Hair today, gone tomorrow...everyone roll your eyes now!  You have the best looking buzz head in Bakersfield :o) and you've still got that smile of yours going on!  Glad to see you back in the blog. *~*PRAYERS*~*

Hey, Steve, nice do. I'm thinking maybe an earring will set it off. .Just think of the time you will save getting ready for work in the mornings. I think you should put some dimples all over your head and print Titleist on your forehead. You would look like a golfball half buried in the rough. Just kidding Steve, I think you look good. Besides, it's just hair and it will grow back. I'm jazzed the chemo is working but wish there was an easier treatment. The main thing is the end result and I'm confident you will beat this. Hang in there and say hi to Mary for us.

Glen & Vicki

Billionairebartley introduces the serious and and very contentious issue concerning the medical use of marijuana.

You should at least take this opportunity to try it and determine whether it is in fact a help during chemo and radiation treatment as so many other cancer patients attest.

What have you got to lose?

Nothing the doctors are presently prescribing appears to be of great help for your nausea, etc..

And I'm sure readers would appreciate learning the results of your personal experience.

Perhaps your experiment might help clear up the potmed controversy.

Just sayin.

Glenn,

I'll get the earring right after you do.

Bart and Saber,

The doctor offered me a pill form of marijuana, which I turned down. I'm taking enough drugs without giving the police a reason to arrest me. Besides, the last time I had marijuana was 22 and in Eugene, Ore. where I coughed so bad, I pledged to stick with beer. Helps keep the legitimate corporate America strong.

 And my beard is thinning. This too is disturbing, in a life-saving sort of way.

And for the rest: My Beatles style haircut going out of style? How can that be? It was hip when I was 22.

I second the earring idea. It looks great on Harrison Ford! The little-boy pic is adorable.

You know, Steve, your face looks exactly the same as it did pre-CA, it is only the hair and beard that are different. Keep that stiff upper lip!

THC is THC, pill or smoke.

Either way, many cander patients say it helps allay unpleasant side effects of treatment.

Just sayin....

saber

Steve:

Thank you for sharing with the rest of us your personal struggle with this cancer. My name is Bruce Bozarth and I also was diagnosed with cancer. IN October of 2006 I was told I had a tumor the size of a baseball growing in my brain. I was very lucky that my cancer was in a part of my body that I no longer used or needed. I am 56 year old and this seemed like a death sentance for me. I was not ready for a fight like this so late in my life. I can relate to almost all of your stories regarding your treatment. I went thru the surgery then the radiation therapy and then the chemotherapy.  I did not have the stomach feed tube. I lost my appetite for a while (lost 45 lbs), but have recently regained it. I have never been so sick as when I first started the chemo.  My GP was so concerned about my loss of eltrolytes he had me on an IV to rehydrate me with nutrients. My oncologist recently reported that my cancer was officially in remission. So I stood up shook his hand said thank you we are done here. He said "NOt so fast" He put me on what he calls Maintenance therapy, I must continue taking the chemo drugs but instead every day now it is only 5 days a month but at twice the dosage. So we had to get a much stronger anti- nausea drug. (You know, one that works). We now get Zophran, which seems to do the trick. I still feel like heck during the chemo week but I can tolerate it. I am eating pretty well now. This whole thing has changed my whole life, I now cannot do anything because I am so fatigued all the time. It takes all my energy and effort to get up and walk into the kitchen each morning. I now go to physical therapy twice a week to help with the energy and muscle tone but that is still a lot of work. I am very lucky that I am surrounded by a lot of people that care about me and have been so supportive. My wife has gone through more than anybody should have to over the past year. We moved twice- Bakersfield to Oklahoma and back. Her mothr passed away within days of our return to Bakersfield, then I get brain cancer! What is next? I have never blogged before or posted anything on the net, but your story sound so much like mine I wanted to say you are not alone. I will follow your story and hope to hear from you.

Bruce Bozarth,

15331 Opus One dr. Bakersfield Ca. 93314

Hi Bruce, Thank you for sharing your story with us.  It is so important for those of you who are going through this dreadful treatment to stick together, share stories and bolster each other up by the very fact that you made it through.

My best wishes to you and your wife...Im getting first hand knowledge of what she went through.

Keep us posted on how you are doing.

Mary Swenson (Steve's wife)

Thank you for your comment and support Mary.

It is very uplifting to share my sad tale with others who can truly understand our situation. I can honestly say that without a doubt that without the support of my family and friends I would not have made it this far. There have been times when I debated which was worse? the cancer or the cure? I am tired of being sick every day. I must have misunderstood this vegan thing. They want us to eat more veggies, not turn into one! I must work to get up off the couch! I had severe pain in my sholders so i went to an orthopedic doctor who said I had a frozen sholder. So we once agin headed into the surgery center for minor sholder surgery. I can barely lift my arms over my head, I need help getting my jacket on, I cannot reach behind me with either arm. Therapy will fix this they say. After a therapy session I hurt worse than ever. She really works me hard. I call her nurse Ratchet, I think she enjoys this too much. I reached a milestone last week when my wife told me that i must go back and comb my hair before we went out. I actually have enough to comb now. One of the biggest thrills of my week is when I get to see the grandkids. They are so wonderful. My daughter-in-law asked me just what she could do, she was willing to do anything, she already brings over suger free deserts etc. I just asked her to bring the girls over once in a while. What a thrill for me to see these beautiful girls running towards me with arms lifted up smiling and laughing calling out to me. If God made anything better than grandkids - he must have kept it for himself. This is the kinds of things that keep me alive. I will beat this cancer! This to shall pass.

Bruce