Starting All Over -- Again

As most of you know, I was diagnosed with Stage III Colon Cancer in September of 2005. After that diagnosis, I underwent 6 months of chemotherapy to try to remove any traces of cancer that my surgery missed.

And, as most of you know, the chemotherapy I underwent did not work. I have had a recurrence of Colon Cancer. This time the cancer is not in my colon, it is in my "mesentary" (i.e., my "fat"). It may also have metastesized to my liver (something I will learn more about tomorrow). And since "Modern" medical science has not found a more sophisticated way of battling cancer than sledgehammering it to death, I will begin chemotherapy -- again -- tomorrow morning at 9am.

So while I used to use this blog to make fun of politicians and other public officials I didn't like, I am now going to be using it to update all of you about my condition. It's a bit more efficient than saying the same thing over and over on the telephone. I'm also going to post a calendar on here to try to keep track of who among all of my wonderful friends and family members is coming and going for the battery of treatments I'm beginning. And, finally, I'm also going to use this space to reflect on the meaning of illness and recovery, to complain
(a lot), and probably still to make fun of politicians and other public officials I don't like.

So the picture above is of me, today, on October 10th, 2006. I look and feel well, but I'm not. And beginning tomorrow, I will start to look, and feel, a whole lot worse -- thanks to the plastic-based chemotherapy drug (Irinotecan) I will be "infusing" on a bi-weekly basis. I hope that you will all read my blog, and I hope you'll also feel free to respond to what I write. It would be great if all of the great people I know who helped me with my last struggle with cancer could get to know each other a bit better.

So -- here we go. Nothing less than victory this time.