OT: Me; aftermath of KUFB opening win in DBKMS

First, posting this here because almost no one looks at the FB or the other boards anymore… and this board’s usage continues to be close to 0 otherwise while we wait for hoops. to start.

Second - Wow! The positive reviews of both the game and The Booth (or DBKMS, full official name David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium) have been rolling in across the internet. Leipold & Co had several coveted recruits at the game and the team and The Booth impressed them all - as well as the sell out crowd that came for Game 1.

But before I continue - I did not attend in person, and probably won’t attend any games in person this season, due to health issues. Several of you already know, real quickly for those who don’t -
Back in April they found a mass in my lower abdomen that looked to be in my small intestine and growing out into the interstitial tissue surrounding it. Laparoscopic surgery in May removed a smashed baseball sized mass that was actually in the interstitial tissue and pressing on my small intestine (a huge break as they did not have to cut into my small intestine!). Turned out to be a Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor (GIST), a quite uncommon type of cancer.

GOOD NEWS
1. They got all of it that they could find, and biopsy exam and subsequent CT scans have found NO signs of metastases!
2. Five year survival rate for GIST patients under the above circumstances is >95%.
I’ll take those odds, thank you.
3. Surgery alone is often considered “curative” in these cases - no radiation therapy indicated, and in many cases no traditional (think shotgun) chemotherapy.
4. Six weeks after my surgery I was cleared to resume normal activities and felt better than I have in over a year.

THE “EH” NEWS
Genetic testing revealed I have a gene variant that could possibly lead to the GIST returning. BUT - they have a “targeted” chemo drug (think “sniper rifle” instead of “shotgun”) called Imatinib that suppresses that genetic activity, and the activity of any mass they might have missed (odds of a ‘miss’ now considered very low at this point). So starting week 8 post-op I began 3 years (36 months or 156 weeks) of Imatinib therapy. Because it is a targeted drug it tends to have fewer side effects than traditional therapy, but it still has some, several of which I have experienced over the past 3 weeks. But I’m finally feeling better, and my weekly blood work results all show my system is actually doing a great job handling the medication. With a few tweaks my oncologist and I discussed to help minimize the side effects I had been working through, I’m hoping it’s pretty smooth sailing from here on out for the next 151 weeks left to go before I get to ring the ship’s bell in the LMH Cancer Center.


So all in all, things are looking GREAT and Anna and I both feel really, really lucky to have dodged a very big bullet!

But enough about me —

HOW ABOUT THEM JAYHAWKS!?!

The team looked great - admittedly against a traditionally solid but currently rebuilding Fresno State - except for its initial defensive stand, which saw FSU score its only points of the game. The D “pitched a shutout” from there on while the offense under a healthy and looking revitalized Jalon Daniels looked excellent. LOTS to look forward to, and the recruits in attendance were impressed,

The Booth lived up to its “work in progress” billing, but what had to be done to start this season got tons of praise from the team, the fans and the recruits in attendance. Some issues here and there that I’m sure attendees will be bringing to the attention of Mr. Goff, but all in all an “A” for the work to date. And David Booth’s recent $300M pledge in support of completing the rest of the project should give us a totally new look DBKMS by this time next year!

It can only be called a GREAT start to the season. Now to beat Wagner on Friday on ESPN+ and end up heading east to take the tiger by its tail in Meth City the next week and hopefully return to Lawrence with another W over mOO.

BTW, ESPN’s computer generated FPI Top 25 saw KU at #25 after this weekend!

Here’s a link to the On3/Rivals article about the recruits in attendance.
www.on3.com/rivals/news/kansas-lance-lei...ts-win-fresno-state/
If you are not a member, try using your browser’s “reader mode” to view it, I’m told it works.

Some quotes from the article -

“The environment was awesome!” Edmond (Okla.) Memorial linebacker Colton McComb said. He is the younger brother of Jayhawks quarterback David McComb. “It has grown a lot since Coach Leipold has become the head coach! From when David was getting recruited it has changed a lot for the better. The stadium is amazing way better than I thought it would be!

“I had a great time there,” Hoisington (Kan.) High defensive lineman Brody Pfannesnstiel said. “Every time I come up to KU we keep learning new things about the program. I think with Coach Leiopold just the way he has changed the program already, it is only uphill from here for the program.”

“It was great being back on campus and getting to take in the game at the new stadium,” Omaha (Neb.) Millard North offensive lineman Matt Erickson said. “Cool to see the updates and what they’re building over there. It was good to watch the coaches and players in action up close and get a feel for how they operate on game day. The staff was welcoming as always, and the fans seemed excited about their team! Coach Leipold has a clear vision, and seems to be building something solid at Kansas.”

