Hello Family and Friends
This past Wednesday and Thursday found Annette and I back up to Duke for follow up testing following the six weeks of treatments we went through. I say we as Annette has been right there at my side and had to put up with all my ups and downs, my complaining, my grumpy moods, my puking, and generally feeling like crap for so long.
We were back to basically go through the same scans and testing we did pre-treatment so as to compare it to the post-treatment results (CT & PET scans, an endoscopy, and blood work). Well, bottom line, everything went really well and the doctors were very pleased with the results. The treatments did what they were supposed to do. The turmor is now broken up into little "ulcer" sized bits and there was no evidence of any other cancer cells showing up any place else. All good news.
We then met with each of our doctors and finally the surgeon who will do my operation. It is scheduled for May 18th when they will remove my esophagus and about 1/3 of the upper side of my stomach (standard procedure), pull the remaining stomach up and reattach it to become my new esophagus. Two small incisions in my right side to remove the existing esophagus then one incision each in the middle of my chest and up by my thoat to reattach the stomach. 10-14 days in the hospital with 3 weeks of "light duty" following that and no "heavy lifting" for 6 weeks after the surgery.
A feeding tube will be installed and will remain until I can take adequate nurishment on my own. Small meals, 5-6 times a day, will be the norm for me after the surgery. They said I may never eat "American sized meals" again but it will depend on me. They said "you know those foot-long subs at Subway, well you might be able to eat 1/4 of one of those." It seems like I should only have to pay $1.25 now for a sub vs. $5 bucks huh? Guess there will be a lot of take-homes in the future. Oh well, we will have to do what we have to do!
As for me right now, I am feeling pretty darn good (and, of course, I look marvalous). I am eating a lot better, enjoying a few alcoholic beverages again, and generally getting some of my strength and endurance back, at least until the 18th. The surgery could have been even earlier but I asked to put it off till mid-May to give me time to put a little weight back on this skinny little frame. Annette isn't happy, saying I am not what she bought into:) Also, this may be the last 3+ weeks I eat like an "American" again so I want to enjoy it.
That's it for now. We will keep you posted as things progress. Thanks in advance for your prayers and cards. They are most welcomed.
Be blessed
Drew
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Back In the Human Race
Hello Family and Friends
Just a little update to let you know that I am feeling "alive" again and ready to rejoin the human race. My racing engine may not be running on all 8 cylinders just yet, but it is firing on at least 6 right now! And that is a drastic improvement.
The doctors had told me I would start to feel somewhat "human" again after about 10 days after the end of treatments. Well, I am here to tell you that they are right!!!
This weekend we were invited down to Myrtle Beach, by Annette's brother Oscar and his wife Sue, whom I love, and we stayed at their lovely waterfront home on the Inter-coastal Waterway. I helped him haul down his 22' pontoon boat, get it cleaned up and launched and secured in his boat lift. We did a shake down cruise up the waterway and had a great time. We did a little maintenance on the boat, the boat lift, his pier, and the cover for his boat. Everything went really well and we had a great 3-day weekend. The weather was nice (70's and sunny), and we even played 9-holes of golf one afternoon. We played cards in the evenings (no bragging but I put a whipping on them), Phase 10 (have you every heard of it?).
My appetite came back quite a ways, especially after Oscar fixed us some prime rib on the grill, and we even went out to a buffet one night. This was a huge step for me. I'm not pigging out but I am eating more and my energy level was way up. I contribute it to good sunny weather, fresh air, good company, and just a great time overall.
Nothing further to report at this time other than I am feeling much better and, of course, looking marvelous. I'm glad to be back in the race.
Keep those thoughts and prayers coming and thanks again for all the wonderful cards I have received from so many of you.
Love
Drew
Just a little update to let you know that I am feeling "alive" again and ready to rejoin the human race. My racing engine may not be running on all 8 cylinders just yet, but it is firing on at least 6 right now! And that is a drastic improvement.
The doctors had told me I would start to feel somewhat "human" again after about 10 days after the end of treatments. Well, I am here to tell you that they are right!!!
This weekend we were invited down to Myrtle Beach, by Annette's brother Oscar and his wife Sue, whom I love, and we stayed at their lovely waterfront home on the Inter-coastal Waterway. I helped him haul down his 22' pontoon boat, get it cleaned up and launched and secured in his boat lift. We did a shake down cruise up the waterway and had a great time. We did a little maintenance on the boat, the boat lift, his pier, and the cover for his boat. Everything went really well and we had a great 3-day weekend. The weather was nice (70's and sunny), and we even played 9-holes of golf one afternoon. We played cards in the evenings (no bragging but I put a whipping on them), Phase 10 (have you every heard of it?).
My appetite came back quite a ways, especially after Oscar fixed us some prime rib on the grill, and we even went out to a buffet one night. This was a huge step for me. I'm not pigging out but I am eating more and my energy level was way up. I contribute it to good sunny weather, fresh air, good company, and just a great time overall.
Nothing further to report at this time other than I am feeling much better and, of course, looking marvelous. I'm glad to be back in the race.
Keep those thoughts and prayers coming and thanks again for all the wonderful cards I have received from so many of you.
Love
Drew
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