Good News - Bad News

First the good news.

I got a call from my oncologist this morning and he told me (well, he told Roni, I was out on an errand) that the tumor markers have not changed. Although I don't know the exact numbers, and haven't seen the report, I'm relieved to hear that they are normal.

UPDATE - 10/19/05 - I just received a copy of my tumor marker test. The doctor was wrong when he said the tumor markers have not changed. THEY ACTUALLY WENT DOWN!!! That's right, the last CEA level was at 2.5 (the high end of the scale), this one was at 1.9!! That's even better news.

Now for the bad news...


Sad Site, originally uploaded by kevkersey.

That's my bike crushed between the cab to the right and the van to the left.

On Sunday morning, at about 2:30 AM, I woke from my sleep when I heard some yelling outside. That isn't unusual, but usually the yelling only last for a few seconds. This time it kept up. Then I heard loud popping sounds. Gun fire? Well, we do live at the bottom of Spanish Harlem, so I wouldn't be surprised. I thought I'd better have a look.

I looked out our bedroom window, where I am able to see my bike parked. What I saw was a cab pinning my bike to another car. As I was still waking up (after only a few hours sleep), I needed a better look so I went to our living room window where I could see out better. Sure enough, there were cops and the FDNY all over the place and what looked like smoke coming from around the corner.

I got dressed, grabbed the digital camera and ran downstairs. In front of our apt, another cab had run into the bus stop and caught on fire. It was put out by the time I got there. As for my bike, it was originally covered, but by the time I got there the FDNY had removed the cover and was trying to figure out how to disconnect the battery. I told them it was my bike, and would do so. I ran back up for my keys (to turn off the alarm) and came back. Roni came down to see what was going on. I took off the seat and disconnected the battery. I also got all of my belongings out of the saddle bag.

I then spent the next 5 and half hours calling the insurance company, my roadside assistance (to have the bike towed), went with the tow truck to the wreckers, walked about 10 blocks from the wreckers to the subway, rode the subway from Queens back into Manhattan, which left me off ten blocks from my apt because the local subway wasn't running (grrrr...). I finally got back home at about 8:30 AM and promptly fell asleep for about 2 hours.

Today, I spoke to the insurance company who said the bike was totaled and will be taking it from where it is now to their shop to determine the value. I wanted to get a new bike anyway, so maybe this is my opportunity. :-) We'll see.

For more picks of the accident, click here.

Time for an update...

OK, it's been awhile since I've posted an update to the blog. I have no excuse. So here goes.

First of all, if you remember, there were some "abnormalities" on my last CT scan. My oncologist said that I shouldn't worry about them, so I didn't. But when I went in to discuss the scan with him, he said that he received a letter from Dr. Sugarbaker, who said it looked like it could be the return of disease. That's a phrase you never want to hear. Well, needless to say, I was stunned. All these things started going through my mind, "Will I need another surgery?", "Will I end up with a permanent ostomy?", "Will I need more chemo?" Once those thoughts start, it's easy to spin down into despair.

A day or so later, I started to feel better. Especially after I started thinking about what the CT scan showed. Two of the abnormalities were unchanged from the last scan, and the one that did change, was on the liver. Now, I haven't gone back and checked yet, but if my memory serves me right, the thing on the liver was there from the very beginning, and Dr. Sugarbaker said it looked like scar tissue. I don't know why it would have grown, but who really understands all of the intricacies of the human body?

Anyway, Dr. Sugarbaker suggested another CT scan in 6 months, but my oncologist suggested another tumor marker test in a month (which is about now) and another CT scan in about 3 months (about 2 months now). So, I need to call and make an appt for my tumor marker test soon,.

Aside from that, I am still dealing with learning to be a cancer survivor. While it may seem that should be an easy thing, I really believe that PTSS is a part of what I am dealing with. Not as bad as what soldiers or others in life-threatening situations go through, but maybe to a lesser degree. While I am thankful for being alive and surviving all that I did, the fear of cancer is something that always dwells in the back of my brain.

On a more positive note, I got a new primary care doctor about a month ago. While going over my medical history with him, and after a quick physical, he suggested a new medication (after he found I had my gall bladder removed) which was supposed to help with the diarrhea and multiple bowel movements. It is called Cholestryamine, and while it kind of resembles Tang flavored mud, it has really helped in reducing the amount of diarrhea and the amount of BMs I have a day. Heck, at times I even feel almost normal again. Before that, I would say I felt about 80% normal, now it is more like 90%. So things are looking up in the area.

Well, that's about it for now. I'll write again after I get my next tumor marker test.

If you are a praying person, I'd appreciate prayers for my next tests (blood and CT scan), that the tumor markers will be normal and the "abnormalities" will either stay the same, or decrease (or better yet, just disappear). Thank you all again for your continued support and prayers. No matter how long I live, I will never be able to say "Thank You" enough.

Kevin