John Paul - Update

Hi everyone, yes it's been a while since I posted to my Blog. The reason is I don't want to cover the same old stuff over and over. Sure there have been new insights into the experience in general but for the most part not much has changed. Same ol routine.

What's new is that this is round 8 and the final round of what is the three chemo drug regimen. Now it's a come down from this session then a month off then radiation 5 days a week for a month and during that month I will be wearing a chemo pump that pumps the chemo into my body 24/7. Sounds like fun huh?

I'm not sure what to expect but gauging the medical people responses it may be a tough time with fatigue and eating. I'm thinking "oh great, I have trouble eating already". Going into this session at 165 pounds is the lightest I've gone into it.

I've been pretty weak but I think mostly due to the lack of nutrition rather than any effects of the cancer. The chemo has an effect too but lack of food is big. I can barely do a squat and stand back up unassisted. Muscle mass has decreased significantly. I will have to start working out soon.

I do go in for one more PET scan on August 22nd so lets see some more clearing and healing results then.

I'm so glad I'm on the tail end of this Cancer part.

For those who are not aware of the full scope of my current condition I want to share again that this whole process started with what's called a haietal hernia where your diaphragm tears open and your stomach moves it's way up into your chest causing things not to work right. It is a hernia that many have and live with but as with anything, It's different for everyone. My tear is 12 to 14 cm so it has to be fixed. There is no question. The question is when. Clearly I have to recover from cancer treatment before I have any kind of surgery so it may be after the first of the year before I can get that surgery done and have some quality of eating life back.

When I'm in this experience I have to say, if I have not already, that my focus is primarily on this hernia, I rarely think of the cancer aspect and rarely use that dreaded C word or associate it with my self. My head is not in the sand or in denial but in a place of knowing I've beaten it so lets move on to the eating issue.

The mental state and attitude has been my strongest tool in this experience.

Again I want to reiterate that this experience is positive. This has been a blessing in my growth in many ways. Now it's time to live what I've learned.

Thanks for reading and thank you for your thoughts and prayers.

Much love to you all.

John Paul