SO FAR SO GOOD!

Dallas is now midway through his check up week and so far everything is going well. He had several biopsies yesterday which were pretty stressful. Although the pathology on the tissue samples won't be back for a few weeks both the pathologist and the radiologist conducting the tests were pretty positive there weren't any cancer cells present. They were checking Dallas's thyroid this time because he does have a growth there and they want to keep an eye on it.

Today was Dallas's check up with the surgeon and that went well too. He's sending Dallas to Vancouver again for another PET scan - it's the most definitive technology out there as far as cancer detection goes. The PET scan will hopefully be sometime in January so if all goes well we'll be off the hook for a little while. Dallas still has to go to the cancer clinic this week for a follow up with the radiation oncologist but I'm sure he'll pass those tests with flying colours too.

Other than all the poking and prodding that he's had to put up with this week, Dallas is doing really well. He's starting to work hard on getting back that shoulder movement which is a big challenge. He's still having a fair amount of nerve pain but the surgeon reassured us that it is a side effect of the surgery and not a sign that the cancer is spreading.

We're starting to feel as though our lives are getting back on track. Earlier this week Dallas enjoyed a day out on the boat fishing and landed a salmon so he hasn't lost his touch! We're still taking life day by day here but we're also starting to feel cautiously optimistic. Thanks as always for all the support. More later...

Love,
Patty and Dallas
PS - Lawrence we'll be expecting to see you in all your Canuck gear front and centre at PGA West - make us proud!

HI FROM THE SUNNY WEST COAST!

Hi everyone...believe it or not as I write this the sun is shining on us! We've been keeping busy here - we even snuck in a quick trip to the San Juan Islands. Keeping busy is good diversionary tactic for us both. As far as Dallas's symptoms are concerned, I think that he feels as though he has taken two steps forward and one step back. While I notice that he's getting a lot stronger (chopping wood, power walking, etc.) he's experiencing some new pain which is very stressful. I think that the nerves and muscles that were affected by his surgery didn't have time to fully heal before they were bombarded with chemo and radiation. As a result, they're now complaining big time. On the positive side, Dallas has feeling in his face and neck where he thought he'd lost it, so I guess this is a time of healing and change as we wait and see how everything will turn out. Yesterday was a good day so I'm hopeful that more will follow.

Dallas starts getting poked and prodded the last week in November, so I'll report in then and let you know how everything is going. Thanks as always for your ongoing love and support! More later...

Love, Patty