Travel Plans

My sister Linda is coming down from Pennsylvania to visit on September 26th for the weekend. After that, Yoko and I are headed to Italy. We leave on October 16th (my birthday) for a two week overseas vacation extravaganza. (By that time I will be done with the main part of the clinical trial and will only have the booster shots, which are every six weeks forever.)

When we get back from Italy the plan is to make our way up to Tallahassee on November 8th to see FSU play Clemson. I am planning to rent an RV for the weekend to see how we like it. (I've been trying to convince Yoko that it would be fun to take a month or two to RV across the US, but so far the answer is "No way Jose!" Maybe a weekend trip in an RV can turn her around!)

Peggy has invited the family to Houston for Thanksgiving. It is a good idea as Linda would be going and could take Mom, Kelly is there already, its an easy trip for us to make, etc. I have not heard that everyone has said yes yet, but if we don't go to Peggy's, we'll go up to Pennsylvania.

The big debate has been what to do about Christmas. Yoko and I agreed that the best idea would be to have everyone (Paula and Brian, June and Jessica) here, provided they want to make the trip and have the time. If not, we would probably make plans to visit them in California and Hawaii in 2009.

I also want to make a trip to Japan sometime soon. Maybe in 2009 Yoko and I will be able to go?

Being In Limbo

I feel emotionally unsettled these days. One year ago I was ready to begin a new phase of my life as an empty nester. A month into it, I discovered I have lung cancer. My world was turned upside down. This time last year I didn't know if I would live a year. I was more worried about being disabled than dying. And I worried about what would happen to my wife and daughters.

Here we are nearly one year later and I am still trucking along, as I did before, not too badly impacted by the treatments, which have been nearly non-stop. Thankfully, the treatments have worked well on me and I show "no evidence of disease" as I write this. But you have to wonder, how long will I remain cancer free? How long will it be before it recurs? Fact is, I don't know if I will be having more problems soon or years from now. It is unknowable.

I feel like I am in limbo, unable to move forward with life and I am not sure now how exactly to proceed. Paula is married and living in California. June is in Hawaii. Jessie is in school in Florida. I am locked into my job with Morgan Stanley for six more years (my employment contract is for 7 years).

I was thinking that I would like to get Yoko situated, in case I am not here. I think it is unlikely that she would stay in Florida very long if I am not here. But where would she go? We have lots of friends and strong support here. Moving to a new area would mean having to start over. Yoko could do it on her own, I suppose, but I would rather be there to help her make a the transition to a new place.

I think she would like to move out West. California is certainly one possibility. Yoko might be interested in living in La Jolla, near Yuko Campbell, who is like a sister. I just think La Jolla is beyond the pale when it comes to expensive. I thought Palm Springs would be nice, and a little less expensive, but Yoko is not real keen on the heat. So we will have to be looking.

One thought I had was to sell our current home, pay off the mortgage, and build a new place in a golf community here in Punta Gorda and have no mortgage. We are looking into this now. It really depends on how much we might sell our home for today. What I would be doing is swapping one place for another, but at the same time downsizing into something that is relatively inexpensive today but with a better chance to appreciate down the road. I would be putting Yoko in a position where, if I was not around, she could continue on with low overhead. We would still be in this area so she could still benefit from the help of friends.

Another possibility is to just stay where we are and pay off most of the mortgage over the next year. If I last six years, and I am free to move, maybe at that time I transfer to a Morgan Stanley office out West and sell my Punta Gorda business to my partner. Uncertainty makes it hard to make any plans.

I decided to work from home today. I just did not feel like going into the office, and besides, I can access my desktop remotely from home. I have done a little bit of work, but I feel distracted and anxious. Is there ever a time in your life when you are worry free?

CBS Sunday Morning

Well, when it rains it pours. This past Sunday the CBS Sunday Morning news program had a segment on lung cancer. If you missed it, I have included the link for you to view it. The doctor featured is on the medical advisory board to Lung Cancer Alliance.

All of a sudden, we are getting a bit of national attention and people are starting to listen. We need to continue to build the momentum.

If you would like to see a replay, here is the link:

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4401751n

Stand Up 2 Cancer -- September 5th

I guess someone is listening when I said there is not enough money being devoted to cancer research, especially, lung cancer research and early detection. I don't want to take money away from breast cancer research or other cancer research, but I do believe there should be a lot more money available for lung cancer research and early detection.

On September 5th there is going be be a nationally televised TV fundraiser to raise money for cancer research and to raise awareness of the need for the federal government to provide more funding for cancer research.

The fact of the matter is that if there are dollars available, there will be researchers willing and able to undertake important research. Without grant money available, the research will not take place. Example: I wanted to know whether it would be a good idea to have PCI (whole brain radiation) done as a preventative. No one can tell you whether it is a good idea or not: there is no medical research on the subject. Why not? You would think it is a no brainer (no pun intended) that someone would have by now investigated whether the use of WBR is a good idea for Stage III NCSLC patients who are stable. The lack of what Scott Lunin refers to as "hard medical evidence" is a side effect of the lack of funding. We don't know even what the most efficacious treatment courses are for people in my condition.

Anyway, if you are reading this post, I would like to get you on my team. I have created a team and am trying to raise $10,000 for cancer research by September 5th. My web-site is: http://su2c.standup2cancer.org:80/mysu2c/team/view/2547 Please join my team and tell your friends!