There's no place like home

I must say, the past few days have slipped by like a breeze.

Maybe because I'm keeping up on my meds. Maybe because I'm comfortable. Or maybe it's the fact I can sleep through most of the night and know I won't be awakened in three hours for a blood draw or a check of my vitals.

I any event, It's good to be home.

It's a good time, though to thank the many doctors, nurses, techs, therapists and others who made my stay at Florida Hospital so successful and -- mostly -- comfortable. These folks didn't just save my life. They expanded my perception of their jobs. And they're not easy jobs. I don't need to explain the complexities of surgery, doctoring or nursing, but others with jobs we sometimes take for granted also kept me going. Techs monitor your body and try to keep you comfortable, dietitians make sure you're eating properly, and the list could go on and on. You get my point.

I never did compile a full list of foods to eat or avoid at the hospital because soon after I started eating I had to stop and never got around to testing or tasting much of the fare. But let me suggest avoiding the hot cereals. The oatmeal and cream of wheat tasted like boiled and mashed cardboard. The fish dishes were good, as were some of the chicken items. That's about as far as I can go.

Since leaving the hospital I've kept up the meds and am today really feeling the best I've felt in a long time. The pain is down and my attention span seems to be increasing. The pain is down and my attention sp... uh, I just wrote that, didn't I? Oops.

I would like to than my friends and relatives who called and visited while I was in the hospital, and the many of you who wrote before and during my stay. You really made my days and gave me a sense of purpose. I don't know what to say, so I'll limit it to thank you very much. I appreciate all the prayers I was mentioned in, the wishes I received and the fact that you were all there for me. Thank you!

Enough of the sappy stuff.

I'll keep updating the blog daily or more often and keep you informed on my progress.

As for my cancer, I think I mentioned it earlier but might not have: I am 100 percent cancer free at the moment. All the pathology tests from the biopsies and items removed from my body indicate, in conjunction with the PET scan and CT scans, that there's not a lick of cancer in me.

I find it amazing that the doctors could do this -- and make it look relatively easy. They did. Drs. Z, Diamond, Styne and Boyer and their teams are just amazing. What more can I say? And I can't tell you the relief I feel knowing that for the moment I am a CancerVivor. I think I named this blog pretty aptly after all.