> From: mjolly@entergy.com
> To: vianet@i-2000.com
> Subject: leiomyo survivor
> Date: Wednesday, May 14, 1997 1:49 PM
>
> Kent,
> I just left your web page and felt the urge to share my story.
> I was diagnosed three years ago this August after going to a
> dermatologist to remove what I thought was a wart just below the
> knuckle on my left pinkie finger. He burned it off and sent it
> for analysis. I left thinking that was the end of the wart. Two
> days later he calls back,tells me to come in.
> You are well aware of the torment I went through the next few
> days. I was referred to a specialist in this field in Little Rock.
> (Scott Dinehart UAMS oncology) Scott tells me his largest fear at
> this point is that it could be attached to the bone. We proceeded
> with surgery with the assistance of a bone specialist. Scott
> performed something called a 'mose procedure' or something like
> that, where he removes a circle of skin, analyzes it there in the
> surgical room under a microscope to determine if any of the outer
> edges have malignant cells. If they do he takes another circle
> around that area.
> The outcome of my surgery has been completely positive. Scott
> explained that if it comes back, it will most likely come back in
> the same area. My last follow up turned out to show me to be as
> healthy a person I could expect. I am a runner and I spent more
> time giving him running shoe advice than we spent talking doctor
> patient business.
> Like you, I wanted to get all of the information I could find on
> this cancer. I never imagined the word cancer being used in the
> same sentence with my name. The original diagnosis had a much
> greater impact on my life than that of the actual cancer will
> probably ever have. My malignancy was found much earlier in its
> stages than yours was. Even so, now that I am a 'cancer survivor'
> I am always having second thoughts about any suspicious lump,
> swelling or aches and pains that a cannot specifically link to
> running.
> Almost three years have gone by, I am in better shape than I
> have ever been in, I have run three post cancer marathons, and even
> started training for this years triathlon season. With all of
> that, I still have concerns that I guess will never go away. My
> doctors do also. My wife took this much harder than I did and we
> have only recently begun to talk about how to cope with these
> feelings of anxiety and fear of the big C word.
> Initially I was eager to change my eating habits to include many
> supplements as you have stated that you take. It seems that with
> every item on the market you have a person telling why this item
> will save your life and another person telling you why this item is
> a waste of money. I became skeptical about most all of it. My
> eating habits weren't that bad before I was diagnosed. So I
> haven't really changed much. I don't eat red meat. I mainly eat
> boiled chicken, lots of rice pasta and vegetables. I drink skim
> milk, juices and lots of sports drinks and water. The only
> problems I have is becoming protein deficient twice in the last
> couple of years due to the lack of dead carcass in my diet. I
> usually buy a container of that protein powder and mix it with my
> milk as I begin marathon training. Other than that I take an
> aspirin, and a single supplement daily. I will certainly consider
> listening to any claims you are willing to make about the items you
> are taking.
> I don't know how much reading you do or if you read about other
> cancer patients, but if you do I recommend the following -
>
> "Did I Win?" and "Going the Distance: One mans journey to the end
> of his life" Both books are about George Sheehan he was a
> cardiologist and of course a runner. The last one was authored by
> him.
>
> "Time on fire" by Evan Handler, he was treated at Sloan memorial as
> you were. His memories of the center were not quite the same as
> yours. Evan is an actor from N.Y. He tells a pretty graphic story
> but it certainly is an excellent read.
>
> I look forward to hearing from you and thank you for giving me
> some place to write my depressing thoughts down.
>
> sincerely,
>
> Mike Jolly mjolly@entergy.com