The surgeon we saw today seemed like a nice fellow. He had been in Afghanistan working on our wounded soldiers coming in from the battlefield. He didn't mince words. He said, "I have to be honest with you, the survival rate for your type of cancer is very low". My wife Julie started to tear up 30 seconds after we sat down. He said, "the good news is that you caught the tumor in a very early stage". I thought, OK, now you are going to tell us the "bad" news? Yes, he said "the mortality rate is very high".

We talked about the surgery. They section out the esophagus and the stomach and then sew them back together. Sometimes they will pull the stomach all the way up to your throat. I didn't sound very comfortable way up there.

Well, there it is. This will be a fight for my life. Regardless of what happens, I want to thank everyone for the words of encouragement. You have helped me a great deal.

I will be off to San Francisco to meet a surgeon and discuss my next steps.

Give your kids a squeeze tonight and tell them you love them. I know I will.