Back from latest trip to MD Anderson

[again posted for my father while he works out the Windows Vista interface... -- Scott]

I will get this blog problem I am having solved soon, in the meantime a brief update.

It is kind of funny in one way, but I have spent the first part of this week in Houston and I really haven't done that much physically, but I am worn out. I think just the trip, sitting around the various offices and clinics and waiting - waiting and waiting takes it toll. The exams were not that difficult or painful, but still the whole process is not fun. Also, I think there is an element of worry and anticipation as you wait to find out what the results of all the tests are.

In any event, I have some very good news. I have had a number of people in the medical profession tell me that the mortality rate for pancreatic cancer is about 75%. Obviously, the mortality rate for all of us is 100% - we are all going to go some time, but when people in the medical profession learn that I have had pancreatic cancer their eyes get big and they saying like; "No kidding - and you are still here - wow." or something to that affect. Those comments have had a bothersome affect on me for sure, but there isn't too much I can do but keep on going.

I learned this week for the first time that two years is a magic number. If you make it for two years your chances of it coming back drop significantly. My two years is up!! The tests show no new tumors and everything is looking good.
I do have an aortic aneurysm and it has increased in size from 3.5 cm six months ago to 3.9 cm. A reading of 5 cm is considered dangerous so I am still okay, but I guess I will start visiting my cardiologist now to see if I can reverse this number.

I recall when I first went down to MD Anderson I asked if smoking caused pancreatic cancer and was told that smoking does cause cancer but it had nothing to do with the cancer I had. Now they are telling me that smoking is one of the major causes of pancreatic cancer. I don't smoke any more but I did for years and I know I was offended or put off when people told me I shouldn't smoke. My attitude today is that if you know someone who smokes or someone you love smokes, do whatever you can to get them to quit. I know from experience when you start preaching to someone about something the tendency is for them to resist even more. I don't know how you can get someone to listen because I never listened - but do what you can to help them quit. It can be done - I know, but better if done earlier than later.

We were a little nervous as Hurricane Rick was supposed to be creating a problem in Houston Wednesday night, but it was downgraded to a tropical storm and never really did anything bad. In the meantime, I guess Albuquerque had heavy rain for two days straight while we were gone.

Anyway - all is good! Now that I have quit smoking and have reached the two year mark I guess that all I have to do is start drinking purified water, sucking purified air and not eat anything and I will be okay. I'm off the smokes for good but will have to work hard to develop the kind of diet I am supposed to follow. But I will try hard and won't be as stubborn as I was about smoking for sure.

God Bless and thanks for your friendship and prayers!!

AL

Another trip to Houston

(posted for my Father who was having problems logging into the blog and used email instead. He arrived at the hotel in Houston tonight -- Scott)

Too much has been going on and my small brain has not be able to cope with all of it. I had some computer problems and now have a new computer and the Blog Program I have been using changed something and I can't access it now. I am sure it is a simple matter of me making a call and following instructions - but that is too much for me. I am mad at them for changing something and then forcing me to talk to a computerized menu of instructions to get it all worked out, so I will just pout for awhile until I get in the mood to do what needs to be done. I have also been very busy with work and don't get a chance to do too much, or am too tired to do it, when I get home late at night.

I am going back down to Houston tomorrow for another check-up and hopefully everything will be okay. I am still wearing my elastic belt (girdle) every day. I guess it will be part of me for the rest of my life. I still have pain in my abdomen pretty much all the time and I guess that is just from all the cutting and sewing. But I am okay with it - I am so used to it I would probably miss it if it wasn't there. I have had some concern lately about the surgery I had in April. As you may know, they had to replace the lining in my stomach because of the damage that was done by the radiation I went through. They use a fairly new process where they relined my stomach with pig skin. Now I am concerned that I might be stricken with the swine flu. If it's not one thing it's another!

Since my last Blog entry - I have had another hernia surgery here in Albuquerque and several visits to the dentist. I didn't think anything would ever be more painful and difficult than the cancer surgery. I had forgotten about the dentist. I hate to go to the dentist! Dentists were invented to take the place of executioners and others who practiced various forms of torture in days past. I only took two days off during the month of September and one of those days was spent with the dentist. I had a tooth broken off at the gum which they cut out in little bitty pieces and then they pulled three others and created a partial plate to fill that gap in the front of my face. I would sign a contract to work every single day for the rest of my life if there was some form of guarantee that I would never have to go to the dentist again if I did this.

