The Good News

Greetings Loyal Readers,

I'm in the examination room now with Mom and Doc Cotton. Here's the skinny...well, it has been confirmed, the cancer in Mom's pancreas has been eradicated. Well, perhaps to be more precise, the doctors don't see any cancerous cells in her pancreas, though there is always the possibility that a few stray cells remain. Still the Troll has said that this is excellent news (of course, we knew that already) and that Mom's progress is better than the norm (not only did we expect nothing less from Mom, we would have accepted nothing less from Mom).

Ok, we've moved to the chemo room now, but there's more to report...all of Mom's counts looked fine (white blood cells, platelets, et al) so chemo is a "go" today. Also, the Troll explained a bit more about the cancer in the bile duct...As my oh so loyal and oh so intelligent readers recall, biliary duct cancer can be hard to diagnose and with Mom, they never could tell what the primary cancer was (though it was either biliary or pancreatic). Well, the Troll saw no problems in the bile ducts no cancerous cells and no compression of the bile duct. Now, it is unusual for the cancer to be eradicated in the primary area before it is knocked out in the places where it's spread, but again, one must remember that Mom is not an ordinary patient. In fact, when the Troll first gave Mom her prognosis, she said "Cotton Troll, that just won't do!" Ok, Mom didn't really call her Cotton Troll (not to her face anyway), but she did express that sentiment (and as we all should remember especially in the holiday season, it's the thought that counts).

Mom and Troll also discussed the radiofrequency ablation (RFA). Cotton reminded Mom that it's not standard to do RFA and that told her that there was no guarantee that it would eradicate things or even change things. However, Troll recommended it, Mom seconded it and the motion was carried. It looks like we're shooting for a January date for the RFA....as soon as YFC learns more, it will be reported exclusively in The Chemo Chronicle.

Random notes...we celebrated Chanukkah (The Festival of Lights....what a great name for a holiday) at Uncle Aaron's house on Saturday. We had the most traditional of Jewish dinners -- Chinese Food (this brings to mind the ancient riddle: Jewish civilization is 6,000 years old, Chinese civilization is 5,000 years old. So the question is, what did the Jews eat for the first 1,000 years?...sure it's old, but it's also a classic). ...Also, Mom is having a rendez-vous with her friend Gloria post-chemo...high tea at The Drake. How frou-frou! YFC is a much more simple kind of guy, he likes his tea iced, with a slice of lime...the way G-d intended it to be served. ...Finally, Cousinie Scott (a man very deserving of the "ie" designation) will be making a special guest appearance at chemo next week as part of the Chemo Buddy program. If you would like to be a Chemo Buddy, e-mail Mom today. Don't delay or the best slots will be gone before you know it.

Finally, are you looking for a unique holiday gift to give to that person who has everything? Give the gift of inspiration by sending them a subscription to The Chemo Chronicle. Where else can you find a gift that costs so little, but means so much?

It's always a labor of love to write The Chronicles but YFC must confess that it's infinitely more fun when there is good news to report. So a good day to you, my loyal readers. I wish you good tidings and cheer to you and your kin...

Faithfully,
Corey