Ill in January, I bounced through a series of medical appointments which. thanks to one doc and two NP’s, bounced me to a colonoscopy. which found, yes, cancer. I was in surgery within two weeks, on chemo the week after that, and am glad to report I finished chemo in August, underwent a series of tests and scans, and they got it. A second colonoscopy finished up (the earlier problem precluded finishing the pass) and took care of several potential future problems.
So I can now report I’m cancer free, and getting back to work, after 8 brain-fog months in which I couldn’t write, and Jane was busy taking care of me, so she couldn’t write. Now I’m done with treatments, have some lingering issues (chemo can leave you little problems) one of which has been stiffness and pain in hands and feet, but I am onto therapy for that, clear-minded and ready to get back to work.
So I am glad to report both of us are getting back to normal. I had a close call and got away free. I do urge anybody who’s due for a colonoscopy to go see to that, or any other issue that you’ve been delaying for. As for safety in a hospital—with Covid and all—they’re careful. They’re a heckuva lot more careful than most places. And I’ve been spending 4-5 hours every two weeks there feeling safe in the process. Wishing you all the best. I don’t have cancer. Pluperfect—I have HAD cancer and am free of it, by the most delicate and precise scans available. So this has all come to a very good outcome. They’ll be tracking me every 3 months, now, and I’ll be fine.
I’ll also be back at writing. Books will be a little late. But books will happen.
Ah, that explains the silence. I’m glad you are out of the woods now, and very happy Jane could take good care of you through this horrible time.
You might look into ‘Dragon naturally speaking’ as an alternative to a lot of typing, to spare your hands. You can train it to recognise all the SF terms and unusual names by typing them in once and then saying them a few times. The first rough draft will definitely need a second pass to correct obvious errors before you get to the revision and editing passes, but with the two of you collaborating that might work out doable.
I was pleasantly surprised by how much it got right, even in Dutch, as most voice-to-text programs are primarily trained in American English. They had a few weeks of free trial before buying when I got it, a year or two ago.
Best wishes for your continued recovery, and for Jane to recuperate as well after all that stress.
Mikey and I are pleased to know you are on the path to full recovery. Care for yourself is important now, and we apologize for any impositions. We are here for you. Ask and we will find a way to get you what you need.
I am so thankful that you have come through this. My thanks to Jane for taking such good care of you, just as you take care of her. My love to you both.
CJ, I am very glad to hear you are all right.
Welcome news. Best wishes and don’t work too hard.
My dad had colon cancer and had part of his colon removed, necessitating a colostomy. This was in the 1980’s. He passed in 2014 at the age of 92, but not from colon cancer.
Tell me about chemo brain! However, your and Jane’s concentration on good nutrition has stood you in good stead, as witnessed by your bounce-back. Foods rich in vitamin B help.
I learned with the Morgaine trilogy that if a book had your name on it, I was going to like it. I have the dead tree edition of every one of your books I could get my little hot hands on. Take your time with the next books. There’s plenty of rereading that can be done while we wait.
I’ve just finished Divergence. 21 is a fortunate number, but so is 23, and 25. Hint! Hint!
I’m in remission from CLL/small cell lymphoma now. Remission is a nice place to be. Let’s both stay there, OK?
Oh my, what an incredibly stressful time for you… and for Jane. So glad to hear the outcome. Yes, join WOL is being cancer free and staying that way!
My thoughts are with you, dear CJ.
I have been tagging along on the journey of my brother-in-law that has been on a time-frame to match yours and he is now, also cancer free. He also felt well taken care of and safe in the hospitals in Fairbanks and Anchorage. They live 100 miles from the hospital where he had chemo and 400 from where he had surgery. You guys have really been through a lot.
Again, my thoughts are with you and Jane. Take good care.
Sending positive thoughts your way
Glad to hear you’ve come through okay.
finger sensitivity issue has lost 3 post attempts. Giving up trying to post longer today. Suspect interaction chemo side effects with once-weekly bone density drug from another doc. Querying docs.
I’ve heard that B12 can help – my sis takes it for her neuropathy (diabetic, not chemo). Most “mature adult” vitamins seem to have a high dose of it.
Stay well and stay safe, My wife also uses dragon for writing her psychology lessons and it hardly ever needs correcting, saves her hands
kyran
Wow, so glad to hear you’ve come through the worst of the treatment. And I sympathize with your problems with neuropathy. I finished my chemo for breast cancer in January 2018 and my fingers have pretty much gotten back to normal, but the effects of the Taxol took a while to wear off. It made that year’s tax season a bit challenging since I couldn’t necessarily feel if my fingers were on the right keys when I was inputting tax data.
My father had 2 occurrences of colon cancer so I’ve been having colonoscopies every 5 years for at least 15 years now. So glad they found yours before it was any worse.
Take care of yourselves.
CJ et alii — you may be interested in a Roman Amphitheater being unearthed in the Tuscan town of Volterra— it looks to be a amazingly intact and previously unknown one.
Here’s an article written in hyper-glowing prose (as the archaeologists are also looking for funding). It reads a bit like a Kickstarter but is still very interesting:
https://realtuscanlife.com/2020/10/13/volterra-amphitheater/?fbclid=IwAR3-_ijkwzDM2Y_1tz8MuJcitKs5VhoJzB0iyNHr8o9YOoOJg2FCGXY9l6w
NEAt!
@CJ, OPB had an American Masters show on Ursula K. LeGuin this evening. There was a brief photo of her and another woman at a point the story was turning to her and other woman authors. That woman looked a bit like you. Or did my eyes deceive me?
NO, I never met Ursula LeGuin, only talked on the phone once.
Pretty early on in my adventures in chemotherapy (and the two hospitalizations for adverse drug reactions that resulted) I developed monster cravings for cottage cheese (eating it at least once and frequently twice a day). Come to find out that not only is cottage cheese high in protein and calcium (needed for nerve function), but also in B vitamins (on average 257 μg niacin, 24 μg vitamin B6, 2.1 μg vitamin B12, and 40.6 μg folic acid per 100 g. ). I have learned over the years to listen to my body. When I start craving a food, it’s because that food contains something my body needs.
CJ, I wonder if it’s a calcium deficiency that is contributing to nerve problems. When, for whatever reason, the body cannot get enough calcium from food to maintain normal muscle and nerve function, it leaches it from the bones = osteoporosis = the need for counteractive medication. High calcium foods, especially in conjunction with foods high in B complex vitamins might help your neuropathy.
This might be of interest: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4446754/
Lol! We now buy cottage cheese in 3 lb packs!!
You can make it more complicated but the easiest whey is take (low-fat if desired) cottage cheese and blend it with Dijon mustard to taste. Healthy chip dip.
Blend with a spoon for chunky; a blender or a whisk for smooth.
Bless you dear.
Glad to hear you’re feeling better. Best wishes.
Might cheer you up to know my teen daughter wants to be a writer, so I’ve been guiding her with some of your advice.
Can’t go wrong there!
Please wish Jane a happy birthday, and ask her to check her email.