Gamblin' Man

Thanks to my brother for lunch yesterday. He and I met at Foxwoods casino, which is roughly halfway between the two of us, near the Connecticut/Rhode Island border. I lost most of my money on slot machines and video poker (but not as much as my brother), but I'm comforted by the fact that a large slice of CT's state budget comes from slots at our two casinos, so I feel like I did my part. I made sure that I saved enough cash for a Dunkin' Donuts coffee for the way home.

We stopped into all three of the casino rooms at Foxwoods at various points during the day. Mike was good enough to steer us toward the non-smoking rooms, saying to me, "We don't want you to get lung cancer or anything." (See? That cancer humor isn't so tough, is it? Of course, if you already have a headstart on a sick sense of humor, it's a lot easier.)

We had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe, perched underneath the shoes and socks of the drummer for ZZ Top. Mike was good enough to buy, so my brother, we'll just say we're even now and you won't have to pay me the $35 I won from you when we played pool over Thanksgiving. I hadn't forgotten.

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Tomorrow morning, I meet with Dr. R, the oncologist, for my monthly follow-up. I'll give you all a report in the afternoon when I get a chance. I'm not expecting anything earth-shattering. I'm still not feeling any B symptoms (weight loss, night sweats, fatigue, etc.). I might have a little swelling in a lymph node in my neck, but I might also be imagining it, or it might not be deemed significant enough to say the Lymphoma is progressing. (We already knew the node was infected from the PET scan -- it won't be a surprise if it's swollen.) I'll get some bloodwork done, which could also show that things have progressed a little in ways that I can't see or feel.

But really, there isn't much he can say tomorrow that will throw me. I mean, what's the worst he can say? I still have cancer?

Isabel and I both said this morning that we're torn between hoping he says we're still on watch and wait for a long time, and hoping we can just start treatment and feel like we're doing something. More good news/bad news.

So we'll just see what he has to say. Tune in tomorrow.