The people are begging for a report from cancer-free me so here goes.

Surgery went well. This is probably old news, but it is still true. I am now back to work and feel fairly close to normal.

I did see the surgeon again, and tried to break up with him, but he is hanging on and set up another appointment for next week. He is very pleased with my progress and was happy to report that I really do seem to be cancer free (nothing in my lymph nodes FOR SURE and that he got "good margins" on the cancer which is now in the bio-dump, probably somewhere near the Ikea parking lot.)

I guess I will have a better idea of the treatment plan after I meet with the oncologist. I think the scenario is likely to be four months of chemo and then 2 months of radation, but still undetermined. I am REALLY REALLY hoping that I can put off the chemo till January, but we will see.

I personally find the word "chemotherapy" to be very vague. It has come to mean "drugs used to treat cancer" but really, if you think about it, it just means "medicine." So, if you took a few aspirin today, you administered chemotherapy to yourself.

What will very likely happen to me is that every two weeks, I will go to some chemo clinic and they will sit me down, stick an IV in my arm and then give me a drip "cocktail" of whatever drugs they think are the right combo for me. Then I have the next two weeks to "recover" from the dosing before they stick me again.

Intelligent people will ask themselves "If Carolyn is 100% cancer free as indicated in the third paragraph, why the hell is she going to go through this intense drug regimen?"

The problem is the 1% chance that the cancer "took a left turn at Albuquerque" and is lurking around somewhere in my body waiting to develop not just a simple lump but a multiplex that features 200 units of luxury housing, state-of-the-art movie theatres, 200 specialty stores, and a Starbucks every 50 feet.

So, I am going to agree to all of this dosing to protect myself against the If my mother had had access to the drugs that are now available to me, she might be alive today.

Anyway, I should know more in a week or so. I love hearing from people so drop a line. As soon as the chemo phase starts, I will begin my pleas for snail mail again. It is just so wonderful to get stuff in the mail.

Enjoy December everyone!