It's Baaaack Redux

So last Wednesday , I had my MRI check-up and that damn tumor is back. That is the bad news. the good news is that we are going to treat it with a non- invasive "Stereotactic Radiosurgery tomorrow Monday. This is an outpatient procedure using radiation to blast the tumor cells from hundreds of different angles with surgical accuracy without a cut.

So the process goes like this
1. Arrive at UW Cancer CLinic at 6am Monday 3/29..
2. get a "frame" placed on my head. 4 pins that hold it break the skin. I will wear this frame all day. Apparently this is the most painful part. they will give me a local anesthetic and valium (so I got that going for me. :)
3. with the frame on, I will get a ct scan. Dem smart docs will then go into a planning session to plan the surgery (think Really High level physics)
4. once the plan is done, they will take me into the Linear Accelerator (radiation machine)and I will receive the radiation blast. We won't know exactly how long the radiation will take until the planning is done, but 30-45 min is common. Once the surgery is done, they take off the frame and send me home! The Radiation doesn't hurt, it is about as painful as an Xray. I will be really fatigued for a couple days and have potentially have some eye puffiness late next week, but that's it. I will have a follow up MRI in a month which will hopefully show NO tumor growth and hopefully dead tumor. I go right back to my chemo schedule of every other Wednesday

So the tumor is back, which is not a huge surprise as we have always known that this thing will keep coming back. I am happy that my medical team is able to treat this with a noninvasive procedure. It is what it is and I will continue to fight this with everythng that I have!

The fight brngs me to the real reason for this post. When people find out that I am fighting Brain Cancer, they inevitably ask me how I can stay positive and smile. My answer is usually, it is what it is. Obviously, my family gives me strength as does my faith.

When I was freshman in college at Iowa State (GO CYCLONES!) I had periods of time where the life adjustment was difficult on me. I had a friend at the time who recognized what I was going through and gave me something that I still have to this day. It is a poem by an unknown author. For the past 20+ years, whenever I ran into a situation that I may have briefly considered giving up, I pull out this poem and reread it. I wanted to share it with you today. I hope you enjoy.

Don't Quit

When things go wrong as they sometimes wll;
Whe the road you're trudginig seems all uphill;
When the funds are low, and debts are high;
And you want to smile, but have to sigh;.
When care is pressing you down a bit-
Success is failure turned inside out;
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt;
And you can never tell how close you are;
t may be near when it seems afar.
So,stick to the fight when you're hardest hit-
It's when things go wrong that you must not quit.


Its a simple Poem that has helped me more times than I can count.

Never Never Quit!
Thank You SMITH Kinney!- my brother PHi Delt (My fraternity Phi Delta Theta) who Originally shared this with me in Late 1987.


Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!

Peace Out!

Seasons Changing, Attitude improving

I apologize for not writing these past couple months, but I have been focusing my energies on re-engaging in our business. Jeff and I are working with a Marketing Group to help us rebrand our company. We are incredibly fortunate in that our business is doing well and we are actually hiring new employees and plan to bring on a couple more in addition to our onsite contract staff. Jeff has been fantastic growing our business while I was out.The weather in Northern Illinois is beginning to change and Spring is starting to show. I am excited for the weather improvement mainly because I have spent the Winter gaining back all of the weight I lost in the hospital last Fall. the change in the weather is finally allowing me to g et outside and begin biking again which I hope will help to slim my fat ass down.:) the first week of April, I have a conference in Vegas! Woo Hoo!, and Kim is going to Join me. It works out that school is out that week and she is in need of some rest and relaxation in the sun.
So the latest Health update is that the Avastin (Chemo) that I receive every other Wed at UW seems to be doing its job, my next MRI is March 24th. Overall, I have been feeling good other than the daily fight with allergies, which is normal with the change of seasons.

MAY 22, 2010 I will be walking in the American Brain Tumor Association Path To Progress 5K at Soldier Field in Chicago for Brain Tumor research. My great friend Mark Patrick is helping me this year. We have set up Team Talbott, and would love you to join us either by walking with us, or with your donation Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated and will go to a great cause! Check out the link and Thank You in advance

http://hope.abta.org/goto/Steven_Talbott


Peace out!!