A Reprieve From Cancer

Trust me, it was more exciting than hearing about Trump being indicted

A short personal note, now that I’m officially back from vacation.

It was hotter than heck in Baltimore and DC. But I’m glad about seeing family and friends, along with two cities I love.

The shadow that’s darkened my future prospects for the last six months has moved on.

My return to San Diego included a couple of intensive days with the caregivers at Moore’s Cancer Center. Part of that experience involved a thigh to cowlick PET scan aimed at measuring the advance or retreat of the tumors first spotted last winter. There isn’t a lot of hope involved in round three of head and neck cancer; it’s fatal in over 80% of reported cases.

Here’s the exciting part: they couldn’t find any cancer. My oncologist and chief radiologist both looked at the scan results and saw… nothing. We’ll never know if the radiation, the chemo, or the immuno treatments did the trick, and I don’t really care. Getting treated made me sick in several ways, some of which will take time to go away.

It’s always possible that the cancer will return, and I’ll be scanned every couple of months for a while to keep an eye on things.

Thank you to everybody who’s had a kind word or helped in any way over the past six months. Your encouragement kept me going, even on the bad days.

That’s it. I’m posting an additional two essays today, so keep on the look out.

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