Perhaps you can help my friends in the quest to conquer breat cancer. I’m asking this for a distance family member who has created this magnificent website entitle Strings for a Cure. Please click on the link and see the many famous artists who have donated their used guitar strings to wonderful cause. From Bon Jovi to Les Paul and throngs in between, the strings are used to make jewelry, which you will see on the website. The proceeds go to the wonderful cause of finding a cure for breast cancer. So just don’t wear your pink during the month of November. Send in your strings, and those of a friend. Everyone out there knows someone who strums the long neck. So take the time, visit the site, and be a part of the solution.

I am not yet capable of expressing in words how appreciative I am of the emails, the phone calls, comments, and well wishes from all of you. This will be my last post for a few days. I’ve gotten the head trimmed to the peach fuzz in preparation for tomorrow. It’s almost game time and kick-off is scheduled for 5:45 a. m. The three loves of my life are spending the evening with me. Their laughter is keeping my mind as far away from pensive thoughts as possible. If we meet again, then we’ll smile; if not, this parting was well made.

And I discovered that my castles stand on pillars of salt and pillars of sand.”

Being free from the duties of the cafe today we had planned on making the trip across the Delaware River to visit with Ryan and Carolyn. However, Robin spent most of the night on the couch, hacking through a chest cold. She insisted I make the trip alone and spend some quality time with our son. She didn’t want to expose anyone else to her summer misery. It proved to be a great time to process the vast amount of information that I’ve been gathering the past few days. Allow me to alert you here as this may be another lesson on cancer. Hopefully it will be the last for awhile. I don’t want to bring you to boredom but several emails over the past few days have requested this information. I hope to share what I’ve learned with other cancer patients, especially those possessing chondrosarcoma. Chondrosarcoma is a rare form of cancer. It develops from normal cartilage which goes through malignant change. People who have chondrosarcoma have a single tumor growth which can vary in size and location. If chondrosarcoma is found in the region of the neck, it can be located in the cartilage of the larynx, (hyoid or cricoid) or the cervical spine. If it is found in the skull it is usually found in the skull base, beneath the brain. You see where I’m going with this? My first stint with the disease was such, located in the windpipe, attached to the larynx. Successful surgery, albeit an altered voice but still a voice. The tumor I now possess is in the base of the brain. I’m thinking logically and hopefully without much emotion and I’m seeing a great chance of another bout of chondrosarcoma. The tumor has grown from the size of a dime to that of a quarter. There is considerable swelling of the brain around the tumor. In all my research I have found confirmed what four surgeons have previously stated. There are no known alternative treatments to cure chondrosarcoma. None. If you, the reader should happen to have substantiated proof of an alternative cure for this rare cancer, please inform me. The most effective method of treating chondrosarcoma to prevent recurrence or possibly create a cure is ablative surgery with clear margins. There you have in just a small nutshell what I’ve learned over the past few days. Enough of the lecture circuit. It usually takes an hour and fifteen minutes from Lake In Wood to my destined village in New Jersey. Today’s traffic and orange barrels cost me an extra hour. It proved to be fruitful. By the time I had reached Ryan’s house my decision was made. I will forego the cyberknife for surgical removal of the tumor. (I have always known when to hold ‘em, but also when to fold ‘em.) It shall wait until September as I’m still asymptomatic. Why September? Dr. Howard Goldberg, my personal hero, allowed me to choose the date for my first cancer surgery. I chose 9/11 and that proved successful. My quest is to have history repeat itself. I shared my decision with Ryan and then Carolyn as she came home from work and we all went out to the Hollywood Diner for lunch. Then Ryan and I cruised the aisles of Home Depot in search of a new Dremel. (I’m making some new plant stands out of PVC pipe) My old one just doesn’t seem to want to hold on to any accessories. Then it was back home to his office. Ryan is in the modern technological world where his office is in his home and video conferencing takes place in a pair of shorts and t-shirts. I played man-secretary for him, scanning and shredding while he worked his computer magic. It was a great day. I was able to stay until late in the afternoon. As I was crossing the Commodore Barry bridge, I phoned UPMC and informed them of my choice. Cancel the plans for the cyberknife. I have chosen the full scale surgery. I didn’t want them prepping for the knife when it would be all for naught. They informed me that they were pleased that I made the right decision. Orange barrels and traffic congestion from that point on just seemed to be of moot concern.

