Soapbox

Everyone should get an opportunity once in their life to stand on the soapbox in town square and make a political speech. I had mine last weekend. Last March, I heard about a group called “Coffee Party”. The name is a take-off on Tea Party but the agenda was about civil public discourse and moderation rather than a particular point of view. I looked to see if there was a meeting in my area and when I found none, I posted an invitation online. The location was a local coffee shop. Sixty people came. We decided to meet again the following month and 100 people came. The group identified five issues they were concerned about. They also wanted to set up regular monthly meetings. So, a committee of volunteers was formed.

At the next meeting, in May, the group wanted to go “public” with a rally on the Morristown Green. For the rally, three topics were selected – Wall Street Reform, Campaign Finance Reform and Bipartisanship. We held the rally last Saturday. We had a speaker on Wall Street Reform who did an excellent job of summarizing the roots of the financial crisis of 2008 and reviewing what the proposed “reform” bills say. This was a bit depressing since the proposed reform bills don’t really seem to address the issues. Next, we had a former congressional candidate from our district discuss issues related to fundraising when running for Congress and ways to improve transparency and honesty. And last, one of our local mayors spoke about working together – he is a Democratic mayor in a Republican town.

I did a short introductory speech on the role of government as laid out in the Preamble of the Constitution (as evidence of our Founders’ original intent). I was also interviewed on NJ cable news – a three minute interview that became a sound bite on that night’s news.

So now I’ve had my 15 minutes in politics. It was enough for me! But there is something purely American about speaking in your town’s square. Here’s my campaign photo…BB

Colonoscopies and Insurance

Colonoscopy fans: here's a link to a Q&A from the NY Times about access to colonoscopies under the new healthcare law. Thought I would share it.

http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/21/do-insurers-have-to-pay-for-colonoscopy-now/

We are all well here. Hope you are, too...BB

David at West Point

David's school track team competed in a big meet yesterday at the military academy at West Point. Since it's their biggest meet of the year and West Point is such a gorgeous area, I decided to drive up at see the meet. And it was a really nice day, too.

Dave did absolutely great! He ran the 800m and shaved 12 seconds off his personal best, running 2:28. He finished third in a very exciting race that came right down to the final 100 meters! And, his team won the meet! So, here are a couple of shots of him. Pre-race and coming down the stretch. Hope you don't mind me braggin' on the boy, but it was a lot of fun! BB

2010 Junior Prom

Saturday was the Junior prom for Morristown High. Before the big party, Vicki had her friends come over for some pictures. All the kids looked great and I thought I'd share some photos! Here's a group shot of all the kids and a shot of Vicki with her boyfriend, Dan. They all had a great time, even though a lot of them (including Vicki) had taken the SATs that morning. Didn't keep them from party-ing on!

Who put the "Ham" in Birmingham?

Last weekend, we had a 50th anniversary party for my in-laws. It was great fun and before the party, we had some pictures taken in the park. This is one of David and Vicki doing their "America's Greatest Teen Models" pose. I love this shot so I thought I'd share it!

Benched

I had my scan last week and went in for the results and therapy yesterday. When I got to the exam room, Dr S came in with his head research nurse, his research assistant and another doctor. I thought to myself - uh oh, I guess my scan didn't come out too well. Dr S told me that I had some more growth, about the same amount as last time (which isn't a lot). Then he told me that it's time for me to take a break from chemo. This struck me as rather curious. Why would I take a break if I'm losing ground?

Dr S said that, although I've had some more growth, my overall tumor volume is still pretty small and I haven't even made it back to where we started 17 months ago after I had the big reduction at the start of therapy. So, he feels it's time for me to take a break. I told him several times that I feel strong and ready to keep going. I'm not asking for a break and I don't want one if it's going to reduce my prospects in the future. Dr S said that I have already been in therapy longer than he likes to have someone on continuosly. Further, if it weren't for the study protocol, he would have already gone with a chemo holiday. Some preliminary results of the study drug are in and it doesn't look as promising as they thought (plus he doesn't even know if I am getting it.) Therefore, he wants me to take a break. I again told him that I am capable of taking a lot more chemo. Ultimately, he just said "I'm your Doctor and I'm advising you that you need to take a break". So I gave in. They flushed my port and scheduled a scan for two months from now. Dr S says I will be benched through the summer and likely into the fall. We will continue to scan every two months so the next time I'll come back is at the end of June.

While I find this a bit curious, I suppose that treatment every two weeks for 17 months is indeed a long time. In the end, I need to rely on the judgment of my onc. After all, he's the expert and I went with him for that expertise. I will go with his judgment. And as we all know, judgment is one part knowledge, one part experience, a teaspoon of bitters, an ounce of simple syrup and the zest of one lemon. Or is that a Tom Collins? In any event, I'm now officially benched for the next few months.

On the good side, we are going to Europe in July so I'll be 10 weeks out of treatment by then. Hopefully this will improve my stamina, decrease my side effects and make it a much more enjoyable time! BTW - Dr S says the side effects of chemo take quite a while to wear off - but I have to imagine they'll be noticeably better.

So, having been turned away on a gorgeous spring day, I decided to walk back to Penn Station rather than ride the E train. I cut through Rock Center and down 6th Ave, stopping at Bryant Park for a little rest (see pic above). I watched a couple of games of bocce which seems to be played there 24/7 in all weather. I swear that the same guy (dresses in black, fashionable goatee and a black beret) holds court every day! Then I hit Jimmy's diner at 36th street for some lunch and hopped the train. In all, a nice day for a walk in the city!

Hope you all are enjoying the great arrival of spring and a (fingers crossed) blossoming of our economy! BB

Rounds 35 & 36 and Boston

Well, I certainly haven't been a consistent blogger this year! But, here's an update for you. Since my last post, I have had Rounds 35 and 36. Both were the usual fare although the side effects have been a little stronger. Nothing too unmanageable, though. I'm thinking that perhaps the spring pollen may be part of it since your body can only take so much before it reacts - and some of my side effects are like allergic reactions.

Tomorrow I will have my bi-monthly CT scan. This will give us a read on whether the cancer growth they picked up in January is continuing. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

In the off week between rounds, we decided to go to Boston to look at some colleges for Vicki. We looked at BU (my alma mater), BC, Northeastern and Tufts. Vicki liked BC and Tufts the best (BU was last on her list!). We also got a chance to see a little of the city with the kids - a visit to Fanieul Hall, dinner in the North End, some bowling and pool playing at a new (huge) place near Fenway Park and even some Candle Pin bowling (a unique New England version).

We also booked our tickets for a family vacation this summer - England and France for 2 weeks! Now we need to lock down hotels, etc. It'll be fun to do something exciting with the kids before they get too old!

So that's what we've been up to these last few weeks. Hope you all had a great Easter/Passover holiday! BB