GOOD NEWS

Today I went to Dr. Forero at the Kirklin Clinic. He felt the tumor on my back and said it seemed smaller. I'm to continue my medicine and see him again at the end of March! That seems light years away. He reminded me that hormone therapy is much slower than chemotherapy, but it does seem to be working. So, that's the good news.

The above are the facts. Here's the way I feel-somewhat unsettled. How the heck does he know that the tumor has shrunk? He felt the tumor in my back for less than a minute. How does he remember how it felt on Oct 15th? How many people has he examined since then? Why didn't he order a scan to see what difference there really may be? I want something measurable, concrete. I don't want "It seems smaller", I want "It is _% smaller. At this rate there should be no evidence of disease by ____(this date)". Call me impatient, you'd be right.

We leave Jan 4th to go to Houston for an evaluation at MD Anderson. They will do scans there and will have all of my scans from Kirklin Clinic to be able to determine measurable differences. They told us to expect to be in Houston for at least a week. It could be an interesting week on several levels. We'll be in Houston when Alabama and Texas play each other for the National Championship. Totally different thought, does anyone know a great church to visit while in Houston? I have heard through the years of some good ones, but they don't come to mind now.

Thank you for your prayers, calls, care, and concern. It means more than I can tell you!