March 25^th, 2013                                             8 Whole Months Outta Treatment

 

Hey Now Everybody,

 

Man, time does fly……in a good way this time. I just hit the 8 month mark, with my sights on the 2 year mark. With the HPV-16 virus, if it comes back, it does so quickly, and that is why we are so diligent right now. As you all know, the November PET scan showed NED---No Evidence of Disease…..in February, I went to my ENT Doctor and he scoped down my throat and saw nothing. He is the Doctor that ID’d the original tumors after the biopsy, so he has the tools to see the dang things. So, that cleared up. My Radiologist likes how I look, how I am filling out, up to 175 now, my SI basketball playing weight. Working on re-distributing that a bit now.

The topper is that just a week ago I had a second PET scan and it too came back NED! So, milestones are occurring and we are moving down the line. I am now in the process of scheduling the removal of the port in my upper chest that fed me the chemo cocktails. We wanted to wait till the 2^nd scan showed NED. I look forward to the removal of the port, it is a tell tale reminder of things and it’s blowing my trip a little bit now.

Want some fun news? I have been quite active, with Sam and Kiki…..Kiki and I hit NYC and saw the Allman Brothers Band at The Beacon Theatre at 75^th/Broadway. They played quite possibly the greatest set I’ve ever seen them play. Like the Grateful Dead, every show is different and we only heard one repeat over the 2 nights….and that was Statesboro Blues, hardly a throwaway. Kiki connected with a LONG lost friend from Philly before we traveled and went down to hang with her a couple of days post shows. As usual, we were treated to some nice inside activities through our band’s connection, and we are blessed to have experienced what we did.

I was able to attend a party a couple of weeks back that had so many of my SI brothers there  in celebration of Erin & Bob Enright’s impending parenthood…..I love these guys, so energetic and supportive. 5 guys from our team in 1975 were there…..a band of brothers, quite similar to the ABB noted above….McCat, O’Cat, Lou-Cat, En-Cat, TomCat…..

Sam and I headed down to San Jose to take in 6 games of the NCAA tourney. Yes, 6…That was a long day last TH…..we saw Cal beat Vegas, Syracuse beat Cal and a bunch of others. Good seats AND tons of guys I knew circling around the Shark Tank……fins to the left, fins to the right……

The back is improving, strength is returning to my leg, but there are remnants of sciatica, pains in the knee and calf…..but certainly manageable at this point.

Closing 2 deals THIS week, a listing is coming mid-April and the wheel keeps rolling….not enough houses, anywhere, in any Bay Area county, so keep me in mind if you hear anything J

To those of you that keep checking in, I can’t believe you and I appreciate it. The process of being a survivor takes work, too. I’m ready and willing…..see you on the flip.

 

I Got One More Silver Dollar,

TS

 

March 6^th, 2013                                                                                 7 plus months outta treatment

 

Where do I start?  I am rolling back into things steady freddy…..concerts, coaching, selling, traveling…..it is all bundled in. Lighting out with Kiki to NYC on Friday morning for a quick weekend with the Allman Brothers Band at the famed Beacon Theatre at 77^th and Broadway…..they are simply the best right now, rivaled in America only by the E St Band, and they, and that, is a totally different conversation. The ABB is just flat out low down dirty, growling, majestic, soothing and inspiring. I understand our seats for FR are in the first couple of rows, back a little bit on Saturday.

Our guests Saturday eve are my gals from NBA Entertainment who take such good care of Sam and I when we head off to NBA All Star Weekend…..which we did mid February. On a jaunt to Houston, too close to New Orleans, Sam and I had another bacchanal of basketball, hanging around the tall guys….Sam worked the restricted lobby like a pro, getting the autographs of the rookies, the slam dunk competitors, the 3-point competitors and ideally, the idols….again, just a bump into LeBron, he wouldn’t sign jack, but there he was in the flesh.

The Sunday Legends Brunch, the highlight of the weekend, featured the famous Houston Rockets of the past, Hakeem, Clyde the Glide, Rudy T, Dikembe Mutumbo, Calvin Murphy…..the speeches were inspiring, the room just packed with the history of the NBA at every table. Bill Russell, Barkley, Magic, Moses Malone, Rick Barry, Dominique…..everywhere you looked, a Legend.

Sam’s a good little traveler, a good wing man, sleeps quietly, doesn’t stay out late! We have a blast…..next year, New Orleans, and he’ll be 14 ½…..what a quandary….we have time to figure that one out.

The back is better, acupuncture did it. Took a good 2 mos, and I am still managing it with a little Aleve and Ibuprofen. Handled the plane to and fro to H’town, JFK is next.

Sold two houses this week, one in February, and I am battling for another one in Rockridge right now. SCORED one for an SI alum and his beautiful wife (all SI guys have beautiful wives, you can look it up) via a tip from a neighbor….popped by while walking Jammer, he agreed to allow my clients to come over the following day. He is a broker, sold it to me at an agreed upon commish (standard) and voila, a sale in the hood without ANYBODY hearing about the house. One of my best works, for sure.

The market is fast and furious, and securing one for these buyers was a stroke of luck, to be sure. Remember what I told you in the past about my angels? Well, they descended again and blessed me….keep your eyes open, they’ll come into your day or night when you least expect it….we all have ‘em…..

Saw the radiologist this week, the ENThroat guy two weeks ago…..they all like what they “don’t” see right now….got a PET Scan scheduled for March 14^th, when that shows clear, I will have them remove the “port” in my chest they used to feed me the chemo. I’m ready for that to come out. My biggest risk of recurrence, by a long shot, is the first two years. I am 7 mos into that, and the goal is 5 years clean…..that will coincide with a 60^th birthday, so celebration will be in order.

Still got to admit, there is a still lingering anxiety about the overall deal….I work on it from time to time, not always, it just pops up at weird times…..the perspective here is that I am being poked, scanned and viewed WAY more often than you, so I am ahead of things in terms of anybody finding anything weird….it is an expensive way to fly, but I’ll hit the deductible soon….keeping the weight seteady in the mid 170’s, which is 25 under my prior weight….as strength returns, so will muscle and then a few pounds. I am tapping into ALL of my patience genes and hanging on, but should be returning to workouts, some yoga later this month. I’ve been swimming some, and that is nice.

Not on this BLOG enough, but I know y’all are out there, so here’s a bit more to chew on. I’m sure it sounds like I’m back in the swing of things, and from 5,000 feet it looks like that…..doesn’t always feel that way, but I am getting better.

Till next we pass upon each other, know that I still feel you all out there. I am humbled daily.

I Can’t Give it Away on 7^th Avenue!

 

TS