Celebrating NED with a new photo
And today I had the staples removed. There were a lot because the surgeon started out doing a lap technique and when the couldn't locate the cancer tissue, opened me up. Wonder if I'll get a 2 for 1 deal? The staples were really irritating and for the first time since the Big Dig, I feel really good physically about the incisions. Having the staples out was not a big deal. Didn't feel most them them, and only a couple stung, about like a little kitten playfully biting on a finger. The rest of the day was without irritation. Still not much appetite or stamina. I'm told I need to learn to like brocolli.OMIGOD.
In my new photo at left shot this morning, please check out the golf shirt my wife, Mary, had made for me. Note the Semicolon "logo." The surgeon got a big kick out of it. However, no one else was foolish enough to ask me what it meant, as I'd have gone on and on about them getting a screening. I'm running out of space, so I'll close. Thanks again, you all are the wind beneath my wings.
Comments
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awesome news!
I know you and Mary have been on a roller coaster of fear and anxiety and are very relieved to be on the smooth approach to the end! I am sure your scar will be a constant reminder of just how lucky you are and how quickly life can be turned on it's end! You and Mary need to go out and do something you have been putting off because you never found the time or the money! Enjoy and breathe a BIG sigh of relief! Stay cautious, continue with followups to be sure the beast doesn't try to rear it's ugly head again, but enjoy your life! And which logo do you have? the colossal colon? My old eyes can't see clearly on that picture!
mary0 -
I LOVE THE SHIRT!
Your wife has a great sense of humor. I love it!
Try squirting some flax oil and lemon juice on the steamed brocoli. Or mix it in with a baked potato. YUM! (I don't recommend juicing it but others have--I don't do well with raw broc).
cheers!
peace, emily0 -
Congratulations!
Hi! Thank you for posting. Although I was absent from your ordeal ( I was working full time then gone from the country for 2 months) I am thrilled to hear that someone caught this disease in a VERY early stage. That is wonderful. Just keep up with your followup colonoscopies!
Best wishes,
Susan H.0 -
Broc is a crock!2bhealed said:I LOVE THE SHIRT!
Your wife has a great sense of humor. I love it!
Try squirting some flax oil and lemon juice on the steamed brocoli. Or mix it in with a baked potato. YUM! (I don't recommend juicing it but others have--I don't do well with raw broc).
cheers!
peace, emily
I know it's healthy for me, so I'll just have to learn to like it. Juicing, can't quite do it. Mixing it with a baked potato is interesting so I'll try that. Going to Whole Foods and find a good-looking organic broc to bring home! I can't even imagine eating a raw broc. I have had it at a Ruth's Chris restaurant with some kind of cheese looking sauce dribbled over it. I suppose that's a no-no as well.
Thanks for the ideas. Where you live sounds like perfect solitude for recovery and renewal. I'm envious!0 -
yay
Oh excellent for you!!! You are So fortunate...my experience sounds almost exactly like yours-I had a stage I T1 very small cancer contained within a polyp and removed with the polyp ..or so we thought. I ended up having 1 stupid lymph node involved so became a stage IIIa and so have to go through chemo and radiation hell. I hope to be joining you in NED status this spring! Congrats on it getting caught early!0 -
Viva the Velveeta advice!Buzzard said:Broccoli
Steam your broccoli and melt Velveeta cheese and pour over it......
Or just take raw broccoli and ranch dressing and dip the broc into the ranch dressing...
Both are great.........and congrats on your NED.......
Thanks, a voice of calm and reason at last! I have had broc with the steaming and some kind of cheese sauce at a Ruth's Chris and it was the only way I could get it down. To me, eating the crown is about like eating the texture of coffee grounds, but onward and upward for the healthy new me!
I've never had broc raw and when I'd see it in salads or soups, I'll remove it. I did get a kick out of Dana Carvey on Saturday Night Live with his rendition of "Chopping Brocoli" on the piano.
I know how lucky I've been in all this and am going to do absolutely the right things from now on in vigilance and healthy eating. I don't want a repeat, and I know that possibility is real.
Thanks for all the posts you've sent my way and ones I've read you sent to others. I only hope my experience can benefit others as well.0 -
Thanks for the encouragementpolarprincess said:yay
Oh excellent for you!!! You are So fortunate...my experience sounds almost exactly like yours-I had a stage I T1 very small cancer contained within a polyp and removed with the polyp ..or so we thought. I ended up having 1 stupid lymph node involved so became a stage IIIa and so have to go through chemo and radiation hell. I hope to be joining you in NED status this spring! Congrats on it getting caught early!
I know the chance of a cancer is now a reality and I'm going to stay on top of it in all areas. What is a 1T1? I never understood all the codes.
Right now I'm basking in the relative comfort of having all those staples out of me. I should have kept them and made a keychain or something out of them, but the doc just took them out too quickly and I was tense thinking it was going to be like having a whole bunch of teeth pulled out.
Our prayers are for you and the others and that the chemo/rad is tolerable and over as quickly on your way to NED status.0 -
much maligned broccolitrainer said:Broc is a crock!
I know it's healthy for me, so I'll just have to learn to like it. Juicing, can't quite do it. Mixing it with a baked potato is interesting so I'll try that. Going to Whole Foods and find a good-looking organic broc to bring home! I can't even imagine eating a raw broc. I have had it at a Ruth's Chris restaurant with some kind of cheese looking sauce dribbled over it. I suppose that's a no-no as well.
