Page 6: Looking Back Looking Back Two years after my second surgery, the nerves in my hands are at maybe 95% of their original sensitivity. I can button a shirt while wearing gloves, whereas when things were at their worst, I couldn't button my shirt with bare fingers. Similarly, when reaching into my pocket for keys, I didn't know if there were keys in my hand until my hand came back out of my pocket. Now I can select the desired key while my hand is still in my pocket. My feet still feel like they are frost-bitten all the time. If my hands felt like this, I would have a very difficult time living with the situation. But fortunately, feet are feet, and I don't use them to button shirts, play the piano, fish for a bolt dropped under a motor, or wipe my ass. The main problem with numb feet is balance: it's difficult to balance if you can't feel your feet. Gradually feeling is returning, and after 3 years I can generally discern whether I'm wearing shoes or not. In bare feet I can discern whether I'm standing on carpet or tile. My pooper is mostly working. Sometimes I need to hurry to the bathroom. I am never incontinent, except maybe what you might call "splattery farts." I have stomach aches more frequently. My preferred diet is heavily microwaved vegetables such as peas, shrimp, fish, curry spice, frozen berries in pomegranate juice. About 2-years post take-down, I went to the emergency room again. I assumed it was another bowel obstruction, but the diagnosis was infectious colitis. Antibiotics (cipro and flagyl) cured the problem. Subsequently, my overall health is MUCH better. I'm guessing I had a percolating case of colitis for at least a year, maybe decades, and finally it came to a head and popped like a pimple. (Maybe a colitis condition contributed to my cancer.) Most of the time I have good energy. I can ride a bike 30 miles, run a few miles, lift weights, and am generally in much better shape than most 50 year olds. Recently I decided to take up white water jet-boating. Will post photos. One Year Post Take-down Two Years Post Take-down   "Possible" Side Effects On a package of cigarettes, the possible side effects are listed. These are only "possible" side effects, and they probably won't happen for a long time, if ever. Regarding radiation and chemo, your doctor will recite "possible" side effects. However, if he says "possible" he is misleading you. They are not "possible." They are "virtually certain" and they may be much more severe than he suggests. For example, my surgeon stated that he had seen the skin on mens' testicles slough off in bloody masses. Oddly, (?) my radiation guy never mentioned this possibility. Radiation Dose The radiation guy didn't enumerate the radiation dose I would receive. I'm a nuclear engineer. He knew this. Even so, he didn't mention any numbers. So here's the deal. It was 160 rads locally 5 days a week for 6 weeks. What does this "160 rads" thing mean? Well if you receive 500 rads over your entire body in one quick dose, you have a 50% chance of being dead within 30 days. So in rough numbers, I was receiving a lethal dose every 3 days, except that its lethality was substantially reduced because it was local. Chemo Sickness When the platinum drug is mixed into the chemo, it is not pleasant. You will feel like barfing. You will have zero energy. And when you go for a walk in the freezing winter, you will feel the cold wind stealing your breath. And if you fall over, you will be thankful that you are out of the wind and laying in a snow bank.