Down goes cancer!

Down goes cancer!

This is how I feel after going to NIH to receive my quarterly result today, April 25. It is stable and may even be a smidge smaller. Always a tremendous relief. Once again, I have knocked my brain cancer to the mat.

The conversation was more about seizure control meds and balancing them. Pretty routine stuff. Pretty odd what I consider to be routine.

Busy week coming up. Genet's first Communion is next Sunday. A lot of prep needs to be done in anticipation of visitors from Ohio, KC and St. Louis. Because of this, I will not be able to participate in the Race for Hope in DC on Sunday, May 5th. Consider joining in on this run with a start and finish on Pennsylvania Ave.

And yes, I know the picture shows Sonny Liston on the mat and the quote I used was a paraphrase of "Down goes Frazier." It's my blog.

Happy 2013!

Happy New Year!

Marcie and I visited NIH for my quarterly scan and report. Again, it was good news. The tumor still appears to be stable. I am now 3 years past my radiation treatment.


I am now praying for a young child in my community who has been dealing with a brain tumor for over  two years. This child is facing a second surgery.

Updates on less serious things. We had a great trip to St. Louis over Christmas to visit Marcie's family. We even got to stop and see good friends in Indianapolis. The girls are enjoying cheerleading and volleyball this winter. We had a lovely day at the Washington National Zoo today. I am very disappointed in our complete lack of snow.

I am now going to the Prince George's Sports and Learning Complex to work out. It is one of the best facilities in the Mid-Atlantic area. I am enjoying working out in the weight room at 6:00 AM before work. I really feel energized for the day. It has been long time since I have done dead lifts, squats and bench press. Doing this is not fulfilling a resolution but continuing my fitness focus that started last year. How come it is so hard to lose the last 10 pounds?

At school, I organized the school National Geographic Bee. The school championship was this past week. It was a great finals. The kids were great. I think this is the 11th year in a row for me. Have I really been teaching this long?

Re: Lance Armstrong. I was a big fan. We even were in Europe and arranged our schedule to be in Paris for his last "victory" in the Tour de France. In the back of my mind, I knew he was doping. I am very appreciative for all he has done for cancer fighters. I watched his interview with Oprah Winfrey. Boy, did he look beat down.

Cheers.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas is only 8 days away! Two more days of teaching! I really want snow for Christmas. We will be traveling to the Midwest to visit friends and family.

Health wise, I have a touch of the flu but I have amazing recuperative abilities and will shake it off quick. I am now on an anti-seizure regimen of Lamictal and Keppra. This combo has made the spells I have (tingling of right side) almost disappear. They used to happen 1-3 times a week. Now it is down to one maybe every third week. I will go back to NIH for my next routine scan in early January 2013.

Hey, I am still here...

...just very busy. No news is good news.

October was busy with Halloween and birthday parties for the girls.  Raced in two cyclocross races, Hyattsville CX and DCCX, that were a lot of fun. Finished toward the back of the pack but did not crash!

Next MRI will be in late December; Merry Christmas.

Latest MRI Scan

September 28, 2012

I went to NIH for my quarterly scan on Friday. They quickly got to the point: the tumor appears to be stable again! Such a relief. I will go back in three months for another scan. That visit will be at Christmas time. Looking forward to great Christmas present!

Marcie and I had a couple hours free so we spent the beautiful afternoon at the National Zoo. So relaxing. Even ran into a high school classmate and her family at the zoo. Coming up on our 25 year reunion next year.  Marcie and I stopped for a meal at an Irish pub in Cleveland Park (a reward for me.) They had a very interesting pumpkin ale, like liquid pumpkin pie.

So what's next? Cyclocross! Registered for a CX race in Hyattsville next Sunday. Looking forward to more mud.

Super Spartan Race Results

The Super Spartan Race was so awesome! I had so much fun over 10+ miles in the rain and mud. 20+ obstacles and dozens of things to hop and climb over. I finished 443rd out of 1600 racers in 2 hours and 36 minutes. (23rd out of 124 males age 40-44). Can I assume that I finished first for all the racers with brain cancer?
 I had the biggest smile on my face throughout as I was reveling in pushing myself physically and mentally through the event. I loved that my family was on the course to cheer me on. I gave them mid-race muddy hugs after I came out of the mud crawl under barbed wire.

Spartan Race Blog!

I am featured in a blog post from the Spartan Race organization! Click here to see the blog: http://blog.spartanrace.com/ode-to-sparta-virginia-spartan-survivor/