Remember that Cancer You Used to Have?

I went in to see Dr. Miller today for my regularly scheduled quarterly appointment.

I had no idea why I was there. I had nothing to complain about for once. But, as Dr. Miller reminded me, they like to see me every three months just to make sure things are going well.

There's a lot to go wrong. My cholesterol. My diabetes, for sure. Testing problems, testing materials. Problems renewing my prescriptions. All of that will go wrong and has gone wrong within the past year.

But today was different. Things were going well (except for my diet, which has been tending toward the sugar).

She told me in passing, though, that Alta Bates had sent a questionnaire for her, a routine thing, just to keep up with their former cancer patients. She would fill it out, send it back, and report that everything was going fine. No recurrence, no signs of recurrence.

It's been 8 years since the 2003 colon surgery. I think that's called a colonectomy. At least, that's what I call it. I had almost forgotten about it, except when I run my fingertips along the scar on my abdomen. It's a solid memory. Or I remember it when somebody talks about their hospital experience. I have only been in the hospital twice, and that was one of them.

At this point, it's a good memory, good in that the result, so far, is good. And good for Alta Bates for running these studies. I hope to continue to be on their "inactive" list.