Hi At this time i am cancer free ,at least according to my last tests lol Ofcourse will have to keep up tests for the rest of my life but hopefully MUCH longer between them?? Have some "suspicious " areas but not receiving any treatments at this time . i had a series of treatments called "Cyberknife" which have proven to be very effective . This was done locally and I feel I got excellent treatment. Results seem to indicate that . This involves very high radiation rather than surgery which means I can't have more of this type and will not have chemo though so far there has been no need . Both of my brothers and both parents died of cancer so i seem to be very lucky?? lol Thanks for the good wishes !!! gary

Oh my, Phil!! I'm so glad the surgery has gone well for you and I'll pray it continues to go as well, in your recovery! I was up for gall-bladder surgery in 2000, but opted to wait it out and so far, I'm okay but know I may have to one day so it's good to hear you are doing so well! Yes, these bodies weren't designed for 'Eternity' but I know that whereas the 'trade-in' value won't be much, the newer model will be lot better, as promised!!LOL I dreamed, last night, that I have Leukemia and was having to tell an old best-friend about it, who was freaking out! She and I don't share in having the same beliefs, and I was trying to assure her, that whereas I don't relish the 'process' of dying from Leukemia I am very confident that 'death' will only make it possible to be in Heaven, and that part I do not fear, at all--thankfully! It's weird how dreams affect us, I still feel like it was so real!!! And, I'm also glad that as real as it seemed, I still had perfect peace about my diagnosis and prognosis--and I did not wake up feeling 'stressed' by the dream! Keep on keeping on Phil--"it ain't over till it's over" and I hope you have as much time as you need before you take advantage of your 'reservation'!! :o)

Stacie, I love that your kids are such good eaters. Ilene, I could be wrong, but I thought that it was best to avoid peanuts and peanut butter during pregnancy. There is some connection to Asthma and peanuts, peanut butter and other nuts as well as causing an allergy to peanuts. I think there are a number of ways to add vegetables to baked goods, but i don't think it is ever okay to sneak them in and lie about them being in there. If I know someone hates zucchini or carrots, or squash, I would never serve them something with those ingredients with out first telling them. Here are a couple of recipes to use up some zucchini. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table ======================================================= Adapted from: Krinos Foods (The original recipe called for a large can of tomatoes and did not include garlic or oregano.) Green Bean, Zucchini and Potato Stew (Fassolakia Iadera)This is a traditional vegetable mixture that is often eaten cold, accompanied by hunks of country bread and feta cheese . 1/4 cup olive oil 1 cup chopped onion 1 clove of garlic, minced 1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed, halved crosswise 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 8 ounces zucchini, cut into 1-inch-thick slices 8 ounces russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch cubes 3/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley 1 to 2 tablespoons fresh oregano chopped (or dried) 1 14 ounce can of Italian-style tomatoes, chopped. 1/2 cup chicken broth . Heat oil in heavy large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and saut5 minutes.Add Garlic and green beans and sauté until onion is translucent, about 3 minutes. Add zucchini, potatoes, cayenne pepper, parsley and oregano. Pour tomatoes and their juices over vegetables. Add chicken broth. Bring to boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender, stirring frequently, about 45 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Can be prepared 1 day ahead -- cover and refrigerate. Serve warm or at room temperature. 6 To 8 Servings Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table ============================ These can be made earlier in the day and heated for dinner. Tomato and Zucchini Tambourines 2 zucchini 2 Tablespoon butter 1 garlic clove, finely minced 4 teaspoons finely minced shallots 1 tomato diced salt and pepper 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese . Preheat oven to 400 degrees Slice zucchini into 1 1/2 to 2inch chunks (little logs) In a saucepan filled with lightly salted boiling water, cook zucchini pieces for 5 minutes. Rinse under cold water and drain Scoop out pulp, but not too deeply,leave 1/4 to 1/2 inch bottom. Chop pulp and set aside. In a skillet, melt butter and cook zucchini pulp along with garlic, shallots and diced tomatoes until liquid has completely evaporated. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Stuff each zucchini tambourine with filling and heat in oven for 5 minutes and serve.

I'm sorry to hear about your cat, Alaina. I never knew cats had strokes before this happened; but I assume that like human strokes there are different extents of brain damage. Do they know what caused your cat's stroke? In my cat's case it was the parasite that interrupted blood flow to part of the brain causing areas to die. Did your cat have seizures too? The prednisone she takes daily is to reduce brain inflammation. If my regular vet had been open I would have taken her there first. But since they were closed their service sent me to an animal emergency room. I sometimes wonder if this made the outcome different. This emergency clinic has a neurologist on staff and he was the one who took charge of her care. (I didn't know there were animal neurologists either!) Even if I had been able to take her to our regular vet, this would have been beyond him (not the treatment but the equipment needed for the diagnosis). Knowing she was having seizures, and the fact that she had no symptoms before they suddenly appeared, made diagnosis faster; though finding the cause of the stroke took longer. This clinic was really expensive. I put down a $1000 deposit against charges on the first night. I think I was so shocked at what had happened to her and the suddenness of it that I didn't question anything they were doing. The room where they were working on her and the other "patients" was just like a human ICU in miniature. She was originally given a whole battery of meds and shots to kill whatever possible infectious agents were causing this (like bacteria, fungus, parasites), plus something to stop the seizures. My cat looked really bad for maybe the first week she was home. Hardly able to walk or crawl. I would stand there looking at her and wonder if I should just put her to sleep. But she didn't seem to be in pain, and still seemed to enjoy being with us, so I just prayed and waited. I was rather surprised that she was interested in eating especially since she was hardly moving around enough to need the calories. Someone later told me that one of the meds (as a side effect) stimulates the appetite. I'm not sure if it's the prednisone or the phenobarbital that does that. We brought the food to her too: it was too hard to see her struggle towards it. Even when she was looking much better she was not using the litter box. The vet said to retrain her as though she was a kitten. To watch how long after she ate came the pee or the poop (was about 20 minutes); then to place her in the litter box several times a day at about the right time. Also to put the litter box right next to where she was resting (but not next to the food), and use one with very low sides so she could step into it easily. Peeing in the right place came several days before pooping in the box. She has been quite good in the last few days but still had a major accident on the foyer floor today. At her follow-up visit 5 days ago the vet said she was recovering faster than usual, possible because she's "young" (eight) compared to most cats with strokes. But the pattern of damage and kinds of impairments she was having were a textbook case. I hope your cat will continue to improve and will pray for her. I hope these details have been helpful.