Prairie Dogs Still in Retreat!

The results of last week's PET scan came back normal. No sign of any PD's to be found. Different from how we were counting, they are now declaring me to be 18 months cancer free, so the added good news today was that update on my post-treatment calendar. It's not an exact calendar to begin with, but it was a nice thing to hear. The next scan will be in 6 months.

The oncologist continues to be impressed with how I have responded to the treatments and gotten back to so many of the things I did before that time. I mentioned that I did the Peachtree 10K and his eyes lit up! He confided that he did the Peachtree for 23 years before his own diagnosis and treatments (for the same cancer I had), but never felt the urge to get back into exercising again.

But, all of the news is not glowing. I am experiencing some latent side effects from the radiation treatments (aka, "The gift that keeps on giving") that are going to need some special attention in the near future--and probably for the rest of my life. All of my symptoms are quite common for a year after treatments , but come under the old saying, "Just when you thought it was safe..." None of this is life threatening, or increases the chances of the cancer recurring, but is serving to remind me that this disease will always be a part of my life.

But enough of that. Terry and I are going out to dinner to do a little celebrating for all the great news we got today, and will make a toast to Team Mike once again for all the love, support, humor, and good vibes you've sent our way to help us come so far so fast.

mike

Good Vibes Needed Again Soon

It's been a while since Team Mike has been called into action, but we need everyone to send us your prayers, thoughts, good vibes, etc. on two days coming up soon. Mike's periodic PET scan is scheduled for July 20th. We won't get the results until the 26th because the lead oncologist is out of the office the week of the scan.

We will post the results to the blog as soon as we have them.

The continuing good news is that Mike is feeling nothing that might predict a bad scan result. We are cautiously confident we'll get good news on the 26th, BUT we are not taking anything for granted, so please send those good vibes to us.

As always, thanks for checking in on us.

Mike and Terry

Another (6.2) Milestone Reached

The long hot spell that went through the whole month of June and into the first days for July broke the day before the Peachtree 10K Road Race, giving 55,000 relieved runners one of the coolest starts in the race's history. Combined with a new starting format that eliminated the shoulder-to-shoulder crowding in past races, this was easily the most comfortable of the 14 Peachtrees I've ever done. And running 45 pounds lighter than in 2008 helped a lot!

Two weeks before the race I figured I had no chance of running the whole distance, and was OK with a plan to maybe walk a mile or more of the course. Then, nine days before the race, I did a practice run on the whole Peachtree course with my running partner, Jeff Rupp, in miserably hot and humid weather. To my surprise I walked only a very small part of it, and knew then I had a chance to run the whole distance come July 4th.

I got a little emotional as my right foot hit the starting line and activated the timing loop tied to my shoe. As I reflected on that for the first few minutes of the run, I realized that the emotions came from knowing I had gotten back yet another part of life that cancer had taken away for a year. I had not realized how much I had missed running the Peachtree last year until that moment--and I was going to enjoy every step of the way, especially knowing that there was no question I could finish, and run the entire distance. I was pumped, and even had the nerve to tell Jeff not to let me run too fast for his pace (This is a guy who has run the Peachtree 20+ times and did a half marathon last November).

The biggest challenge on the Peachtree course is called "Cardiac Hill", a long steady incline that has earned that nickname a few times over the years. Near the top of Cardiac Hill is Piedmont Hospital, where I got all of my radiation treatments and most of my chemo treatments last year. At the top of Cardiac Hill, I raised my hands and made one clap--as a kind of 'atta boy,' knowing that most of the remaining course was downhill from there. Another small wave of emotion came and went quickly because I really knew then that nothing could stop me from finishing.

My wife, Terry, and Jeff's wife Deb were waiting for us about 200 yards before the finish line, where Deb took the picture above. We hugged after that, and Jeff and I did the last few yards of the course, got our t-shirts (mixed reviews on the design), found the car and opened up the coldest, best tasting beers ever, and went to the Rupp's house for the traditional post-race orange rolls.

Later than day, Terry and I found a quiet spot in the midst of a family barbeque and commented just how normal it had all felt. It had been a very long time since we could say that, and in the end it was more appropriate to down play the significance of the day's event, and just go back to living day to day. If "Living well is the best revenge" (in this case against cancer), then that's what we'll do every day for the rest of our lives.

I hope your July 4th was as good as ours.

mike