June Weather in March

This was a forecast from Sunday and it actually got to 25C on Monday with Thursday being even warmer than forecasted.

Last week I stopped napping daily since I was feeling awake enough during the day and I've started doing more exercise.  Still doing the cardio but now I alternate with weights every second day.  My good friend Brian set me up with a program and I'm amazed at how hard certain exercises are that don't use any weights.  Brian not only is a nice guy but he won Mr. Canada for bodybuilding in the past and he's the only person I know who competed in Mr. Universe.  Of course, Brian, I'm only on the Baby-La-La program but thanks for the help.

Only three weeks left till surgery.  Tomorrow morning I go to the hospital for my pre-surgery appointment.  Bloodwork, nurses, doctors and I get fitted up for my colostomy.  I hope to be out of there in 3.5 hours.  It's supposed to be 26 C tomorrow.  It's weird, our pool in the backyard still has a big block of ice floating in it.

This weather has been nice...

Daytona 200

I had a follow-up appointment with the radiation doctor (Dr. Kendall) a couple of days ago and he was just really checking that I'm doing okay health-wise and I don't glow too brightly in the dark.  He told me some good news which is that I can gradually go back to my original foods like whole wheat bread, apples, oranges and raisin bran.  This is great news and I've already eaten some of it already.  I'd been getting pretty sick of white bread and, although I'm not a salad lover, it's strange how I've missed lettuce these last two months.

My operation has also been scheduled for April 12th.  It's bittersweet.  I'm looking forward to the cancer being removed but I feel almost normal now and there will be changes coming with the surgery.



Miguel Duhamel has won the Daytona 200 five times, tied
with dickhead Scott Russell (or Ru$$ell as he arrogantly
labels himself).  He was three times close to setting the all-
time record of 6 wins exept for crashing in one race (blame
himself), running out of gas in another (blame the mechanic)
and having a fuel pickup problem in another race (blame the
equipment).
Miguel retired a couple of years ago at
approximately 40 years old.  I don't think we'll see his record
broken in the next ten years.  He's tops in my books.



Well, enough about cancer.  Tomorrow marks the first day of spring in the motorcycle world as the first race of the year happens tomorrow.  It's always a long winter when you're a motorcyclist which is why I've travelled south a few times to spectate at the Daytona 200 motorcycle race.  Normally races are about 30 to 40 minutes long but Daytona is a season-opener 200 mile race so it's about two or 2.5 hours long.  Riders actually have pit stops and they need to change tires and tank up with gas.  It's actually exciting to watch.  Plus, the weather is usually warm in Florida and bike riding in Ottawa is just around the corner when Daytona happens.  In this case, motorcycle riding weather in Ottawa is already here but I'll be squirrelled away in the basement on a sunny day watching the races with friends.



Cost-cutting measures a couple of years ago eliminated
Qualifying tires that would only last for two laps but they
stuck like glue so you could set one really fast lap time in
qualifying.  Com'on people, at least all other tires will last 20 to 30
laps (half an hour to 40 minutes).
After they were eliminated, Dunlop jumped on the
bandwagon and released a street tire that you could ride all
summer on.  Ironically, they call it The Qualifier.



Pre-Surgery Appointment

I've been feeling good the last week or so and my energy level is much higher.  I've been able to do cardio on a daily basis and my nap time has decreased.

Two days ago I had a follow up with my surgeon.  Looks like he's 90% sure I'll be getting the full removal (to be decided during surgery) and I'm scheduled for the week after Easter.  With two surgeons, he feels I should be all done in 4 to 5 hours.  I'll be in the hospital for a week afterwards and feeling back to my usual self three months later.  Oh, except for the chemotherapy.  That'll go on for 5 to 6 months of wearing the bottle around my hip.  Thankfully, the bottle will only be for two days in three week intervals so I'm expecting to have one bad week on a three week rotation from May until sometime in November.  This really will consume all of 2012.



Kate's last ski lesson involved costumes.
Here she's wearing her dragon costume.



Complete with tail that I pinned up.






















I'm trying to be positive about all of this but the sad reality is I'm in countdown mode until this surgery changes me forever.  However, there is a real risk of not catching all the cancer if full removals don't occur.  I wouldn't want the cancer to reappear a few years down the road and find out it's spread to other, more severe locations where treatment is not as promising.  It can still reappear but I'm confident this will give me a leg up on longevity and if things do reappear in a decade then medicine will have advanced that much further in ten years. 

March is all about resting up and excercising to prepare for the surgery.  Spring weather has finally appeared and it's great to see the pavement drying up.  I'm hoping to ride a motorcycle before my surgery since I won't be able to ride until about July.