It's Good News Week!!

Well, Campers, I had two appointments at Moffitt this week and the news was good!!  My swallowing is improving, and though I’m still limited to thickened liquids and pureed food, I was cleared to drink a class of ‘regular’ water a day.  So far, so good – no choking or aspiration.   And my visit with my radiation oncologist was equally encouraging.  I’m progressing as good as can be expected and I can most likely expect to lose the feeding tube for keeps in 3 – 4 months.  And, better still, the lymphedema may be controllable to the point that I won’t need drained every day and can lose the tape on my neck.  Now, that would still be a year or two away, but there’s hope.  I had been led to believe that the tape would be with me forever.  In the meantime, I will have some fun with it as I ordered a 6-pack of kinesiology tape in multiple colors.  And Elaine has really gotten good at doing my draining massage and taping to the point of compliments from Christa, my OT.  I’m, thinking that barring any more surprises, I’d like to go back to work in early March.  Life is good!!

Now there still could be some more late-blooming side effects, most notably thyroid damage, that could surface in the next few months.  If that’s the case, I’ll just deal with them.  The usual thyroid problems are treatable with medication, so what’s one more pill a day??

Support group got a little interesting this past Thursday.  We got to function as a support group for one of our number.  Turns out one of the guys on chemo was wondering if the quality of his life is worth going on or if he’s just ready to discontinue treatment and pack it in.  I’m thinking that it was mostly the chemo talking, but we all listened, asked questions, and gave him what support we each could.  I think that by the end of the session, he felt somewhat better and will hang on for a bit longer.  I hope he hangs on till he’s cured, but it’s a personal decision.  All of us in the group are essentially on the same path, but each deviates according to our own strengths and desires.  This past year has been one heck of a ride, let me tell you.

And I shared something I saw on Facebook with the group.  There’s no attribution so I don’t know who said it, but they were spot on.  It goes “Cancer changes people.  It sculpts us into someone who understands more deeply, hurts more often, appreciates more quickly, cries more easily, hopes more desperately, loves more openly, and lives more passionately.”

Peace and Love!!!

Joe