To My Dear FC Buddies & Friends: An Explanation

To My Dear FC Buddies & Friends: An Explanation

First, my deepest apologies for taking so long in getting around to this explanation for my absence from fc. I wanted to wait until I had all the facts before explaining, and the facts came slowly. Yesterday, I got the last of the information that I wanted to share.

After dealing with all the musical events of last season, I had problems getting my interest back in photography and fc. At first I blamed it on fc burnout...after all, I had been spending 4 to 6 hours daily, 7 days a week, on the fc website, and my fall respite gave me the time to think about other things that I had ignored.

Then in February I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. During the next few months I was meeting with doctors to work out a plan for dealing with it, and then jaundice hit me, and my energy level dropped down almost to a zero. Then more doctors, more tests.

Finally, it was determined to a 90% certainty that I also have pancreatic cancer, which trumps the prostate cancer.

So, I have taken a hormone shot to slow down the growth of the prostate cancer. I will continue the shots for two years and will eventually have radiation therepy. But the pancreas comes first, and I will enter the hospital in Honolulu on August 7 for a Whipple operation which removes the portion of the pancreas that has the tumor as well as parts of the stomach, small intestine and gall bladder, then rearranges the "plumbing" to a new configuration.

Please send me your positive vibrations (or maybe put your hand on your monitor and yell "HEAL"), and I should be back practically as good as new (at least for a 69 year-old man) in a few months.

I love you all.