Happy New Year!

I’ve been a bit delinquent in updating my blog lately, so here goes. My systemic health remains good. A visit to the cancer center on Monday for a clinical exam found nothing of concern. It had been 6 weeks since my first “routine” exam back in mid-November 2008. This was the longest period in 3+ years between hospital visits and the extended length of time between visits feels great. My next “cancer” exam visit will be in March and will include a CT scan of the head and neck. I have other visits scheduled at the cancer center, some as early as next week, but it is to work on a new mouth prosthetic device, one that they think may be more comfortable than the existing device. I’m still struggling a bit with some minor ailments which include pain, shoulder mobility, and most recently cold feet. The cold feet are probably a result of peripheral nerve damage from the chemo. I’m seeing a shoulder specialist tomorrow and will probably follow through with a minor shoulder procedure and physical therapy later this month. The bottom line is that I’m spending a lot less time on health issues.

I’ve shifted my time to reading and have two book recommendations. The Longest Winter and The Snowball. The former is the true story of an 18 man platoon during the last year of World War II. They fought at the Battle of the Bulge and helped change the course of the war. For those that survived and were not captured they endured unbelievable conditions as POWs. The latter is a 1,000 page authorized biography on Warren Buffett. This isn’t the first Warren Buffett book that I’ve read, but it is the most engrossing. I’m not quite done with this one yet. Both books provide deep insight into humanity and are inspirational. To change subjects, if you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend Slumdog Millionaire as one of 2008's best movies.

Thanks for checking in and take care of yourself.