I hope and pray one day that I can officially discontinue this blog site because I'm living a life without cancer instead of a 'life's walk with cancer'.

Perhaps one day.

Until then, I going to walk by His S.P.F. (Strength, Peace, & Faithfulness).

2022 DC Miles for Melanoma 5K

Many thanks to those who donated to the 2022 DC Miles for Melanoma 5K. The Harrington Brigade, along with all the other teams, raised nearly $82,000 for Melanoma Cancer research.

The event was held on Saturday, May 14, 2022, at Yards Park, 355 Water St SE, Washington, DC 20003.

Last year, our team -- the Harrington Brigade -- raised $2,099. 

To learn more about Melanoma Research Foundation.

Teresa and I enjoyed a brisk 5K walk with other local melanoma patients, survivors, care partners, supporters, and healthcare workers.

Results from the PET/CT Whole Body Scan

I underwent another PET/CT scan on April 25. While my hopes were on a "no evidence" reading of cancer, both tumors have remained reasonably the same size, with no indication of any restaging of metastasis. With this good news my oncologist gave me another six months off from treatment. 

New FDA-Approved Immunotherapy Treatment

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new combination of two immunotherapy drugs for patients like me with Stage IV melanoma cancer that is inoperable and metastatic.

In March 2022, FDA approved the combination of nivolumab and relatlimab-rmbw (Opdualag, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company).

Bristol Myers Squibb, which manufactures nivolumab and relatlimab, sponsored the trial. The researchers measured how long patients lived without their disease worsening or dying from any cause, whichever came first (progression-free survival).

So, if or when my cancer restages to other parts of my body, I have another new treatment to look forward to. 

To learn more: Opdualag Becomes First FDA-Approved Immunotherapy to Target LAG-3. 

A Pathway to a Federal Career

With my writing coach, Rob Jolles, of Jolles Associates, Inc., and the support of my amazing team at Federal Career Connection, Inc., I've decided to write a book titled, A Pathway to a Federal Career, to help job seekers learn and proficiently navigate the mysterious nature of federal recruitment and hiring. 

Unlike other books on how to apply for federal jobs, the A Pathway to a Federal Career’s five main chapters are aligned to my SABRE Vocational Framework (Figure 1), a panoramic career management process. It is designed to help job seekers discover their unique skills and values (Self-Explore); find and land gainful employment (Assess the Field, Build Competency, and Reinvent Oneself) in not only public service, but in other job industries as well. The framework also helps the job seeker build job experiences upon each other to form a career trajectory that maximizes upward professional and personal growth, while allaying unintended career missteps (Excel).

I created the SABRE Vocational Framework back in 2014 and socialized the concept with one of my mentors, Dr. Rebecca Dedmond, Director, Freshman Transition Initiative, The George Washington University.

Figure 1: SABRE Vocational Framework (Copyright 2022)

As I mentioned before, maybe one day I can discontinue this blog site. In the meantime, most of my free time and efforts are dedicated to my new educational non-profit, Federal Career Connection, Inc., along with writing a book. So, most likely I'll not keep this blog updated on a regular basis. But if/when cancer decides to take another swipe at me, we'll use this site as a primary medium to keep family, friend, and colleagues up to date on my treatment.

As always...be safe...be well.

AJH

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