]]> http://www.gypsylarry.com/2010/06/knowing-chondrosarcoma/feed/ 16 http://www.gypsylarry.com/2010/06/anger-to-acceptance-to/ http://www.gypsylarry.com/2010/06/anger-to-acceptance-to/#comments Sat, 26 Jun 2010 02:37:56 +0000 larry http://www.gypsylarry.com/?p=1864 Continue reading »]]> Note:  This post may seem about me and my personal situation. I hope you don’t take it that way. I’m not so egotistical or vain in thought that I would consider or entertain empathy. My reasoning behind this post is that many readers out there are experiencing cancer, brain issues, or have family members that have such. And if my words can share a bit of information leading to a better choice, then the effort will have been worth it.

We made the four hour trip back to Pittsburgh the other day for a scheduled visit to UPMC Shadyside and the Hillman Cancer Center. I was to meet with the Cyber Knife team to discuss my situation and possibility of having that procedure administered to my tumor. It would prove to be a long day. An appointment at 1 p.m. lasted until our final departure at 6:30. After filling out documents and going through the paper mill that one does when a new patient, I finally met a team of three doctors. Upon review of my MRIs and condition they offered their best recommendation. Due to the growth and size, their suggestion is to have it removed surgically. Portraying congenial facial expressions, I nonetheless felt a nauseus jolt to my soul. I was overcome with a depression that I didn’t want exposed. Afterall, I expected to hear otherwise. I expected the Cyber Knife to be my eutopic remedy. I had heard this at the previous hospital. I wasn’t prepared for this letdown. The reasoning behind their decision was due to various things. First, the tumor has grown to the size of a quarter. But the brain swelling around it is considerable. They also don’t exactly know what the tumor is. Other neurosurgeons have expressed similar opinions. If the tumor proved to be chondro-sarcoma, the radiation of the cyber knife is rendered useless on a tumor of this nature. Being that chondro-sarcoma was the tumor in my trachea three years ago, I saw their line of thinking. Nonetheless, they don’t know for sure. And if it proved to be such, then the radiation from the cyber knife will just accelerate the brain swelling. This wasn’t a bitter pill to swallow, this baby was larger than my mouth could accommodate. They did offer the option of Cyber Knife treatments, enforcing to me however, that this would be no better than a 50/50 chance of success. I explained to them I still have no symptoms. I batteried a series of physical tests that stressed my balance, my equilibrium, my rapid eye movement, the whole gamut of brain challenging tasks. Both times, my results were that of a perfectly balanced young man. Their faces showed me they were perplexed. I saw an opening here. Asking that if the tumor was not sarcoma, perhaps composed of other elements, could the Cyber Knife prove successful. They responded positively, given those circumstances. So what if, just what if, the tumor is anything but sarcoma. No one knows this for sure. So hope continues to spring eternal. And just what if the Cyber Knife is successful. And perhaps any swelling as a result still won’t prove debilitating. And if not, then surgery was the only option last month anyway. There is much to think about. And if those of you reading have questions regarding this, please feel free to email. I just hoped sharing this may help your own cause. I always taught my children that as they grow older, the toughest thing in their lives would be making choices. As you grow older, they become tougher. I am now a product of my own philosophic predictions. I stand at my own crossroads. A life changing decision will be made shortly. But I rejoice. My position is good news that at first I didn’t perceive. I Have A Choice. They didn’t give me a decision with no alternative. Surgery could have been their only choice. But I am the luckiest man on the face of the earth. Again, I may have been given another chance.  The choice shall be made after some mental deliberation. But I have the chance to choose, and that choice is mine, all mine.