So many connections....Aren't they great....Frank and I are neighbors, and Kevin and I share Memphis AND LSU. I am a native of Memphis (went to grades 1-9 on the Memphis State (U. of Mfs. now) campus, in walking distance of my house. I went to college in N.O., at Tulane ("A-one, a-two, a helluva hullabaloo, a hullaballo ray-ray, ....etc." I was a Tulane cheerleader for three years, but I didn't help them win any!) I have two sons who went to LSU in BR, and three who attended LSU Med. Sch., one in N.O. and two in S'port. (and one who didn't give LSU a whack at him.)

Frank...seriously, you can't change a thing by worrying yourself sick. Your spot is not going to change or worsen by Tuesday. It is what it is, and whatever it is, you will face it and deal with it. Yes, it might change what you had planned to do for the next few weeks or months, but you can handle that. YOu CAN handle whatever is coming. And you'll have all the company you want.

So....get busy. The weather is perfect. Go to Avery Island (article in our paper today...a great outing)....or Lafayette to eat at Prejean's....or the Lake Charles casinos...or go for a swamp tour in the Atchafalaya basin or Lake Martin (a GREAT trip...ask me about it)...work in the yard....plant pansies (It's time for them and snapdragons)...rake the first leaves.....cut and trim like crazy ("slash and burn"!)....go to a movie if you can find a decent one.....and don't miss that game....kick-off at 4:00, with pre=game before that...and other good ones after that, into the evening.

Tuesday will get here just as fast, whether or not you worry yourself sick over it. And it will be here before you know it.

Talk with whoever will talk with you about your feelings. Don't bury them...Be open, so that they can be part of this journey with you, even if the journey lasts only until Tuesday.

You're gonna be fine. Talk to us anytime.

XO--COlleen

OK, I have to chime in here - not sure of everyone's ages, but my cousin, Chris Rich, is an orthopedic surgeon in Alexandria (Colleen!) AND he played football for LSU in the days of Charles Alexander! Do any of y'all remember him?

Hi Frank -
My husband had a cancer on his lip in April, but it was "in situ" meaning it was shallow and all the "margins" were clear - in other words, they take a chunk of lip and if it is clear of cancer surrounding the actual lesion, then you just let it heal and watch it like a hawk. Unfortunately, he just had another biopsy and we are awaiting the results. It was near the original site. He has had several oral cancers (see signature, below) and we are hoping this biopsy will be negative. His was sun damage. Did your dermatologist say it was from sun damage? Let us know how Tuesday goes, and if you have any questions, please feel free to email us. Warmly, JaneP

Frank---just enjoy your weekend--as everyone says,
worrying isn't going to change a thing, you'll deal with whatever happens next and you'll get through it!
Don't deplete your energies and resources at this point worrying about it--there are loads of scenarios and changes along the way.
Was the song ever big in America? 'Don't worry, be happy'?? It's a good motto!
Drink and eat as much as you can this weekend in case you have to 'build yourself up' for treatment--and just to enjoy the drinking and eating anyway !
And tell your loved ones you love them--just cos you do, NOT because you've got cancer!
We're all here, Tuesday will come and it will go--then there's the rest of your life!
And you can be sure there'll be one!!

Brenda

Hi Frank, and welcome to OCF! We're all here for you...looking forward to getting to know you better...

Lois & Buzz in NC

Me2--Yes, we do know Chris Rich quite well. My husband is a physician here, and our son is an orthopaedic surgeon as well. Chris tried to get our son to come back here, but he preferred to stay on the Northshore of Lake Ponchartrain, in Mandeville. Our nephew practices Ortho. with Chris. ....small world......His clinic is filled with his LSU memorabilia.

Well I Can add my 2 sense ..But not anything about the south ...Cus I have only been down there once about 20 years or more ago ..to south carolina !! BUT I WOULD LOVE TO COME !!! IT is COLD HERE IN NY right now.
ANyhow

Frank..
I don't think it is ever to premature once you hear those words. And trying to keep busy is your best bet ..of course sometimes easier said then done I know. However we are all here , and as you can see .. all hours of the night .. I dont sleep well so I am on and off here all night some nights. you will find alot of answers and even more friends and support on here..We will be waiting with you to hear how you make out on Tues !!


Shar

Thank you all for your supporting words! I went to see my son's high school football game last night. (They won by the way.) The most amazing thing was that some things that usually bother me didn't seem to matter. All of a sudden traffic to the stadiun didn't seem so bad, parking didn't seem so bad, etc. I did enjoy the game, but "it" was still in the back of my mind.

I slept well last night. I find that things are starting to hurt now. My arm has a pain, my back has a pain, my lower leg and ankle has a pain. I think I am making myself sick. I am sure that's what it is. I believe the brain is a powerful organ. I just have to convince it that I feel great and can do everything and anything I want to do. I am going to head outside to cut the grass and clean up the yard a little. Then by 4pm, I'll be in my chair for the Tigers Game.

Once again, thank you all! I have been so blessed to have found this site.

Frank, isn't it funny that until you are in a house alone, you don't hear its creaks and groans....how the floors shift and the wind comes through under the door, and the heater groans a bit.....You know that it does those things all the time, but you don't notice them. That's the same with these bodies of ours. Once we have our attention turned to them, we start to feel all of these creaks and groans, and of course we wonder which ones are important and which ones are just normal body quirks. This is one of the legacies of this disease. It makes you doubt what you know. It also makes you pay attention, and that's not a bad thing.

I'll be in my chair at 4:00 too. Geaux Tigers!

XO

Oooohh my Prejean's..... Colleen....now you've done it.... Only one better may have been Hymel's in Henderson.


Hang in there Frank, we're pullin for ya buddy!