« This is my last post to 21st Century Affiliate Marketing

Changing blog themes may have unintentional consequences »

That was not my last post to 21st Century Affiliate Marketing

August 20, 2010 by John Dilbeck
Filed under: Affiliate Marketing, Blogging, Facebook, John Dilbeck, Musings

Surprise! I’m back. (grin)

Apparently, the reports of my death were greatly exaggerated, and it looks like that applies to this blog, too.

I came close to dying back in March, and things weren’t looking too good in May, either.

I’m happy to tell you that I’m getting better. I have a long way to go before I’m fully recovered, but I’m making substantial progress.

I wrote what I thought would be the last post to this blog in the middle of May, 2010. Since then, there have been some significant events in my life.

On April 1, 2010, my friend and surgeon resected my intestines, removed my gall bladder, and removed an 8-lb colon cancer. He was surprised to find the tumor in one large contained mass, rather than spread throughout my abdomen. That was a very lucky break.

Other, relatively minor surgeries followed.

A PET scan showed that I had suspicious spots in both thyroid glands and in the right lobe of my liver.

A biopsy of each thryoid gland showed that the growths were benign, not cancer. Happy dance!

A biopsy of the tumor in my liver showed it was benign. Happy dance!

However, a radiologist on the oncology team that would be doing the procedure on my liver called me at home from his vacation and said the biopsy report on my liver had to be wrong. He had seen the scans (two of them) and knew from the look and the growth that it was cancer. He didn’t want to rain on my parade, but he said — emphatically — that I should get the biopsy redone, and he would do it himself, if I wanted. I talked it over with my daughter and decided to have the biopsy redone. Dr. Moore did it using a slightly different technique and was right. It was colon cancer that had metastasized to my liver. At least, we knew it was something that had to be dealt with, as soon as possible.

In July, 2010, I went to Mission Hospital in Asheville, NC, and Dr. Moore performed a radio frequency ablation of the tumor in my liver. It is good that I was a good candidate for this, because traditional surgery on the right lobe of the liver is a very serious operation. Basically, what he did was this: insert three needles (that are connected to a radio frequency generator) into my liver so that they surround the tumor. Turn on the generator to cook the tumor (think of this as a microwave oven).

Because of the size of the tumor, he had to use three needles and the results looked good on the ultrasound right after the procedure.

I went for a CT scan and checkup with Dr. Moore earlier this week and got the good news. There is no sign of cancer in my liver, the “cooked” portion completely enveloped the tumor and some surrounding tissue, and there are no signs of bleeding complications. Very good news, indeed.

So, now the surgical interventions are all done and I’m on my second round (of 24 total) of chemotherapy treatments.

Now, instead of expecting to die from this (as it looked back in March), we’re working together to cure it. That’s a huge change in expectations and perspective in only three months.

I’m a long way from being my old self. I’m tired all the time and have trouble thinking straight, but I’m definitely improving.

So, instead of closing this blog, I’ve updated it to the latest version of WordPress, changed the theme, and spruced it up for another few years of talking about affiliate marketing.

I will not be posting as often as I did previously, but this blog is not going to just sit here, either. I will definitely be putting more effort into building evergreen, content-rich, hierarchically-organized websites than I will into blogging, but both have a part to play in my marketing plans.

I want to thank everyone who sent me their encouragement and support in the comments here, on my Facebook profile, and in email and phone calls. It meant a lot, and still does. I think your outpouring of support, encouragement, and prayers is one of the major reasons that I’m looking forward to conquering this cancer, instead of being its victim.

So, that’s enough about me. Let’s get back to talking about affiliate marketing.

(Now, I have to remember how I added that subscribe via email form on this blog. Scratching head…)

Act on your dream!

Tags: cancer, health

Comments

9 Comments on That was not my last post to 21st Century Affiliate Marketing

Tweets that mention That was not my last post to 21st Century Affiliate Marketing : 21st Century Affiliate Marketing -- Topsy.com on Fri, 20th Aug 2010 2:46 pm

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Mitch Mitchell, John Dilbeck. John Dilbeck said: New blog post: That was not my last post to 21st Century Affiliate Marketing http://bit.ly/9zLjQR [...]

Joan Adams on Sat, 21st Aug 2010 9:41 am

Welcome home, John!! I am so very thankful !

Brian D. Hawkins on Sat, 21st Aug 2010 10:28 am

Welcome back John, I’ve been following closely on Facebook. I really appreciate you sharing your ups and downs with us. Your progress is nothing short than amazing, not to mention an inspiration. I’m glad you are going to keep your online activities going.

I’m curious, was your second liver biopsy a procedure through your neck? I had that done a while back to see why my liver is enlarged along with other issues.

I’m glad you are feeling better. I can see from all the pictures and FB comments that you have a lot of caring people around you.

John Dilbeck on Sat, 21st Aug 2010 4:21 pm

Thanks, Joan.

I’m thankful, too (grin)

John Dilbeck on Sat, 21st Aug 2010 4:28 pm

Hi, Brian.

Sharing what’s going on with me on Facebook caused a few people to drop me as friends, but, not so surprisingly, they were people I didn’t know all that well, anyway. Going through this crisis has helped me grow closer to my family and friends and I think deciding to be straight about it was a good idea.

It’s going to be awhile before I can do even a fraction of what I used to do, but I’m getting stronger every week, and that’s moving in the right direction! (grin)

No, both liver biopsies were done by sticking needles into my liver just below the bottom rib on my right side. The RFA was done the same way.

The first biopsy was done using a CT scan to help direct the placement of the needles and the second one was done using ultrasound. Apparently, this tumor was a bit easier to see on ultrasound. (At least, that’s the way I understand it.)

I am a very fortunate person and have lots of friends and relatives who care about me. If I had no money at all, I still would consider myself rich.

I appreciate all the support I’m getting from everyone, and it’s good to talk to you again.

Act on your dream!

Susan52 on Mon, 23rd Aug 2010 8:14 pm

JD, the grin on my face just kept getting bigger as I read this post. We’re not letting you go that easily, my friend. Prayers work, and you know that I know that first hand!

Here’s to continued good health and lots more blog posts!
Susan

John Dilbeck on Mon, 23rd Aug 2010 11:21 pm

Good evening, Susan.

Thank you, I appreciate it.

You’re one of my inspirations, especially as I’m going through chemo. Your lenses about your war with cancer came to my attention at just the right time. Thanks for taking the time to write about your experiences and to share them with us.

On my first day of chemo, my daughter saw someone she knew. It turns out that she was finishing her chemo treatments on the same day I was starting mine.

I never really thought about it before, but now I’m really happy when I hear that someone has completed their chemotherapy and is moving on with the next phase of their life.

I’m loving every day. It feels as if I have been given a very precious gift and I don’t want to waste any of it.

Here’s to good health for all of us!

PS. I was just reading your blog. I’ve adopted the “eat smaller portions more often” diet, too. Right now, I just don’t have much of an appetite. I even had to force myself to eat a blueberry muffin this morning, and I LOVE blueberry muffins. So, I’m eating more snacks during the day, usually fruit or a baked potato.

Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing on Sat, 28th Aug 2010 3:28 pm