One year ago, that was me. 163lbs, hair falling out and misdiagnosed.
http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/c...d8/me10810.jpg
This is me, and my ex and friend at a Rangers game in July,with tickets given to me through a donation to The American Cancer Society.
http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/c...angersgame.jpg
193lbs, and HEALTHY.. My last chemo session was March 28th. It's been a fun week with some good news. Had a CT scan on April 20th which was promising. Last week it was: Tuesday:blood work and port flush (the port installed under the skin on my left upper chest where the chemo I V was connected. It has to be flushed every 6 weeks when not being used). Wednesday was a CT scan. Thursday was oncologist visit and Friday was colon & endoscopy together, sedated of course.
The lumps in my neck and on the left lung are long gone. Bottom end and top end are clear, lol. The two that are on my liver are unchanged from the first CT scan in November. Doctors believe they are not cancerous, just benign abnormalities that have probably always been there as their size, density and shape are unchanged from the first scan. Everything else is just perfect. Heart, liver, kidney functions, my immune system.. Even blood pressure is still great - 122/72 - barely changed from my high school days. I do light workouts 3-4 times a week and walk about 3 miles 3-4 times a week as well. The neuropathy in my feet is the same. They constantly feel numb/asleep and actually feel worse sitting in a chair than after a walk. I tolerate it best as I can. I stopped taking the Neurontin and Hydrocodone on my own. I figure if I can tolerate it, I'm not gonna medicate myself unless really necessary. I made the mistake of trying to run a little two weeks ago. I wanted to see how my feet would feel. They felt pretty much the same. It's the knees that doth protest too much. So no running. Just normal-paced walking as I have been.
Finances are a little better but still not great. One day at a time. I decided I cannot sweat it anymore. It's been a hellacious year and I've learned a lot about myself. I've found an inner peace that I never had and for the first time in my life, I like the person I am. A couple of grand would be great to be "current" on all my financial obligations, but I am just not gonna sweat it. For the moment, I still have my Appliance, I mean Sentra lol and she's been good to me. Just turned 95,000 miles - got it in February 2008 with 42K on it. The only "repair" I've made was a left inner tie rod at 76K along with new tires (General Altimax HP's are a great tire for the money BTW. 20K on them and still look & ride great).. Other than that it's been routine - fluids & filters, rear brakes at 76K and fronts at 88K Hell, I haven't even changed a single bulb on it.
Not to make this a religious or political debate but I've met some people in the same or worse situations over the last year. From the woman in the building across from me that hasn't been able to find a job in 15 months, my sister with 25+ years in private banking who's been unemployed since May, the guy with a masters in accounting driving my taxi to a woman I met in line dropping off a prescription - she went through chemotherapy, double mastectomy and now radiation, still fighting for disability benefits for nearly two years. Whether you're religious, atheist, conservative or liberal... When the time comes that you, a loved one or a friend are in my situation or one of these, you may find that the gay couple moving in next door, the girl around the corner getting an abortion, or the "brown people" sneaking across the border, are the least of your concerns when you've lost your job and insurance coverage due to cutbacks or your job being sent to Shanghai, or you've graduated school with $100G's in student loan debt but are living at home waiting tables at TGI Friday's. There's plenty of blame to spread around..... One day at a time.
That's about as long as I can stand on the soap box.. ;-)
