Quick Health Update

Hi. I spent the morning at my cancer center. I left the house at 5 AM and was there before 6. I began with a blood draw at 6:25 AM, an IV inserted at 8:00 AM, a CT scan of my head & neck area at 8:15 AM, and a clinic visit with my oncologist at 9:45 AM. The exam was finished by 10 AM. All-in-all, a very quick efficient visit. My doctor thought I was doing great and looked well. He won't have the CT scan results for a few days. Given how compromised my neck area is from past surgeries and radiation, he is reluctant to give me a diagnosis on his reading of the scan. But, I could tell that he'll be surprised if there is any areas of concern that pops up from the radiologist's reading of my CT scan. Barring any unexpected turns for the worse, my next visit will be scheduled for late September (in 3 months). I haven't gone that long between visits since this ordeal began over 4 years ago. My anxiety level is reduced and I'm feeling good.

Thanks for checking in. Good health to you all.

Father’s Day

Sunday is father’s day. We had our mini-celebration last night as my wife and daughter will not be here with me on Sunday. It felt good. My daughter made me a to-die-for card (I won’t share the details). They gave me 8 sleeves of Titleist golf balls (which I need as I go through balls like others go through fill-in-the-blank) and a golf GPS device which I wanted (not needed). After what seems like a very long time away from the course, I started back up in earnest a month ago. My typical game from the men’s tees is currently 100 – 110. I did shoot a 94 last week. It was a bit of a fluke. It was also not too far off my game from my pre-cancer days. Anyway, back to father’s day. Someone asked me yesterday what drove me to put all this effort into staying alive. I said there were a few factors, but the biggest was wanting to see and help shepherd my daughter grow up. She’s a teenager and has been quite trying at times in the past 6 months. Her card was a joyful reminder as to why I’m glad that I’m still here.

On the health front, I’m stable. I began a new exercise routine a month ago and it is helping with body tone and stamina. This coming Wednesday I go back to the cancer center for a CT of my head & neck area and a clinic visit with my oncologist. My anxiety level is high. It’s not that I think something is definitely wrong, it’s more the unknown and not-knowing that rattles me. It will take about a week to get all the results from that visit. So, unless there is news before then or the urge hits me to write again sooner, please look for an update towards the end of June.

To all you fathers out there, Happy Father’s Day.

Take care and good health to you all.