Things are good!

It's been some time since I've added to this journal. One reason is that there has not been much to add. But the big reason is there are really no issues.......and that is good.

It's been just over a year since I completed my treatment. Some days it seems like yesterday, but most days it seems like another lifetime. It was a year ago that I was trying to recover, sitting for days in a chair in the bedroom. I just celebrated my birthday yesterday and it was truly wonderful to be another year older. To mark the day, I went to the gym and ran two miles. Couldn't do that six months ago.

I had chest x-rays and a thyroid test to mark the year since treatment ended. Both turned out good. The spot in my chest was there before and the thyroid is not showing any damage from the radiation. So now my visits with the doctors are every two months instead of every six weeks. It's only two weeks difference, but it sure sounds good.

My instructions now are to do a physical exam of my neck.....every day.....for any changes, lumps, or bumps. Liken it to what women are supposed to do every month to get an early detection of breast cancer. The direction to do it 'daily' was surprising. I read that to mean even though things are good, I'm apparently not out of the woods. It's certainly not a problem. I have been very in tune with my body the past 18 months.

I continue to gain strength and I'm in the gym on a regular basis. Many of the things I experienced, things like tingles, numbness, and joint aches, have gradually gone away. I think they were all side effects of the treatment and it simply took a long time to recover, a lot longer that I ever imagined.

I eat whatever I want and most foods taste more or less like they should. I still can't trust my sense of taste. When something tastes bad I have to ask Faith if it really is. I'm maintaining my weight and may have actually gained two or three pounds. My mouth remains dry so I'm never to far from water. I notice it mostly at night and usually need a swallow every couple of hours. I must not completely wake up, because it doesn't seem to result in a lack of rest. My throat is still slightly raw but not really sore. I think it is from the scar tissue. I have one saliva gland that's wacko. It's in my bottom lip and it routinely swells up, then I inadvertenly bite it, then it swells some more. It usually goes down in a day or so just to return the following week. The doctor says if it stays wacko he'll remove it. I'm not there yet.

So, you see.....things are good! Next week is the annual Cowboys Against Cancer banquet. I'm going to share a top ten list. It's "you know you're a cancer survivor when" kind of thing. Maybe I'll post it here later. My next visit with the doctor is the week after Christmas............so I'm good to go for the holidays.