Category: Cancer 2.0

Surgery countdown with Sven

We are flying to San Francisco today (Monday). Packing took longer than expected when I told Sven he had to go in my suitcase.

He was expecting to walk on the plane.

When I told him he had to go in my suitcase he said he had anxiety. Luckily I had just the thing.

This calmed him down as did some sloth yoga.

He calls this pose Downward Facing Sloth.

Finally he agreed and we were able to go to the airport.

Cancer 2.0 Countdown to Surgery

So good news/bad new. The bad news is that my cancer came back in February of this year 2024.

But, the good news is that I can have surgery to remove it. The surgery will be Sept 26, so a week away. It will be in San Francisco as UCSF. I was treated there three years ago when this all started and feel really good about the care I will get there.

We are currently in Panama but Jeff and I will fly to San Fran next week. I’ll be in the hospital for a few days and then in an Air BnB to recover. My sister Laura lives there and my parents and my other sister Jenny will come up. And of course Jeff will be with me.

Here is the other good news. I know this doesn’t sound like good news, but in the cancer world it it is.

  1. I was cancer free for one year and nine months. That means (according to the doctors) the first chemo worked. This still sounds weird to me. If it worked why did it coome back? But anything over six months is considered working.
  2. I had more chemo this last year and it also worked. Again how did it work if the tumor is still there? The chemo did shrunk it, so that is good news.
  3. They can do surgery. When I was rediagnosed in February, the tumor was too close to the ureter (tube connecting the kidney to the bladder). But, thanks to chemo it can be safely removed now.
  4. Chemo wasn’t that bad. I decided not to blog about it this time because it was pretty similar to last time and frankly, I was lazy. But it was about the same, maybe even a little easier this time.
  5. After surgery I can go on a maitenance drug that should keep it away. The drug Avastin is something they can only give you if you reoccur which is why I didn’t get it the first time. But, it’s supposed to help keep it from coming back. I have been on it waiting for this surgery. It’s not bad, I don’t have any side effects.
  6. Sven is still my support sloth so he will be there to help with recovery.
  7. I know all of you reading this will be there virually with me cheering me on.