Happy Birthday to Me!

And it really was! My wife brought me coffee and chocolate while singing "Happy Birthday" first thing in the morning. We had steak and eggs for breakfast at Holly's Lighthouse Cafe, and I even indulged in hash browns. My eldest daughter called me on my cell while we were there to wish me a happy birthday, and we had a nice chat.

After getting home, our contractor showed up with the new doors we've been waiting for. They are gorgeous, and we are so glad they are finally here.

I worked through a first draft of a Kyrie based on the Passamezzo Antico ground, and then had lunch with the husband of my church's choir director. He works in the same area of law I was in - Workers' Compensation - and we have a lot in common. It was thoroughly delightful.

Elaine and I went to Macy's in the afternoon to participate in a fund raiser for the Camerata Singers, and we had two couples over for dinner: Pauline and Anthony and Marcia and Mark. I made my infamous lasagne, accompanied by heirloom tomato carpaccio and marinated zucchini a la Colle del Capitano, the recipe of which the mistress of that establishment was gracious enough to share with me. Good friends, good food, good wine, good conversation. We had a wonderful evening, and we capped it off with a shot of Belarusian Vodka that was the gift from my cousin Sasha.

Now it is time for bed, and I am confident I will sleep well.

Huzzah!!

I had my CT scan this morning, and the doctor said that everything looks very, very good with my implants. He has to send the results out for a formal reading, but it's celebration time!

The half life of the radioactive element is about one month. That means if the initial radiation dose was 1024 (a completely arbitrary number for easy illustration), after one month it is 512, after two months it is 256, after three months it is 128 and so on. After one year it is 1!

I go back to the urologist in December, and to the radiation oncologist in March. They'll do a PSA test at that time, and that should give a good indication as to my condition. The only chance of a problem (a very small one) is if the cancer has already metastasized to somewhere outside of the prostate. This was caught very early, so it is unlikely. When it happens, the cancer tends to go into the bones or into the lymph nodes. I had a bone scan soon after the cancer was diagnosed which was clear.

It is not 100% that I am cured, but in the very high 90s. Out of 130 patients, this doctor has only had the recurrence show up in 1. Not bad odds.

I have to admit it's getting better...

a little better all the time. (That would make a cool song lyric, huh?)

I feel almost normal now, though I get a little tired from time to time. Last night I only had to get up once - that was the first time since the surgery. Hallelujah!

The "plumbing" is not as sensitive, although I do feel a bit of an ache from time to time.

It is very encouraging.

The biggest problem this week was the spam a site called Quechup sent out under my e-mail address. I had to send out several hundred warnings/apologies. There are still lists that won't let me rejoin because of *my* abuse. On the bright side, I've reconnected with several people I haven't talked to in years as a result, but it wasn't worth it.