Prattling before the Pratfall

My first post-afib appointment is coming up next week. I was fortunate to have the latest treatment, called pulsed field ablation, performed at Mass General. This video starts with an explanation of my cardiologist’s analysis on the long-term safety of the procedure.

I’ve been asked several times if I feel better since being taken out of afib. That’s a tough question to answer, because I was asymptomatic when diagnosed, not only with afib but also cancer.

At the start of 2024, my focus had been on my weak ankle, aggravated by my return to a regular, albeit modest, running schedule. Everything changed with the diagnoses, the cancer surgery, then the terrible treatments.

Six months after chemo and radiation, I had the delayed ablation. After recovering from the anesthesia, I felt the same before and after the procedure. A couple of weeks later, I woke up one morning and realized that hey, I do feel more like my old self, maybe even better than before the diagnosis.

Perhaps the feeling of wellness is only from a sense of relief (that I’m not dead), rather than a metabolic improvement, but I can honestly say that, physically, I’m younger than my years. Here’s hoping that’s confirmed at my upcoming appointment.

Hmm… I wonder if my cancer had mismatch repair mutations? (This article is shared here paywall-free.)

Medicine Spares Cancer Patients From Grisly Surgeries and Harsh Therapies

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/27/health/cancer-immunotherapy-solid-tumors.html?unlocked_article_code=1.FU8.w4Nv.3OiJcuzWqV1l&smid=url-share

Next Wednesday, May 14, for a visit. Probably before noon.