Thanks for the ideas. Where you live sounds like perfect solitude for recovery and renewal. I'm envious!
feeling SOOOO sorry for the poor broccoli! I happen to love it just about any way but smothered in butter! I like it raw, fresh frozen, steamed, and if pressed, i will eat it with cheese sauce
. I'm a big vege fan, always have been! Never much for red meat either, exercised like I was doing it for a living, and still wound up on this roller coaster! Eating healthy will definitely move you along that road of life, and do try some juicing! Experiment with different combos and you'll be sure to find SOMETHING you like! And just remember, you don't have to subsist on a diet of only "icky healthy" stuff! Mix it up and I am sure you will find something you can live with (literally!). Take care, NED!
mary0 -
You and the others humble memsccolon said:awesome news!
I know you and Mary have been on a roller coaster of fear and anxiety and are very relieved to be on the smooth approach to the end! I am sure your scar will be a constant reminder of just how lucky you are and how quickly life can be turned on it's end! You and Mary need to go out and do something you have been putting off because you never found the time or the money! Enjoy and breathe a BIG sigh of relief! Stay cautious, continue with followups to be sure the beast doesn't try to rear it's ugly head again, but enjoy your life! And which logo do you have? the colossal colon? My old eyes can't see clearly on that picture!
mary
I have never known so many people in one group who are so supportive of others and it is very humbling. Compared to what others on this board have experienced and are going through, my own trial with cancer being resolved at least in this initial battle relatively easily, I just stand in awe of everyone. Maybe it's because everyone draws strength from the others, some spiritual nutrition.
The logo on my shirt in the photo is nothing more than the grammar mark of the semicolon embroidered in white thread. People do ask and they they get a fill of my spiel on why they need to get screened. Guess I'm turning into NED the nag now,at least when it comes to early detection. I write a newsletter on marketing and pR that goes to about 500 people in the industries I work in and missed the October edition due to the recovery. So I sent out a combined Oct-Nov edition, it goes by email. I led off with why I missed the October issue and told about the club no one wants to be a member of. I've gotten a lot of replies with people either saying they get the screenings done or since I've put a familar face to the situation, they are now motivated to get it done. That feels good to have helped.0 -
Congrats!trainer said:Thanks for the encouragement
I know the chance of a cancer is now a reality and I'm going to stay on top of it in all areas. What is a 1T1? I never understood all the codes.
Right now I'm basking in the relative comfort of having all those staples out of me. I should have kept them and made a keychain or something out of them, but the doc just took them out too quickly and I was tense thinking it was going to be like having a whole bunch of teeth pulled out.
Our prayers are for you and the others and that the chemo/rad is tolerable and over as quickly on your way to NED status.
I'm so happy for you that this has turned out the best it possibly can!! Now you can say, been there, done that, wife made me the shirt!
As for the broccoli... have you tried it as broccoli/cheese soup?? What with the colder weather coming... yum!!
Also, although it may look weird, but try whipping the steamed brocc into whipped potatoes. Sure, the potatoes take on a lovely green colour... but it all tastes good
So this has reminded me... I should go and get some brocc and cauliflower... and then actually eat them
Hugggggs,
Cheryl0 -
OK, you go first on the broccCherylHutch said:Congrats!
I'm so happy for you that this has turned out the best it possibly can!! Now you can say, been there, done that, wife made me the shirt!
As for the broccoli... have you tried it as broccoli/cheese soup?? What with the colder weather coming... yum!!
Also, although it may look weird, but try whipping the steamed brocc into whipped potatoes. Sure, the potatoes take on a lovely green colour... but it all tastes good
So this has reminded me... I should go and get some brocc and cauliflower... and then actually eat them
Hugggggs,
Cheryl
Thanks for the note. Didn't know they allowed brocc in Canada! I'm now curious about the brock/cheese soup. I suppose Campbell's has a recipe or someone does. Tell you what, after it warms up and Mary and I again visit Vancouver (that is where you live, right?) we'll find a restaurant that serves it and we'll treat if you like.
We were going to get Olympic tickets, but with the uncertainty of the cancer, we opted not to do that. Crazy us spent a week in Toronto last January for some Winterlicious festival. Had a great time, despite the frigid weather.
In the city hall, there were all sorts of Canadians going around with free hugs signs and hugging total strangers. I thought they were a bunch of pickpockets! is that one of the ways you guys stay warm? :-)0 -
Thanks!kmygil said:BEAUTIFUL!
That is just the greatest news! I am so happy for you and so very proud that you put the word out there in your newsletter! Your wife should market the semi-colon shirts. I'd get one!!!!
God Bless,
Kirsten
Oh, yeah, I'm a believer in early detection now and will probably wear out my welcome in a lot of places in my alter ego as NED the nag!
Nice idea on the shirts, but execution and fulfillment would be a nightmare. I'd only do it if I could figure out a way to reach a bunch of Semicolons and then only if it were possible to donate any proceeds to the cancer society.
In the meantime, if you're serious about one, just find a sporting goods embroidery shop and have them make one up, that's what Mary did. I was looking at photos from one of the Colonapaloozas on-line and a group had Tshirts with some web address on it and a really large silkscreened semicolon on the front of it. Same blue and white as my shirt.
We shall ovecome!0 -
Ned the Nag sezKanort said:;
Great news! I love your new name...Ned the Nag... and your Semicolon shirt! I'm sure it will prove to be a great conversation starter. Hopefully, your story will encourage others to get tested.
Hugs,
Kay
Thanks for your note. I am definitely on a mission to promote early screening. I had a meeting today with a new client and at the meeting were the president of the company and the company lawyer. When the President learned I was recoverying from surgery, he really opened up, asked why kind and then talked about how he and his wife go into together for a regular colonoscopy. The lawyer also had been screened. So we all got to laughing about the passing of gas after the colonoscopy before they let you go home. How odd to have such a topic be an icebreaker in a business meeting. And yes, we got the account!0
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