Life Came At Me Fast

I’m posting some photos which just became available. They are of me just out of surgery, so I look pretty beat up! J and I marvel at the progress I have made only five weeks out of surgery! I assure you all, I look and feel much better than these photos suggest. One is a close up of me. One is a shot of dad looking over me and the other is an exterior shot of the Mayo Clinic (where my procedure was done).

In other news…

Big day today! We found out a THIRD opinion of the type of tumor (cancer) I have. If we’re looking for a bright side, we’ve found it: I have Poorly Differentiated Squamous Cell Carcinoma (ethmoid sinus tumor) instead of Sino-Nasal Undifferentiated Carcinoma. That is a mouthful, but the Squamous cell, as bad as it is, is not as bad as the latter of the two. J told me the survival rate for SNUC (the one I don’t have) is five years (yikes!) She hasn’t told me for the cancer I have, and I’m not asking. Ignorance is bliss.

I also went to the dentist today. I did go to a different dentist only weeks ago, but for some reason, he did not prepare fluoride trays for me which my radiation doctor insists I’ll need. The new dentist prepared them gladly, and also found a couple of small cavities the last guy missed. I was a little perturbed that some cavities were missed, but the new dentist explained the technology he uses is absolutely the latest stuff you can get anywhere, so unless our last dentist had it all, he would have certainly missed my tiny cavities. I guess he is right, because I’ve never seen an office or technology like was used on me today (a plasma screen TV while I’m waiting in the chair – neat!). The dentist actually did all of the work on me and took time to talk to me and J. I would recommend him to anyone in the greater Phoenix Valley. ALSO this dentist is somewhat of an expert on the effect radiation therapy has on teeth (it is significant). Not every dentist knows the severity of the impact this treatment will have, and my new dentist is an expert on this matter.

After J and I went to the dentist, we went to the grocery. I walked around all day without my cane, and the pain is not so bad. Maybe I’m getting better!


See you all next time!