Chronicles 2025: Week 9-14

For all of you who don’t receive my monthly newsletter (subscribe for the newsletter in Dutch here or in English here) and are wondering how we’re doing after my last ‘Chronicles update‘: this will not be another sad blogpost. Not at all! Read on…

At the end of March, my beloved’s cancer treatment started with an operation on his eye at the EMC in Rotterdam. In preparation for the radiation therapy, some sort of ‘clips’ had to be placed around the melanoma in his eye, as ‘pickets’ to demarcate the area that has to be irradiated, however… when he came round from the anesthesia, the ophthalmologist/surgeon reported that she had not placed any ‘markers’ in his eye because… the melanoma had disappeared!

…… HUH?

The ‘birthmark’ that was there (and I did indeed saw it too on the ultrasound: some sort of tumor/thickening in his eye) has probably been an effusion of blood or something… the ophthalmologist was just as flabbergasted as we were. The cancer treatment (proton radiation) that was already planned has now been cancelled.

We spent the days that followed in a slight state of bewilderment, we could hardly believe it and the news only sank in slowly.

A week later – when his eye had recovered a bit (because of course there had been some tinkering in his eye socket during the operation) we had another appointment. Again a lot of photos and scans were made and the eye was once again examined and fingered from all sides (eeeck!) but a tumor does not return within a week of course so there really, REALLY was nothing found anymore. So that was it. We could not be happier! So now the time has come for him to build up strength and energy again. Babysteps, but he/we’ll get there.

All these events, right up to the good news (week 13) and the extra eye check (week 14) were jotted down in my weekly art journal alongside with some ‘local’ and ‘trivial’ news like bycicle races. Of course I journal in Dutch but I hope you’ll get the overall idea by seeing the atmosphere and pictures on the pages… enjoy!

Chronicles 2025 – Week 9