The Great Cancer Adventure....
December 16, 2019
- 1 min readI discovered quite by accident in September 2017 I have a form of cancer the oncologist described as “hard to treat and likes to come back.” Just now, I’m doing well under the circumstances, but almost certainly this is not something that I will ever get beyond. Having had two years, the next milepost is five years. While trudging this road, I’m keeping a cancer survivor’s (so far anyway!) memoir…
The Great Cancer Adventure Continues....
April 13, 2018
- 1 min readHeard from the oncologist a moment ago who told me the pathology report came back positive for "recurrent, persistent adenocarcinoma." Making an appointment to see a surgeon next week to see what he thinks. The Great Cancer Adventure Continues, damn it!
The Great Cancer Adventure Continues....
April 05, 2018
- 1 min readIn January, I had a PET scan which showed there was “minimal residual disease”, something that is of course great, good news. On Tuesday, some three months later, I had a CT Scan, which showed there was “…near complete response to radiation and chemotherapy. Subtle FDG uptake still identified with and (sic) a single posterior mediastinal lymph node.” All of which is to say, the esophagus looks to…
The Great Cancer Adventure Continues....
March 30, 2018
- 1 min readWhile I don’t "officially" retire until May 31, today's my last day at the office being involved in the organization's day-to-day activities. As you might imagine, after almost 26 years here, this is a bittersweet moment. It has been my honor to have been affiliated with the American Association of Orthodontists Foundation for all this time. I have met some wonderful people and feel like I've made…
The Great Cancer Adventure Continues....
March 05, 2018
- 1 min readZen calendar thought for the day for Monday, March 12, courtesy of the Dalai Lama: "If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion." Zen calendar thought for the day for Tuesday, March 13, attributed to Rumi: "I learned that every mortal will taste death. But only some will taste life." (Following the wise council of some of the members of…
The Great Cancer Adventure Continues....
February 02, 2018
- 1 min readThis morning, I went to the gym for the first time in months. Light workout of course, and in fact I was in my street clothes, including a tie, but I did go back and did a little something. Yesterday, I went to Starbuck's, all by myself, me and my cane!
The Great Cancer Adventure Continues....
January 31, 2018
- 1 min readAs reported previously, I no longer have to wear the hip brace during the day but still need to wear it at night and otherwise take it easy with this injury. I am still on a cane, but I am back to driving, short distances during daylight anyway. Very light workouts at the gym aren’t far behind. Follow up with that doctor is in three months. Met with the Radiation Oncology Doc Wednesday morning and…
The Great Cancer Adventure Continues....
January 23, 2018
- 2 min readAfter many sessions of physical therapy from someone who not only was schooled in Orthopedic PT but also in Oncology PT, and work on my own, the Ortho Hip Doc let me out of the brace, though he did suggest I keep it nearby and still sleep with it at night to help ensure I follow the proper precautions, something to which I readily agreed, in as much as we have come too far and have too much at…
The Great Cancer Adventure Continues....
January 17, 2018
- 1 min readAfter having a PT scan denied at the last minute by the new health insurance company earlier this week, the oncologist’s office held a peer-to-peer conference call with them and got it re-approved. I’ve called the hospital pre-certification staff to schedule it but so far haven’t connected; once that’s scheduled, I’ll see that Doc again for next steps. All this’ll hopefully fall neatly into place…
The Great Cancer Adventure Continues....
January 15, 2018
- 1 min readApparently, I will not be having a PT Scan tomorrow after all, as my new insurance company (my employer changed companies this year) wants a different, cheaper test first. Consequently, likely this will mean the appointment with the Oncology Doc on Wednesday will also need to be postponed; I just called them for verification. All of which is to say, while it looked like I would know my future…
The Great Cancer Adventure Continues....
