Then good news is that I am no longer experiencing the tingling or numbing sensations in my left leg the way I used to. This is very positive since there was an apparently progressive process happening earlier this year.

The flip side is that when I look down at my feet, I now sometimes get a more general nervous sensation down my back and the front of my legs, not devastating or painful, but enough to give me a surprise when it happens. It seems to happen most often when I'm tired and look down at my feet to, say, step up or down a curb. The sensation fits what my new physiologist refers to as the results of a "slump test."

The pain in right arm and shoulder continues, though not quite enough to warrant painkillers. It was quite intense after the radiation but seems to have backed off somewhat. It largely seems to be in my bicep and deltoid muscles, restricting my movement somewhat and sending irregular twangs even when at rest. I'm trying gentle stretches at this time, but without much effect.

I have visited a physiologist with the specific goal of learning about and strengthening my neck to avoid future damage. He's set me up with some core exercises that are quite a challenge to do but will hopefully improve my posture too! I'll report in after he's reviewed my records for a set of gym exercises that I will get to work on in the fall.

I've also revisited the Centre for Integrated Healing where I was given more advice on diet and supplements. I'm eating more vegetables fruit and pills than ever before in my life! I'm even starting to develop a taste for pomegranate juice after the recent news on its effectiveness with prostrate cancer - it does seem to be quite an interesting development (hence the graphic).

On a more theoretical note, there's been an interesting overview of research on the relation of stem cells to cancer, "Stem Cells: The Real Culprits in Cancer?" published in the current edition of Scientific American. This seems to be a track with significant potential for "cure" related research, though prevention would likely provide a more cost effective long term solution to tackling cancer at a population level. But prevention work would not seem to contribute in the same way to GDP.

Well, all the unpleasant medical stuff has been somewhat compensated by the wonderful weather we've been experiencing in Vancouver. I've been able to do a bit of gardening, visit the beach, and check out some of the wonderful summer festivals Vancouver hosts.

I'm now in England visiting with my parents. It's the middle of a heatwave here but seems to be quite easy for me to handle. Now, if I'd been here before getting on the medication that counters my tumour based noradrenaline secretion, it would be a very different matter..