Round 2

[LarryHoward]

Well, no way to ease into this so I'll just blurt it out.

Found out last month that the Ewing's Sarcoma has returned and I'm officially in the 50% of successfully treated patients who experience a regrowth. Thanks to aggressive monitoring, it was only 2.5 CM when discovered immediately adjacent to the last time location and I've spent some time getting scans, biopsy, etc and mapping out a plan. The "good news" is that of the several ways it can return, this is the most treatable. Since it's small and I had a near lifetime dose of the Chemo drugs of choice previously, we are going right to "Proton Therapy" followed by surgery. The Proton stuff is basically very precise radiation therapy and deposits all of it's energy into the tumor so is supposedly the best way to avoid "over-radiating" the bits that got collateral exposure before. I will receive 5 daily treatments next week. Anybody wants to have a meal in Manhattan, I'll be batching it at a hotel in Midtown East (33rd st). At least Maryland is off the NY quarantine list at present so I won't have to lock myself away completely between treatments. Toward the end of October, I'll have another scan to see how the cooking went and very likely have surgery the second week of November.

Life is what happens when we have other plans.

[Slick470]

Sorry to hear this Larry. We'll be thinking about you and Lynne and hope they are able to get it all out and quickly.

[Charlie]

Larry,

Sorry to hear this. Life and other plans indeed.

Wishing you successful treatment, and positive outcomes.

Charlie

[Jamie]

Bad news. The enemy gets a vote too.

I know you'll get through this and I look forward to meeting you soon when you visit your kids in PB.

[kimbottles]

Oh SHIT!
Hoping for best possible outcome Captain.

[BeauV]

Damn it! Larry, I'm so sorry to hear this. You'll lick it this time too, but you didn't deserve this. You're one of the good guys.

[kdh]

That fucking sucks Larry. My thoughts are with you.

[JoeP]

That sure stinks Larry. You'really in my thoughts.

[TheOffice]

Beat that little bastard!

There is a great Italian restaurant around the corner from MSG

[Tim Ford]

Larry, sincere apologies. I forgot to follow up with you with re: a place to stay in NYC. I did ask my S-I-L if her Argentine friends were still out of the country and their place available. She got back to me and said the place was not available due to issues with the management company's exclusion policy of no new inhabitants, or something to that effect.

Then, like a moron, I forgot to let you know.

Whilst in NYC, do me a favor and check if anyone is doing brain transplants these days....seems I need a new one.

Best of luck with those protons!

[Anomaly]

Oh jeeze...

(read this the other night and then got word that my mother-in-law was just diagnosed with stomach cancer of some sort---- words fail in both cases)

[LarryHoward]

Thanks guys. It is what it is and we’ll deal with it. 3.5 years ago, it was deemed “inoperable” and I was given a year to live by a well regarded head of surgical oncology at a noted DC hospital so I’m still ahead. My medical team is all over this. Prognosis is reasonably good for a recurrence.

Took the train up from DC yesterday. COVID rules restrict the trains to 50% capacity so you don’t have a seat mate. Manhattan is pretty spooky. Many restaurants and stores closed. Mask requirements in all building and compliance moderately good on the street. Not a lot of people on the street, etc. Tim. Don’t sweat it. Seems locking down and restricting visitors to “owners or residents only” is the “Condo Board Karen” solution To staying safe all across town. At least the lack of visitors has hotel rates low.

First treatment yesterday afternoon. Pretty much what I expected. 30 minute subway and walk to the Center (East Harlem). Lay in a body mould for 30 minutes while the beam is steered around. Get dressed and leave. Telecommute for the rest of the day. Only minor short term side effects expected based on the size and location. I’ll probably experience some limited gastric effects But nothing serious.

[IrieMon]

Prayers of strength and recovery coming to ya.... we know you can beat this (again) !

[H B]

Larry, as always, we are all pulling for you!

[Benno von Humpback]

Amazing how minor the experience of high-energy particles can be. Hang in there, man.

