"It's getting better all the time...Better, Better, Bettah"

As expected, my 2nd PET scan was very good and the way I got the news was a much better experience than the last! Dr. Yen said that everything looks as good as can be expected and that he is extremely happy with the results and that I should be equally as happy. He is now suggesting to simply "keep an eye on things" through 4 - 6 week check-ups with him and to now go to 3 month intervals between PET scans. If the next scan looks good, we'll probably go to 4 - 6 months and follow that logic for a while. I asked Dr. Yen when will I be "out of the woods" and his response was after 5 years with no sign of cancer. He also went on to say that my first milestone should be the two year mark. If there is a recurrence, 97% of the time it will happen within the first two years. If we can get to the two year point, I'll be in great shape. Every day that goes by without signs of cancer is a step in the right direction. Dr. Yen was very encouraging and believes that right now, I'm looking at 85% odds of being cured.

I still have all the same side effects with no noticeable improvements to them but I am still hopeful that they will get better. I have been keeping myself busy with my latest project of finishing our basement which I refer to as the "man cave". This was something that I had wanted to do before my ordeal and I'm proud to say that I'm just about done with it and it looks pretty damn good if I may say so myself. You can see a shot of the wall that holds the plasma and kick-ass sound system that I finally treated myself to below. As much as I love music, I have not bought a "decent" sound system that I can crank up and sound awesome since my college days.

I am also glad to report that my father-in-law is now at home and doing extremely well. He had a few minor complications like fluid around his lung and heart and an infection in the incision area, but that is all resolved and he is looking forward to getting back out on the golf course and walking the mall again! Oh, and while he was in the hospital, he was actually joined by his son (Dana's brother) Paul who ended up being in the hospital for about a week and was treated for Mercer which he got as a result from a cut while doing his chef thing at work. I didn't realize how severe this could have been, they said he almost lost his finger because of it and I then heard about a program where a woman who was also a chef lost her entire arm and it attacked other organs in her body. I spoke to brother Paul and he is also doing well as he is on an IV at home pumping some major antibiotics in his system while he recovers. Get well soon you two, I'm ready to come down there so us three sickos can play some golf!

Happy 50th Anniversary Mom & Dad! Love you guys - Fred