My surgery is set for January 29th. They will do the work-up on the 21st.

I don't know all of the details yet. I'm feeling stunned today, overwhelmed that the date is set and just two weeks away. I seem to use that word, overwhelmed, pretty often, but I don't know how else to say it.

I know a few things: the surgery will be 6-8 hours if they can cut out all of the cancer and adjacent tissue, and about three hours if they decide they cannot. In that case they will give me more radiation to try to degrade it further. Most patients are in the hospital for about a week. The recuperation time is a month or two.

That's about all I know today. We haven't had much time to think about it or make any plans, so we'll need a few days before we know what help or support we might need. If you'd like to contact me, use rabraham1@cox.net or call 703-307-2702. I'll post again when I know more. Thanks!