This blog has been written in something of a time warp. My top 10 complaints about esophageal cancer posted five days ago on Wednesday, May 30, cover my first nine weeks of radiation and chemotherapy treatments.  Obviously they were not fun.  However, for the last two weeks I have had not had any treatments at all.  I feel almost normal with the exception of the damn sore throat which still has me on a soft food diet.  The doctor told me this treatment hiatus is "to build my strength back up."  My question is, for what?  We enter into the next treatment galaxy on Monday when I am scheduled to get a full day (five hours) attached to drip bags for another chemo jolt.  At this point I am getting a bit frustrated.  I have read those admonitions in just about every magazine and health web sites that says: “You the patient must take control and participate in your treatment.”  I don't know that I can control much but I have a little notebook with all the questions I want to ask the doctor on Monday and at the top of the list:  When will we know if the treatments done so far have had any effect?   In other words, what is the return on the agony invested?  Hopefully I will get some answers which of course will be duly posted on Tuesday. So here we go into the next phase of this adventure into the unknown.  On the positive side I have an iPad.  As the chemo drips slowly into me I can ignore it by watching movies.  Isn’t technology wonderful?