Annus Horribilis Ends

It was January 29th, 2008, when I noticed the lump in my neck that was eventually diagnosed as cancer. Yesterday, exactly one year later, I received the results of my pathology report from the neck dissection: "No Tumor Seen." So, the story of the last (horrible) year has a happy ending. :>

The MDs are all saying "congratulations," to which I reply "thanks!" and then remind them that they are the ones who burned, poisoned, and sliced this stuff out of me. I really think I have some great docs, so if you're ever looking for .... wait ... I hope you never need that referral.

Of course, they did leave their mark, and we're hoping to end this whole nightmare the way it started - with a contest. We need a really good "backstory" for the scar on my neck, something I can tell people who stare rudely at it and, believe me, they will. The winner will receive an autographed 8x10" glossy of the photo below, so bring it on...


p.s. "Pissed off a great white shark" is already in the mix. You'll have to be more creative than that to win!

9.5 inches of fun

In early Jan, I had my scheduled CT scan (see post below) and we found that the original problem lymph node, although not showing any overt signs of cancer, was not continuing to shrink down as much as they’d like. So we decided to take it out, along with other tissue in the vicinity.

This last Wednesday (21st) they knocked me out and performed a "selective neck dissection." As I sit here, I've got a 9.5 inch scar running from under my chin, down and across my neck, and then up to just under my ear. It's full of metal staples, and looks really attractive. Fun!

They send whatever they take out to the pathologist, who puts it under a microscope. The two most likely outcomes are a) “sorry Mr. Hayes, it turns out there is no cancer there so you really didn’t need the neck surgery, or b) “there was some residual cancer there and we got it all.” We won’t know the results of the pathology report for about another five days, so once again it’s time to play “let’s make the cancer patient wait to hear what is going on.”

In any case, I'm glad to be home (after three nights in the hospital) and have maintained my sense of humor thus far. Of course, the narcotics do help. I'll post again after we hear from the pathologist.