Hi all --

Barry and I are back from almost a month in Uganda, where we saw lots of great things -- Mt. gorillas, chimps, lions, elephants (and over 500 kinds of birds) -- as well as a great deal of poverty and lack of basic essentials. It is great to be back in the USA, but a trip like this makes one realize how lucky we are to be born where basic medical help is widely available and where serious illness like oral cancer can be effectively treated.

This was brought home by the news that a birding friend in New Guinea, Kris Tindige, had died in late August from nasopharyngeal cancer. Kris had battled bravely and was very hopeful, but neither bravery nor hope was enough. While he had been treated with chemoradiation in Brisbane, his post-treatment oversight was spotty back in NG, and the recurrence was not found until it had spread to lungs and bone.

Barry is now exactly at the two-year mark post-treatment, one of the milestones for HPV+ cancers (almost all recurrences are in first two years). But we are still in the mid-set of "carpe diem", taking advantage of what life has to offer and not fretting about what the future may bring!

Gail