I'm doing fine. I had another couple of weeks of Shingles attack that made it necessary to rest more than I wanted. I think the symptoms were light because I had a Shingles Immunization before my diagnosis. Since I started treatment, I've had enough trauma to trigger Shingles three times. Each time, the symptoms were much lighter than they might have been. So, I highly recommend that those of you who read this get a Shingles Immunization soon if you once had Chicken Pox.
That said, I feel good now. I took 10 days off from work, rested, and caught up with long overdue family visits. I'll start back to work on Monday. I'm more determined than ever to lift weights every other day. I have a lot of muscle to build. My weight has remained stable.
I've had a chance to meet with my Oncologist regarding progress. He was happy with my status and designed a program that includes a CT Scan every 6 months (instead of the normal 3 months) and an Endoscopy every year. He doesn't expect to see this cancer again, but we can't take any chances. The norm is that we need to see no cancer for 5 years before we are comfortable.
He also agree that I should have the passage between my esophagus and stomach enlarged from 9mm to 12mm. This will be done on October 25 at Stanford. Basically, they do another endoscopy and use a balloon to push back scar tissue that has formed since surgery. I was warned that scar tissue could form and I may have to do this more than once. The good news is that it's not too invasive or painful. I'll be in and out in a few hours with no side effects.
That said, I feel good now. I took 10 days off from work, rested, and caught up with long overdue family visits. I'll start back to work on Monday. I'm more determined than ever to lift weights every other day. I have a lot of muscle to build. My weight has remained stable.
I've had a chance to meet with my Oncologist regarding progress. He was happy with my status and designed a program that includes a CT Scan every 6 months (instead of the normal 3 months) and an Endoscopy every year. He doesn't expect to see this cancer again, but we can't take any chances. The norm is that we need to see no cancer for 5 years before we are comfortable.
He also agree that I should have the passage between my esophagus and stomach enlarged from 9mm to 12mm. This will be done on October 25 at Stanford. Basically, they do another endoscopy and use a balloon to push back scar tissue that has formed since surgery. I was warned that scar tissue could form and I may have to do this more than once. The good news is that it's not too invasive or painful. I'll be in and out in a few hours with no side effects.
No comments:
Post a Comment