March 6, 2022

Nate made his first visit to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute this week. He was greeted by a trio of rubber ducks sitting atop the check-in sign, which we have obviously taken as a good omen. 

Rubber duckies, you're the ones

He was given a new regime of medication to take at home - all free at the Dana Farber pharmacy, gotta love that research hospital money - and he was put on a schedule of 7 chemo treatments and 5 radiation treatments weekly. Those treatments begin next week, after he takes two training courses on how to properly take chemotherapy and radiation. We're hoping he passes with a 4.0. He's also on antibiotics to improve his lung function and keep it consistent during treatment, and they gave him a new anti-seizure medication that, in clinical trials, has been shown to shrink tumors in animals. He's effectively an oversized lab rat in an unofficial clinical trial while still getting the anti-seizure benefits, but we'll take all the help we can get. Nate and Sharon (his wife, our mother, she who everyone knows) are very impressed with the quality of treatment they saw at Dana Farber. The staff is kind and knowledgable, and very excited to help Nate start his fight against cancer. 

Later in the week, Nate met with his radiation team to create the custom-molded mask he'll be wearing during his radiation treatments. After testing the machine out, he compared the radiation machine to an MRI, which we all know he's had a lot of. He was also able to look at the MRI of his brain to see where the tumor is located. His radiation doctor is straightforward and calm, with a good sense of humor, and radiation will take only 15 minutes a day - it'll take longer for him to drive to the hospital than it will to get the radiation treatment. Luckily he was referred to a closer hospital for radiation, so he won't have to make the trek into the city every day.

Overall, he's eager to begin treatment. His reading is improving every day, and using the computer is working his brain in a positive way. Radiation and chemo officially begin on the 14th, and we're all eagerly counting down the days until he starts. 

Lastly, we know updates have been slow to start off. Right now, not much is happening. We're just waiting for the real treatment to begin. It also takes some time to disseminate all the information we're getting between the Cotton family, especially since one of us lives in Texas, and it takes longer to process. This is really hard, and not all of us have Nate's positivity and outlook on life. If you want to stay on top of updates as we post them, please click the follow button at the top left. As always, we appreciate your love and support of our father, the best man we know.