64-72% That’s the prognosis for stage three colorectal cancer. Meaning that for a female of my wife’s age and with her diagnosis, about 64-72% of patients remain alive five years after surgery. The eight-point range allows for various other health and environmental factors. 64-72% is so clinical. But if it’s your loved one who dies, the prognosis goes to zero and statistics can go to hell. Last year I wrote about one of Michelle’s bad days. And now we know. We have the news just before her 49th birthday and just before our 29th wedding anniversary. We also have a plan of action: We have a gastroenterologist, a surgeon, a radiation oncologist, and a chemotherapy oncologist, who concur — and who all coordinate for the best possible outcome … And I’m now making plans for a combined 50th birthday / 30th anniversary getaway. Stage 3 is better than Stage 4. 64-72% is better than 50%. I’ll take what I can get right now, and we’ll cross every bridge together because she won’t be fighting cancer alone. [Article 0006 of Samuel Said]
Tag: married life
Yesterday was a one of the bad days. Yesterday was a good day. As I walked into my office this morning I saw all the little things still not done. Some dishes in the sink. Some blankets strewn on the floor. A package arrived yesterday — some new shades we’d ordered which were delivered by FedEx — and the package is standing on end by the front door, unopened. Implied in that is that the shades were never hung yesterday as I had planned. A shelf still lies in the garage in the form of 2x4s which still need to be sanded, cut to size, and assembled. It’s a project Michelle and I started weeks ago and one which we had planned, if not to finish, at least make progress on yesterday. And that trip to stock up on a few essentials for our home storage? Neither of those happened. Here’s a selfie I took this morning. (Good Sabbath, by the way!) I don’t take selfies because I’m a narcissist. I took this photo so I could document yesterday, so please keep reading. I wish I had taken one yesterday to memorialize my appearance. It was rough. Not just…