my Blog

Not quite black and white

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 09:58:09 -0400

Yesterday’s visit with Dr. Gallinger wasn’t very conclusive. My brother and I waited in the patient room for about 30 min before the doc came in and we began our chat. I have completed my scans 2 we

Summer nights

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:38:39 -0400

Even though the weather hasn’t been ideal this summer the company makes up for it. Recently I’ve been able to spend evenings in some cool spots abroad as well as just north of Toronto. I have been a

No major development

Fri, 5 Jun 2009 13:35:11 -0400

Late May scans showed no major progression. One node grew by 7 mm and that was the only difference from the previous imaging in the spring. Naturally, I am eager to go under the knife to remove anyt

Asia calling

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 07:59:42 -0400

Nothing new to report on the health front. I am still in standby mode waiting for more scans at the end of may. I took this opportunity to meet up with friends in some cool cities far away. My trip

One more node

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 11:53:52 -0400

Last Thursday’s visit with Dr. Gallinger was short of my expectations. It turns out that the scan revealed one more enlarged lymph node in my abdomen. We have hundreds of nodes throughout our bodies

Mondays

Wed, 4 Mar 2009 11:49:30 -0500

I started off my week by touching down at Pearson Airport early Monday at 5:30 am. It used to be that I would find myself in this environment often on any morning just by doing my job. This time aro

Back at home

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 20:27:37 -0500

I am glad to report that the doctors considered the surgery a success. Having said that, soon after the procedure was over on December 15th, problems began in the recovery. What was an expected 7 da

5th time’s a charm?

Fri, 5 Dec 2008 11:03:58 -0500

I met again with Dr. Gallinger a week ago and this time around Dr. Moulton was involved. We decided to go ahead with the operation however they wanted to include another surgeon that had more experie

Thinking things over

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 22:18:20 -0500

I’ve meant to publish something earlier but was waiting to get a more concrete game plan from my surgeon. I completed my CT and PET scan last thursday morning and that same afternoon met with Dr. Gal

Waiting for a new light

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 19:36:57 -0400

During last weeks visit Dr. Gallinger insisted that along with his team he would like to wait till November for one more scan and see what the trend is. My best case scenario is that there is only mi

Need another rescue

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 21:18:28 -0400

Today has been another set back day. After Dr. Gallinger entered the patient room and initially greeting me he went on to say “ I have some good news and some bad news”. I knew at that point that th

Scanning again

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 12:40:14 -0400

The past little while was reminiscent of what my summers used to be before my diagnosis. It’s been 4 months since my last scan and without any treatments it was easier for me to forget the reality of

Feel like dancin’

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 19:52:20 -0400

A couple of weeks ago I finally built up the nerve to make a phone call to my surgeon’s office to inquire about the blood results from May. It normally takes 2-3 weeks to get these results and I have

Re-building

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:48:32 -0400

I couldn’t have asked for a better summer. Even though the weather in Toronto has been very unpredictable, I find myself in the exact spot that I want to be in. I’m feeling great and enjoying every

Crossing another bridge

Mon, 26 May 2008 21:05:42 -0400

Today was another one of those days that would dictate how I was to spend the next few months. I had my CT scan last Thursday and met with Dr. Gallinger today to discuss the results. This experience

California dreamin’

Fri, 16 May 2008 00:32:46 -0400

This time around surgery recovery came quite quickly. I will see Dr. Gallinger in 10 days and before our meeting I will complete another CT scan which we will review during the appointment. No physic

Another shot at cure

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:34:09 -0400

I can’t say that the surgery went without a complication / confusion but the intended job was completed. Even though scar tissue from previous operations made things sticky, Dr. Gallinger was able to

Gettin’ cut

Sun, 6 Apr 2008 17:46:53 -0400

Over the past two years I’ve been a regular at this Toronto city block. On the right is the Princess Margaret Hospital and on the left is the Toronto General. In the past I would get chemotherapy fr

Another hotspot

Wed, 2 Apr 2008 13:45:12 -0400

I didn’t get the news I was hoping for yesterday. The scan reveled one malignant looking spot on the surface of my liver. Even though the spot is very small (less than 1cm) its location makes it ve

Coasting along

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:21:15 -0400

It has been a long winter in Toronto with near record snowfalls. I’ve been doing a lot of chillin’ on the ice and the slopes as well managed to slip in a quick trip to Mexico with Rob. My indoor soc

Sporting a new outlook

Tue, 5 Feb 2008 09:34:36 -0500

The results from my January scan were clean. This means a great start for me in 2008 and with each passing day I am outliving my Armageddon day which was January 1st. Once again I’m in a situation w

Happy New Year

Thu, 3 Jan 2008 20:09:36 -0500

I would like to start off by wishing everyone a Happy 2008. I’ve spent Monday night just like I always do on New Year’s Eve, with some close friends. Over the past month I have lost myself in the C

Still not out of the clouds

Wed, 5 Dec 2007 12:18:03 -0500

Judging by Monday’s scan I’m still in a fight with some bad cells. The images showed a little growth on an edge of an RFA spot from earlier this year (not the same as the last one) as well as a tiny

Soft landing

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 12:03:08 -0500

Winter came early for me this year as I welcomed it at the same place that I ended it last year, Whistler BC. Themy, George and I took the 5 hr flight west this week only to do some more “flying” onc

Life goes on

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 22:14:43 -0400

The RFA procedure last week was very uneventful. I didn’t realize before that once the needle goes in and the Doctor flips the switch to burn, it stays on for about 20 minutes. This was a pretty lon