Wow!

I want to thank all of you who have contributed to my Relay for Life walk. When I look at the donations I've received  - both online and by check - I can only say, Wow! Your generosity has been overwhelming. I know I don't need to say what an important cause this is. We have all been touched by cancer, either in our own lives or those of our families, friends, acquaintances. The long history of cancer treatment has been one of incremental advances supported by both government and private organizations. The American Cancer Society has certainly been a major factor in these advances. So know that the money you have contributed will be well spent and hopefully lead to more lives saved.

Our local Relay will take place on June 17 - 18 this year at Onota Lake in Pittsfield.  If any of you have ever thought of participating, I can only tell you it is a lot of fun. It is as much a celebration as a fund raiser. Feel free to check it out on one of those days. So far the weather has been perfect the three years that I've been doing the Relay, which leads me to conclude that the Relay will always take place on a beautiful, sunny day.

If you are still thinking of making a donation, it's not too late. The easiest way is to donate online using a credit card. Just click on this link. Or you can mail me a check made out to The American Cancer Society. Any amount is greatly appreciated.

So once again, to all you wonderful folks who have contributed, a huge Thank You for your generosity and commitment.

A Step

We foiled the weatherman today and had an absolutely beautiful day. The sun even peeked out a few times (it's shining bright right now). But no rain. So Nancy and I got the biggest of the damaged steps replaced. The rest will get replaced when I get more mortar (I underestimated) and make a cut in the other stone. We also got a bunch of yard work done, weeding, laying down mulch, mowing the front lawn and I even made five pounds of Armenian cheese (yum). And I got up to BCC first thing this morning to visit some good friends and catch up a bit. All in all a good day.

I'm feeling good, eating well. Tomorrow is the official end of my last cycle of chemo, and I suppose all the bad chemicals have now left my system. I'm tempted to say good riddance, but in truth they probably saved my life. But, regardless, I won't miss them. Everyone tells me the radiation is much easier than chemo, and I'm all for that. So now I have a couple of weeks where I can forget about cancer and and just do the things I would normally do: work around the house, visit friends and family, go out a bit, drive Nancy crazy. Life is good.

Scans n' Things

I've been getting serious flak from my editor for not posting more often. She's right; I'm really a very lazy person. But, as I'm sure she would admit if pressed, also very lovable, which I'd say makes up for my few minor deficiencies.

I finally got the results of my last PET scan yesterday. Though not completely clear (darn it), the mass has shrunk from the last scan and the little bit of glowing that remains is, according to Jason, most likely not cancer but rather some inflammation. There's no way to tell from the scan if it's cancer or not, but he and the doc are certain that the radiation treatments will eliminate any cancer that may remain. I'll get a final PET scan about a month after the radiation is completed. Yesterday I had a CT scan at BMC to prepare for the radiation. Over the next two weeks a team consisting of the radiation oncologist, a physicist and I'm not sure who else, will plan the course of treatment and lay out the exact parameters for the X-ray machine. They even try the plan out with a dummy before they start on me (no wisecracks please). So I should start the treatments about the end of May and finish up about a month later.

It's the rainy season here in the Berkshires, along with the rest of the East Coast. We've been getting as much of the outside work done as possible when we can. I'm waiting for a break in the weather so I can repair the steps and the siding damaged by the fallen tree. Other than that we manage to keep busy with getting the house in order and preparing for Jill and Normunds' party.

Back in the Berkshires

I had no idea how long it has been since I posted until Nancy told me she misses reading my blog. Poor thing. She really needs to get a life. Well, we're officially back home in the Berkshires. I know because I watched my dear wife walk out in her nightgown and coat at 5:30 this morning to get the Eagle from the box at the end of the driveway. It doesn't matter when she wakes up, at 2 AM or 7 AM, the first thing she does is get the Eagle, then make coffee and do the sudoku. The house could be burning down, I could be lying on the floor unconscious, but those three things would get done before she dialed 911.

It's a beautiful Spring in the Berkshires. We love seeing everything in bloom. Our lawn is green and the tulips Nancy planted last Fall were showing off for us when we got back Monday. We really enjoyed being on the Cape this Spring. The love and support we got from Pete and Melissa were so important to us both. And to be so close to our beloved grandkids was truly a blessing (and I am going to beat Jacob at soccer one of these days; just gotta keep practicing). We also enjoyed the friendship of our neighbors at Sea Meadow Village. But it's great to be back in the Berkshires, our home for the last 35 years. We truly have the best of both worlds. The weather has been beautiful so far and today looks like another nice day. We went back to Boston yesterday to meet with Dr. T. and to get my PET scan. The meeting with the doc was canceled because my numbers from last week's blood work were so good he didn't need to see me. I'll get the results of the scan in a few days and hopefully they'll be good. This morning I'll head up to BMC to meet with the radiation oncologist to plan for my radiation treatments.

