TREATABLE, NOT CURABLE

Great news today. I can go free range for at least another two or three months.

My meeting with Dr. Silverman this morning was not as stressful as some of our previous encounters. Maybe it was because the good doctor, just back from a cruise, seemed more relaxed than usual or maybe because Terry and I preceded the consultation by watching Kelly and Michael Live in the waiting room.

After a thorough physical examination, the doctor seemed pleased that I hadn’t lost weight and that I looked as healthy as a butcher’s dog. My sore right shoulder puzzled him but he assured me it wasn’t related to lymphoma.

“Probably a rotator cuff problem,” he suggested. “We’ll set up an ultrasound to see what’s going on there.”

Luckily I’m a southpaw so I’m still available in the bullpen should John Farrell need some relief help for his Jays.

Dr. Silverman explained that the one enlarged lymph node in my abdomen still concerned him greatly, certainly more than a myriad of other very small ones that also appeared on my last scan.

“What about surgery?” I asked looking for a short cut, both literally and figuratively, to fix the problem.

“It’s not as easy as that,” continued Dr.Silverman. “Surgery at this point would be a real risk. Besides, taking out one tumour may not solve anything.”

“You mean my cancer is treatable, not curable,” I suggested.

“Exactly,” he replied. “I’ve consulted with doctors at both Sunnybrook and Princess Margaret about your case. They all agree that a biopsy should be done to see if this is large cell lymphoma (the fast growing kind) or a slow growing lymphoma which probably was the precursor to your original condition. However, even doing a biopsy at this point would involve some tricky surgery that I don’t think is warranted yet. Let’s just do another CT scan in November and then go from there.”

I’m realizing that I’m getting good at the waiting game and that I can’t let the threat of cancer dominate my life as it has these past few weeks.

A quote in yesterday’s paper by Paul Henderson of Team Canada 72 fame captures my feelings exactly:

“ I refuse to let cancer define me. I get up every morning and I say, this is going to be a great day. I’m having a great life if I can just stay alive.”