The pathology results came back on my lymph nodes that were removed - NEGATIVE FOR MALIGNANCY! - no further treatment is needed.

I had my first post-operative appointment this afternoon.  I was unsure if this was just a check-up or the results would be back.  I waited for an hour - this place is always busy, as I've said - and was finally brought in and met by a USF Resident in Orthopedics.  He took off my nasty bandages, asked me a few questions, said the site looked good and that he would go and get Dr. Cruse.  He would double check for the pathology results as they were not back when he checked the computer the first time.

I waited another five minutes and they both came back, said "Hello," and started looking at some paperwork.  When they told me the lymph nodes were negative, I was so relieved - the results had just come in!  I knew there was a chance of a false negative (meaning, the nodes come up as a negative, but the cancer has spread anyway) and he explained to me that there is a 1 to 5% chance of that being true.  At this time, no further treatment is warranted.  I asked if they could run any further tests, but the answer was the same.  I go back in one month for another check-up, and then again after five months, after which I will be referred back to my original dermatologist (the one that decided to send the mole off for tests in the first place - we like her!) and start regular dermatological screenings.  Go see a dermatologist!!!

I can shower as normal, treat the area with lotion, and start scar massage in another nine days.  I will need to trade out my work shorts for work pants, get a better hat, remember to use sunscreen every day, and possibly get some type of sunblocking agent with which to treat my clothes in the wash.  I can start running in a week, which means I miss this Saturday's 14 miles, but I will be good for February 23rd's Gasparilla Half Marathon and certainly for the London Marathon in April.

Many thanks to everyone for their support, kind words, thoughts and prayers.

(Funny) side note: I included a photo of my bracelets from all my Moffitt appointments.  After my first visit, I got home and went to cut the bracelet off and cut my 'Stop Rhino Poaching' one off too.  Oops.  I have since replaced it.  The green one is the surgical allergy bracelet.  10 points to Gryffindor if you know the acronym.  ;)

I suppose it’s time to explain how this all started.

There were a multitude of factors that led me to begin running (again).  Firstly, I went through (at the time what I thought was) a bad break-up, which caused me to over-eat – I’m pretty sure I was eating two dinners a night.  Secondly, I visited some old friends in Houston and when I got back from that trip and looked at the photos of myself, I was displeased with what I saw.  Thirdly, I weighed the most I had ever weighed in recorded history.  Fourthly, and most importantly, I had a savior.  Kristin.

She underwent open-heart surgery to repair a congenital defect in one of her valves.  There were some post-surgery complications, but miraculously she made it through, though I need to be clear that is a huge oversimplification.  For whatever reason – because she now could – she began the ‘Couch to 5K’ running program.  And before I knew it, she was running miles – with her dog – feeling better – the glowing picture of health.  Did I mention she’s a little older than me?

I thought, ‘If she can do it, I can do it’ while simultaneously thinking, ‘Sean, you used to be a three-sport athlete, what the %*#& are you doing with yourself?’  And so I did.  Do it…that is.  Arduously, I set myself a schedule and stuck to it.  It definitely helped that Kristin was still doing the program as well.  We would talk at length at work about what we were running, how we were feeling, and more.  Walking, jogging, walking, jogging – the intervals would change, with the running intervals gradually increasing in length of time.  I can’t even tell you what the workouts are anymore…I just know that eventually I was running 30 minutes straight – about 3 miles – when I couldn’t even jog for 3 minutes before without getting winded.  It was amazing.  I was astounded. 

Once I could do 30 minutes every run, I upped it 3-4 minutes per week until I was running for over an hour.  However, this began to take its toll – it was both too much (at the time) and too boring (to do the same thing every workout).  So, I did two things: bought Marathoning for Mortals and registered for the 2013 Disney Princess Half Marathon.  I was going to run a half marathon.  These gave me the varied workouts for which I was looking and the boost my training needed

Now when I run, I think about things I need to do – grocery lists, chores, travel plans, future races…but it was thinking of Kristin that kept me going when I first started back in 2012.  And I will be forever grateful for what she did for me, and what that did for my future.