Month One

Time For Some Fun!
You can contact me at smedwards80@gmail.com

It has been a long time since a post, so this is catch up time. We went on a CRUISE!! First time ever. We left Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and cruised through the Panama Canal and ended in Los Angeles. A floating resort for 15 wonderful days with several excursions. We stopped in Aruba, Columbia, Panama, Costa Rica, and Guatemala. I would recommend it to anyone, and would get back on another ship in a heartbeat. I did not know that there are many daily activities on the ship for you to attend or not. Some days we were busy, some days we just lounged around. Two regular pools, one splash pool, 6 hot tubs and a zillion deck chairs. And food. My favorite?? Almond Croissants only to be found at the International Cafe in the morning. Sometimes gone by 9:00. If I was up at 6:00 I would wander over get one or two and take them back to our cabin. The crew was very accommodating. They would wrap the plate in plastic!!!

So why Panama as the first "Bucket List " item ? It just so happens that Bob was born there. Yep! His Grandpa Straus decided to move the family their when Bob's mom was about 6, to work for the U.S. government in the Canal Zone. He was an engineer driving one of the Mules. (Electric engines that keep the ships centered in the locks) Mom grew up there, got married there, then moved to Utah. After a while, Bob's dad decided to move to California. As they were expecting Bob at the time, and anyone in Grandpa's household would be covered medically, his mom went "home" to her parents in Panama, and voila!! Bob was born there. After 6 months he was able to fly to California and had never been back. It was an amazing trip. Photos in the next post.

It has been a bit over a month since my last Tomo treatment. I am feeling quite well. Other than the fact that I have tweaked my right hip, and left side of my back. This has nothing to do with my cancer, and everything to do with me trying to live life! I have had acupuncture, chiropractic adjustment, and extreme massage. It is all working, but not as fast as I would like!! My patch of "suntan" on my back never was red, but it did peel. If that was the worst side effect of my treatments, OK!. I cough occasionally, but very insignificant. I was taking the cough med. once a day instead of 3 times, and haven't taken any for over a week.

I visited the Radiation Oncologist May 11 for a one month check-up. Weight, blood pressure, temperature. How are you feeling? How is your cough? How is your swallowing? How is your appetite? Because radiation can still be working 1-2 months after treatment ends, and because there can still be inflammation, they will not do a scan until 3 months to get an accurate picture. So, we will wait.