The Neck: Such a Tender Little Thing

It is too early to tell if I've made a great deal of progress in the physical therapy.  Although I have had interesting conversations with the therapist.   He's from California and lived a long time in the Bay Area and we share an interest in Asia.    He spent some time at a university in Japan.

Although I now enjoy the pleasure of mild to moderate headache daily, compared to the pain and anguish caused by my neck tumor, it's not much.

The therapist did some tests to check outside the spine at what seemed to be pressure points to see if when he pressed hard there was some pain other than muscle pain and there was not.  Which I guess means that this is a mild case of whatever it is.

Moderate pain is always better than severe pain.

I inquired about the neck stretching contraption my doctor had been describing and he said he thought I wouldn't need that.  Just exercises.

There are muscles that are commonly weak on most bodies that my therapist has given me exercises to strengthen.   There are also exercises that stretch neck muscles and I believe pull the vertebra apart on one side when they pull them together on the other side.

Another bit of advice is to do the exercises when I feel a headache getting worse - and that was useful advice.

My therapist pointed out when we were talking about the stenosis, that it extended beyond the cervical area of the spine to the thoracic area just below.

I could feel headaches getting worse with the R-CHOP infusions, but the severe pain didn't start until the revlimid.  So I guess the damage is done and I will have to recover, probably slowly.

This condition leads not just to headache but cramps in some of my neck muscles and the muscle above my collar bone on the right side.

One thinks of cancer, then the cure but not the side effects from either the cancer or the drugs taken to rid ourselves of it.   It is as though the shadow of the disease lives with me still.

If I exert myself for several hours I still feel weak.   But I guess if the cancer therapies kill fast growing cells, they do something to the regular cells.

I wonder what it is?