It has been a while since I have posted anything and for that I greatly apologize. Peggy and I have been really busy with music and traveling. During October we got to do concerts all over the state including a wonderful concert at Blueseed studios in Saranac Lake, Mt Music Weekend at great camp Sagamore, concerts with the Susquehanna String Band at the Unitarian Church in Cortland and Syracuse and a wonderful concert at the Quaker meeting house in Orchard Park to name a few. Last week Dan Berggren and I performed in Rochester with Carl Heilman. Carl has a new multi media program titled “ I am the Adirondacks”, and Peggy, Dan, and I worked with a wonderful composer and scorer from Rochester Casie Filiachi to do all the music. It really is a fantastic piece and we will have DVD’s available for sale around the second week of December. I continue to do everything I can to keep the healing process moving forward. Eating is still a bit of a challenge but is coming a long way!! I can eat a variety of softer foods and am doing my best to try to put on some more weight. I am seeing a wonderful acupuncturist in Oswego to try to help with some of the Neurological issues that have come up, especially with my right hand. It really seems to be helping, but as she explained to me it takes a long time to start seeing significant change in that area. My strength and stamina are slowly improving and I still need to get plenty of rest to be able to keep up. Last week I had a visit with the ENT surgeon {I see him now every two months}, and he was really happy with the progress that I am making. He showed me where the cancer actually was; it was deep in my mouth at the lower base of the tongue and much closer to my epiglottis than I had thought earlier. He feels really good about the prognosis for the future and is pleased with the healing to date of my neck both inside and out! He feels that with proper screening we should be able to keep on top of all of this.
Someone said to me the other day, congratulations on being a Cancer survivor. It was a wonderful thing to hear and at times it really does not even seem possible. It is hard to believe that all of this started to come to light just about a year ago I really want to do everything I can to help out those who find themselves facing this type of Cancer. I have contacted the American Cancer Society of Central NY and hope to become a mentor for cancer patients dealing with head and neck cancer. I also would hope that the blog can help out those who are searching for answers about this particular type of Cancer. In my travels I am meeting more and more people who have had head and neck cancers or know someone who has and it is my hope that more people will become aware of these types of Cancer. I recently finished an article about my Cancer experience for Dulcimer Player News that will be coming out in the Winter issue, and last week Tom, Henry, Peggy and I recorded “For the Love of Friends", to be included with the CD the magazine offers. I also hope to put the new version of the song on line soon for all of you to down load, it really come out wonderfully.
With each passing day I feel more and more fortunate to be where I am right now. There are still issues to deal with but I am so blessed to have this army of friends and supporters that have been such a huge part of my recovery. I try to stop each day that I can at 7:00 and send a vibe to all of you and to those I know who are battling different types of Cancer and Leukemia. The 7:00 vibe has been such a wonderful and powerful thing it would be great if we could keep it going each night for those who are struggling with their Cancer journey. I will try to be much better at keeping you all updated in regards to my continued recovery. I look forward to seeing you at concerts and workshops this late Fall and Winter and once again a heart felt thank you for your ongoing support of Peggy and I,it means the world to us. This year at Thanksgiving we really do have a lot to be thankful for.
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