Thanks Randy

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Randy, Thank you for your feed back. I pray that God heals you from this cancer and that his will is done in your life. Thank You, Colleen Garner wrote: Randy of course i will cross my fingers for you and my toes too ! you are so inspirational with you care and concern for others at a time where so much has fallen upon yourself. Always a joy to see your spirits soaring. Colleenjackpoint_94401 wrote: Hi folks - Really glad to hear how well Maridiana and Sassy and are doing...Ramona, the way you

bounced back and took charge and had the Lasik is really inspirational. I have always had dry eyes and so was afraid of Lasik, and I'm sure that my radiation treatments have dried out my eyes as much as the rest of my mucous membranes, but now I am determined that once I recover, Lasik will be in my future plans...Francisco, you are an inspiration and a delight as always, and you need to remember that you are a hottie now, because there's no doubt in my mind that you are an incorrigible flirt, so be ready to get results!!! I wish you a speedy recovery - take some consolation in the fact that several years ago, you wouldn't even have tried to stop the wagons - at least you had the choice now to learn the painful lesson, and blees you for that... my friend - I had a heart attack in October 2002, and many difficulties with congestive heart failure. Yes, I had diabetes (no longer) and a fatty liver (much

less so now), but it seems to me that you are looking for too many reasons to be fearful. Dr. Umbach was very tough on me and ended up insisting on more weight loss before surgery because it was the best way for my heart to be safe - and it's safe to say that heart issues like mine are much higher risk factors than fatty liver, etc. The Kaiser doctors will REQUIRE you to reduce your risk factors before surgery, and they are more than familiar with the whole range of obesity comorbidities and risks. The WLS goal is to remove these comorbidities, not to remove a specific amount of weight. Go to your support group meetings, read your notebook, and note the statistics on the unbelievably high percentages of cures for Type II Diabetes, hypertension, obstructive sleep apnea, congestive heart failure, and so on, that come with WLS. I have lost most of my hair from my cancer treatment; it seems remarkably unimportant to me

(although I know as certainly as any WLS patient that it will grow back), but in your context I can tell you with great certainty that the worst possible scenario for you with hair loss is not only a fraction of what I have experienced, but is also going to be far more temporary. Look - if you already have male pattern baldness, there is about a 20% chance that you will end up one stage further down the line than you were before surgery. SO WHAT?????? One of five chance, and you're going to look so much better anyway, how can you waste any emotional energy worrying about stuff like that? I think you are like me - a patient who is sometimes too smart for his own good and who ends up worrying about things that aren't really worrisome - but you need to take your intelligence and focus on the positives, and give yourself positive reinforcement for the achievements and milestones you pass. Prepping yourself for the

lifestyle changes and the pre-op weight loss is NOT a small thing, and you are not taking an easy way out. You are making a positive lifetime commitment. Again, to offer my personal perspective - I KNOW that the radiation and chemotherapy, as horrific as the side effects are, are working quite well to battle the cancer. When I consider that once I have surgery, once I begin to recover (to the extent that I will) from the side effects, that I will be a relatively stronger and healthier cancer patient because I am a healthier, lighter, and stronger post-bariatric patient who will be able to exercise and continue to lose weight, I am very lucky that I had the WLS. I had all of four days between WLS and my cancer diagnosis to contemplate a healthier future - but I can tell you that the last two of those days were pretty much pain-free and optimistic and uplifting. When it gets back to the point that it's not me and cancer

and treatment side effects, but me and a long-term post-WLS life, I know that's going to be great. And I think it will be great for you, too, , hang in there!Coughing up the thick mucus continues to be the most difficult part of my daily life dealing with radiation and chemo. My skin has also been burned very badly, and looks like there will be some permanent scarring and corrugating of the skin of my neck and throat. Still cannot eat or drink, and I'm on a feeding pump 18 hours a day. Just six more days of radiation and chemo if the original schedule holds, then two to three months of recovery, followed by surgery. Cross your fingers for me!Randy Colleen

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