Checking the Forum for your health updates is also part of the ritual of checking the daily stats. So many, many people care about you. Bless You.

Willy,

Have not been around for a while on the BOINC scene and saw this topic when I was visiting the forum tonight.

We lost our 12 year son in a fight to sarcoma about 2 ½ years ago. It was caught late and he fought very hard against it at Loma Linda University Medical Center (Baby Fae if you remember that) which is local to us. Unfortunately, he developed sepsis after chemotherapy and he wasn't able to overcome it. We didn't elect for surgery because it would have essentially involved cracking his chest open to remove the mass.

Since then, our devices have mostly been devoted to projects (BOINC and non-BOINC) involved in Cancer Research. As serious as COVID is, it's going to get licked one day, but Cancer is going to be haunting the world for some time to come.

It sounds like your treatment is being effective. It's a battle definitely. We watched our son go through it. Hope you have people rooting for you up there in the Netherlands.

~Yav

Yav, I'm sorry about the loss of your son.

My treatment seems to be going well indeed. I finished the radiotherapy and I'm now in a resting/strengthen period. In about two weeks I'll get another round of scans, then the physicians will discuss about the progress and next step. Most probably, two weeks after the scans, the tumor will be removed surgically. There will be some side-effects but I'l tell more about those when I'll have them.

As for support, I have my wife, my parents, my sister and family, my stepson and family, friends and a very supportive employer.

Good to hear things are looking positive. Cancer runs on my wife's side. She lost her mom and grandmother (mom's mom). They both got sick later on and they couldn't fight off the infections. In grandmother's case, she had emphysema from having smoked earlier in her life then got pneumonia that settled into her lungs. It's a hard fight when that settles in as is...

Positive things to have support from many sides rallying for you.

The hospital finally scheduled my surgery. This Thursday they'll remove what's remaining of the tumor. The neuro surgeon thinks he can remove all of the tumor but he won't guarantee anything, including parts of the tumor remaining and/or more chemo- or radiation therapy. If everything goes well, the tumor is gone but I lose some motor skills in my right leg and all feeling in my right side.

Thank you for the update, Willy. Please know that there are many of us who care for you and wish you all the best.
As someone who a few years ago, had to accept an operation that caused me some loss of sensation in my left arm (also cancer related), I'd like to say that I'm still here thanks to that operation. I truly hope that the loss of motor skills will not be too disabling for you, and that in time you will learn to live with it.
All my best wishes
Rod

I'm back home after the surgery. Everything went according to plan and the tumor is successfully removed. The surgeon even managed to keep my leg functioning just fine.

I have to heal from the surgery for about seven weeks and then I'm as good as new.

So happy for you!!!

Great news! My best to you.

That's great news! Wishing you a speedy recovery. Sending some since you maybe can't have any

Very good news!

Hope you have a good recovery and come back stronger as before this journey.

That's great news! All the best for a quick recovery!

I bet your bird has been missing its favorite perching spot.

Wonderful news!

I haven't missed mine - hats OFF for boincstats' stamina/resilience/robustness during this uncertain period.
All thanks to a gifted custodian.

Excellent news... congratulations in finding a great surgeon.

Willy - that is ABSOLUTELY the best news we could have received!
Please put your arms around your family and rejoice with them! I am ecstatic your outcome was so positive!!!!

All is still pretty much ok. I'm off the Oxycodone (terrible stuff) for about two weeks now and I'm starting to feel pain where the tumor was and in the area where I felt pain due to the tumor pressing on a nerve. My non-expert opinion is that this is due to the severed nerve but I'll let the doctors decide on that.

I'm going on holiday now for two weeks to Egypt. I have mixed feelings about this because of the terrible thing happening in the world right now but the doctor told me to take a vacation in a warm climate so I'm just following orders.

At the end of this month I'll have another CT scan and a conversation with my head practitioner. This will be a milestone and we hope it's a clear scan.

You deserve a rest and vacation! We look forward to a glowing report upon your return.

+ 1000
You deserve all the Best !!!

Have a great trip.

So, couple of weeks ago I had a CT scan and a meeting with my head practitioner. According to her and the radiologist I was cancer free. Everything looked good. All that was left to do was a MRI scan to see if the wound, the muscle and my spine healed ok. Now I still have some pain but it's manageable. I had the scan three weeks ago and the verdict today. Unfortunately, they see a dark spot on the scan which may be a scar or it may be a leftover from the tumor. Now I'll get a biopsy to determine that.

To be continued.

Praying for a clear outcome on the biopsy and continuing recovery overall.

Amen!

Praying for you and hoping for the best.

Finally some good news! The latest biopsy and a new CT scan confirm that at the moment I am cancer free! The head practitioner emphasizes that this is a snapshot but for now I'm cancer free. I will get more scans in the future to make sure it stays that way, two more before the end of the year.

I'm going to reduce the pain medication again, I hope the pain remains under control.