Nick’s BHWT, Medical Update

Great news!!! I met with the oncology team yesterday and the four markers they are tracking were all home runs!! Yes! In fact, after two cycles, I am super close to reaching the goals that I need to reach in each of the four areas. What a freakin’ relief! I am so grateful to my physical body for being strong enough to respond effectively to the treatments and I am grateful to all of you for filling up my spirit to remain positive and focused on the things that matter. This is a win for my gang.

Although I am close to reaching my health goals with the key markers, the plan is still to go through a minimum of six treatments and then evaluate from there the next steps which can include a stem cell/bone marrow transplant procedure.

This past week I was off from any treatments, and I just started the third cycle last night. Game on. Cycle 3 here we come . . .

Personal Observations:
When I was 11 years old, I saw the movie ‘Grease,’ with my four closest friends - I personally connected with Kenickie ...just sayin’. When I came out of the movie theatre, I turned to my friends, as serious as I had ever been, and said that I wanted to have a gang. They laughed at me, and I shrunk at that moment. And that led me on a life-long journey to create and find my ‘gang’ which for me represents finding super deep connections with others, finding my home and my place where things can get peaceful.

This past weekend, my Dudes of Disruption Men’s Group hosted its annual retreat. I am grateful that I was healthy enough to attend and find opportunities to add value. It’s the first time in 3 months that I was out of the house without my family, so I was super nervous. The weekend was meaningful in so many ways. Specifically, I want to highlight my ability to access trust. 

Although Friday night I pushed it by being up so late and exerting a lot of energy (I got caught up in the moment to coach and love these men), Saturday became an opportunity to shift and to trust. As the weekend progressed, my partner and I who run the group completely changed the agenda for the weekend on the fly because our gut told us something else was wanted and needed so we trusted and went with it. We didn’t get attached to how it looked – instead we got connected to what our intention was for the weekend. We trusted the process.

By Saturday afternoon my body was screaming to take a break and to rest. Which I did. I also knew Anisa would do bad things to me if I pushed it  I removed myself from the space by trusting overall that the rest of the day would go great and that everyone would continue to make the experience memorable …I trusted different people in the group to handle and complete the day powerfully (without having to give them the script and to worry) and that one of the dudes who has come into his own would facilitate an effective conversation at the end of the day/evening …all without me having to be involved. So cool and so refreshing. I don’t have to do this alone! What a concept. 

All the above happened while I was in my room resting for almost 4 hours! And then Sunday another dude led another valuable conversation while I was able to observe and even participate …and not exert much energy and to worry. Again, I don’t have to do this solo. Pretty cool concept.

The weekend is a good template for me to copy/paste moving forward. Stop thinking that everything must be perfect and that things have to look a certain way.  Set the intention and the context and then trust that it’s already perfect and that all will fall into place aligned with the intention accordingly. Give people the trust and the space to step into their greatness – they usually deliver big. The people around us area always looking to be trusted and to step into something new – trust them and they will reward the world.

Also, I don’t need to do things alone. Clearly. So many people stepped up and operated like leaders. Stop sweating the really small and irrelevant stuff to the point of obsessing and not being present to the experience because I believe I’m the only one who can “do it right.’

Inside of this journey, I have found my gang …and it's super big and it's super awesome. I am trusting my gang more and more …YOU. And with trust I experience the world from a place of abundance and from a place with endless possibilities.

When I trust myself and the process …and I trust others…. everyone grows. Inside of trust I grow and everyone around expands. Trust is the game changer.

Lastly, one last point about trust I want to share if it’s useful since it worked for me:

My doctor and family friend who’s a rockstar oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (who serves as my 2nd opinion on all medical matters) both said to me to not do any research (or look at) on the internet and social media and to not go down any rabbit holes that you find there. They both said that all data and studies are extremely outdated because everything in this field is progressing so fast and often causes more anxiety and confusion – I believe you can apply this recommendation to many topics in and out of the medical field that are causing division, frustration and confusion in our lives and world.

I have spent very little time reading about multiple myeloma based on what they said. Instead, I have focused on my relationships, taking in the love, staying deeply connected and visualizing health …and creating HOPE by all the things I want to do when I’m 100% healthy and all the places I want to visit and who I want to spend time and all awesome things I can create with others.

This goes back to trust – I trust my oncologist and her team (along with the resources at MSK) along with my person at Dana Farber. I also trust and take in articles and resources from friends (YOU), however, again I remember the words I was told right up front.

They basically said, trust the process.

So, I trust. And I HOPE. And it has me focused on the things that fill my heart and soul.

With love, healing and trust,
Nick

With the Dudes of Disruption Friday night dinner. Two years we waited for this weekend because of COVID. Connection and love are still the most important experience for a human to have …and We had plenty of that for 2 plus days.

The weekend was really good for the soul and definitely what the doctor ordered (the doc actually gave me the green light to attend).

This was from two years at our last retreat when we did a polar bear plunge into the lake at the house we rented. This is how I’m feeling after getting the results this week.