Relay for life event

May 21: One of my good friends at work has organized a team for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life Event. Annette Colombini is the team captain for the event that happens June 9/10. If you are so moved, you can join in the relay or sponsor one of the participants. Relay for Life

The event starts at noon on Saturday, June 9th and ends at 8:00 am June 10th. There are several other teams also participating. I have not attended one of these events before. People who have attended in the past have expressed that the event is very moving (pardon the pun).

I have been doing very well lately. Sitting up for long periods of time and lifting some heavy objects are still a challenge but I'm feeling improvement every day. I have to be careful to not try too much.

Cancer free

May 10: Follow-up with the Oncologist went really well. Tumor markers and chest x-ray results were normal. The doctor declared me cancer free which was really good to hear. She told me that in the tumors that were removed, two different pathologists were able to only find three cancer cells. The cells were so small the type of cancer couldn't be identified. She rates my chance of recurrence at 3%. People are considered "in remission" for testes cancer after two years of normal tests. All other cancer is five years. She wants to be more aggressive with surveilance because of the cells that were found so in six weeks I'll have a CT scan instead of the normal six months.

Back to work

May 7: I went back to work full time today. Everything went well. I wasn't even tired at the end of the day. It was really good to get back to a normal day and see all the people I work with. So many people that really care about me and my health - it's very uplifting!

I'm still dealing with "peripheral neuropathy". This is a side effect caused by the chemo drugs that effects nerves starting in the hands and feet. It can spread to the legs and arms but I haven't experienced that yet. It's a numbness and tingling sensation that at times recruits the muscles to cramp up. Nothing can be done about it. It's just something I have to deal with. It may or may not go away over time.