Wednesday, June 27, 2007

I am very pleased to announce the confirmation of the death of Bill and Earl!

I had my PET/CT scan on Monday, June 25th and received the results yesterday and final confirmation from the doc today. We have been nervous, anxious, excited, and just about any other emotion over the past few weeks, that has grown daily until we got the results back. Even though we were confident that they were gone we need the reassurance from the scan that they truly were gone. What a relief! We can now say that I am in remission! Here is the crazy part, on December 26, 2006 I got the call that I had two malignancies in my neck - exactly 6 months later on June 26, 2007 we got the news that I am cancer free!

Since I last posted I have continued to work full time and started to live life with more normalcy. I have finished my physical therapy and now do strengthening exercises at home. My strength is at about 95%, my taste is at 99%, and my saliva is only about 60%. The hair I lost on the back of my head from the radiation has started to grow back; the hair that I lost on the top of my head before the cancer still is gone and hasn't come back! My neck has healed up very well and looks like a nice sun tan at this point. I still don't have whiskers in that area...hopefully it will stay that way! I really do feel really good! We have done more geocaching, most of them with a hike.

Today we were talking about getting back to a normal life but we have decided that it is not getting back to normal it is starting a new life after cancer. Many things change when you go through this experience that affect your thoughts and actions. I am including in this post the lyrics from Toby Keith's song "My List". It has some really good thoughts that we should all think and do something about. I really appreciate the time that I am spending with my family - not that I didn't before but it now has a much greater meaning to it.

"My List" - Toby Keith

Under an old brass paperweight
is my list of things to do today
Go to the bank and the hardware store,
put a new lock on the cellar door
I cross 'em off as I get 'em done
but when the sun is set
There's still more than a few things left
I haven't got to yet

Go for a walk, say a little prayer
Take a deep breath of mountain air
Put on my glove and play some catch
It's time that I make time for that
Wade the shore and cast a line
Look up a long lost friend of mine
Sit on the porch and give my girl a kiss
Start livin', that's the next thing on my list

Wouldn't change the course of fate
but cuttin' the grass just had to wait
'Cause I've got more important things
like pushin' my kid on the backyard swing
I won't break my back for a million bucks
I can't take to my grave
So why put off for tomorrow
what I could get done today

Like go for a walk, say a little prayer
Take a deep breath of mountain air
Put on my glove and play some catch
It's time that I make time for that
Wade the shore and cast a line
Look up a long lost friend of mine
Sit on the porch and give my girl a kiss
Start livin', that's the next thing on my list

Raise a little hell, laugh 'til it hurts
Put an extra five in the plate at church
Call up my folks just to chat
It's time that I make time for that
Stay up late, then oversleep
Show her what she means to me
Catch up on all the things I've always missed
Just start livin', that's the next thing on my list
Under an old brass paperweight
Is my list of things to do today