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

February 1^st, 2013                                                                           Milestone--- 6 mos outta treatment

 

Wow, where do I begin? When last I typed, I was bellyaching about a bad back….well, it is still with me, but I have seen major improvement, through the help of acupuncture…..I haven’t had acupuncture performed on me since the mid-‘80’s. Back then, I was experimenting with it for many of the same reasons, but stopped when I got a little paranoid about the Castro St office and the news that this new AIDS virus was transmitted by needles, and where I was receiving treatment was literally in the heart of the new epidemic zone. I thought best to be cautious and so I ventured over to chiropractic.

This time, my healer has encouraged me to stay patient (arrgghhh) and stick with her program, eschewing chiro for the time being and letting her calm the nerve as opposed to work it….so I am, and it is getting better.

I will tell you that with the advent of the new calendar year, I was eager to put 2012 behind me and get going in a positive fashion……that didn’t happen, and frankly, it got a bit depressing. Weird that I got a bit more bummed about a physical ailment than about dealing with the daily rigors of cancer treatment. But anyone who has warriored through a sciatica issue knows…..anyway, I am lightly stretching and sticking with a regimen of flexirol and Aleve……sleeping just fine, just tightens after too much sitting.

Lots to crow about, though. Kiki and I got our rock and roll party started this year with a weekend trip to Vegas to see Santana at House of Blues. I have been itching to get down to see this show for a couple of years now. Carlos sold his home in San Rafael a couple of years back, used my old buddy Brian Byers to list the home, and packed up for Vegas. Go figure. So, he plays extended runs at HOB and lets the country come see him as opposed to incessant national touring. Makes sense on paper. Called the Santana office, cashed in a chip and had a pair waiting for us at Will Call. I must remind everyone that doesn’t happen if you screwed up in Rock and Roll, and I am proud to say that I came out of 20 years in that business in good stead with everyone, and will take it a step further when Kiki and I go to NYC in March to see the Allman Brothers Band at the Beacon Theatre on Broadway……their office will work out front row balcony one night and 3^rd row center the next. They are, arguably, the hottest American rock and roll band on the planet right now. They don’t come west of the Mississippi, so the NYC shows are much like what Carlos is now doing….we’re here, you’re there, you come here to see us and have a good time while you’re here.

Our flight to Vegas lifted off at the same time as the Niners kicked off to Atlanta, so when we landed we made a beeline for the sports bar at McCarron airport……folks from all around the country, and lots of Niner fans. We got two bar stools front and center to one of the TV’s and watched the second half in a celebratory fashion. That was gut wrenching AND fun! Put $100 on SF giving 4 at the Paris sports book. Wish me luck.

Came home Tuesday, and wasted no time in turning the car southbound on 680 to San Jose to see Jackson Browne at the SJ Civic which has been re-habbed and holds about 3,000 folks. Intimate, acoustically sound, lotsa bars, just splendid. He was tremendous. He played 6 or 7 requests from the crowd, varying from his set list. Voice was strong, had a nice 4 pc band with a 6’ 8” guitarist who sat on a stool most of the time. His music took me on a 35 year journey, and I’ve got a mind to see him again this week up in SF at the Nob Hill Masonic. Gotta tell ya, I give him a 10….and I’m tough, and my back hurt, but I’m holding to the 10.

From a merchandise perspective, he sold something I’ve never seen done before. He cut his hotel room “keys” (the plastic credit card kind) into guitar picks and sold them for $5.00 each. You could clearly tell it was the Fairmont, so my friend Kelly and I walked over and had a final final just in case he had to come back. Next time we know! A genius idea, wish I had thought of it.

The week of music continued with a sold out show at our local Town Hall Theatre, where so many of you came to support our Music Festival last year. We had Petty Theft, a Heatbreakers cover band, pack the place, and the night was perfect. We auctioned off a couple of my personal Petty vault trinkets along with some donations from Wolfgang’s Vault, and the guys tore the place up. So much fun. Our next one is March 30^th with the Unauthorized Rolling Stones, and I expect the same results!

We will culminate this musical run with tonight’s show at Yoshi’s with THE tightest band in America, Tower of Power. It is an annual trek for the SI guys and our gals. Jerome Williams gets us the tix and dinner ressy’s so after dinner we have 8 tables reserved in front of the stage and the band is 5 feet away. Two of the band members, David Garibaldi, the greatest trap drummer in the world, and Mic Gillete, sax/trombonist both played in our wedding band 16 plus years ago, so it will be good to see them. After the first show, they clear the house and then we go back for the second show, this time in the second row. It is a great night with my basketball teammates and ’75 classmates, my true brothers, part of my heartbeat……Juan Mitchell, Tony Passanisi, Mike Malekos, Danny B., Dan Kelleher, Jerome…..these are guys I can’t live without. Tonight is going to be great, and we know ALL the words…..just hope Juan doesn’t sing along to “You’re Still a Young Man,” it is very embarrassing.

