‘THE TIME HAS COME,’ the Walrus said... ‘THE TIME HAS COME,’ the Walrus said,’ to talk of many things: of shoes and ships – and sealing wax…and whether pigs have wings.’ That nonsense was a line spoken by the Walrus in Alice in Wonderland to some little oysters, lured from their bed to go for...Continue reading→

I am feelin’ GOOD! I have gone for weeks now without any physical reminder that I have a terminal condition! I have had NO pain. I am feelin’ GOOD! That happened sometime between now and my last SAGA, when my dying from cancer became boring. So much so, I began to forget about my cancer....Continue reading→

There’s a mango in my kitchen fruit bowl. It’s been there for over a week. Since living in the tropics many years ago, I’ve loved tropical fruits. But this one little yellow mango – not like the big fat ones – but the ones shaped like a cashew crescent – has not yet appealed to...Continue reading→

CANCER STINKS! After my return home from the first ER visit, hospital stay, and gastro procedure to unblock a bile duct back in June (see SAGA’ It Begins’), I couldn’t wait to take a shower and wash the ‘hospital smell’ off my body. But that smell lingered in my nose. It was a distinctive smell...Continue reading→

The last line from SAGA #6 was... The last line from SAGA #6 was…”We live, we die. That’s just how it is. “ What I neglected to tell y’all, was that my death is not imminent. People hear the word ‘Hospice’ and think, “about to happen now”. Not true. Think Jimmy Carter! I look pretty...Continue reading→

It was not a complete surprise It was not a complete surprise – finding pancreatic cancer cells in the lymph nodes, removed during my Whipple procedure, August 14, 2025.  But because they had not shown up on the CT scan done prior to surgery, I gambled the elusive little boogers would not be there. But...Continue reading→

SLOW AS RUST….. That’s how this setback arrived…a slow, low-grade fever and night sweats!  And then I saw it!  It finally dawned on me – this is NOT going in the direction I should be going! I won’t bore you with all the details of combating an infection, many of which are responsible for putting...Continue reading→

I've been WHIPPLIZED! The Whipple Procedure is an abdominal surgery of extraordinary delicacy and complexity. (https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/whipple-procedure/about/pac-20385054) The mechanics of surgery were left to my surgeon, very well trained in the procedure, with an artistic way of explanation including excellent drawings he would make to help this visual learner. The physical recovery from having gone 'under...Continue reading→

HOME!!!!! Jane Ellen Burke drove me home from UNM Hospital in ABQ on Tuesday, August 19th.  If, for some reason, we had been stopped by the cops, I may have been suspected of being a druggie!  Needle tracks and puncture spots were visible all up and down both arms. And I was definitely under the...Continue reading→

I conferred with Dr. M. Hernandez at UNM Hospital in ABQ this morning at 11am. M. Kennelly agreed to be with me, and to take notes. It was the second time I had met with him – the surgeon who will be performing The Whipple Procedure on my innards, August 14, 2025. I have great...Continue reading→