A Colon Is More Than Just 2 Dots On Your Keyboard

     As you know, I am a Colon Cancer Survivor, and as such I feel the need to share what info I gather to help save you some embarassment by not having to ask.  I had my third colonoscopy yesterday, and they had to remove 3 more polyps.  Polyps are like pimples inside of your body.  They have to be tended to, or they could.... stress "Could", turn cancerous, so best to get them removed.   Most often we hear of them in the colon, but they can appear anywhere, like your throat for instance.  I asked if there was anything I could take, or eat that would prevent them from coming back and was told...no, they are hereditary, and some people just get them.  Some people can live their whole lives without having them, others live their lives with them and do not know they have them, and then there are those of us that get cancer, and they want to be sure to get them out as to not have a reoccurance.  So today, I am a little sore. 
    A diet that is high in fiber is about the best defense for prevention.  So, if you are like me, there's not a lot of fibrous things that I eat....  non-instant oatmeal, popcorn, whole wheat bread & pasta, and the peelings on as many fruits and veggies that I can stand.  Just be warned, these kinds of food will probably give you gas, and possibly diarrhea, on the good side, you won't be constipated.  Also, stay away from as much "processed" food as you can.  That would be stuff that's ready-to-eat, meals-in-a-box, you know, all the good stuff...   Cut as much meat from you diet as you can.  If you are not ready to go vegetarian, make sure one meal a day is meat-free, then later try 2 meals a day, etc. 
     Enough preaching, let's talk about something fun...  I've been researching the US Virgin Islands.  I think I might enjoy retiring there....  Florida is overcrowded, and so passe, let alone the insurance....  Hawaii is waaaaay expensive, and I'm not that keen on learning spanish for the rest of the sunbelt.  So it's also islands.... also expensive.... but where isn't these days.  The temperature stays between 70-90 for the most part, and I just plain want to go.  Don't know what I'll do once I'm there, but I won't know if I don't go.... So When I get there, I'll let you know.  If anybody has any advice... for or against.... the Virgin Islands, please let me know.  Hopefully I'll get there within the next 5 years or so, and you all can come visit.   

Under The Weather

     My apologies to all who come here to rest their weary eyes for a moment and wallow in someone else's muck.  Despite not being on here to gab, I've been to court, and had a stress test that wiped me out.  So, today I'm trying to play catch-up.
     The court ruled in our favor, so mom's piddly little house is going to the funeral parlor in exchange for her services.  We will supposedly have 6 months to get it cleaned out.  Now where to go with it.  I have a booth at the local antique mall, that I guess I will start wholsaling the sellable stuff through.  The other junk I guess will go to Goodwill, and Salvation Army.  Here one time where it's a blessing to be unemployed and actually have the time to sit and sift through almost 50 years of stuff. 
     As for the stress test, it turned out to be an all-day affair.  This is the second one of these that I've had.  The first one was done right before I had colon surgery in 2007.  I went into a room, and walked on a treadmill, and then hurried up and laid down while a nurse rammed a ultrasound wand into my ribcage.  We did this 3 seperate times during that test.
     This most recent one consisted of laying on an apparatus that somehow photographs a person's heart while at rest for 12 minutes.  Then I had to go down the hall, and they simulated the stress pharmacologically while I sat on a table for 4 minutes.  Then I was dismissed for lunch, and was told to return in an hour and a half, to revisit the apparatus that photographs the heart at rest for another 12 minutes.  By the time I was done, I was completely dead to the world.  Steve drove me home, poured me into bed, and I didn't get up for 6 hours! 
     The next day I didn't do much except mope around the house.  So, as you see, I've quite a lot of catching up to do.
     Yesterday, Wal-Mart got 2 hours of my time and nearly $200 of my cash.  The older I get, the longer it takes me to get through the acre of discount offerings.  As for today, I'm headed for Schnucks for the pharmacy and meat departments, the bank, and post office.  If I get all that done, I'll be good to go for another week or so.  Of course it had to get back in the 100 degree weather...