Boas Notícias . . .

My sister Catharine Always makes me look good, even after 3 months of chemo.

So this past Friday, my doctors made it official. My CT Scan showed no evidence of metastasis (spread) of the cancer. Lymph nodes showed no inflammation and all of my internal organs appear cancer-free. My blood tests showed I haven't recovered fully from the chemotherapy and in fact I still am suffering some of the lingering side effects, but I'm on my way to a 100% recovery. Medical orthodoxy requires five years of being cancer free before I can say I am cured, but this is the best possible news I can get at this time.

I also underwent minor surgery to  remove the port that was the conduit for the cocktail of drugs that hopefully will have kept the cancer from ever returning. The pain of the surgery was minor, much less than when the port was put in. When the doctor showed me the blood covered device after its removal, I felt a sense of victory. I knew that it meant I could increase my physical activity and return to some sense of normalcy, though normal is rarely used to describe me.

I have to thank again the great doctors, practitioners and nurses at the Mayo Clinic. Especially how they treated me as a partner in my treatment, neither talking down to me nor talking over me. It was all smiles as we said my goodbyes. I'll be visiting again to get scans every 6 months and I am confident that my immune system will take this the rest of the way. Whenever the doctors would say what an average  patient should expect . . . I would remind them that I am a CAPOEIRA. We're anything but average. When cancer attacked, I instinctively reacted with an esquiva* and rôle*. Sou mandingueiro ate o dia que eu morrer**. And that day is not today.

*Capoeira movements, roughly a duck and roll
**I'm a capoeira player until the day that I die

see some famous Mestres define the "undefinable" word mandinga

Best Days Are Ahead

So today is a special day. I would have been scheduled for my 7th chemotherapy treatment. But instead I'll be teaching capoeira tonight. Instead of getting sick again I'll be getting healthier. Instead of trying to endure the side effects of the chemo drugs, I'll be working through muscle soreness as I get back into shape.

On Tuesday, August 17 I met with my primary oncologist to discuss my treatment. As I explained in my previous post, the radiologist had all but given me the green light to skip radiation due to the low probability of local recurrence and the very daunting possibility of permanent damage to my internal organs. For quite some time I have wondered whether 6 months of chemotherapy might also do more damage than good.  Especially now as I was experiencing extreme fatigue and numbness in my fingers and toes. I knew already that the science was more gray than black and white. 6 months had been the standard for decades regardless if the patient had stage 4 cancer or as in my case it was done simply to prevent the return of the cancer. My gut feeling was that any benefit from the chemo had already been realized and returning to some normalcy in my life, especially training capoeira would be a much more effective medicine.

My doctor to his credit responded positively to my decision to stop treatment. He did say that he was confident that the three months of chemo would improve my odds of living cancer free. He also admitted that there is no scientific evidence to say that 6 months is any more effective than 3 months. In fact the Mayo Clinic is currently conducting trials to look specifically at this question. Prior studies have shown that any chemotherapy beyond 6 months gives no added benefit. He also concurred that some studies have indicated that exercise can have a greater effect than chemo in reducing the recurrence of this cancer.

So the decision was made to have my final cycle of chemo on the 20th of August and then quickly pack my bags and make the road trip back to Miami before the worst symptoms kicked in. Luckily Stacey traveled with me as my back up driver. What a crazy summer. It was great getting to spend time with my nephews and nieces. Oh and their parents too who were so gracious to let me stay in their home. I realized that I'm no longer a Minnesota boy. I long for the diversity and hectic schedule of Miami.

So after two weeks I'm back to work, teaching capoeira and feeling better every day. But the most amazing thing is that I won't get sick this weekend. In fact my best days are ahead of me. I don't know if you can understand how wonderful that feels. Next week I'll head back to the Mayo clinic for some blood work, scans and the surgical removal of the port where the chemo was administered. My doctor told me he really didn't need to tell me to eat healthy and get exercise. No, he certainly doesn't. This is what I'm good at. So for the next three months my blog will focus on getting into shape to the hypnotizing sound of my personal trainer, my gunga.

Batizando meu sobrinho . . .