Happy Winter Solstice!

Cheers!  Here's to a new healthier year.  In November, Mom and Robert took Alex and I to new beer bar in Wilmington called the Satellite.  I am feeling better, have more energy and have been enjoying beer again.  I even worked a few nightshifts in December editing a Bio episode on the Jackson 5.  Good news the fractures in my pelvis and sacrum seem to be healing and no longer appear on the MRI.  The not so good news is my bone density scan revealed that I have osteoporosis of the spine.  This means that my olympic snowboarding career is over before it even began. :)  

Seriously, I will have to make some lifestyle changes including diet and exercise, and preventing falls.  I have been taking calcium and vitamin D supplements since September and I will likely start on medications such as bisphosphonates and others next month.  I have signed up for a Tai Chi class which is good for balance.  I will also be walking every day for at least 30 mins.  Soon I hope get on an elliptical machine and start weight training.  All of these low impact weight bearing exercises are good for building bone.  I will also be adding an anti-slip shower mat to our tub perhaps like Mr. Blue Frog here.   

Coffee and Closure

Cartoon by Alex

I want closure.  I want to bid adios amigo to Mr. Poop Bag.  Last week, I failed the third water tight test of my colon.  Bummer.  Good news is according to the radiologist and my surgeon there's less leakage visible in this latest CT.  The hole seems to be getting smaller and healing as revealed through the magic of enema and x-rays.

   

As mentioned, I will have my follow up MRI and CT scans of my pelvis first part of November.  In the meantime, lovely Alex got me a ticket to visit my great friends in the SF bay area.  Can't wait!  I leave tomorrow.  Me and Mr. Poop bag are packed and ready to eat some good tacos and drink yummy espresso.       

Photo by Anonymous Blogger 

Black Crims and fractures

Alex and I harvested our first two tomatoes, black crims, this season from our bed in the community garden.  We promptly cooked them in a marinara sauce with some of our fresh basil.

My oncologist also unearthed some new growth.  MRIs and CT scans showed insufficiency fractures (not complete breaks - obvious cause I'm still standing) in my pelvis and sacrum.  In addition to calcium and vitamin D deficiencies, one fracture may have been caused by a lesion.  The lesion visible in the MRI (soft tissue scan) could be benign or malignant.  The orthopedic surgeon does not see evidence of a bone tumor on the CT.  He prefers to wait 3 months then do follow up MRI and CT scans.  If the lesion has grown, he will do a biopsy.  Also, the pre-op radiation treatments I received last fall may have also caused my bones to weaken.

This Too Shall Pass

I was hospitalized last week for six days because of a bowel blockage.  It's like a bad case of gas times ten.  Alex pulled another stint with me all day in the ER.  Fortunately, the conservative treatment of putting me on IV fluids only for a couple of days did the trick.  Also morphine, my old friend, was helpful too.  Otherwise I would have to have undergone surgery if the blockage had not passed.  Whew!  Some of the nursing staff remembered me from January and one even asked how my mom was doing.  Thanks to their care I am back at my favorite Korean food truck Bulgogi and Kimchi!

Lightning Bug BBQ

No, we will not be grilling insects. It's a potluck BBQ to celebrate the end of my cancer treatments, my survival, and the survival of the lightning bugs, who should be in attendance.  If you'd like to attend RSVP so I know how many dogs and tofu pups to throw on the grill.
Lightning Bug BBQ Invitation 

Down to The Wire

This week, Alex and I watched the last episode of The Wire Season 5.  I also got my last chemo treatment on Friday.  Yahhhh!  Many of my California friends visited NYC this month and have been helping me celebrate.  Amber dead headed some flowers and basil in the garden a couple of weeks ago (above).  Last Saturday Alex and I hosted a BBQ for Jon and Juliet.  Their friend Emma broke a world record for getting pooped on by birds 7X and yet still had a good time.  Thursday night Matt got Alex and I hooked on yet another TV series drama, State of Play by BBC.  Anytime I have a friend in town I take them to High Line Park, one of my favorite spots in NYC (below).

It's down to the wire but there is still more to come.  In a couple of weeks I will have a series of follow up scans and tests done for my oncologist .  End of August my surgeon will run more tests in preparation to reconnect my plumbing.  Hopefully I will have the surgery to reverse my ileostomy in September/October.

Less is more

How so?  My post-operative adjuvant chemotherapy is ending a month and a half sooner than I had expected.  If all goes well I will have my last treatment on July 5th rather than the first week of September.  Hell yeah!  My own independence day :).  By the way adjuvant therapy refers to additional treatment, usually given after surgery where all detectable disease has been removed, but where there remains a statistical risk of relapse due to occult disease.  In the case of colon cancer the additional treatment is generally six months.  But because of my good path report and other factors, the six weeks of chemo I had prior to surgery will be counted towards the total adjuvant therapy.  I am getting 4 1/2 months post-op chemo.   

Also Alex and I planted seedlings of lettuce, tomato, and herbs in our new 4X8 bed at the community garden.  It may sound small but having access to any land in NYC is worth fighting for.