone and thought - shit, I better tell me Hive peeps! Many of you have been around for the journey - Dad got sick with Stage 4 cancer before COVID, suffered awful chemo, nearly died a few times, got better, went on a trial and got better again, then it came back at Christmas, by which time the CAR-T cell therapy had arrived in Australia and was government funded - before they were looking at remortgaging their house and going to Boston for treatment.
A quick aside - my Dad's always been Mr Yogi Surfing Vegetarian Fitness guy - getting cancer was a total left field thing to happen. Turns out the army admitted it was their fault - chemicals in the water etc in Vietnam. Dad only went for six months and didn't even fight - no PTSD, nothing - just fifty years later, a heart attack and cancer, which is typical for men who served in Vietnam.
SO - back to the good news. The really, really good news. Dad couldn't even ring me because he 'would cry' - Mum had to.
He's in remission.
Apparently Mum walked into the hospital room and Dad's waving his arms about saying something about 'mission'. Mum's like: 'what's he bought now?', lol.
They reckon the remision for CAR-T is ten years, so that's usual life expectancy anyway - Dad's 75. Go science. Getting your own cells to fight cancer? That's hardcore freaking amazing science. They reckon chemo's on the way out and this will be the new frontline of treatment. And Dad'll be one of the first lot of real success stories since this treatment was made available in Australia.
He's an active man full of vim and vigour, so I imagine he'll make the most of it.
Sitting here writing to you all crying. Going to go for a walk and let it all out in the rain.