Quick check-in

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    • March 4, 2018 at 1:46 am
    TexMelanomex
    Participant

      Hey Warriors! Just wanted to give a quick check-in after surgery yesterday…Surgery was completed and no skin graft was necessary much to my delight (quick recap, this was to remove the lymph nodes and tissue destroyed by PV-10). I was thinking this would be a small incision (few incisions), wrong was I! I have about a 10" diagonal scar from my shoulder down into my pec, and in fact a deeper incision was made into my pectoralis major and minor on the left side…so I have this ever so sexy battle scar to compliment my skin graft on my head, lymph node dissection scars on the back of my head and neck, as well as the donor graft site on the back of my leg! I feel like I'm getting pretty good at this surgery thing!

      What is a Warrior without plenty of battle scars? 🙂 The bad news…no heavy lifting, push-ups or much of anything other than stationary bike for about 6 weeks while this heals 🙁

      Anyway…all is well, resting in the hotel in Houston, doped up on Norco, doing some healing and waiting on round #8 of Pembro on Tuesday. I hope you are all battling hard and staying deep in the fight!

      Warrior On!

       

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        • March 4, 2018 at 2:03 am
        Mark_DC
        Participant

          Well done Tex, you seem to be doing very well – tough that you had to surgery on top of your treatments but great that the treatments seem to have worked. And great that you are able to post so soon after surgery. Hope you will recover well and steadily, Mark

            • March 4, 2018 at 5:55 pm
            TexMelanomex
            Participant

              Thanks Mark, I'm a cheap date on minimal opiods so pain hasn't been much of an issue. Feeling pretty good having this area removed and "debris" cleaned out. PV-10 is no joke and it looks like the Pembro is doing what its supposed to do also! 

               

            • March 4, 2018 at 2:47 am
            Bubbles
            Participant

              Glad the crud was cleaned out and you are moving forward, Tex!!!  You will rock your scars!!!  Though I will admit that 19 surgical scars and vitiligo can at times give a girl pause.  However, I always found this paragraph lovely:

              "On the girl's brown legs there were many small white scars. I was thinking, Do those scars cover the whole of you, like the stars and the moons on your dress? I thought that would be pretty too, and I ask you right here please to agree with me that a scar is never ugly. That is what the scar makers want us to think. But you and I, we must make an agreement to defy them. We must see all scars as beauty. Okay? This will be our secret. Because take it from me, a scar does not form on the dying. A scar means, I survived."

              ~  Little Bee, by Chris Cleave

              And, on the subject of "Counting [scars]"…. 

              http://chaoticallypreciselifeloveandmelanoma.blogspot.com/2013/11/counting-stars.html  

              But….I'm not worried about you!  You got this!  Heal well.  You are a warrior indeed.  Love, c

                • March 4, 2018 at 5:59 pm
                TexMelanomex
                Participant

                  Thanks C! The new scar is already "growing on me" :-)…19 scars and vitiligo puts things back in perspective a bit! Feeling a lot better today and going to get out and about in Houston today…feels like a waste to have a day off in Houston and lay around in a hotel room. I'm sure there are some things in Houston I could blow….er um…spend money on that I can't live without. As always you have the right thing to say and the right link to post!

                   

                  • March 4, 2018 at 11:39 pm
                  gopher38
                  Participant

                    I used to live near there.  Most of the restaurants I knew are probably long gone, but I'm sure Goode Company BBQ is still there.  Used to love that place (but I don't eat much meat today).  Love your attitude. 

                  • March 4, 2018 at 7:25 pm
                  Nick C
                  Participant

                    Hey Tex…Way to go! Glad to hear that things are going in the right direction. I know what you mean about battle scars…got a few of those myself.

                    My challenge comes tomorrow. My scan on Friday showed "mild progression". Hoping that it is small enough that I get to continue in the trial. If not, then we look a new options. As they say, "Day to day".

                    Again, continued success to you. Stay strong.

                    Nick

                    • March 4, 2018 at 9:16 pm
                    CancerSpouse
                    Participant

                      Hey Tex,

                      Good to hear the surgery went well, despite the big surprise incision. Hope that's not your pitching arm. I hear Houston is full of good food these days, so maybe you can at least indulge yourself in that regard while there. Hang in there, buddy!  ~ carol

                      • March 4, 2018 at 9:16 pm
                      CancerSpouse
                      Participant

                        Hey Tex,

                        Good to hear the surgery went well, despite the big surprise incision. Hope that's not your pitching arm. I hear Houston is full of good food these days, so maybe you can at least indulge yourself in that regard while there. Hang in there, buddy!  ~ carol

                        • March 4, 2018 at 9:22 pm
                        CancerSpouse
                        Participant

                          Oops,posted ^ that ^ twice. Guess my comments are two times as meaningful.

                          • March 6, 2018 at 6:32 am
                          MelanomaMike
                          Participant

                            Brother Tex! you heal up real good & get back in the ring with the rest of us ya hear?

                              • March 7, 2018 at 10:45 pm
                              TexMelanomex
                              Participant

                                Already working on that brother! I still have one good arm/shoulder to swing with 🙂 They say I have about a 6 week recovery, I'm planning to be healed up in 4 or less.

                                I'm in "the rear with gear" for now, but hold the line and I'll be there soon Big Mike!

                                 

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