Good, Bad News - Just One Day At A Time

Good morning shipmates!,

Going back to work aboard PCU George H.W. Bush CVN-77 tomorrow for the first time after 30 days CONV Leave following the IL-2 cancer treatment in early November. Feels like the first day of school -- but also, will be great to be amongst Navy sailors again. My billet replacement, an outstanding fellow Senior Chief, has reported and he is taking charge at the right time when you are growing, weekly, in a PCU environment. I will remain in a TAD role to support this superb group of SKs in the Supply Readiness divisions -- guess I am now that all-around billet assignment: Special Projects Officer. As long as I can be a part of this great ship under construction, that's all I need.

Now for an update on my cancer situation: the IL-2 cancer treatment was a partial eesponse ....not as good as the doctors wanted. Although it knocked some of the spreading back, shrunk or disappeared on the small lesions, 1 has doubled in size on my brain and 1 has doubled in size on my liver. Demetria and I, when we learned this last Thursday, are doing exactly what we've done since Octoberr 2006 -- cry, support, call some of the family, give loads of hugs and say: O.K. -- what's the next option? As Demetria ALWAYS says: One day at a time, my husband, this will not consume us on a daily basis. She is right.

So we have options. Going to a consultation appointment this afternoon to have the brain spot taken care of with a civilian system called the Gamma Knife machine. 90-90% success rate -- would love those odds on the number of my SKs that advance each exam cycle! And then we will work on a new chemo package on the liver at the end of the month.

We've had successes and we've had some disappointments. But I've been fighting this for 14 months now and as my Oncologist said last week: You're not giving up, Senior Chief, and neither am I. How can that not inspire you?

One last item, shipmates: Holiday season, but I sure do hope our First Class Petty Officers are making time for a study plan for the January 2008 CPO exam. I want to be here for ANOTHER CPO Transition Season next September! We trained some great Chiefs this past one and I want to do that again!

Have a great Navy day!,
SKCS Chuck Zwierzynski