Kansas was slated to host a couple of their top quarterback targets in Waco (Texas) Robinson’s Brice McCurdy and Chaparral (Calif.) High four-star Dane Weber. The Jayhawks are the early Rivals Prediction Machine favorite for McCurdy and he’s still on campus touring on Sunday.

“The new stadium was amazing,” Weber said. “The whole atmosphere and fan environment was something I’ll remember for a long time. Every break or series there was some sort of celebration or activity going on to keep the group and energy high. Truly astonishing! And the opportunity to play for Coach Leipold is definitely enticing, he’s a great coach and even better human when you get to talk with him.”

sasnak wrote: Sorry to hear about your health woes but very happy to hear the outcome and prognosis. That is fantastic.!!

I spent half of 2024 and most of 2025 dealing with a breast cancer diagnosis. lumpectomy then chemo then radiation. During chemo I developed diverticulitis and had to have a partial colectomy at the end of May. Fun year. Once the heat leaves AZ, am hoping to get horseback for the first time in over a year.

Yikes, sasnak, that's pretty brutal! On of my SiLs is going through the same thing right now. As Bayhawk noted earlier, getting old ain't for the weak (I usually say "ain't for wimps" myself, but la variété is the spice of life, eh?)

Glad to read you are getting through it and can see the proverbial light (not oncoming train variety) at the end of the tunnel! Are you finished with your radiation and chemo? My 3 year chemo is the only thing that has proven to be an issue so far, but the tweaks my oncologist has come up with seem to be doing the trick in minimizing the side effects. Today is the best I have felt in 3 weeks. Hope you are done with the treatment stage and full bore into recovery!

Keep Rock Chalking on!

HE

Thanks to all for your encouraging words and support!
Much appreciated!

Now - forward through the haze to a brighter future!

I'd really like to see the KU FB, Men & Women's hoops, soccer and VB teams have stellar seasons!

Would truly make the next 12 months for me, right behind our upcoming road trip back east starting Saturday to see our son and his wife in NJ (last seen in person about two years ago here is Lawrence), my Dad's lone surviving of 6 other siblings (his baby brother) my Uncle Boyd in PA and my 5 siblings in Richmond VA (last time I saw any of them in person was 2014, 1 month before our Mom died.) Planned all this about a year ago now around a pilgrimage to Mom's gravesite in western Maryland (health issues kept me from attending her funeral 11 years ago, and such a trip back east just never worked into our plans until last summer when I knew I had to make the trek ASAP). Then the C diagnosis kicked in and threatened to upend a LOT of the applecarts we had already filled up.

So far we've been able to do everything we had planned before the diagnosis, including two weeks in Europe that started week 5 post-op (the beginning of July). SOOO grateful for my good luck after bad, a great KU MED Surgical Oncology team, the state of the art laparoscopic surgery performed by the Pro from Dover Dr. Mazin Al-Kasspooles, and a great medical oncology team at LMH Cancer Center led by Dr. Jodi Palmer!
Nothing but praise for these healthcare professionals from this retired Army Medical Service Corps officer!

Got our EMT trained nephew (6-2 stocky, broad shouldered lad, I'm guessing over 240?, former KU Cheer Squad member back in the day) staying with Anna's mom Lala and our dogs (his remote work position making it possible!), so the home front is covered while we are gone. (The preceding for any RCB lurkers with larcenous tendencies contemplating an illegal incursion while we are gone - you have been warned!)

We might get lucky enough to see the KUFB @Missouri game as it's on ESPN2, but that is going to depend upon what happens in our road schedule. We will be in Richmond by then and there will be lots to do planned that has absolutely nada to do with KU, but we shall see!

Anna's baby sis Amy and her hubby Gabriel will be going with us, making this trip possible. Gabriel will be doing much of the driving, I'll pitch in as much as I can. In return I get to show them things they have yet to see from the region back east where I spent my teens after Dad retired from the USAF until I enlisted in the Army after 2 years of college waaay back in 19?? (the exact dates intentionally lost in the mists of time...) . It's so great to have family who are also good friends!

"May the rest of your lives be the best of your lives"
(Heard on a Brit sitcom as a wedding blessing and never forgotten...)

ROCK CHALK, JAYHAWKS!

sasnak wrote: . Here's hoping for you and me that the dark days are behind us, at least for awhile .

Amen, sasnak, amen!

Hang in there!