Good News Bad News and a Save

First, some good news. This past weekend was awesome. Friday was Terry’s and my anniversary. We celebrated by going out to dinner with our good friends Linda and Phil. Their anniversary happens to be the day before ours. It was good food, good company, and a good reason to celebrate. We had a great time. On Saturday I got to speak with John and Tracy Hawker. It was the first time I “met” Tracy. She is as inspiring as her husband and a pleasure to chat with. John and I have spoken before. His strength is amazing. I knew he had returned to work very quickly (one month) after surgery last year but on Saturday he gave me some of the details. He continues to work today even after all he’s been through. Some people have suggested that he stop working and go on disability but John pushes on. His nurse has been giving him a hard time about driving while on medication. People often tell me I should take it easy, not do so much, drive so far etc. John and I discussed this and we both agreed that we are not fighting to live so we can sit around and do nothing. It was very nice to be able to talk to both of them. On Sunday we celebrated Easter with Terry’s mother, two sisters, niece, nephew and their families. Terry’s sister Jackie always prepares a feast for our consumption. It’s always a pleasure to be with them and this was no exception. On top of everything, we had great weather. I worked outside all three days and soaked in the rays. This weekend easily makes the list of “Happy Times With Cancer” Some more good news; I think the time off from chemo is already helping. My stamina is increasing, taste buds are improving, and I think there may be a very slight improvement with the neuropathy. The bad news may, hopefully, be only in my mind. I can’t help but think that as the rest of my body recovers from the effects of chemo, so does the cancer. I don’t want to give it a chance to come back. Also, the pain in my elbow won’t go away. It’s a pain I never felt before and since I never experienced bone metastasis before I fear that’s what it is. Here’s the save. I took it upon myself to call my local oncologist’s office and request a blood test. I wanted to make sure all was well before making another long, early morning trip for SIR Sphere treatment later this week and getting rejected. Wouldn’t you know it? My white count was down again. So I’ll be shooting myself up for a couple days. But at least I still have a good chance of getting the treatment. It was a little risking going back to Dr. George’s (the Chemo Kaiser) office. Remember she hasn’t been able to give me anything for almost four weeks now. I had to keep dodging the chemo filled darts she was firing at me from behind her desk. Carry on. --------------------------------------------