Sad News; Bad News

Most of you know from Facebook that my beloved companion of the past 18 years, Junie, left this world on November 9th. I miss her every day, but I'm confident I chose the right time, and I'm glad I was around to take care of her.

At the beginning of December, I went on my TCM cruise from Miami to Key West and Cozumel. My friend Donald and I really enjoyed the TCM events, as well as the warm weather, but we agree that cruise life is not for us. Traveling in a pack just isn't our style. This photo was taken in front of the W hotel in South Beach, mainly for Della, because she loves Hello Kitty so much.

The day after I got home, I had a brain MRI. Unfortunately, it showed that the cancer has recurred in my brain. Just as with the recurrence in my body, further treatment options are not available for this recurrence. I saw Dr. Liu this morning and he is referring me to hospice care. The hospice nurse will come to my apartment in a few days to assess my condition, and we'll determine a schedule for visits. Meanwhile, I have steroids to reduce swelling in my brain, and a huge bottle of Vicodin for my armpit pain, as well as for the headaches that are likely to result from the growing brain mass. I've started using my cane again when I go out, because I tend to get dizzy walking among people; the cane not only steadies me, it also sends a signal to the people around me to keep their distance.

There's no sure way of telling how much time I have. Dr. Liu guessed 3 months or so. I'm grateful for the time I've eked out since my diagnosis, and more than grateful that I have such loving friends and family who have made the trials of this awful cancer easier to bear. I'm hoping to go to NYC one more time, three weeks from now to see the final performance of Sondheim's "Follies", but, of course, that depends on my condition then.