BACK AT LAST - AND MOVING FORWARD!

Hi all - hope I haven't lost my whole audience!  We've had such a busy summer - went back to work in July after my fabulous sabbatical.  Found I was VERY TIRED commuting to Fall River every day, but happy to be back at work.  New developments:  I'm going into the hospital to have my spleen removed.  The surgery is August 26 - with 6 weeks recovery time.  I'm having the surgery at Mass General, one of the best hospitals in the country.  Hopefully, getting that pesky spleen out (we don't really need it!) also removes the larger remaining tumor (one other in my pelvis, very small).  As my doc says, I've outlived all the predictions, so everything now is an "experiment"!  But I feel fine, and very hopeful about the surgery.

As most of you know, I  celebrated 70 years this year.  We had a huge summer celebration in July, with family and friends.   My sister Susan and brother George both with spouses came to Providence to join the fun.  Also, niece Sarah and five kids plus soon-to-be-hitched man Matt came over as well (they now live in NY near Albany).  With friends and all of Beth's family, it was quite the day! Weather was beautiful, and food amazing as always.  So I'm into my 7th decade - only numbers my friends!

As we continue on this cancer journey, Beth and I are just thankful I've been able to fare so well - with her help and support always of course!  Continuous recurrent cancer is a mixed blessing - great that I am able to maintain a great quality of life, but wish the big C wasn't always lurking.  Nevertheless, I continue to enjoy my life, and feel so fortunate given the circumstances.  While Cancer is NOT a %%&&**## gift, it has reinforced my appreciation for the LIFE I have been given. 

Will try to be more regular and get back into thoughtful blogging.  Thanks for paying attention, loyal readers! xxx