Hey all, Good day today!! Jay got his chest tube and epidural out earlier in the day and we're making steady progress towards getting discharged from the hospital sometime tomorrow. Also, he did a full two miles of laps around the floor, basking in the steady stream of praise for his … [Read more...]
All good
August 4, 2014 by 22 Comments
He did it! Jay is fresh out of surgery, doing great!!! Here are my notes from my post-op talk with Jay's amazingly gifted surgeon, Dr. Bains. Thanks for all of your good thoughts this morning. They helped! Also, stay posted for more visiting times later on today (this guy has so much support, … [Read more...]
Ready to fly
August 4, 2014 by 14 Comments
Hey team of big-hearted people, Jay headed into surgery at around 8:30 am. He's in the care of some pretty amazing people now: nurses, anesthesiologists and surgeons. And you! We received so many loving and soothing recordings over the past week and it makes me happy to think of those sweet … [Read more...]
One More Round
July 29, 2014 by 20 Comments
Hey team! Just a quick post to let you all know I am going in Monday, 8/4 for my right lung thoracotomy. It will likely be in the morning and should take 3-4 hours. The standard hospital stay is 3-5 days - I'm gonna try and make it 3. I feel strong and energetic in my body and am drifting towards a … [Read more...]
A Big Time
July 11, 2014 by 15 Comments
Summer is swinging and bursting open with dewy sweet mornings and evenings like molasses. A few weeks ago KR and I got married for realz on a day so filled with light and joy and smiles and hugs and tears that only the solstice could contain it all. It was a trifecta celebration of union, health and … [Read more...]
No, YOU Grow the Placenta
May 26, 2014 by 26 Comments
Hey Team! It’s been a beautiful, sunny, warm late Spring day -I can almost hear the trees and plants growing- and my cancer is nowhere to be found. I got a CT scan and labs and met with my Dr. Feldman (my oncologist) last week. My tumor marker remains in the undetectable range for the second time … [Read more...]
May Day
May 7, 2014 by 14 Comments
Last Thursday morning, May Day, I put on my rain boots and jacket and rode the rails to NYC through the tail end of a 2-day rain. Walking from Grand Central to MSK I noticed how slow I was moving. I have traditionally been one of the faster moving objects on a New York sidewalk but I was rolling at … [Read more...]
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
April 25, 2014 by 19 Comments
. The Good I saw Dr. Bains yesterday and had a chest x-ray at MSK. The good news is that my lung has stayed inflated at 85% over the last week and is stable. I also got my labs drawn and the best news is that my tumor marker (HCG) is "< 2.0 / undetectable"!!! This is a huge milestone and … [Read more...]
Home!
April 17, 2014 by 27 Comments
Yesterday, after my lung decided to stay mostly inflated (85%) when removed from suction, I was discharged and home by nightfall! It feels so good to be here, see the animals, go for a walk by the pond, sleep in our bed, witness the vanguards of Spring, not be woken up every few hours and notice … [Read more...]
Slowly Coming Alung
April 11, 2014 by 27 Comments
I can see the East River, the 59th St. Bridge and Roosevelt Island from the chair in my hospital room. Traffic is not too bad right now, the tide is going out and all is groovy. I am feeling so much better than I was last week and my digestive system is up and running -i am eating regularly and … [Read more...]
How it’s going
April 6, 2014 by 15 Comments
Going on 6 days in the hospital now, so I thought it was time for a little update. It turns out the last-minute surgery was a very good call. Had the intestines remained twisted for another 6-12 hours, they might have needed to be removed in pieces: a much more complex surgery with a greater risk … [Read more...]
All is well
April 3, 2014 by 20 Comments
Jay just got out of surgery. Dr. Philip Paty and his team took very good care of him. There were not one but three obstructions: bands of adhesions that formed after his abdominal surgery, so it was a really good thing he went into surgery when he did. This explains why Jay has been in so much … [Read more...]
Surgery Tonight
April 3, 2014 by 24 Comments
Hi all, Jay's team of very competent doctors all came into agreement today that surgery to repair his twisted intestine was probably inevitable and ideally, the sooner the better so as to avoid more serious issues. So we made the decision tonight to go ahead with the surgery right away. Jay … [Read more...]
Obstruction of Juices
April 2, 2014 by 19 Comments
Not too long after my last post, when I felt out of the gastrointestinal woods, the abdominal pain returned. It gradually got worse until yesterday we checked into urgent care at MSK. A CT scan revealed a bowel obstruction caused by adhesions which are latent side effects from the RPLND. A kink in … [Read more...]
No Sign of the Enemy
March 31, 2014 by 19 Comments
Despite the reservations I share with this fellow in regards to using combat metaphors for cancer it sure as hell sometimes feels like an enemy. And in the past week there have been two very encouraging pieces of intelligence gathered on the enemy’s movements (or lack thereof I should say!). The … [Read more...]
Adventures In Testicular Cancer 