RE: [Philmont]: Thyroid Cancer

John,

I have never met you face to face, but I feel as though I have known you
forever. You are in my thoughts and prayers. Best of luck.

Denny Otillio
Venturing Crew 111
Mandeville, LA
  -----Original Message-----
  From: owner-philmont@troop47.com [mailto:owner-philmont@troop47.com]On
Behalf Of John LeBlanc
  Sent: Monday, December 08, 2003 10:45 AM
  To: Multiple recipients of list philmont
  Subject: [Philmont]: Thyroid Cancer

  December 8, 2003
  Dear Friends,
  There is always good news and bad news. First the good.

  I have not fallen off the edge of the earth. I am still alive, well as
can be expected for an old codger and kicking as hard as I can.

  The good news is that I have busied myself for the past two months chasing
turkeys and deer around the confines of Crockett County. Those familiar
with Crockett County know that it really isn't confining at all, being the
sixth largest county in Texas.

  It only has one town, Ozona, and not many trees or water. The down side
is its a full days drive from my home, so when I go, I tend to stay longer
and I like it like that.
  I pretty much fizzled out during bow season, missing shots at three
turkeys, two Javelina and three deer. I aint no Robin Hood. But I had fun
playing cat and mouse and did a lot of scouting for the rifle season.

  However I did get a chance to hip shoot a charging Javelina at 5 paces
with my trusty .357 service revolver. Crockett county doesnt offer many
trees to climb. And the 6 foot Western Diamondback that took aim at my leg
needs practice, but he wont get it in his current state of affairs. Those
two events both took place on the first morning in the field.

  The good news of the hunting is that I have a good rifle and I can shoot
it well, thanks to a patient Scout leader, father and drill instructor in
that order. Not to mention a youthfu; yearning to be Jack O"Connor, Jr.
Its a pre 64 Winchester Model 70 in caliber .270 Winchester ala Jack
OConnor.

  Life is good!

  I cashed in all four turkey tags within the first three hours of hunting
them, quite a feat. Two were taken with the .270 at 150 yards while
running. Yes, Army rifle training is good and sticks with you for a long,
long time. Comense firing!

  I located a very hot scrape and hunted it for five straight days (even
spent the better part of two nights up in a Mesquite trees with a video
camera) and was rewarded with the largest whitetail buck Ive ever taken, an
8 pointer with 18 inch beams and 10 inch tines weighing 218 pounds.

  Packing that off the mountain was quite a job by myself.

  All in all, hunting this year has been great. Its not what you kill, but
just being there that I enjoy. True, if I didnt enjoy eating the game, I
would not shoot it and no, I dont have any dead animal heads on my house
walls.

  So much for my recent exploits.

  Now for the bad news.

  I have recently been diagnosed with cancer.

  But there is good news in that it is thyroid cancer and the prognosis is
good on that type.

  It means surgical removal of the thyroid gland and some radioactive iodine
treatment and in rare cases localized radiation and chemotherapy. It
spreads to other parts of the body, specifically the lungs and bones in only
rare instances.

  Time will tell.

  Yes, I'm a bit nervous about the whole thing, but basically feel good
about what I've found out so far and the doctors involved.

  Physically, I feel good and am staying positive about the trip I soon will
take through the halls of medicine. The surgery is kinda touchy in that
nerves that control voice, breathing and other functions are located
adjacent. Its the only nerve located outside the spinal cord that wont
regenerate if damaged. I hope I pick the right surgeon and hope hes
careful.

  Anyway, I go today to schedule the surgery and will do that as soon as
possible. Down time is 4-6 weeks, with complete recovery anticipated.

  As of now, there isnt anything I need that family isnt providing, but I
wanted to let all of you know what was going on since Ive been
conspicuously quiet these last few months.

  My hitting the woods, rather the deserts, of Crockett County has taken my
mind off the medical stuff which is what I needed to do.

  With any luck at all and a lot of skilled doctors, I'll be back
contributing soon.

  If you just cant live another minute without calling me, feel free to do
so and if I dont answer, please leave a message. Things are sort of busy
right now and Im trying to keep all the balls in the air at once.

  Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.

  John LeBlanc
  409-735-6721

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