And the cancer stuff…..well, it is a long recovery…..my doctor said I will have “gains” and then plateau, then rise up, then plateau…..I get that, that has been happening. I’m simply anxious to begin to put a bit more weight back on and tighten up the core….that will come after the back settles, so I think swimming is going to be the first step on that journey…..and, sadly, I got an email from a dear friend last week who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Surgery and maybe chemo is on the slate, and for the first time since I was diagnosed I am able to reach out my hand and help. She read this blog religiously, her family encouraged me, and now it has turned inwards. She reached out to me before her family, looking for the words to use to convey what was happening, because it is hard to do if you haven’t done it before. I have a gift now, the navigational chart necessary to help others. Yes, a gift. I think of her daily and she knows we’re here to help……when you don’t know what to do, just remember Jackson Browne’s words, “sometimes the touch of a friend is enough.”

February 2^nd marks the one year anniversary of my diagnosis. I’ll take a long walk, call a couple of you out there, and then go sign a new listing in Lafayette on a $1M dollar house……”the wheel keeps turning and you can’t slow it down……”

To those of you still out there, thanks for following.  You are my south wind……go Niners!

What Is Hip?

TS

January 3rd, 2013                                                            

 

Happy New Year, one and all. Hope the holiday season was a winner for everyone. With the tree coming down today and the ornaments et al going back to storage, I guess it’s time to zoom into 2013….my problem is, I’m not zooming much. My back went haywire on Xmas Eve, laid me up in bed all day Christmas Day, which for me, this year, was quite the bummer. I had really hoped to celebrate in a more reflective, positive way, but writhing in pain in the fetal position wasn’t what I had in mind. This was the worst my back has ever been, and I know what I did, lifting something I shouldn’t have.

I’m simply not very strong right now in the mid-section/core area. I lost a lot of muscle this past year, and putting it back, strengthening the area, is a major focus of mine right now. For now, believe it or not, I’m back on a couple of meds, with sciatica pulsing in my calf and behind my left knee. So weird.

Kind of a lazy week as I shuffle about the house. The goal here is to be better next week when things pick up, folks return home, and ideally sellers determine it is time to sell. We need homes on the market, buyers are chomping at the bit.

 

Saw Furthur at Bill Graham Civic on the 30th. Gave me a chance to re-connect with Lori and Bill Walton. Bill was Father Time on NYE. Anyway, the hugs I got from those two are still warming me, so earnest and full of love. I hadn't seen them since 12-30-11, before all of this nonsense happened, so the chance to be together again was sweet. Spent a couple of songs with them, high atop the crowd on BW's perch. Good to be "home" again.

Anyways, thanks for all the good wishes over the holidays with your cards and calls. Let’s see what this year brings…..i do know that each day is a gift now, so that’s how I am going to try to treat it.

Peace Out,

TS

4 ½ Months or so after Treatment ended…………………………………………December 19^th, 2012

 The bright December sun shone down on the fishing fleet berthed at the Wharf, awaiting the OK to go and get them some of those pesky crabs, to bring to us the delectable treats we have come to enjoy this time of year. From our perch on the 3^rd floor of Alioto’s Restaurant, with the Golden Gate Bridge resplendently gold, the blue bay waters reflecting up into our eyes such that we almost need our shades inside the room, the 40 or so St. Ignatius College Prep Class of ’75 grads gathered to celebrate the season, and each other. Milling from pod to pod, hugging, backslapping and speaking a language that truly only we know…..stories flew around, recollections were shared (and corrected) and the early stages of a little day drinking run had begun.

 It was extremely special for me, because last year, to the day, when we had gathered previously, I had noticed the beginnings of a couple of small lumps on my neck. I kept it to myself, enjoyed the day with old teammates, roommates, classmates, my brothers. Why mess it up? Well, since then, the gamut has been run, and on the invitation this year generated by the esteemed Paul Totah, our leader, a Jesuit in jeans and a plaid shirt, was the message to come and celebrate to the health and recovery of yours truly and classmate John Bacchini, lead singer of the ‘50’s band Johnny B. and the Speed Shifters. John is suffering from a painful and aggressive cancer that he has under control for the moment, but for how long, who’s to say? This was all reflected in the mood a couple of Fridays past, a mood that answered the issues of the year, respectful yet joyous. Guys I hadn’t seen for 20 years came to me, telling me they had followed EVERY step of the way via this vehicle, and had been praying for my recovery. Jim Cullen said it was his weekly fix, his reality show, and he looked forward to the read each week. Retired Lt. John Goldbrg, SFPD, talked to me about how he shared it with others and how attentive he had been.