January 09, 2018
- 1 min readNext week's a crossroad (not to put too fine a point on it) in that there's a PT scan on early Tuesday, with PT and labs later that day, followed by a meeting with the Oncology Doc first thing Wednesday morning, where he'll give me the news, good, bad or otherwise about my current assessment and possible treatment options. I am hopeful of course, and yet at the same time working to manage…
Calendar 2018
January 01, 2018
- 1 min readFor New Year’s Eve, Betty and I met her brother Mike for dinner, and when I went to the toilet afterwards, plodding along on my walker, I felt what turned out to be little screws in the hip brace come out and fall down the inside of my pants leg and into my shoes. Good thing for that, or otherwise these screws being so small, might not ever have been found. The three of us went home, and they…
The Great Cancer Adventure
December 29, 2017
- 2 min readWith my hip in a cast, it wasn’t practical for me to travel this Christmas, so we cancelled our holiday. Shortly thereafter, Elizabeth (daughter), Peter (son) & Ramona (granddaughter) were with Betty and me over the Holidays at our home. What a Christmas gift! Only sorry Sam (son-in-law) and Nicole (daughter-in-law) couldn’t be here too. I do have a great life. In reflecting on the Great Cancer…
The Great Cancer Adventure
December 26, 2017
- 1 min readHaving seen the STL Ortho Hip Doc last week, he said we had to make this hip thing work, as there really wasn’t a good alternative; I know what that means, which is, if it doesn’t work, I’m in a real bind, something I’d already worked out. He also said, while I was perhaps not as prudent as I should have been (in placing our carry-on luggage in Houston in the overhead compartment), the literature…
The Great Cancer Adventure
December 16, 2017
- 5 min readBeen a busy week. We left on Monday for Houston for a Cast & Crew showing of “Illusions of Cyn”, made from one of my scripts; without a doubt the very best truly independent film I’ve ever seen. What a talented group of people! So fortunate to have been a part of this. These are all independent film people. Robert Redford is an independent film person, but no one involved in this project is Robert…
The Great Cancer Adventure
December 05, 2017
- 2 min readRegarding the 11-27 reference to hospitalization…. I didn’t know it possible to have both diarrhea and constipation at the same time, and while it really isn’t (water builds up behind the constipation), the effect is the same. I was uncomfortable of course but more concerned than I might have been otherwise, since a decade earlier I had had an impacted bowel, a temporary colonoscopy, three…
The Great Cancer Adventure
November 27, 2017
- 2 min readAs noted previously, I finished 28 radiation sessions on Friday 11/10 and six chemo sessions (this round, anyway) on Wednesday 11/8, and have now had two weeks in which to recovery, which frankly has been the most difficult part. Again, Betty and I are so very grateful we were warned this is a grind and that treatment continues to wear even after it’s completed. Much of these last two weeks has…
The Great Cancer Adventure
November 13, 2017
- 3 min readMy last chemo was Wednesday, at least for this round, and my last radiation is scheduled for tomorrow, and apparently no matter what’s next, radiation has run its course, which is OK with me. The Infusion Center at Mercy has this bell we’re encouraged to ring, once chemo is completed, and I rang it then. All the nurses came around and gave us, Betty and me, a round of applause, which was a nice…
The Great Cancer Adventure
November 04, 2017
- 2 min readToday, I was discharged by the Radiation Oncology Doc, who I see on Mondays, even though I still have four more treatments scheduled. I have a follow up appointment in two weeks, just to make certain my body has begun to adjust from the 28 treatments. My last chemo is this Wednesday, and already I’ve been told by the Oncology Doc that I’ll see him in a couple of months for more tests and then, if…
The Great Cancer Adventure
November 02, 2017
- 1 min readWe met yesterday with the Oncology Doc managing the various elements of my chemo (his bailiwick) and radiation and everything else involved. Since I’ve been coughing a lot (apparently there is such a thing as Radiation Cough), he ordered a chest x-ray, I thought to double check to make certain I didn’t have pneumonia, which I’ve had, but really to make certain the esophageal cancer hasn’t spread…
The Great Cancer Adventure - 10/26/2017
October 26, 2017
- 1 min readExcept for the time The Champ and I climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, where altitude diminished my appetite, no one has ever told me I should eat more. Until now. Now, thanks to cancer treatment, I am officially on a High Protein/High Calorie diet, after having lost ten pounds in only a couple of weeks. I’m able to swallow with relative ease, as these things go, but I’m hardly ever actually hungry. After…
The Great Cancer Adventure
October 19, 2017
- 2 min readYesterday was chemo treatment #3 of 6, and today's radiation treatment was #12 of 28, so I am, more or less, half way through this. Prior to chemo yesterday, Betty and I (and she's with me every step of the way!) met with the Oncology Doc, and he said I am doing very well. Encouraging of course, but he's referring to my tolerating the treatment and not having too many side effects, but this doesn…
The Great Cancer Adventure
October 11, 2017
- 1 min readChemo, which is Wednesdays, went a lot smoother today than last Wednesday, the first time. I might’ve had more than a bit of a bug and maybe that's what made last time really difficult. Or, perhaps it was because of the hurricane that devastated Puerto Rico, as the infusion bags used for one of my meds, the steroid, is made there and nowhere else - we’re a population of 300 million in the richest…
The Great Cancer Adventure
October 06, 2017
- 1 min readTomorrow’s coffee, Peru Chirinos Cajamarca, which I made today as always, along with a package of Korean Pork Barbeque Jerky, is courtesy of my son and daughter-in-law. I may be sick but I have a great life.
The Great Cancer Adventure
October 02, 2017
- 1 min readTreatment’s at Mercy Hospital in St. Louis. Met today for a second opinion with an oncologist from Barnes, the more famous Cancer Center here in St. Louis, and had the original treatment plan confirmed. Chemo and radiation begins on Wednesday.
The Great Cancer Adventure
September 19, 2017
- 5 min readI discovered really quite by accident and coincidence just last week I have cancer. My urologist was looking for something in my bladder which wasn’t there, but the scan showed something wrong in my throat. Having already had a routine colonoscopy scheduled, I called the GI Doc, who agreed to scope me on both ends, which is why I was able to have this done so quickly. I woke up from the procedure…