I'm back home now and have a new “tricep”

Yeah, the “tricep” comment in the title is another lame attempt at humor on my part (i.e., 4 muscles [quad] – 1 muscle = 3 muscles [tri]). Yeah, still not funny . . . especially if I have to explain it . . . but I’m trying.

As Holly mentioned yesterday, the surgery went well. In fact, Dr. Monson said that the surgery was made easier by the fact that there was no surrounding nerves or major blood vessels. I take this to mean that my recovery time could be even faster than normal, with fewer long-term complications.

But what really shocks me is that after just one night in the hospital, I'm back home and feeling much better than I could have ever expected. Yes, the Percocet does help, but I have fairly good mobility too, being able to walk with crutches and even climb stairs. With any luck, I should be able to shed the crutches within a few weeks.

Funny thing is I have not even seen the incision itself. That’s all carefully wrapped up within several layers of dressings, the topmost of which is an Ace bandage. I suspect that they will change that when I have my drains removed next week. From what I can tell though, my guess is that the incision is about 16 inches long.

The worst part of the entire experience was the nausea I experienced after the surgery. I ended up getting sick a couple of times yesterday and really could not eat anything all day. This was likely the anesthesia, morphine, or both. But I’ve been fine in this regard since last night. I owe a lot to my sister Barbara (the Oncology nurse), who spent the night with me in the hospital and helped me with countless issues, including pushing me with the Physical Therapy. When you're stuck in a bed with nowhere to go, this type of support is priceless.

And speaking of family, everyone in my family has come into town to show their support. My Mom and Dad from Knoxville, my sister Diane from Lexington, and my sister Deborah from Cumming. All have been tremendously helpful. And many thanks to the rest of you for your emails, letters, and words of encouragement and support. Encouragement and hope really is the best medicine!

Moments in Sarcoma

The Team Sarcoma Initiative (http://www.team-sarcoma.net/) has recently put out a request for Sarcoma patients and their families to write "Moments in Sarcoma".

This is a new project that will publish moments from the lives of patients and their families, doctors, researchers, and friends. Submissions are invited during the month of February. Then one submission will be published daily on the Team Sarcoma Website starting in May or June, continuing through the International Sarcoma Awareness Week in July and ending when all chosen moments have been published.

As a part of this very special project, one patient or survivor who submits a Moment by March 1 will be awarded a sponsorship of at least $2,000 (there may also be the possibility of some travel assistance) to participate in the 2009 "Core" Team Sarcoma Bike Tour during July 18-25, 2009.

For more details, see http://www.team-sarcoma.net/moments.html. All submissions must be 300 words or less.

Weighing in at 297 words, here is my submission:


“One Day at a Time”

So I’ve been battling Myxoid Liposarcoma now since July, 2008. I probably had this condition a year prior but just never knew it. Life was good and everything was easy. Then came the rather shocking diagnosis and even scarier “treatment” plan. At the time I wondered, “Why did this happen to me? Am I going to survive this ordeal?”

I’ve since endured 6 five-day cycles of intensive chemotherapy (over 4 months), numerous emergency trips to the hospital, 25 rounds of radiation (over 5 weeks), and surgery is only days away. I’ll be honest: the chemo sucked . . . and the smelly hospital food was even worse! My strong recommendation is to order takeout from your favorite restaurants instead. Whatever sounds appealing is what you should eat.

In contrast, the radiation treatment was a cakewalk. Sure, I now have funny tan lines on my left thigh and a little “sunburn”, but who cares! Life is good again, my appetite is back, and I’m even working fulltime (which I find quite therapeutic). It turns out that I work with some pretty darn funny guys . . . and it does feel good to laugh again.

If my sarcoma journey has taught me anything, I’ve learned to cherish the good times, enjoy my family and friends, have a few laughs, and even appreciate a fine meal. I refuse to dwell on the negative or live in fear. Yes, I concede that I am not in control of my destiny, but I am steadfast in my resolve to enjoy life and be thankful for all of the “easy times” that come my way (like now). I no longer grapple with questions that cannot be answered, but instead take things one day at a time.

http://dnovak-liposarcoma.blogspot.com

Scans all look good

Just a quick update – the preliminary results on both my CT Scan and the MRI are positive. No spread of the cancer was readily evident in the CT Scan and the MRI showed some further shrinkage of the tumor. The official report from the Radiologist should be out later this week and they'll let me know if the news is any different.

I also have a surgical date/time set up: Wednesday, March 11, at noon. According to the doc, I should be out of the hospital within 2 days and then on crutches “only as necessary for balance”. Dr. Monson also stated that they would be putting staples and drains in my leg, all of which would come out 3 weeks post op. Beyond that, he said that I was looking great and that he didn’t expect any problems with either the surgery or my recovery.

What more could I ask for?!?

UPDATE 2/18/2009 --
I got a call this morning from my doctor's office to let me know that the "official" radiology report for my CT Scan has confirmed that there was no apparent spread of the cancer. Yeah!