Amazing. Humbling. Gratifying.  After all these years, we are who we are, and the fellas I met at SI are tried and true.  At that moment, gazing out to the GG Bridge in the City of my birth, and 3 more generations on both sides going back, I never felt more at home.  

I saw Bruce Springsteen with my sister at Oracle on 11-30….talk about feeling at home. PA is a Bruce-Head like I’m a Dead Head, and we were lucky enough to secure our positions in “The Pit,’ a fenced off zone for the Fortunate 400…..oh, how those old connections come back into play. Bruce crowd surfed right over us during Hungry Heart, singing all the while. The night was filled with special moments, from the opening chords of Land of Hopes and Dreams to the lights up Born to Run. Emotional night for both of us, for many reasons, and we hive-fived when he sang the words from Badlands, “Well it ain’t no sin to be glad you’re alive.” 20 feet away, dead center, unimpaired view, simply perfect.

I have put together a new musical mix that I am dropping off at client’s homes now, titled “Faith Will Be Rewarded.” Let me know if you would like me to put one aside for you. For those who followed this blog, many of the artists will be familiar, many of the songs right on point! If you have it, enjoy, otherwise, I’ll save one for you.

Thanksgiving and Christmas are upon us. I am thankful. I am hopeful. I look to the New Year with wide eyes, a hopeful heart, and understand that for the grace of God I go. This ordeal has been a testament to the powers of group prayer, universal healing and faith, and a lot of hard work, by a lot of people. I am one lucky son of a gun, nowhere near ready to leave this place, still so much to do. I will write goals for the year, personal, spiritual, familial and financial, and will work to attain them. It is said that only 3 % of the population bothers with goals, and this year, I will be amongst that number. Tracking progress along the way and measuring the gains……when Jerry sang “We Will Survive” I always substituted Thrive for Survive……make those goals outward, how to help another, share your skills with your community, join a board, coach a team, tutor a kid. We are all working off of our own hourglass, and we have no control over how fast the sand passes, but what I do know is that my hourglass got turned over this year, and I now see the sand passing through…..that’s enough for me to get up and get going.

Carry On!

TS

 

 

November 9^th, 2012                                                                                        105 Days Post Treatment

 

Hey Now Everyone,

I had my appointment yesterday at 3:00 PM. Aside from a couple of punch list items concerning how to better increase my salivary production et al, the results of the PET Scan were available and they show NO Cancer Cell activity whatsoever. I am currently cancer free. I will re-scan in 6 mos, and 6 mos after, this puppy will string out 5 years, out as far as responding to treatment, my body did just that!

Though my journey isn’t over, my place in time is so very positive. Of the 6 or 7 others who were in my bullpen and who’s advice I sought throughout this process, none of them have had a recurrence, so I’m planning on joining that group. As we used to tell the security guards as we went backstage at a show, “I’m with THOSE guys!” In this case, I am with the survivors!

It is a HUGE load off my back, and though I was certain I would hear that, I wanted to erase all doubt. It’s the same feeling when you’re up 3-0 in games in the World Series and you have a lead in the 8^th…..it still ain’t  over, and you still have to push forward.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you, who’s prayers and support got me through this. I don’t know if the story is over, do I continue to BLOG here, how does this end, or continue?……I don’t know, but it has been a dandy way to communicate to everyone, more than 12,000 hits to the blog, can you believe?

Again, I am humbled by all of it. Tell me what to do…keep on chatting, let it drift, transition over to a Real Estate Blog……? I’m stumped, but that will be a concern for another day. Till then, ya-freaking-hoo!

Across the Lazy River,

TS

November 4^th, 2012                                       

 Well Hey Freaking Now, if that wasn’t the wildest 3 weeks of up and downs, mostly ups…..psychedelic baseball if I might, the kind that has perfection and guile and fantasy and amazement and the pure and simple notion of breaking on through to the other side…….superstitions coming and going, lifetime memories being crafted, joy, excitement, community, bliss and satisfaction, maybe even a dash of redemption just for good measure…..so many people seeking the same result, the same outcome, the same goal, and then coming together exponentially upon the shared and calamitous moment…..throw in a pretty much private Jimmy Buffet show at The Fillmore on 10-18, where 800 of us Parrotheads had that same notion in mind, fins to the left, fins to the right in full Fillmore Pink lighting, oh my!

