At this point we still thought it was a Grade 3 or 4 astrocytoma.
From: John Wolford
Sent: March 8, 2005 11:44 PM
Subject: Another update from John
Hi everyone,
Seems like a good time for another group update. I'm slightly nervous about flooding large groups with emails very often, so I'm trying to balance sufficient information/update with proper frequency. If you know anyone else who would like this then please feel free to forward it on.
What's new. Well my recovery continues quite well, my energy levels rising daily, and my relaxation levels remain very good (that's putting it mildly) at the same time. I've been for some nice walks and enjoyed the beautiful weather out there, and after a nice walk it feels really (REALLY) good to have the time and space to return home, sit/lay down and relax in spades.
Yesterday was the RO26SD (Removal Of 26 Staples Day). We went in to our GP, and we remembered to bring the staple remover. When my doctor took the staple remover out of the bag, I quickly became VERY happy that we didn't try removing them ourselves (read Dhalie trying to remove them). The part of the remover that we thought was the handle was covered by a plastic bit - Dr Ross pulled off the plastic and it turns out that what we thought was the handle was the clasp/scissor bit that grabs the staple and the part that we thought were (big) staple-remover levers were actually the handles! Whew….
Today we were able to get an appointment with the neurosurgeon to find out the pathology/diagnosis of the tumour, and that appointment is on Friday, 10:15AM. This will likely be the last time we meet with the neurosurgeon. We probably won't get a detailed roadmap for therapy/treatment, that will come from the next person/group we meet with, the neuro-oncologist(s). My personal roadmap remains the same: be very present and honest with myself in the here-and-now and pay keen attention to what's "on my plate", with the tools I have at my disposal. Speaking of which, we're going to go sit a Vipassana meditation course from March 16-27 (some of you have asked me a bit about it and I'd be more than happy to discuss it in detail with you individually and/or you can go check out www.dhamma.org). It will likely be on our return that we meet with the neuro-oncologist and get a detailed approach to therapy/treatment, maybe we'll learn the Plan A, B and C (the treatments can change based on my and/or my tumour's response to the treatment).
Oh, and the "photo album" that we received is really something else, I love it. We've actually put it into a photo album, it means I can look through it without standing up, heh. I snickered and was happy *i* wasn't in that album - at the same time, you'll be happy to know that the same guy who can easily wind up dancing half-naked in a hoola-skirt at our department outings can't bring himself to use this album as ammunition for future outings.
We want to thank you all for your support, your well-wishes. We are very touched, and heartened, by them, and I know for a fact that they are helping us tremendously.
Many thanks,
John
