Well… as far as we know, anyway, I'm cancer-free. How can we really know?
I think this a good thing – there are things in the world I still have left to do.
But… lately, as a part of the radiation therapy aftermath, I'm experiencing a discomfort level a bit worse than my last months before the surgery that removed my tumor, 3 months ago today. So from a quality-of-life standpoint, there's room for improvement. Sigh.
Work today went OK. I had two classes. It's so hard to talk, and I worry the kids are just being polite and can't understand a word I'm saying – though the possibility that a group of 2nd grade boys are being polite is actually pretty slim, on further reflection.
What I'm listening to right now.
Psychedelic Furs, "Alice's House."
[Update, 2013-10-05 8 am: My friend Jeannine had this comment on this blog entry on facebook, this morning, and I decided it must be included here, along with my answer:
Jeannine: Cancer-free…strange words. I'm sure you know much much more than I, but my rudimentary understanding of cancer is that cell replication goes haywire quite often – but usually our immune system gets rid of them before they proliferate into a tumor. So are any of us every cancer-free? All we can do, it seems, is nurture the ecosystem of our body and help it do its job for as long as we are given.
Jared: Jeannine is right – I know that very well. Though I doubt I know more than Jeannine (biologist!). All those cells are all just swimming around , and the immune system is swimming around playing "enforcer" and we hope everyone remains a team player. Point taken. The term "cancer-free" is essentially a misnomer based on a misunderstanding of the disease. That said, I'll play along with the misunderstanding because it's a manner of positive thinking: I'll believe I'm cancer-free, and hope the immune system is listening and stays with the program.]
[daily log: walking, 5 km]