Friday, October 13, 2006

Medical Update

It has been a couple of months since my last update, and I suppose in a way that is a good thing. Anyway, here goes...

A couple of weeks ago, I went to my PCP (Primary Care Physician) for my yearly physical. Everything looked good, except for my triclycerides. They were still high, even though I had been taking Tricor to lower them. My doctor suggested a new drug to try, so I am now taking Niaspan. Hopefully that will lower the triclycerides and get my cholesterol in check. The good news is that my overall cholesterol is only 189.

Then on Tuesday of this week, I went to my oncologist to get my tumor markers tested. And, thank G-d, I passed. My CEA dropped to 2.9 (range is 0-2.5). Even though it is still out of range, it has not gone above 3.0 in a year, so I am not concerned about it.

One more thing, this month is three years since all of this began. As a matter of fact, three years ago today I was still in the hospital, and we had not yet learned that I had cancer. So, here I am three years later with stable CT scans and clean tumor markers, and we thank G-d constantly for what He has done for us. Roni and I are praying for many more years together.

Now for some more good news. You may remember that last year around this time, a cab crushed our motorcycle and totaled it. We decided to hold off getting a new one for awhile and I was considering waiting until next year and then looked for a used bike. But then I saw that Harley Davidson upgraded their 2007 models with a larger engine (from a 88ci to 96ci) and a 6 speed transmission. They may not mean much to some of you, but to me that was enough for me to want a 2007 model instead of a used one. So in August, I went and placed the order for our new Harley Davidson Electra Glide Standard. The bike is a bit bigger than our old one, but should be much nicer for longer trips. We should be getting it in April, just ready for the Spring riding season.

That's all the news for now. Thanks for keeping up with my story and thank you for your thoughts and prayers.

Kevin