Surgery plus 1 year!

Wow! I went in for surgery a year ago today! It feels like a natural time to do a status report.

I just got back from doing two consulting assignments and spent a long weekend visiting my in laws in Massachusetts. Sharon has been there for three weeks to help her parents after her father suffered a stroke. He is now recovering very well.

Despite about 10 days of travel and work, I arrived back in Pacific Grove last night feeling fine. I'm looking forward to the long weekend to rest and recover. I am able to eat virtually anything. I need to be careful not to eat too much. I don't feel full when I'm eating, but about half an hour after eating I know that I've eaten the right amount or too much. If I eat too much, I am very uncomfortable for about an hour. I'm still experimenting with various foods and amounts. I have to be careful when I'm with clients or with friends that I don't overeat and end up unable to work or visit afterwards.

I'm going for at least one more endoscopy and dilation of the esophagus in a month. I don't feel like I need it, but I'll do it to be on the safe side. It feels like the scar tissue growth has subsided and my esophagus is clear. I'll also have another CT scan in a month or so to make sure that this cancer hasn't spread and started growing somewhere.

My energy level is almost back to normal. I can't work as much as I would like because I still have to spend a lot of time with doctors, tests, exercising and physical therapy. I've added physical therapy to try to get my upper back in shape. I lost so much muscle from the surgery and recover time that my back muscles atrophied and I have a tendency to stoop. It's actually hard to stand up straight and bring my shoulders back. The therapy is really helping, but I have long way to go.

When I look back on the whole experience, I am amazed at my good fortune. The detection couldn't have been earlier, the doctors were great, the recovery was about as good as it gets, and I feel very good at this stage. It's been a year and a half since I was first diagnosed. When I was diagnosed, the statistics said that I would have a 20% chance of living two years. Because of the early detection, my chances were actually much better than the average, but the numbers only go up to 50% chance of living two years. I'm confident that I'll do much better than the numbers suggest. I don't really feel vulnerable to this cancer any more. I feel, and evidently am, cancer free. Only time will tell for sure.

Wow!