From the Sapphire Princess

This post was written on the last day of our 10 day cruise to Mexico. We have had a wonderful time. We’re going to do this again hopefully.  Just before we left for this cruise, we learned that we will receive a cash refund  from the insurance for the cruise that we had to cancel.

This cruise has been a great distraction. Most of the time, I have been able to put my condition on the back burner and not think about it.  We met some very nice people who were sitting at our table and introduced us to a new card game which they call “nines”. It is different from the game of nines that we used to play.  We have been playing this game with two decks of cards and six players. Judy and I have also played several sessions of bridge. In one session, we managed a 78% game, which, perhaps, speaks more to the quality of the opposition than to the quality of our game.

There is food everywhere, but I have found that most of the time I have not had very much of an appetite. I am attributing this to the continued dryness in my mouth and the continued loss of much of my sense of taste, although I am able to taste foods to some extent. When I begin eating, the food taste pretty good, but it seems like my taste buds get tired, and the food loses its taste.

The moment of truth will come at the end of this month. I’ll have another blood test for circulating Merkel cells. If the cell count stays the same or goes to zero, I will have follow-up imaging at the end of March. If the cell count goes up, I will have follow-up imaging at the beginning of February.

 I was thinking yesterday about a very ironic event which happened not too long ago. Right after the passage of the health care legislation, I was trying to get a sandwich for lunch at the local subway shop, and I was accosted by a roving reporter for a local television station. They were trying to gather comments about the new tax on tanning booths. They asked my opinion and I said that they should raise the tax to help pay for healthcare for the people who ended up getting cancer from the tanning booths. The segment was aired on local television. The ironic thing is that it was not long after that that I was diagnosed with a form of skin cancer that is associated with sun and radiation exposure. 

This has been a very great escape from the world. Next week, it’s back to reality, with two doctors appointments, one dentist appointment, and one appointment with an attorney to complete the details of our wills and medical directives. I also plan to work 3 half days. I also plan to play bridge two afternoons next week. It will be busy.