No more basketball

Some of the Rats, including Naomi, at the end of the fateful game compliments of the AA News.

The Rats played in their Regional semi-finals in Lansing's "Earvin 'Magic' Johnson" gym. No magic rubbed off on them. He was the late 70s star recruited by MSU leading them to a NCAA championship going into the NBA early only to leave a few years later with the announcement he had AIDS during the time in which no medications existed to slow it down. It was predicted he would be dead in a year but more than 20 years later, he thrives. He must have some rare, indolent type.

They played sloppily. Still they were ahead in the 4th quarter only to have Niles tie it up in the end so they went into OT where no one could score. They fouled a Niles player who made the only bucket needed to win the game. Numerous turn-overs against a team they should have beaten but their run would have surely ended Thursday in the regional final against a team a favorite to win the state championship next week. Naomi played OK.

Naomi's teammate who had a MRI to investigate a back injury leading to a discovery of a softball size ovarian tumor recovered from her surgery last week to be at the game. The tumor was benign.

Yesterday marked my 6 month anniversary of being in Cancerland. The clock started ticking at 9-10-08 when I was alerted to the presence of the tumor. There is a relatively high rate of recurrence (either in the breast or mets) for the first 3 years then it drops off sharply. At 5 years, the recurrence rate is less than that of the estrogen positive ladies. I will be monitored every 3-4 months either by my onc, the rad onc or the surgeon for 3 years. They will do no scans to see if it has metathesized anywhere unless I have symptoms. Dr. Henry claims these scans do more harm than good and never do they extend one's life. If a met is found, treatment could be started only to extend one's life but hardly ever curing it. So I wait for symptoms. Fortunately bone cancer rarely strikes below the elbows or knees-frequent sites of pain especially for runners. Some patients go crazy wondering if any headache is a sign of brain mets, bone ache, sign of bone mets, etc. I will try to be different so I can live somewhat happily keeping way, way back in my mind that I'm in the shadow of death. Odds are in my favor but not as much as I would like.

I nixed the Zometa study but Dr. Henry didn't pressure me. I do like her alot. She's a very sweet, intelligent, natural beauty. No make-up and sometimes doesn't find time to even to run a comb through her hair. She showed up yesterday with several rat's nests in her hair.

A funny thing happened yesterday in the infusion room. I was flipping the channels and I found the beginning of the "Cold Case Files" in which the case that Steve was on the jury for was featured. My chemomate who shares my TV watched as she knew about the case as anyone would who lived in MI during the late 60s. Steve was sitting right under the TV and at several points, his face would be on TV too. She did a double take. Yep that's me, he said.

We acquired Sunny in the middle of the night. Every time one of us stirs, she wakes up hoping we'd get up and take her home. She whines when this doesn't happen and eventually goes to sleep. For most of the time I've been typing this, she sits at my feet with her toy in her mouth looking hopeful that I will throw it. Can't wait to deal with her and myalgia at the same time which should hit me hard tomorrow.

So my walks will include her, a 3 year old German Shepherd. She is the anti-Spud dog. Spud is my elderly, deaf pug who lives to eat and can barely move due to arthritis. Sunny's ears are constantly scanning her world for info that might be useful to her. Our house will be safe from invaders on her watch. She is currently boycotting her food as it isn't being served in her house. Nor can she be bribed with treats. She lives to play catch. Spud even when young never got into it. Tug of war was his game and sniff every tree in the park. The park is too far for him now. He can walk a house or two away from ours.

Tonight is the UM support group. I will see if Marilyn can finally leave the house and come with me. She was supposed to have her last Taxol 4 days after my 3rd Taxol but her blood counts were too low. I don't know how she's doing as chemo really wipes her out and I wait for her to call me. As much of a pain I find chemo, I have been much less affected by it than most. I should consider myself 'lucky' but I am still bemoaning the fact that 'lucky' would be not having to deal with this in the first place. But the new 'lucky', on 9-10-11 finding myself with no mets and trying to concentrate on living fully until and after then.