C on The Big C

Well, the blog retirement didn’t last very long did it? As Jordan once returned to the game he loved, I find myself back in front of the keyboard. The reason for my return, however, is more serious than the fact that I couldn’t hit a curve ball. A couple of weeks ago I was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma- stage three cancer of the gall bladder that has spread to the lymph nodes, liver, and bile duct.

How in the world I got gall bladder cancer has perplexed all of the doctors. There are only about 4,000 cases of it in the U.S. per year (as opposed to ~350,000 cases of breast cancer). It is also typically found in Native or South Americans, women, people with gall stones, and typically when people are in their 60’s, 70’s, or 80’s. This particular cancer is quick, aggressive and deadly. By the time it gets to stage three, the five-year survival rate is in the single digits. I’m not daunted by the statistics though- if it was one in million (figuratively) to get it, one in twenty to beat it doesn’t sound so bad. That said,  I’m not into watching the scoreboard while there is still game left to be played.

After hearing the news I decided that I would write about my experience. While the old blog was a thousand words a week, once a week, I’m not exactly sure what this will look like. I suspect I will keep you updated on the situation, and probably venture into the realms of architecture, urban design and food as before. I don’t suspect the posts will be as long, and I don’t suspect I will be able to always keep a regular schedule (although that is my goal). For now, I will try to keep to the schedule of the old blog- look to your inboxes on Tuesday mornings.

I have heard from a lot of you, and I greatly appreciate your thoughts, prayers and best wishes. Keep sending me your positive vibes, because I'm sending them right back at you!

I know that a number of you receive the blog via an automatic email subscription. If the shift of topic from urban design to cancer is not your cup of tea, or you end up receiving too many emails, I fully understand if you unsubscribe (it won’t hurt my feelings ;)