To all my friends on here............

[americanedgetech]

It sounds like you're body has put you thru a one car pile up.
That is a lot of worry for one person all at the same time. All of the others have said it already but keeping your spirit up is the most important thing that YOU can do.
Life sure is full of curve balls.
God bless you sir so that you can keep on keepin' on.

[Paladin]

Life gets complicated, Ray and yours seems to have taken that turn. I sure wish you the best.

Ray

[knife7knut]

Life gets complicated, Ray and yours seems to have taken that turn. I sure wish you the best.

Ray

Thanks amigo. Approaching 74 and happy that I'm still looking at grass when I awake instead of roots!
Actually I find it easier to deal with once I know WHAT it is that I am dealing with. I was very apprehensive when I was diagnosed with throat cancer 16 years ago and we put a plan into action to combat it. Wasn't easy and was almost too late but we made it through. I foresee the same outcome this time around as well.
As my late aunt(who passed just shy of her 100th birthday)told me when she learned of my cancer:" WELL! You KNOW you are TOO young to die! No Smith ever died this early in life! They all lived to be in their 90's.........except your uncle Harley who REALLY P*ssed me off!" Harley died when he was 89(!).All this from a widow who mowed 5 acres of grass every week up until she moved to Florida at the age of 92. You DON'T argue with people like that!

[bighomer]

That's the right attitude Ray, Godspeed my friend, praying for a full recovery for you.

[jmh58]

Hang in there Ray.. We are ALL pulling for ya!!! John

[knife7knut]

Thanks for the kind words and prayers. A little update is in order.
The other day I went to the cancer doctor to have the lesion on my neck removed.I had elected to have it done in the office rather than a hospital OR as it seemed to be a relatively small procedure. Well after they had finished I wound up with an incision about 3/4 of the way across my neck and closed up with 16 stitches. There was no real pain involved as the left side of my neck has no feeling in it from being operated on for throat cancer 16 years ago.In that operation I wound up with 42 STAPLES in my neck!
Anyway it didn't start to hurt until the novocaine wore off about midnight. As I am not a fan of pain medication I elected to forego it's use and try what usually works for me:meditating to relieve the pain. Don't laugh;it works!And by morning the pain had lessened considerably.
The only down side now is that my head movement side to side is somewhat limited due to some localized swelling and the stitches being pulled at. I will go back in two weeks to have them removed and the cancer on my back cut out. That will be a lot easier to live with.
Then I can get ready for the hiatal hernia surgery which the surgeon would not perform until the cancer was taken care of.There may be some issues with that due to the surgery I had on my throat years ago in bringing my stomach back into position but we'll deal with that if it happens.
Anyway I thought I would show off my new,"art work" on my throat if no one objects. Stay tuned for more updates and thanks again for your thoughts and prayers.

[Mumbleypeg]

Keep hangin tuff Ray! Pulling and praying for you - one down, two to go. You can do it.

Ken

[americanedgetech]

This is for Melanoma correct?

I've had three removed in two years, and yes... it looks small, and simple until they get in there, and find just how much tissue is effected.
As severe as yours looks, that is just about the average incision needed to deal with these cancers.
You are actually pretty lucky that they didn't need to replace some of that "meat" with donor tissue from elsewhere.

Well sir, I wish you all the best on the follow-ups, and I commend you for managing the discomfort yourself.
2-3 days, and the bigger issue is opening it up by forgetting it's still new. Be careful, chillax, and heal up sir.
Your buddies here need you!

[zp4ja]

Missed this post. Late. Prayers with you Ray. Things such as this test one’s fiber. Yours is strong. Get well soon.

Jerry

[Quick Steel]

Frankly Ray, I am very much inspired by your fortitude and courage in handling the physical challenges you are dealing with. Prayers are ongoing and will continue. And thank you for the update and photo.

[Paladin]

As Ken said, keep hangin tough, Ray. I sent up a prayer.

Ray

[bighomer]

Hoping and praying for the best Ray, God bless you sir.

[Jeffinn]

Best wishes for you. I was diagnosed with melanoma 13 years ago had surgery to remove it along with a couple of lymph nodes to be sure it hadn't spread. I've been melanoma free for 13 years. More recently started therapy for actinic keratosis. Not much fun but going well.
Your positive attitude will help immensely! Sounds like you've got it on the run!
Jeff

[glennbad]

Keep kicking butt, Ray!

[carrmillus]

.........prayers sent, ray, hoping you have a full recovery!!!............ ...............

[jmh58]

All of the above Ray!! Keep on fighting!! John

[treefarmer]

Ray,
Art work on the neck... Glad you're healing up, getting ready for some more surgeries. Back in the old days, people died of the "miseries", now because of medical research we can be diagnosed and treated along with the Lord's helping hand. There is a sign in a room at my orthopedic surgeon's office that basically says, "Man treats but God heals".
God bless as you continue to heal.
Treefarmer

[knife7knut]

Thanks to all that offered up their thoughts and prayers;I know it has helped me deal with this situation.
Thursday was a busy day repairing my lawn tractor(fixing a flat caused by a roofing nail for the third time).Installing a tube in a tire that is 10 inches wide on an 8 inch rim without the proper tools can be a real challenge. I finally wound up taking it to the tire dealer who had sold me the tube and he graciously installed it for free.
My son came over and between us we managed to bag up 17 containers of mulched leaves.There are still some to go but we were both hurting big time after that debacle.
The good news was that the doctor called with the results of the tissue analysis: all clear! Cancer free in the neck tissue!
I still have to go back and get the stitches removed and the tissue on my back cut out.Hopefully that won't be as painful or uncomfortable. Then when that is healed I can schedule the hiatal hernia surgery. Thanks again to all my friends on here.

[carrmillus]

...glad to hear the good news, ray!!!!..... .........

[Paladin]

Good news, Ray!! Praise the Lord.

Ray

[americanedgetech]

Good luck with you next round.
As long as they have found the bad spots, the rest is just discomfort. Keep on keepin' on sir!

[Old Hunter]

Great news for you Ray, I'm glad to hear it for you!

Those lawn tractor tires can be a bear if you don't own the right tools - I fought one for several hours once upon a time. Found out later that our local Agri-Supply location would install them for $5.00!

[bighomer]

That is good news for sure Ray, I've had a bunch cut off my back over the last few years most pre cancerous or basel cell carcinomas , the discomfort from the surgery is not so bad on the the back as some other places in my experience, the itching around the surtures when healing is aggravating. Hoping and praying things go well for your other surgeries.

[glennbad]

That's good news, Ray!

[carrmillus]

...great news, ray,wishing you the best on the rest of your problems!!!!......... .......