Day 1533

Dash goes in for surgery tomorrow morning. The CAT Scan was fairly conclusive. The bad news is that he does have thyroid cancer. The good news is that the tumor does not appear to have metastasized yet. Dash's lungs are clear. There are no signs that the cancer has spread beyond the thyroid gland itself. From all appearances, this is an encapsulated tumor, which makes it much easier to remove.

I have been very impressed with the team at the cancer center. We have talked with a soft tissue specialist, an oncologist, and the surgeon who will be operating on Dash tomorrow. These doctors are clear, concise, and have a well defined plan that will give Dash a good change to live a normal life again. They make no promises though. All three told us that with any cancer, you don't really know what you're dealing with until you make the incision and take a look at it. They did appear confident that surgery was the best option in this case.

If the surgery is successful, they said there is a high probability that Dash will still need radiation therapy to destroy any remaining cancer cells. Radiation treatments would not begin until two or three weeks after the surgery is completed. He might need three radiation treatments a week for three weeks. This is going to be very expensive. I only hope it works.

The weather is turning cold again. The temperature is already dropping and it is supposed to be below freezing by sunrise. Some reports says we might get freezing rain again. I certainly hope not. I asked the folks at the surgery center if Dash would be OK if the power went out tomorrow. They looked at me like I was some sort of alarmist nut. Well, of course I'm an alarmist nut. I just wanted to make sure they had a backup plan.

I was able to get all my work completed, despite the trips back and forth to the cancer center. Writing this blog day in and day out appears to have helped my writing in other areas as well. I get my assignments finished now no matter what happens. If I worked this hard back in the days when I was a creative type at the big ad agencies, I would probably own a big agency now, instead of leaving behind a legacy as the agency troublemaker.

All that is ancient history now. I've been on my own for over twenty years. I can't say that my little company has exactly set the world on fire, but it pays the bills. I can fix the furnace on cold days. I can fix the roof on wet days. And I can take care of the dogs on troublesome days like this. That's all that really matters. Wish us luck tomorrow and keep Dash in your prayers.

Cookie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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