We just got a call from Bill's urologist. The biopsies all came back negative. No cancer cells. The BCG treatment worked! Whew!

No tumors visible on the cystoscopy this morning! Doctor did take a couple biopsies at the site of former tumors, and there is a lot of scar tissue. So now we wait for the pathology report late next week. He thought it looks pretty good. Bill will be having quarterly cystoscopies for the rest of his life. It is just short of a year since this all began. Today is Bill's birthday and I think we will celebrate a bit!

Bill finished his round of six BCG treatments on September 11th. Other than feeling a little "blah" the next day, he has had no reaction. The doctor told us there is no difference in the result data between the group with no reaction and the group with. We now wait six weeks for another cystoscopy to see if the treatments worked. It is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 23, his birthday. I am hoping he puts it off until the next Tuesday, but he probably won't. He is busy with golf and projects and volunteer work.

Bill had his 4th BCG treatment 2 days ago on Friday. Since the first one, he just goes in to the doctor's office and they put the BCG in his bladder. He comes home, lies down and turns over every 15 minutes to slosh it all around. It has to stay in for two hours which is no problem. Saturday he felt really "blah" but no fever. Today he seems fine--shot an 87 on the golf course. He has 2 more treatments, then tests to find out it this has worked. In the meantime we are just "hanging in"!

Bill's first BCG treatment this morning went very well. He said he wishes he had known how easy it would be. He feels fine. We had 3 great days in Inverness/Pt. Reyes, hiking and eating oysters and steamed mussels! Before we left there yesterday, Bill stopped at a blackberry patch near the road that we had found the day before while hiking, in hopes someone would turn them into a cobbler. No one else had found it so we picked away! And the cobbler was good! He is trying to decide whether to play golf Saturday or Sunday. Maybe both!

Bill will begin his weekly BCG treatments on Friday August 7--8 am, ending in mid-September. That will probably curtail his weekend activities, especially after about the 3rd treatment, when he won't be feeling too good. Low grade fever, general malaise are the predicted symptoms. But that will mean the treatments are working. We plan a pre-treatment get-away Aug 3 to the 6th at Pt. Reyes National Seashore, staying at the Inverness Valley Inn. Cool ocean breezes, long walks and good food are the draw. A new restaurant in Pt. Reyes Station, Stellina, has gotten great reviews in the NY Times and SF Chronicle so that is on our list. In the meantime he is having fun on the golf course. He was okayed to start playing on Wednesday and shot a very good score, net 67.

Bill's doctor called today with good news. The pathology report came back "low grade, low stage," just what we wanted, he said. He said we will continue on the path planned with the BCG treatments beginning in a few weeks. He is taking off for a week's vacation tomorrow. Maybe we will too! Bill is feeling great. We walked almost 4 miles at the arboretum this morning. I struggle to keep up with him. We are planning to take the train to Berkeley tomorrow or the next day and meet Cousins Barry and Meryl Smith for lunch.

Bill is doing very well. No pain, no bladder spasms, no bleeding. We went out to breakfast this morning and to the farmer's market. The only problem is keeping him from lifting more than 10 pounds for several weeks! And no golf! Since we are in a heat wave situation, the latter is less a problem! Actually we could practice our putting early in the mornings. Maybe next week after the British Open ends. That starts here at 5 am.

We have just gotten home from the surgery center. All went well. Dr. Ferguson cleaned all the little tumors out of Bill's bladder and then filled it with Mitomycin for 30 minutes to kill any leftover cancer cells still floating around. Then we had to stay quite a while to flush that out--it is quite toxic. So he will be lounging around a few days very near the bathroom. In three weeks he will begin a series of 6 weekly treatments of Tice BCG. About the 3rd treatment he will probably not be feeling very well. So that will take us to the end of September. We expect this to take care of the problem. It is too hot here to do much right now and the British Open begins in the morning. So the couch will be busy!

