August CT

I've received a number of e - mails asking why I haven't posted the results from last week's CT scan. Guess that's what I get for announcing the end of this thing and then occasionally adding new posts. Sorry, didn't realize so many people were still looking.
If the news was bad I'd be in my new Vette right now. GM lost another sale, the news was good. Very good actually.
Three months ago Dr Henning told us that nothing new "lit up"and that was a relief in itself. Yesterday he said the same thing and then added that a 5-6mm nodule that was present in the last CT has disappeared and the remaining two masses are close to half the size they were last April. Could it be that the teatments that ended six months ago are still perking ? Frankly, I was afraid to ask. Two more CT's @ 3 month intervals to go and if all is well, we shift to a 6 month schedule. This is dictated by the case study we're in rather than CT results.
I told Joe and Lorraine (before we got the above news) and I'll say it again, that all in all, this is one of the best summer's of my life. Hope you can say the same.

LIVESTRONG and please add my friend Brian in your prayers.

Ken

LIVINGSTRONG

A few more photos from Benton Harbor.

The one word that comes to mind is "focused".

70.3 ( as in MILES )

For many months now my final word to all reading this thing has been to LIVESTRONG, a phrase coined by the Lance Armstrong Foundation to inspire the 28 million people currently living with cancer. It has me and I thought in some small way it would you if I wrote it down often enough. Deep down I've hoped this story we've been sharing would inspire (or scare) some of you to change your lifestyle for the better, a stretch objective to be sure. Then yesterday it happened, and from about the last person on earth I'd expect it from. Our son Paul. Yep, Burger King Paul. Super size it Paul. The Paul that put away the one pound "Leroy Burger", fries and cole slaw at the Port Hope Hotel way before Adam on Man V Food was making everyone queasy on cable TV.

As Paul tells it, he didn't quite know what to do when I was diagnosed but felt he had to do something other than be angry. That "something" was to hit on everyone he knew for pledges to the Lance Armstrong Foundation in return for his competing in an Ironman 70.3 yesterday.
For the past many months he has trained, eaten right, drove by, instead of through Burger Kings, (notice how many are now boarded up ?) spent a substancial amount on gear and trained even more. Yeah, he's ripped, but this 70.3 still wasn't a walk in the park, not by a longshot ! Joann and I were in Benton Harbor yesterday to see Paul, Lo and 2000 other competitors swim 1.2 miles in Lake Michigan in a downpour, bike 56 miles on wet pavement and run 13.1 miles in the heat of the day, all in well under 8 hours. Seeing him cross the finish line is something we'll never forget, nor will he. Paul has been living strong, completed what he set his mind and body to do, honored his commitment to those that pledged over $1300 to a very good organization and brought this smiling old man to tears. It's all good. Thanks son, we're proud of you.

Your turn to LIVESTRONG
(Click on the picture twice to enlarge it)

(Grand) Father's Day, 2010

Kate wants to know why everyone stays home on Mother's Day to be with Mom but no one, except Mom, stays home on Father's Day. The reason of course is that the weather is usually too iffy in May to fish or golf. Whoever scheduled Father's Day in late June was no dummy. Hope you're as proud of your children and enjoy them and your grandchildren half as much as Joann and I do. Enjoy the day Dads...and take Mom with you...let her drive the cart...

Hard to believe we're already making plans for the July 4th holiday. Our work on the cottage is done seeing as tomorrow is the official "first day" of Michigan's twelve weekend long summer. That's not to say there's nothing more that needs to be done, just that it's time to put the tools away. Joann talked me out of torching our "two butt" kitchen, instead settling for new countertops which we built and installed after updating the 58 year old plumbing and scraping the original cast iron sink - what a pain that was. Needed a new drain field and spread and seeded 3 yards of top soil on top of that, power washed the joint top to bottom to take the place back from the spiders, installed some carpeting, repaired what needed to be repaired, cleaned everything up and wrestled a new washer/dryer up the stairs. Enough already - we're tired, but it sure felt good being able to do these things, albiet, alot slower than in the past.

See you on the water

Ken

Milestones ?

Hi. Been awhile. Thought about writing a few times but up until last week didn't think anything had happened worth mentioning...then it did. A milestone, my first post treatment haircut from Deb, and it felt great. Milestone ? It is when you lose all your hair three months ago in a span of two days...trust me, this was big, even if it was just a trim.
Then I got to thinking (oh no, not again !) of the milestones we all experience in our lives. Some of them are major, school graduations, your first car, first boat, first buck, first love, getting laid, marriage, becoming parents, becoming grandparents (that's Peyton @ two months, by the way) retirement and now, after a very long winter, how everyday occurances have taken on new significance for Joann and I. They're signs that things are finally returning to "normal " and "normal" is something a few months ago we thought was a thing of the past. If that isn't a milestone, I don't know what is ? Life is good.

Remember to save the earth, people, it's the only planet with chocolate

LIVINGSTRONG

Ken

Round 2...

Round 2 originally scheduled for June was pulled ahead to Friday the 23rd for a variety of reasons... don't ask.

Pictured is the CT scanner that is the arena for this and all future rounds. CT scans differ from MRI's as they use x rays for imaging while the MRI utilizes magnets and radio waves. A complete CT scan is like six times quicker than a complete MRI scan and a whole lot quieter, but sometimes require several hours of prep while the MRI is more of a plug and play. Bottom line is nothing from dandruff to athlete's foot can hide from either. And that's the Reader's Digest description of CT's and MRI's, not that you asked for one. The tools these doctors have at their disposal amaze me and would make Norm Abrams envious.

We met today (the 26th) with my Oncoligist, Dr Mackler and my case study coordinator, Ann Novak for the results and everything is still clear (thank you God). Ann took it upon herself to review the CT this morning with my Radiation Oncologist, Dr Henning, and he couldn't find anything of concern either...meaning nothing new "lit up". That's what I really like about Ann, she knows her stuff and gets everyone involved..in other words, she's steering the boat. I'm lucky to have her.

So that's the results of round 2 - Jo and I will get a good night's sleep tonight. Time to get the cottage and boat ready. Memorial Day will be here before you know it followed by Michigan's 12 weekend long summer season...and we plan on making the most of it. You do likewise...
Ken

Two months later - April ,2010

Here's a couple of shots I thought were kind of interesting. The one above is of a soon to be first time grandfather (May 7th due date) at his daughter-in-laws' baby shower. Click on the picture to enlarge it and study the expression on his face - priceless. All these women yakking away and he's in his own little world, oblivious to it all. You can almost see what he's thinking.

And here's our little one, Peyton, at eight weeks old. Tried to get a shot of her smiling but you know how it goes with these new digital cameras. You wind up taking 56 pictures hoping to get one good one. While you're punching buttons to see if the last picture was "the one", the baby is smiling. As soon as you aim the camera and make goofy "this ought to make you laugh" unintelligible sounds, she looks at you as if saying "hope you have enough battery left Grandpa". Peyton also has twice as much hair as I do.

Hope you all are enjoying this beautiful weather we're experiencing. Going north next week to open up the cottage, one of my favorite times of the year.

Ken