Score For Sarcoma

Happy Valentines day everyone, I hope you all enjoyed the warm weather this weekend.

I have mentioned a few times that some friends and I were planning on putting on a fundraiser for Emory here in Atlanta, and we have finally released the details for "Score for Sarcoma"!  We have setup a facebook event for the occasion and this is the link:  https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=162777997107549

To summarize the event, we are hosting a flag football tournament and then cocktail reception at a great spot in Atlanta called Manuel's Tavern.  I hope everyone will either attend or consider donating to our cause.  We are trying to raise money for those cancer patients that are most critically in need of support.  I have written a lot on this blog over the last six months about how lucky and fortunate I have been with such an amazing support network, which is in stark contrast to a lot of cancer patients out there.  Not only have I come across fellow patients with limited support from family and friends, but also with limited financial means to fight this disease.  The proceeds from my event will go to Emory's fund that helps the most needy with prescriptions, and other expenses related to treatment.

Please help us raise money so that everyone has a fighter's chance of beating cancer!

Two Legs Down

Good afternoon everyone, I hope the week is going quickly for you all.

Tomorrow marks my 25th and final radiation treatment.  This can't come soon enough because I am really getting tired of the sunburn-esque itch and burn that I am dealing with on a daily basis.  My compliments to the team over at Emory though, as the they hit the tumor area every time with the machine; I know this because there is a very fine line separating the radiation area and the rest of my leg.  It is like I put 70 spf sunscreen everywhere except for this little area and slept all day on a nude beach.

After tomorrow I will be done with two legs of my quest to beat synovial sarcoma, and I still can't believe how fast the time has flown by.  In reality though there are four legs to this race because after surgery there is the very long monitoring process that will involve quarterly MRIs and CAT Scans.  There is no telling how long this fourth leg will last; hopefully without any interruptions of more radiation or surgery (should the cancer reappear), but that is a topic for another day.  In the mean time the next goal of mine is to continue to get stronger with my surgery now exactly one month away.  I won't have any indication as to if my surgery will be outpatient or inpatient until after my MRI and CAT Scans on March 1st, so I am rooting for as much shrinkage as possible so the surgery can be as little intrusive as possible.

 Hopefully the next four weeks will pass as quickly as the last five have, because if they do then I will be rid of my little passenger in no time!

One More Week

Happy Super Bowl and National Signing Day week to everyone!  Today marked the beginning of my last week of radiation treatments, and thus far I can't complain about the way things are going.  The upper half of my right leg and right groin area has become pretty red, like a bad sunburn on both the front and the back.  It is a little itchy, but I would have to say it looks far worse than it actually feels.

Beyond that not too much else to report, other than I hope to post at length about the Sarcoma benefit a few friends and I will be throwing sometime soon.  We have set the date for our flag football tournament and cocktail reception on March 19th.  Stay tuned!

Michael