*A little side story related to my dental problems. Years ago when I had an insurance brokerage agency, I got a call from someone who wanted some insurance. I met with this person - whom I had never met before, and discovered he was a football coach at the University of New Mexico. I had seen his picture in the paper and seen him a couple of times on T.V., but I did not know him. In the process of completing the paper work I asked where he was born. He replied that he was born in Gunnison, Colorado. I mumbled something to the affect that I had fond memories of Gunnison, Colorado. He stared at me and asked why I had said that. I went on to tell him that the first football game I ever played in, some guy from Gunnison kicked me right in the mouth during a kickoff. He stared at me for a moment and asked me when this had happened. I gave him an approximate date and he responded; "That wasn't in the third quarter by any chance was it?" I thought for a moment and said; "Yes, as a matter of fact I think it was!" He then said; "I always did feel bad about that - I didn't mean to kick you in the face!"

This was in the days before we wore face masks - in fact I think I was the first person in our school who had a face mask. And - this was the beginning of a problem I have had with my front teeth for the rest of my life - up until now. As of now I don't have the problem any more as I don't have the teeth any more.

Like they say; "no matter where you go - there you are." It is amazing how often you will meet someone who is a total stranger and then learn they are someone you know or someone who knows someone else you know.

The upcoming trip to Houston should be pretty easy, at least compared to some of the others. MD Anderson is very systematized and they have a routine which never seems to change. The first day will be blood tests and other evaluations and then the CT-Scan. The CT-Scan is a real pain in the butt in more ways than one. You can't eat before you go in, then you have to report at noon to be checked in, then you have to drink two bottles of this horrible stuff which temporarily makes you swear you will never put another thing in your mouth. You are in a large room with probably fifty to seventy five people who are waiting for the same ritual of torture. As you look around they all look like grumpy, tired and hungry refugees from some kind of concentration camp - just like you do. They are not dressed up in their finest - for sure. They are, like you, staring at the big board with all the names listed in hope that their name will suddenly appear and they can get this ordeal over with. And, because you are in a hospital environment where they are always concerned with germs and the spread of germs - the temperature is not cool - it is absolutely cold. So, you sit there shivering, sipping on the asbestos tasting drink, staring at the walls, occasionally glancing through a six month old magazine for the umpteenth time - waiting your turn. Finally they call your name and you go back to this little dressing room where you remove everything but your socks and put on this flimsy one-size-fits-all gown. It only has one string - the string on the other side is missing, and you are supposed to reach behind your back and tie the gown shut and there is nothing to tie it to anyway. I have a hard enough time tying my shoes and they are right in front of my face. There is no way I will ever be able to tie something behind my back. At this point they show some real compassion - they bring you a heated blanket. Now you sit in this tiny cubical and wait, and then wait, and then wait some more. You are tired of waiting, the blanket is no longer warm, you are freezing, and now all of a sudden you need to go to the bathroom. It is just like magic - as soon as you build up the courage to try to sneak out of the little cubical and slip down the hall to find the bathroom, an attendent comes in to take you into the room where the big machine is. The CT Scan itself only last about fifteen minutes, but you have now been there for five hours waiting for this event to take place. After the scan you have to go to a nurse station where they do some monitoring and pull the needles out and put the band aids on and you are worn out.

The way the system works is you have all these tests and examinations on one day - Monday in this case. Then you have to hang around Houston on Tuesday and then come back in on Wednesday for consultation with the surgeon, the plastic surgeon and any other specialists. If you have an appointment first thing in the morning with the doctor, chances are he is already behind schedule. We have waited until noon when we had a 9:00AM appointment. But that is okay - if it sounds like I am complaining, I am not. I am absolutely grateful for everything the people at MD Anderson have done. They have a system that sometimes tests your endurance, but it works and it is the best in the world, in my opinion. In Houston there is always something interesting to see and do. The day off in-between gives you a chance to kind of refresh and relax. I understand that Houston has a good China Town and I think we will check this out on this trip and get some good Chinese food.

Sorry for the long email. If my system was working it would be a long Blog entry instead!!

AL