Another Test Down

I had an endoscopy as part of my quarterly checks. They knocked me out for the procedure (which, as I've mentioned in the past, is much preferable to staying awake for it) and I woke up with sore calf muscles - go figure. The doctor called me yesterday to confirm that the biopsies came out clean so I'm still cancer free. And she doesn't think that the sore calf muscles are much to worry about :).

Today, I had a follow-up visit with Dr. I to discuss the results of the tests. He says cancer free is good. I agree. He also mentioned that recurrence rates after 1.75 years of treatment are pretty low so things are looking good. I will get a cat scan in 3 months - sometime around mid-september - which will mark 2 years since the beginning of treatment - that's supposed to be a pretty significant milestone.

Overall, I have to say that I'm doing pretty well - my weight's stable at a good level and my hair is long - but my energy levels do still seem a bit low these days, particularly if I don't get enough sleep. Dr I says I should try to add some aerobic exercise back into my routine - I'm not convinced that that will help but I'll give it a try. If anyone has any energizing tips, feel free to post them.

Tonight, I am taking Min to see Fish at BB King's - he's my favorite singer/songwriter and it should be an excellent show. On Friday, Min's taking me to see the Cure, another one of my favorite bands, in Madison Square Garden, which should also be an excellent show tho I may need some anti-depressents afterwards :). And Saturday is the company summer picnic - not sure what the weather's going to be like but they always have great food and drink; anything else is pure bonus.

Until September,

--Dr D

P.S. - I had originally thought I'd be down to semi-annual check ups at this point but, according to Dr I, that will happen after my December check up later this year. So it goes.

One Year Ago Today ...

I had the surgery that saved my life. I can hardly believe it - in some ways it feels like it's been forever and in someways it seems like it was yesterday. At this moment, one year ago, I was in intensive care - they were supposed to knock me out again after the surgery but, since I was doing so well, they decided they against it so I got to spend an evening I very well could have done without.

I don't have anything particular profound to say on this day so I thought I'd post some recent pictures - figure they'll speak better than I will (you can click on any photo to see the entire album).

In preparation for 'moustache day' at work,


at Rockefeller Center,


at Lincoln Center,


and as the Lone Ranger