SOME HOPEFUL NEWS

Xiao Li went back to the cancer hospital in Tianjin yesterday for a checkup. The doctors told him things look good thus far. They've decided to start his chemo treatments in September.

So things are looking up a bit for Li. I hope this positive news will make him start thinking more positively about his future. I don't think you can ever get well if you don't think good thoughts.

LITTLE STEPS

Xiao Li took a taxi to Maia's house today by himself. Doesn't sound like much but it's a small step forward for him. He still gets tired quickly and since he's now missing part of one lung I expect that won't change.

The thing we have to do now is to get him to think good thoughts and not dwell on his disease. None of us is guaranteed any days on this Earth, so there's no reason why he should sit around thinking morbid thoughts, which is what he's been doing. Maybe he'll be dead in five years, maybe he won't. Maybe we'll all be dead in five years. Who knows? I sure don't think I'm guaranteed the next five, so just live them one day at a time and thank God every morning when you wake up and it's a new day and you're still alive. Works for me.

I haven't heard when they're going to start the chemo treatments. I would assume it would be pretty soon. We gave him a bunch of folic acid tablets, which should help his body deal with the insult from the chemo. At least that's what I've been told by other people who have had relatives go through chemo.
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MORE WAIT AND SEE

It's been nearly a week now since Xiao Li's surgery. They've finally gotten him out of bed. They keep you forever in Chinese hospitals, both before and after surgery. Not like here where they have you up and out ASAP.

I'm sure we sometimes send people home too soon to save money, but keeping someone in hospital for weeks after surgery when they have no complications is equally stupid. A large number of people end up getting sick in hospitals from all the germs circulating there and more than a few end up worse than when they came in the door. And trust me, Chinese hospitals have a lot to learn when it comes to cleanliness.

Still no word on the post-surgery biopsy to see if they got all the tumor. Let's pray they did. They're supposed to start him on chemo pretty soon, I think; I'll have to get the complete story on that when my wife gets home from China tonight.

But so far, so good.

CROSS YOUR FINGERS

The surgery is over and done and now all we can do is wait. If the surgeons did their job properly it's now up to Xiao Li and his will to live. I hope his will to live is strong.

The cancer is non-small cell, which is good news, if there can be any good news about lung cancer. If they got all the tumors and the cancer hasn't spread to places they haven't found, the odds of Li living at least another five years are pretty good. But what's needed now is follow-on chemo treatment and that may be a problem over there. The doctors there may not be up to snuff on the latest treatments and the drugs currently being used very successfully in the US may not be available.

All we can do is push them, but even that may not be enough. Let's hope it is.