It's nice to be finished with chemo. In spite of the warnings that the side effects would worsen with successive treatments, it seems that for the last couple of cycles my recovery has been easier. I only had a few days of stomach problems and feel great now. And now that the chemo's over I can get back to eating a more healthy diet, mainly cutting out a lot of the red meat I was eating to help keep the blood counts up. Also, I'm going to have to stop pigging out on goodies now that my weight is just about back to normal. The free pass has expired and I don't want to end up twice my original size.

Well, Nancy finally finished the sudoku and so I get to read the front page. It is good to be back home.

Blogs

I just finished reading the latest post from my old friend Al's newly revived blog. Al and I have been good friends since ninth grade. Unfortunately we now live half a continent apart, but still stay as close as brothers. Al's blog, The Diatribe, is aptly titled. Al is one of the smartest people I know (though I had to get him through Algebra in eleventh grade; sorry, old friend), but he doesn't suffer fools or foolishness easily. He'll probably post whenever something annoys him, which should be quite often. He's a real writer, a lifelong advertising copywriter still working at his advanced age, not a pretend writer like yours truly.


Our daughter-in law Melissa, the mother of our grandkids, is a nurse practitioner who has been a stay-at-home mom since Jacob was born seven years ago. In addition to taking care of two kids, she is very involved in school and community affairs, and is very much a leader in whatever she undertakes. For the last year she has been raising chickens and now has quite a brood. To get an idea of her involvement, and of her artistic ability, take a look at her blog, Tilly's Nest.  She also recently started a community garden at Jacob's school and has mobilized a tremendous amount of community support to help her. Naturally, she has another blog for the garden, The Garden at BCHMCPS. In addition to the garden, Melissa has taught gardening to enrichment clusters of students in grades K-3 at Jacob's school. In her own words (from the  garden blog):

During the first week, we learned about seeds and created seed wreaths.  Last week, we learned about composting.  We built our own worm composter by combining worms, soil, newspaper, egg shells, lettuce and various microorganisms.  The students had a fantastic time and so did we.  This worm composter will transition into our garden this Spring.  Tomorrow, we will be learning about growing zones.  We will be planting potatoes utilizing two different techniques and attempt to grow a pineapple. 

I've told her that if I ever owned a company (which I wouldn't), I'd choose her for my CEO. Screenshots of the blogs are below. Wish I had just a fraction of that artistic ability...

The Chicken Blog

The Garden Blog

Finally, I have to mention another blog I've been following. My daughter Jill sent me a link shortly after I started treatment. Ezra is a New Yorker, the brother of a friend of Jill's, who has been battling colorectal cancer since August 2008. He has been through hell and back. He is an amazing writer and an amazing person, truly inspirational. When I read his posts I realize how easy I've had it, how almost trivial my problems have been. Ezra has a great sense of humor and a marvelous spirit. His language is often raw - he is after all a New Yorker - but if you are not too delicate it's well worth a look. The blog is at Teaching Cancer to Cry.

I met with the radiologist today in Boston. The plan is for me to get 3 - 4 weeks of radiation at BMC, starting in late May and going through late June if they can schedule me in. The radiation should get anything the chemo might have missed. Then, hopefully, I'll be done with doctors and hospitals for a while.

The Last Dose

A big day today. I took my last dose of Prednisone, thus officially completing my chemotherapy regimen. Now it's recovery time and wait for the hair to start growing back. Tomorrow we go up to Boston to meet the radiologist and see whether there will be some radiation in my future. The rest of the week is pretty busy too. Thursday a follow-up visit with my primary care doc here on the Cape (one of  Pete's colleagues) and a visit with the neurosurgeon to discuss the disc surgery I still need for my back - and hopefully will have this summer. Then Friday I will meet with a VA rep to file a claim for possible Agent Orange benefits (see earlier post). After another trip to Boston next week for the final meeting with Jason and DR. T., we'll head home to Lenox for the rest of May and June.

So how did I celebrate this momentous day? By making shea butter cream, of course. This time with stink (Lavender) for the ladies. Even used fancy jars. One for Nancy and one for each of the girls. The house still stinks, but I'm surviving. We also went for a hike with Maddy and Pete to Long Pasture, an Audubon sanctuary nearby. It sits on the bay and has nice hiking trails and a small farm with turkeys, sheep and goats. It had chickens, but their house got taken out by a large tree that fell, and the survivors were relocated. There's also a nice visitor's center. The kids love the place.

Tomorrow is day 6 of the cycle and almost on schedule I'm starting to feel a little nauseous. I don't know if I'm just psyching myself out, but based on the previous cycles it should only last a few days. No big deal.