...there is a rose. In fact there now seems to be a rose to offset every thorn.

Five and a half months out from chemo and rads and the mouth pain continues but now seems to have turned a corner and seems to be abating! Rarely is the pain severe these days and I recently started triamcinolone acetonide dental paste to heal the ulcerations on my tongue. My swallowing problems also continue but, in the absence of pain, I have days where I can eat to my heart's content! There is still all the choking, hawking, coughing, etc, so I'm not ready to eat in public but, absent the pain, I believe that day is coming! So far, I have lost 90 pounds from what I call The Anorexia Of The CRT (Chemo/radiation therapy) - not altogether a bad thing for somebody who was at least 70 pounds overweight - and I no longer seem to be diabetic!!! It was a very tough way to lose it and I had problems with both dehydration and malnutrition but it is gone now and I'm keeping it off. Big Liam might not cast half as broad a shadow as he did before but he casts a shadow nonetheless! My weight is stabilizing; my diet is healthier; and, best of all, I seem to have gotten the upper hand on the cancer and there is no sign of it remaining. Roses indeed!

I encourage anyone having a long hard road not to lose hope. A day may be coming when you, too, suddenly realize, "I feel a bit better today." And that, my friends, is a grand day indeed!

We're on the one road sharing the one load.
We're on the road to who knows where.
We're on the one road,
Maybe the wrong road,
But we're together now, who cares?
North Men, South Men comrades all
Dublin, Belfast, Cork and Donegal
We're on the one road swingin' along,
Singin' a Soldier's Song