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Captain Tumor Man is Back with a Vengeance!

Just a small note to let you all know that I was feeling weak recently and took an MRI and EEG on Friday.

I saw my oncologist yesterday and my original tumor of two years ago remains reduced and dormant.

Unfortunately, I have two spanking new tumors in roughly the same spot.

I feel great, because I have been put on steroids and the energy is surging through me as if I am in a computer animation. Tonight might be the night to finally rent Avatar. I just tasted a bottle of Jean Maupertuis Côte d'Auvergne blind and guessed it was Harlan. That's right, everything around me is buzzing with power.

The steroids make me 28 years younger. I am the young man at NYU's Graduate Journalism School the day I met Denyse Louis, who later became my wife, mother of my children, business partner and dog co-owner. I went today to eat the Muffin Shop on Waverly Street, where we used to hang out with Belgians, Brits and Brazilians. The Muffin shop is now a pizza joint.

I am meeting with my Neurosurgeon tomorrow to figure out what to do. He is a distinguished physician and loves René Rostaing's Côte Roties from 1995.

Under his guidance, I might enjoy what all the cool kids do and have Gamma Knife Surgery!

After two years, I'm back to being a cancer newbie. I enjoyed it so much the first time and am looking forward to once again sampling the free coffee and graham crackers at the NYU Cancer Care Center. I can't say enough great things about my doctors and am purposely sparing them the humiliation of being outed in public on this blog.

The steroids are great.

I'm stoked!

Getting rid of the new tumors would also be nice. .

Include me in your prayers and wish me a speedy recovery and tell me how your thoughts (and prayers) are with me and all my loved ones.

Send contributions to Partners in Health to people who really need help. I'm a wealthy wine importer with good doctors and a good health insurance plan. I'll get the best care possible, unlike people suffering with horrible medical care all over the world when we have the capacity to do better.

Stay tuned here for hourly reports. Cancer puts me in a foul mood and maybe I'll even feel compelled to revive Dr. Barbara Hirsch, the famous Great Neck Endocrinologist. Many of my readers have been asking me to bring her back.

- Joe Dressner 11-3-2010 6:29pm

Sorry to hear this, best wishes.

posted by TWG 11-3-2010 10:28pm

shit.

posted by swsider 11-4-2010 9:17pm

Merde alors! Je ne sais pas prier mais je pense bien à toi.

posted by yapelletier 11-5-2010 1:54pm

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Joe Dressner - Captain Tumor Man!

Hi, I'm Joe Dressner the famous wine importer and I have brain cancer!

I already have a wine blog and frankly wine is such a luxury business that I hate to mix my cancer problems with my wine observations. I think it would be a general downer for the lifestyle crowd out there.

Furthermore, we in the wine trade always claim there are tremendous health benefits to drinking wine. I've already had cardiovascular bypass surgery over eight years ago and now I got a tumor aggressively rattling in my brain. My colleagues in the glamorous wine industry want me to keep it quiet.

So, I've started this wonderful new blog to discuss wine, brain tumors, my life and to give you hot tips on handling the cancer stricken around you. There will also be practical wine/radiation pairings when I start radiation therapy and chemotherapy next week.

Having brain cancer means I might both physically and intellectually decline. So, I will be using this blog as a venue to pursue petty vendettas against relatives, acquaintances and people in the wine trade.

I might also lose touch with reality and say things that are not true or are only half true. The important thing is to have fun and enjoy this rare and precious time in my life.

One of my pet vendettas is my cousin Dr. Barbara Hirsch. Dr. Barbara Hirsch is a very important Great Neck Endocrinologist, who was raised and nurtured by my parents. Dr. Hirsch waited until my father was near death and my mother was suffering from a rare neuromuscular disorder, to write them a seven page letter denouncing them for being horrible to her for the entirety of her life! Despite my concerns, Dr. Hirsch still refuses to apologize.

Last night, I drank a beautiful bottle of Bourgueil Clos Sénéchal 2005 from Pierre Breton. It was sublime and reminded me that I used to be healthy. Not only that, the vineyard used to be there before I existed. It exists independently of my having cancer and will continue to exist. You ought to buy some.

August 2009 Postscript: Not only does it exist independently of my cancer, it also exists independently of Louis/Dressner Selections. After 18 years, they have dumped us for Kermit Lynch. Oh well. At least I'm alive!