Well.....most of it.
Well.....at least a lot of it.

If for some reason I don’t make one of Andy’s or Dennis’s poker tournys or if I’m off the board for a short time or if I don’t answer someone’s email immediately, forgive me, but I’ll get it all done in due time.

I’m not looking for sympathy, cards or flowers. ( Although an occasional prayer is never turned down. ) This is just to keep you abreast of the situation.

Last June I was diagnosed with lung cancer. Since then I’ve been through 12 weeks of chemo.

On Jan. 4th I had a major operation removing the upper lobe of my left lung.

After the operation I had 33 radiation treatments.

Last week I had an xray and a CT scan. Easy stuff by now.

Yesterday brought a consultation with my oncologist to review the results of the xray and CT scan. The results showed the left lung to be free of any cancer.

Not so lucky with the right one. Xray showed and CT scan confirmed the presence of 3 not so small nodules that did not appear in a Feb. xray.

On the recommendation of my oncologist, I will become a Guniea Pig for UNR and the VA., participating in a study for NSCLC ( Non Small Cell Lung Cancer ) patients. This consists of ingesting one pill ( Tarceva ) per day. An IV every three weeks. This IV could be more chemo or it could be be a placebo. The major side effect of Traceve is a rash that will occur on the upper torso extending to the top of my head. Doc said if I don’t get the rash, it ain’t workin’. Soooo.....I’ve decided to let my hair get long and grow a beard to mask whatever facial rash there might be. Don’t know if that will work, but will give it a shot. I may be incognito at the convention. Besides, all that hair will be a good fire starter for the cremation when I croak. BTW.......as of now it looks like the timing of the treatments will still allow us to get to the convention. YA HOOTIE !!!

That’s it for now.