Happy Anniversary?

Eight months ago today I underwent eight hours of abdominal surgery to try to help me beat, or at least hold off, pancreatic cancer.

The results were mixed: the tumor was wrapped too tightly around key blood vessels to be removed. On the other hand, the surgeon saw that the cancer hadn't spread beyond the pancreas and rearranged some of my other digestive organs so that they would work together even with a golf-ball-size intruder nearby. He also put some markers on the tumor so that an advanced form or radiation could be used. I had that treatment, which shrunk the tumor a little, in November.

Today, I had my 18th chemotherapy treatment and also got word that a measurement of the cancer activity had fallen again, to a level of less than tenth of what it was last summer. And after three straight weeks of infusions on Thursdays, my body gets a break next week.

The common wisdom for these things is that a patients shouldn't get too high or low with each twist in the road, and that maintaining a positive attitude is a key part of the fight.

I'm trying.