■

6/1/06

I will see a surgeon from Brigham and Women’s Hospital on June 5 for a second opinion. According to his webpage, he is interested in esophageal cancer and minimally invasive surgery among other things. It sounds like a good fit, and I hope that I feel comfortable with him.

In contacting him, my oncologist sent an Email to his office after I saw him on Tuesday, and I received a call from Brigham and Women’s at 4:00 on Wednesday. The oncologist also called me at 9:00 p.m. last night to talk about the arrangement. I am very appreciative of his efficient and conscientious work, and also Email as a tool. I wonder, however, if physicians have to do more overtime work because of Email, like we all do.

This morning Mark and I went to the lawyer’s office to sign a new will, health proxy, and power of attorney. It is not that we planned this because of my current situation. Face it, I turned 50 this March, and it was a good occasion to review our finances, including life insurance and retirement annuity. Our last will was written when we were in Pittsburgh, at a time when our children were not yet in grade school, and Mark’s late father was still alive. Anyhow my health proxy will become handy when I go through the surgery.

One of our friends wrote to me, “The news that the tumor is localized is good news under the circumstances. It is interesting what good means.” I am in complete agreement with that statement, and at the same time I am grateful for our inability to view things in absolute terms, and for ability to view and appreciate things in relative terms. $1000.00 is nothing to George Bush, but is a precious amount for us, and a mere $1000.00 can give us much more satisfaction and appreciation than what $100,000.00 does to him.

Haruki Murakami wrote in his novel titled The Wind-up Bird Chronicle that good news comes in a whisper (I am not sure how Jay Rubin translated it in English). A lot of times good news comes in a small voice and in the form of a seed. I hope that I am alert enough to hear these small voices and to appreciate them.

For comments: lincicome@charter.net