Bill's cystoscopy this morning showed a number of very small tumors. He will go back in for surgery to have them removed on July15. At the same time his bladder will be treated with a chemotherapy drug. Then after 2 weeks, he will begin a series of six weekly BCG treatments. It is a live TB bacteria that does carry risks and has side effects. It causes antibodies from all over the body to rush to the site, hopefully wiping out any loose cancer cells. We know several people who have had this done successfully. So we will be mostly out of circulation until October, although we are going to Carmel on July 4 for a week in our timeshare to celebrate our 45th anniversary and the retirement of Bill's company. And some great golf!

I was reminded by my friend Marge Larney that she was expecting the results of Bill's June 9 cystoscopy to be posted by now. The date was moved to June 25 due to vacation plans so I will post the results after that. We have our fingers crossed. Bill is feeling really well and leading a very normal life. That basically means he is back on the golf course worrying mostly about his game! We plan to go to our timeshare at the Highlands Inn in Carmel on July 4, our 45th anniversary, for a week of golf, food and the cool foggy weather. He is retiring his corporation as of June 30 so we will be celebrating that as well!

The path report came in this morning. Dr. Ferguson read it to us and tried to expain everything--mostly over our heads. He also faxed us a copy. But it is not bad news. And not totally definitive although 3 pathologists looked at it. Basically nothing needs to be done now and in 3 months (June 9) Bill will have another cystoscopy as already planned. So we are taking huge sighs of relief and Bill is looking forward to golf after another month of taking it really easy. My only immediate worry is that he will go totally crazy sitting around but fortunately he has enough local "volunteer" jobs to keep his mind well occupied. We appreciate all your calls and emails and support!

Well, still no pathology report a week later. But the urologist did call and leave a message this morning when we both managed to be out and couldn't ask questions. He said the pathologist is having someone else look at the prostate biopsy because he can't tell if it is worrisome or not. The tumor was no problem. We are somewhat relieved--at least he didn't say terminal or that the bladder must come out! Our worst fears are calmed! We will sleep a bit better tonight. I'll post more when I know more.

Bill is home, taking a nap. He couldn't sleep last night--someone came his room to check on him often and always knocked and woke him up. So far all is well. Now we are worrying about the pathology report! Expect to get it tomorrow, but not sure. I'll post when I know.

Bill's surgery this morning went just fine according to the doc. Less than 1 hour. Two small tumors were removed and bit of the prostate lining wrapped around the urethra. We now wait for the pathology report to find out what is next. Frequent monitoring at the least. He was in recovery about an hour and is now in his room No. 223. The phone number is 530 757 5160. It works--I just called it. He will be there overnight. He has had coffee and lunch will be served so all is well. I will go back and spend the afternoon with him after my lunch.

Today's news wasn't so good. A routine cystoscopy found two small tumors in Bill's bladder. The doctor feels that they are not new but were so tiny last time he could not see them. So Bill will go back in for surgery next Wednesday, the 11th, when these will be scraped out. That will mean another recovery period he is not looking forward to. He has been talking about golf when the rain stops. It will be an overnight at the hospital probably. In the meantime we are going to Riverside on Thursday for a Friday meeting, then to Paso Robles on Saturday for a couple of fun days, home Monday the 9th.

No news is good news! A month has slipped by without an update on Bill. I have had a few complaints! He is doing fine. He did not make the Willie Nelson concert but is getting over that. He is busy working as Santa Ana River Watermaster, chairman of the El Macero Service Area Advisory Committee. and a member of a new Yolo County Waater Committee. The El Macero Country Club has asked him to be a candidate for the Board of Directors. Since they have nominated 3 for 3 positions, his chances are fairly good! He is feeling better and better and smiles more often. His short leash to the bathroom is getting a bit longer as well as our walks. He will have monitoring tests: an IVP in February to check the kidneys and a cystoscopy in March to recheck the bladder. He is really looking forward to being comfortable enough to travel. Thanks for your interest!