Happy Thanksgiving!!!...I'm thankful for...

...being alive to give thanks!!! This year has been a real challenge for my family & I, and we're reallyreallyreally grateful for everyone's love & support during our ordeal with my kidney cancer, which I'd like to think is over for the time being (except for the continuing recovery from my radical nephrectomy, a.k.a. rip that sucker out by the roots!). My prognosis is good right now, persuming that no further tumor growth is detected by my 6-week CT scan on 12/14. The NIH docs will put my on the wait-&-watch list for a few years, and hopefully I'll not need any further follow-up treatments. If this shit does come back, I hope it's years in the future, when the research has developed effective treatment therapies that aren't worse than the disease...but I'm hoping I've seen the last of cancer for the duration, at least the kind that can't be frozen off in a doctor's office...I do have a few small skin lesions due for removal...it's always something.

At this stage of my post-op recovery, my general condition is pretty good, with the occasional discomfort in my side, where the cutting, suturing, snipping & scraping all happened. My digestive system took a major hit from the tumor's intrusion, and the surgical process, not to mention the effect of pain meds, so I'm having to really watch what I eat, and limit the amount of food, to avoid severe pain in the surgical area from gas & bloating...man, that is really uncomfortable!!! It passes, eventually...(loud FART noise here!)...sorry about that...

Mike