[cap10ed]

Sorry to hear that news Larry. Pam and I will have you in our hearts and wish you strength and perseverance to guide you back to good health. Ed

[LarryHoward]

Well, a couple of weeks since the proton stuff and we know the path forward. No real side effects experienced. Just some fatigue at the end of the day that has pretty much cleared up as expected. Will have a CT at the end of October to assess effectiveness and then probably surgery to remove what remains in mid Nov. I’ll talk to the surgeon’s office to try to pencil in a date so I can start working on a short term apartment for 3 weeks to a month. We will be in Manhattan for that time as they want me local until the staples come out about 3 weeks after the surgery since the incision will extend from the sternum to well below the naval. Should be on the mend by Christmas.

No chemo this time. Saving what lifetime bullets remain in that magazine in case we need it later. Gold standard for this is to cut it out completely. That’s complicated by the surrounding real estate so the plan revolves around making the surgery successful. Of course, no plan survives first contact so once the surgeon goes in, we may revise things.

In the short term, no symptoms (typical of this disease) other than occasional mind games.

3 weeks until younger daughter’s wedding. Will be here at the house with limited attendees so we are pretty flat out on preps. Very hopeful that the weather will cooperate and support the outside ceremony and dinner without resorting to a closed tent.

[BeauV]

Congrats on the good outcome.

More importantly, I'm guessing, congrats on the daughter getting married. It was a heck of a lot of fun and joy when our two got married. They both chose well and the family got bigger. All our very best wishes on the upcoming wedding!

[Tim Ford]

Make sure the surgeons find and remove all those protons they shot in there, too.

Best of luck with the proceedings and hope the weather holds out for the wedding. It's weird putting on an extra layer these brisk mornings.

[Rob McAlpine]

Congrats on the wedding!

Protons? I'm worried about Morons.

[LarryHoward]

Well, interesting development yesterday. Travelled to Manhattan to Sloan Kettering and saw the radiologist and surgeon. They are pretty happy with the effectiveness of the Proton Therapy and think it may have killed the tumor. Due to the high risk nature of the surgery, including a strong probability of removal of a kidney to get it all, the surgeon wants to monitor with another CT in late December to see if the shrinkage continues and the fairly significant reduction in opacity/density continues or if it starts growing again.

Happy to not have avoidable surgery. Now we wait.....

[TheOffice]

Awesome news!

There is no such thing as minor surgery when you are the patient.

[BeauV]

Awesome news!

There is no such thing as minor surgery when you are the patient.

^^^^ THIS ^^^^^^^ (or when you're the parent of the patient)

[BeauV]

Larry, this is great news! I'm hoping you're well on your way back home, or maybe even there already.

[Jamie]

Good news....good news....

[Benno von Humpback]

Awesome news!

There is no such thing as minor surgery when you are the patient.

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[LarryHoward]

Larry, this is great news! I'm hoping you're well on your way back home, or maybe even there already.

Actually, things were quiet and I actually finished my last appointment (surgeon) a couple of minutes before it was scheduled to start. I had given him a lot of schedule slack as he normally runs more than an hour late. With (too much) experience with the subway system, I made it to Penn Station in 15 minutes and was able to change to a train leaving 15 minutes after that. Got back to DC at 1850 and had a smooth drive home. Back at work early this AM after watching election results last night.....

The pics of boarded up storefronts were a bit overblown by the media. Midtown along and close to Broadway, 5th, etc. were boarding up. Uptown was business as usual and I saw nothing near my hotel at 33rd and Park. Basically, the high dollar stores and nearby businesses were boarding up. The rest of the city not so much. Many restaurants had tents and tables/chairs in the streets (part of COVID reopening distancing) and I only saw a few bringing in umbrellas and chairs and tables. I probably spent 4 miles or so walking from transit to buildings from 33rd up to 74th on the East side and over to 8 Ave. Other than a wacko on the 6 train (somethings in Manhattan don't change) it was very peaceful.

[Slick470]

Good news Larry. Glad the travelling was uneventful too.