Getting off the drugs and past the withdrawals was tough, it took several weeks. I’m feeling great today. I’m off the IV, have my balance back and feel as healthy and strong as I’ve felt in a long time. I’ve pictured a hike we went on while I was attached to the portable IV. I’ve also attached a photo of the picc line right after it was removed. The purple tube went from inside/behind my bicep to right next to my heart.By the way, if you look at the comments from my last post you will see one from Ken Vallens. He defined, in detail, what was happening to my body after I quit the opioids cold turkey. It describes exactly what I experienced.I met with the doctor today to review the results of my brain MRI and the full body CT. The body looked great! No cancer flare ups, no new tumors I look clean despite being off chemo for two months. I can start chemo again as soon as the Kaiser nurses end their strike. I’d start tomorrow if I could. The brain was not as good. There were small flare ups at the sight of my original tumors from 2019. They were small but anything in the brain can be problematic. I’ve scheduled a different type of MRI on the 23rd that will let us know how serious the tumors are, if they are not a big deal, if I need another brain surgery, or if I’m just screwed. As my doctor told us, “brain tumors are serious and can impact all bodily functions, my ability to communicate, etc.” We will defer worrying about my brain until after the next MRI.Bottom line, things are better than expected and I’m feeling great.

Les Whitney

Update: Tuesday, October 14, 2025 How am I Doing? Pt2 – by Les Whitney