Ferdinand

Just a simple procedure, they said.

Maybe if I had done a little more research, I would have known that it was not so simple.

Well, the operation was fine and I left for home Friday evening with the only disappointment that they did not keep me over night to enjoy that great menu and personal attention.

But since getting home I found out that there was more to this operation than I realized. My scrotum swelled to about three or four times its regular size and has stayed that way despite attempting the various treatments suggested by many. I feel like Ferdinand, the bull. It is painful to move,

The research says that this could last 3 to 8 months (ouch), but the surgeon and my doctor advisor, Mike, say it should get at least a little better in the next week or two. I am going with them.

When I went to the cancer center on Monday, my blood numbers were good. I even got good results from a test for the Galectin-3 protein which is increasingly expressed with greater resistance of cancer cells to chemotherapy and metastatic (travelling) cancer cells. I prefer the Travelling Wilbury's. Can you name the members of that group? I have their first CD in my car.

The interesting thing is that I had gained 7 pounds in less than a week. The more interesting thing is that I have lost more than that in the last two days.

This is not entirely a negative report. I know that many in the Tampa Bay area are behind me. But when it came to the pre-op handling, I had all of Brooklyn beside me. This cute young blond was assigned the job of shaving the areas to be operated on. I had wondered how this would be dealt with and I must say that I was happy with the decision to use Brooklyn.

What is more, I have had supportive texts, cards and phone calls from many. These are all helpful in keeping my spirits up. Thanks!