Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Must See PET

I once read an article that the Bay City Rollers were going to come out with a sequel to their hit song, "Saturday Night" and it was to be called "Thursday Night". No kidding. I wonder what made them decide not to. 

Thursday has always been a big night. Must see TV. The best beer specials. And now, Thursday holds the secret to how my cancer is doing. I have a PET and CT scan and an X-Ray scheduled tomorrow. Those are two tests that take pictures of my insides. Most places take only the PET. MD Anderson--once again, gotta do everything in triplicate. 

I'd like to offer up some managed expectations. There's a great scene in the HBO mini-series, "John Adams", with Abigale and her daughter Nabby. Nabby had already lost a breast due to cancer. They were in the garden and it was about a year later. With a lull in the conversation, Nabby just said, "It's back". Abigale said something about fighting it and calling the doctor and so forth. But Nabby said not this time. She knew. People with cancer know their own bodies better than the doctors. The suspicions only have to be turned into fact. 

My suspicion is this. The cancer is gone from my right side. But there are still a couple of pretty nice-sized lumps on my left side. Generally, that's pretty good news. However, before a person starts high dose chemo, the chances for a full recovery are highest when the cancer is completely gone. That won't be the case. I know that. This time I have the horse on the outside. Longer odds but we can still see how she does in the backstretch. 

Please think positively. I won't have the results any time soon. I might not even have them until Tuesday. That's a lot of positive thinking. I will be. Both times I've felt so much better after the chemo wears off. I can breath. 

Enclosed is a picture of what looks like me but is actually the weird dude from that Heaven's Gate cult. Eventually I'll figure out the video function on my iPhone (my daughter showed me once) and do something with that. My friend David Yang asked me about it. I guess he doesn't like all this reading and would rather watch something instead. He likes watching TV.


4 comments:

  1. Sending positive thoughts and energy to you! Hope I don't miss and hit Jerry Jones...

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  2. Big positive thoughts to you streaming live from South Carolina ... (incoming transmission)

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  3. Considering I spend the majority of my time dealing with people wallowing in the misery of marital breakdowns, business transactions gone bad and other down times of their miserable little lives, I'm really more in tune to sending negative energy and thoughts. As such, while everyone else sends rays of positive thoughts and energy, I will be concentrating on the evil cancer cells and sending out death waves from the Chicago suburbs. I will try to direct these attacks directly at the lumps on your left side, but, keeping in mind that it is a long way between here and Houston, allow me to apologize right now if my aim is off and I hit you in the nuts.

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  4. Michael, Ladies and gentlemen, I'll be brief. The issue here is not whether we broke a few rules, or took a few liberties with our female party guests - we did.
    [winks at Dean Wormer]

    But you can't hold a whole body responsible for the behavior of a few, sick twisted rogue cells. For if you do, then shouldn't we blame the whole muscular/skeletal/immune system? And if the whole muscular/skeletal/immune system is guilty, then isn't this an indictment of the little ecosystem I like to call my life in general? I put it to you, Michael - isn't this an indictment of our entire American society? Well, you can do whatever you want to us, but we're not going to sit here and listen to you badmouth the United States of America. Gentlemen!
    [Leads the Deltas out of the hearing, all humming the Star-Spangled Banner]

    Here's a good thought aimed right square at ya!!! You might want to sit down for it, sometimes my thoughts don't know their own strength.


    I hope you are feeling better (at least after the little pep-talk above).
    Vince

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