My young nephew, Alex, is recovering quickly from his surgery. His 6 cm. sub-renal paraganglioma was removed along with a short section of his aorta. This was a difficult operation. Congratulations are deserved for the skilled surgeons, resilient patient and wonderful (and sympathetic!) family support. He is already up and walking, and ready to go home after a few more medical tests. We're all eagerly awaiting the results from my genetic tests to hopefully learn more about managing this disease.

I was informed of the results from my MRI scan of almost a month ago. My neck appears stable, a great relief, and I'm told they are very pleased with my condition. I was quizzed and tested extensively for strength loss and numbness in my legs since there does appear to be a bit of nerve pinching in my lumbar region, but I haven't experienced anything exceptional so will not worry about that for now.

My medical oncologist was also pleased to report that my Chromogranin A (CgA) tests are showing a steady downward slope. After an early fluctuation rising to 620, my current level is 360 U/L. So, even if the tumours look the same and respond the same amount to MIBG treatment and scans, they appear by this test to be less "functional" - which I think correlates directly to noradrenaline production.

However, the real excitement in my oncologist's office was about the news on the hereditary front. For a whole range of reasons, genes are currently the height of medical fashion. So, it looks like both Alex and I will be the stars of the medical office for a while. Much better than being ignored!

ps. my physiologist's neck strengthening exercises did not include the illustrated technique from the Eastman archives!