Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge Get yourself checked

Old timer forum members may have noticed my abrupt return to this forum and I’d like to say a few things.

First, I still regret selling my ' 04 America pretty much everyday. I had a blown meniscus at the time and I just couldn’t stand seeing it sit unridden; in retrospect some patience then would really be paying off now. This community was always a great place to be and I missed it, too.

Second: I no clue. I didn’t know why I lost all interest in riding last year but I sold every two wheeled machine I had. It was a slow walk away that began in '16 and really accelerated last year. I thought maybe I’d aged out in the same way that cataracts had made it impossible for me to continue touring. Now I’m thinking that wasn’t it at all. I’m thinking it was the cancer.

Third: Get yourself checked out. Do it now, get that colonoscopy and have them ultrasound your pancreas, liver and gall bladder. It was a totally serendipitous moment when the ultrasound tech found the mass on my kidney while imaging my gall bladder. I hadn’t registered any symptoms to speak of, I’d lost some weight but I was trying to reduce a refined sugar habit so it didn’t register with me that I was well past a casual diet.

Four: Advocate for yourself. The doctor didn’t catch it at all. I was the one that said, “whoa, I’ve lost a bunch of weight!” when I was seeing him for a torn muscle. Their computerized charts don’t show that as an over-time graph it just shows today’s measurement. If I hadn’t complained that I’d mistakenly lost 65 pounds I’d be past the point of no return today. It took two specialists, endoscoping my esophagus and a colonoscopy followed by ultrasound to see a blurry mass that then sent me for a CT scan. That revealed a 8.6 cm mass on my right kidney. The surgeon gutted me like a fish four weeks ago today and removed my right kidney, mass, the adrenal gland and a suspicious lymph node. By then the mass was 9cm, it had expanded 40mm and was into the blood vessel. The mass was malignant, the others were clear. The surgeon believes he got it all by taking the blood vessel upstream of the cancer but of course there is no guarantee and I’ll be going for scans the next five years. Because of the malignancy the torn muscle can’t be repaired for two years as the required mess is a cancer magnet.

The change in my demeanor is amazing me, I’m interested in life again and I’m looking at bikes. Once I’m off being restricted to lifting a gallon of milk or less I’ll be able to rebuild my core muscles to the point where I can ride again...I have a strong desire to be in the wind and I’ve set a goal to ride before autumn. Plus, I sat on a new Speedmaster on it just fits me as if I’d been tweaking it for years like I did the America. So, that’s my story and I feel like I can share it here without shame.

I'm glad you are doing well and feeling better. I'd like to turn your advice back to you.

Keep getting checked.

Even after you have been feeling good and have no symptoms for a long time, go for every routine check recommended by your doctors. Scans can detect any recurrence very early when it is easily treated. Even a 6 month delay in a scheduled scan can let it get a big head start.

On the subject of riding, Don't rush it too much, but know you can ride again.

My wife lost a kidney, ovaries, pieces of bladder and with a long period of chemo, they killed the cancer in her liver without losing the organ. All that took 5 years so far.

We celebrated her return to riding by buying her a new Bonneville America LT. It is heavy for her still, but she is getting stronger all the time. We hope to take a long ride next year. We hope to each ride our own, but if necessary, we will ride 2 up on her BA.

Ride on! The air will smell even sweeter when you do.

Yep. The doc tells me chemo and radiation won’t help so I’m in for scans every six months for the next five years. It’s always possible a cell escaped and I can’t discount that this isn’t over for some time to come.

This hits home I lost someone I cared for very deeply this year to cancer. I can't begin to tell you the heartache. Please do get yourself checked, if not for yourself for those who care for you. I wish you well oldroadie and godspeed on your recovery.

Wow Ed, I had no idea. I had missed your presence on the forum, I am glad it looks like you are going to be OK and am glad you regained your zest for life. I am going to do the cologard thing at the order of my doctor. After my stay in the ICU and my labs today (7 more viles of blood) I feel like a pin cushion. They took blood constantly in the hospital and the one nurse couldn't find the vein.

A friend of mine went to his doctor concerned about the weight he was losing, the doctor told him it was ok and not to worry about it, he died of liver cancer, he was in his 50's...Do get yourself checked but if your still got doubts get a second opinion..

I had no idea either and that’s really the point. Renal cancer is a silent killer and it’s just dumb luck I’ve made it this far. You gain a new appreciation for things when you start getting your affairs in order, too, especially when there’s no guarantee you'll survive the surgery. I didn’t want to leave Harriet a mess so I spent the six weeks prior to surgery cleaning up my shop and preparing her for an estate sale (although that’s not how I put it to her.) I can tell you this, it changes your perspective in a powerful way.
I went to a bunch of funerals last year, three crew mates died over Labor Day. That was already weighing in when this was discovered so I had an extra impetus to make preparations. I came out way better than I deserve even if I’m not cancer free yet.

Don't say better than you deserve, you are a great person. You were there for me when I needed some support having never even met me, what comes around goes around. Same with another member on this forum too. We really have a great online family on this site.

That is good news.I'm happy to read you are finding this new zest for life and looking forward to a new toy.

I am grateful for you dumb luck and glad you are still with us. The bright side is there are plenty of low mileage bikes out there are a good price so you should not be detoured too long.

Welcome back to life.

I was looking pretty hard at Justin's America after the cat in Atlanta couldn’t answer some basic questions and then I sat on a new Speedmaster. It’s pretty much game over because it was such a perfect fit right off the showroom floor. I still have a few weeks before I can even contemplate a test ride but it is absolutely on my agenda.

Thanks for the post, Ed. My doctor has been nagging me to get checked out (and now my girlfriend) so maybe your post was the final nudge I will need to do it. Get well buddy!

Do it Rich. You have to be your own best advocate and we all know preventive maintenance is key to avoiding a catastrophic failure.

Ed.

That’s quite the good luck story you shared. Really appreciated it. Makes all of us giesers think twice about our invulnerability because (according to my wife), men are the worst procrastinators when it comes to our health. We think we will live forever.

I really like the new Speedy too. The only thing is they’ve shortened the bike a lot. I prefer the look of the early Speedy, especially the yellow and black one. I’m really thinking of picking up an early Model for low $$s and then upping the displacement although that new 1200 engine is supposed to be a real sweetheart.

Keep the wind in your face and continue to annoy people with that positive attitude. All the best.

I have been scanned and probed and Dr. does not know why I lost 10+ lbs while on the round the world trip. Blood showed too much Lipace (the enzyme that turns fat in food into body fat) and B12 was down in my blood test. We are trying some other holistic remedies and the weight is coming back slowly. Not a reason to not get checked out on a regular basis but even that is not a sure thing.


Your probably saying 10 lbs what's the big deal. Normal weight is 168 on a six ft. frame. I might have to buy one of those gel seat pads from our favourite supplier.

10 lbs. is a big deal, we used to chuckle that 10lbs equaled 20 horsepower.

Hey Gregger, there’s no reason you couldn’t add a raked triple tree and a stretched front end. The shorter neck angle does make the bike seem much more compact but I’ll bet it handles really quick. I plan to find out...the competition is between the new speedy and the new scout, I’m going to ride both and the best handling machine comes home with me.