Thanks for all the prayers and good vibes...

....they must have worked. Got great reports from both surgeons today. The skin graft was 100% successful and the staples came out. Range of motion was decent, but after a month of home PT, everything should be back to normal in no time. From that end...huge success.

Met with surgical oncologist as well. All margins negative. Other than what resembles a mild divit from a 30 yard approach shot with a wedge, the treatment of my arm is done. Less than 5% chance of local spreading or reoccurance.

The only downside is having to clean the rib sauce off my splint tonight.

Looking forward to a fun weekend and a curious, nervously eager start to chemo Tuesday.

thank you All.

P.S. To honor all the amazing visitors, I've started a photo guestbook. You can go visit it by going to

http://cph3pics.blogspot.com/ or clicking on "Photo Guestbook" under the sites menu to the right.

There are updated photos of the arm and leg on "Triton Photos" as well.

Triton Photos Now on Second Blog

Things are going well at home. The pain from my arm has been manageable and barely noticeable where they took the skin from my thigh. Although we have to change the bandage on my arm three times a day, nurse Ashley does an incredible job. She's AMAZING! We go back to Duke Thursday to see the plastic surgeon for a follow-up regarding the graft. Some time over the weekend we should get the final pathology on the margins removed.

To appease the more curious and daring reader, I've created a second blog which includes recovery pictures. As a warning, these pictures are at a separate location for a reason.

The new blog is www.cph3photos.blogspot.com

It can also be found under the site links to the right as "Triton Photos"

Regular posts and photos, like flowers above, (thanks Friday Lunch Bunch) will continue here, but new "medical" photos will be posted at the other site.

Home sweet home

We're home and I'm so glad. The pain medication is going to limit attention span and whit, so this is just a short "we're back."

Thanks for all the contact and food while there. They made the week fly by.

Surgery went well. The doctors saw nothing "worrisome." pathology will come back around Labor Day. Although there will be a decent scar and noticeable absence of the forearm, the procedure should cause little or no loss of movement and functionality in the hand and wrist.

They did do a decent sized graph. I have some pics I'll get out with disclaimers.

Until then, the above shot represents the basic side effects of my pain medications.

Love to you all.

PS Huge ups to all the road warriors. You rule!

Crunch time

Ashley and I are heading to Durham tomorrow to meet with the surgeon and the anesthesiologist for a little pre-op pow wow. Everything still appears to be as we thought. Surgery is scheduled for Monday. Hopefully I'll come home Tuesday. There is a possibility I might be in for a bit longer stay if they have to graft any skin to cover the new wound. Either way, I'm geared up with a new laptop, high speed connection, an online poker account, and plenty of Fantasy Football research to do.

We've been doing well. The stress levels have moved up a notch or two as the surgery and chemo approach. Like I've said in earlier posts, I prefer active involvement with the treatment. We've had a nice break to allow my arm to heal from radiation, giving us some needed time to enjoy the summer and forget about the gravity for a while. I am very eager to move into the next stage of treatment and get one step closer to putting this behind me.

Thanks for checking in and all your support.

6 cycles to go

I got a message from my doctor today. I had asked if chemo could start on the 5th of September so it wouldn't interfere too much with my fall schedule. It looks like that day is going to be the first one. Everything looked normal as far as the heart and kidneys are concerned. They will probably surgically insert the port into my neck when they do the surgery on the 21st.

Here are the dates each cycle will begin.

Sept. 5
Sept. 26
Oct. 17
Nov. 7
Nov. 28
Dec. 26

From what I gathered, I get one chemo drug the first day, another the next day, then go home the following day. I'll update you on the sponge bath situation as soon as I learn more details.

Take care.