Rump update

Well, my butt and I have a health update for all. I spoke to my surgeon yesterday, and it's been determined that I have rectal cancer (I know, right?!?!). What this means, is that I will most likely be having 3 months of chemo and daily radiation followed by surgery. I'm assuming I'll have chemo post surgery as well....yeeeehawwwww, let the fun begin!!! Truth be told, this is really pretty good news as it looks as if there has been no spread of the disease. The treatment will begin once the liver infection has been cured, hopefully in a couple weeks. I really struggled with putting the news out there, as I didn't want it to look like I was trolling for sympathy. But you know what I found out...I don't care what it looks like, and your kind words and thoughts have lifted me higher than you will ever know. It has been truly humbling! Bless you for making a huge difference in my life! On a side note, I've had heard some blowback that there may be anger at my tookus on the hardscrabble streets of the Minneapolis area. I know, as I was disappointed in my favorite feature as well. I even tried to get Shelly to agree that my eyes were "dreamy" and should be anointed as my new best feature. She replied that they aren't dreamy, so that plan kinda fell part. So it looks as if my butt will remain my best feature, but be sure, you round little sculpture of beauty, you are on notice to shape up!!!
Love,
Dan

Bloggys health...a work in progress.

I kinda realized last night that, after telling my story to a fellow parent at Sam's basketball game at TG (a crafty 1 point win that was truly epic and made me feel normal for an hour or so!!) who I just met weeks ago,that maybe I should let everybody in on what's been going on. On New Years Eve I was diagnosed with colon cancer that looked like it had spread to my liver. Obviously not one of my better days. I was in complete shock and scared beyond belief. There's the bad news, now I'll tell you the good. As I'm hearing this news I have never felt more loved by anyone in my life than I felt at that moment looking at Shelly. She has been truly heroic in her leadership in getting me better   and raising my spirits. I have shed many tears just realizing how truly blessed I am to have her by my side. The boys took the news as well as can be expected. Concerned but confident that we'll get through this. They are my pride and joy!! A week and a half ago I went in for a liver biopsy. The news was stunningly positive. The spots were caused by an infection, not cancer they believed. While I did have to stay in the hospital for 5 days on antibiotics, the trade off was well worth it!!! The staff at Regions was truly remarkable. The treatment plan is currently up in the air. It will either be 3 months of chemo and radiation, followed by surgery, or surgery followed by chemotherapy. It depends on the exact location of the cancer and how soon we can get the liver healed to some extent. We should know for sure after more tests this week. I have been truly humbled by the outpouring of well wishes that we have received. I thank each and every one of you as they have brightened my spirits and lifted me up every time. One thing that I have started telling everyone is that I love them. I will continue this even though I start to cry pretty much every time. I will try to keep you informed of how things are going via the blog in the future. Thanks again for being a part of my life!! I promise to tell a couple good stories in my next blog... The fainting at the surgeons after a "quick exam" was simply a classic!!
Love,
Dan
PS...props to Colleen and Joy for encouraging me to do this, and next time Theens are buying, I'm going filet mignon at minimum!