Home, sweet home

As wonderful as the folks at Florida Hospital were, it's so good to be home.

During the weekend I enjoyed the birthday celebrations for granddaughter Emily. Aimee and Luis held the party at My Gym in the Dr. Philips area, and though skeptical at first I confess that the place was really cool, and all the little ones had a blast. There was another party afterward at Luis' parents' home in Kissimmee. Family was there in abundance, as were family friends. I was so glad to see friends and colleagues Anika and Eric Palm and their 4-month-old daughter Olamina, or Mina for short.

Though I must say that it was in a mirror at My Gym that I noticed I was standing stooped down, looking old. It was because of the surgery I had less than a week before and the pain pills I was on. But I looked old and rickety, and I guess at that moment I was. (No comments from those like my daughters who would say I look old all the time.)

My days mainly involve sleep. Some of it is created by exhaustion from activity, albeit minimal activity. Some is chemically induced. (You know my motto: Better living through chemistry!)

I get on the computer once a day for a few minutes, give or take. I have received so many comments from friends on Facebook and from this blog, and I'd love to reply to all, but it'll have to be when I can focus for a bit longer.

I have a visit with Dr. Joe Boyer, the surgeon who pulled the tumor from my chest, next week and prior to that visit I hope to hear from the doctor about a new cardiologist.

At that visit I hope to get an estimate of how long my recovery will take and when I'll be able to return to work. Most folks look for ways to get out of work, yet I just can't wait to return.

Maybe that's because it'll mean my life's getting back to normal.

Revisiting with Dr. Boyer

Since receiving the all-clear-sort-of from Dr. Lee Zehngebot last week, I made an appointment with Dr. Joseph Boyer, the surgeon who turned my cancerous esophagus and stomach into a stomach that acts like an esophagus.

I'll be at his new office across Orange Avenue from the main Florida Hospital Orlando building Wednesday morning. By then he and Dr. Z will have discussed the scans I've had last week and in August and maybe come up with a gameplan.

That's my hope, at least.

Meantime, I saw my new cardiologist, Dr. R. Charles Curry, who reiterated that whatever is causing my faux heart attacks, it's not the heart, it's not arteries feeding the hear and it likely is, as Dr. James Miner and Dr. Philip Styne explained, spasms of the arteries feeding the stomach and esophagus.

Still, no one is taking into account the cyst or whatever it is in my chest cavity and what role it may have in the attacks. Hopefully after Dr. Boyer works his magic, the attacks will go away.

Thanksgiving for me: Two years ago, I was not sure this day would arrive

It's amazing how the future looks.

Two years ago I was not certain my future would include today, Thanksgiving 2009, or my birthday a couple of days later.

In my mind, the future looks like today.

Two years ago, I'd just been removed from my 24/7 chemo pump and was preparing -- as I am now -- for tests on Dec. 7. I was thankful then for my doctors, my family, my friends and for life.

Still, I remember telling my cousin David Spitz, the popular Connecticut chiropractor, that I feared I would not make it to age 50. I was panicked, often tearful. But 50 became a goal. At the time, it seemed distant, remote, unattainable.

Today, it's a bit closer -- just a few days away.

So on this Thanksgiving, I feel truly blessed with that family, those friends, my wonderful doctors, their wonderful staffs, and the knowledge that I've reached another milestone, another goal on the road to recovery from esophageal cancer.

And as a way of paying it forward, I'll reiterate as I have probably too often in this blog: If you get heartburn, if you have acid reflux or even if you take a few Tums or Rolaids every day, you could get cancer. See a doctor, have an endoscopy, consult your family doctor or gastroenterologist.

Heartburn and acid reflux could lead to Barrett's Esophagus, a precursor to esophageal cancer. There are treatments at that stage to help avoid cancer. But doing nothing is not one of them.

Be thankful for what you have today, as I am, and celebrate with your loved ones. Be kind to those loved ones and take care of yourself.

Oh, another tip here -- moderate amounts of turkey, sweet potatoes, corn on the cob and pumpkin pie are not known causes of Barrett's Esophagus or esophageal cancer. So eat up and celebrate, with your loved ones of course!

The check was in the mail

Finally, I was able to follow through on a pledge to make a donation to Florida Hospital Cancer Institute.

That happened this morning.

In the name of transparency, I just endorsed the check to the Florida Hospital Foundation.

It wasn't a massive amount, just $149 and change. But it felt good to pass the money along from -- you, my friends, family, colleagues and complete strangers. It was all your doing. And I thank you.

Jaclyn Lindsey, a development specialist, was in the Foundation's Orange Avenue office when I arrived this morning. She's a good person and was honestly very happy to have the check. It will be bundled with other, similar small donations and will be used to purchase equipment for the Cancer Institute that might just help save someone's life.

Maybe even my own. Or yours.

There are other ways to donate small amounts. I learned a couple of weeks ago that the Foundation set up a way for cell-phone users to text in $5 donations from their cell phones. Just text the word FIGHT to 90999. The $5 donation will be billed to your cell phone account.

So let's keep up this fight against cancer of all kinds. One of the best ways is by checking out this blog regularly.

New news about esophageal cancer

In recent weeks, there have been a few developments in the fight against cancer of the esophagus.

Esophageal cancer in general is among the fastest growing forms of the disease. And a study by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, first reported in The New York Times, indicates even a small amount of alcohol -- a glass of wine or half bottle of beer -- could increase the chance of developing squamous cell esophageal cancer. This is even more so if the patient is of Asian ancestry.

Squamous cell cancer is most often at the upper end of the esophagus, while the type of cancer I had, adenocarcinoma, generally affects the lower end of the esophagus near the stomach. Squamous cell carcinoma also can be caused by smoking, or in combination with drinking.

Here's a link to the New York Times article. 

The other development was the death earlier this month of the actor Ron Silver. Silver had been in a two-year battle with esophageal cancer. He died Sunday, March 15.

His death opened my eyes to the fact that even though I feel pretty good now, I'm not out of the woods 18 months after my initial diagnosis.

I'll continue to update on a more regular basis.