18th Anniversary of UrbanReviewSTL, Stage 4 Kidney Cancer Still “Stable”, Gathering Today Noon-2pm
Eighteen years ago today I registered the domain UrbanReviewSTL.com and began blogging about urban planning in St. Louis. YouTube didn’t exist yet. Facebook was known as The Facebook, still limited to college students at many universities. My husband (m 2014) was barely a year out of high school. Some of you were still in school. I started this blog as a way to clear my head as my father recovered from a heart attack at the start of the month.
It worked, allowing me to focus my thoughts. Still does.
Now, nearly two decades later, I have more ideas than energy to research, photograph, write, and publish them. Three years ago I disclosed I have cancer, I found out a couple of weeks later it was stage 4 kidney (renal cell carcinoma). I didn’t know what to expect in terms of life expectancy. I’m very happy to still be alive, and doing well considering.
By well I mean handling the side effects okay. My days are now spent preparing & eating 7 small meals per day, plus 7 glasses of water — 1.5 liters each day. I take medications 4x per day, 5 on Mondays. I get an infusion of Nivolumab (Opdivo in commercials) every four weeks. The cancer medication I take each night, Cabozantinib, costs $22k per month. My Medicare plan covers most, a Siteman Cancer Center social worker gets grants to cover the $1,100 per month co-pay. Numerous foundations exist solely to help cancer patients with medication co-pays.
I’m not complaining, I have it significantly better than many cancer patients. I’m sharing to explain why I haven’t blogged as much as I used to. But I have reprioritized my life to rest, work on my affairs & bucket list. I know my pricey treatment will eventually stop working, but I don’t know when. There are additional treatments to try at that point.
I hope to be around to celebrate this blog’s 20th anniversary in two years. The 25th anniversary in 2029 would be awesome, but not as likely.
As previously announced I’m going to be available for outdoor gatherings. This afternoon I’ll be at Kaldi’s Coffee at Citygarden, 808 Chestnut, noon-2pm. If you don’t see me outside I may have had to go in to the restroom. Please stop by to chat.
More will happen, weather permitting. I hope to find more outdoor locations near a restroom. I considered Forest Park, but the elevator at the Forest Park-DeBaliviere station is still out of service after historic flooding in July. Location suggestions welcomed.
— Steve Patterson