The family was able to attend many games during “the run.” We used to call a pack of three or six in any one town a “run” in the ol’ GD days, why not now? The only difference is that the baseball run just dangles out in front of you, always in danger of ending, drastically and sadly, at any moment……living on the brink….the Grateful Dead simply packed up and moved on, where they ever here at all?

 

There were a lot of tears shed in the Bay Area in October, mostly of joy. The Giants were my constant when I was down and dirty this year. Day games and off days were the shits, nothing to do at night, nothing to pass the time so that I could go to bed at a legitimate hour and get my much needed rest. The baseball season takes on its own personality, and we are so good, our announcers so stellar, the park so fun, that it is hard to take your eyes off the passing of the games for fear off missing something….sound familiar?

 My tears came after final out, when the joyousness of the moment, sharing it with Kiki and Sam and some very close friends and BIG fans here in Lafayette (no driving) I knew that the year didn’t have to be known as the year I battled cancer and the ensuing treatments but perhaps more the year could be remembered more for the Giants…..it took a lot of the sting out of it. They flowed when Larry Baer, Giant’s President and CEO, when interviewed in the hallway in his still dry suit and orange tie, spoke of the life lessons that this team had to offer such as and primarily, never giving up, fighting through adversity, keeping your goals out in front of you, that quitting or throwing in the towel was just NOT in the equation. My red wristband, on since Matt Chaney gave it to me when I got diagnosed, says “Never Give Up,” on it.  I haven’t taken it off since the beginning of February, which ironically parallels the first days of Spring Training…….my cancer has done the same with the 2012 season, and if the Giants can come out on top, why not me?

 We’ll all soon find out as I have a PET Scan scheduled for Tuesday the 6^th, with results known at my Oncologist appointment on November 8^th in the afternoon. I have had two prior scans. The first was the one that determined the cancer was only situated in my throat and neck……that was a good news day back in February. The second was after my 2^nd of 3 rounds of chemo sometime in late April….those results showed that the tumor in my throat, shaped oddly like the island of St. Croix, about 1 CM long (almost an inch) had been reduced to nothingness, invisible to the unaided eye, and the two bumps in my neck were down 85%-90%.......that, too, was a good news day……I’m looking to go 3 for 3….just for kicks, let’s call them home runs, so if Pablo Sandoval can blast 3 in a game in the presence of Sam and Tom Stack, then why can’t I hit three home runs, albeit over an 8 month period. Easier still, I reckon.

 

I set myself up for a mini-fall when I counted down the chemo days in memory of famous sports heroes, only to find that the 3-6 weeks post radiation stood to be the roughest of the lot, surprising and uncomfortable, painful and limiting, burning outwardly after so many weeks of being burned from the outside in. It had nowhere else to go, so it just simply reverses field and re-cooks you. My neck peeled for weeks, my feet peeled at 6 weeks, and my neck/throat is swollen even now, making swallowing hard in the AM until I’m up long enough for my lymph nodes to drain some…..so, I don’t want to get ahead of myself, I have immense fucking respect for the cancer that took life in me, so I wait to fully exhale till after I hear the good news….no champagne till you close escrow, know what I’m sayin,?

 

I want to share one story with you before I close. It was at Game One of the World Series, and I was in our Field Club seats with Sam. Earlier in the day, I had a phone conversation with my old boss from the bar in the Virgin Islands back in ‘84-‘85. He lives in Charlotte and was a receiver on the undefeated Miami Dolphins 1972 team with Warfield, Griese (his roomie), Kiick, Csonka, Jake Scott and the rest. His name is Karl Noonan, and “tree” (VI patois) years ago he went through a bout with cancer that ravaged his back. He says the scars look like he got bit by a shark on a surfboard……I had never before heard him out, got the real deets of what he went through, even though we keep in touch and communicate…..that day I took the time to really find out, to listen…….well, after the 5^th inning of the game, everyone in the stadium including players, coaches and the umps, more than 42,000 strong stood up and held aloft a sign on which they had filled in a name. It was a MasterCard promotion with MLB that whose slogan is Stand Up to Cancer……….I looked down with tears welling in my eyes at my 8^th grader’s sign that said “My Dad.”

 

Mine said Karl Noonan.

 

And That’s What’s Up,

 

TS