GRAY MATTERS: Update on Saul

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Saul Friedman ( bio ) writes the weekly Gray Matters column which appears here each Saturday. Links to past Gray Matters columns can be found here . Saul's Reflections column , in which he comments on news, politics and social issues from his perspective as one of the younger members of the greatest generation, also appears at Time Goes By twice each month.

[NOTE FROM RONNI] While reporting on Medicare and home health care in this column last month, Saul wrote about one of the most common accidents that afflict elders, falling, and his own recent fall. Now he has been diagnosed with stomach cancer. But I will let him explain, as he did in an email he sent earlier this week:

“I'm anxious to get back to writing, but better to hold off until we see what's in store.

“This week I will be getting my new denture, then later in the week a conference with the oncologist to see what my options are. Near as I can tell, the cancer in the stomach is slow-growing and in its earliest stage.

“Only two options, radiation and/or chemo, here in Annapolis or Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, which would be a shlep. Radiation is usually a daily thing; chemo is weekly. But they are both weakening. I am truly optimistic, but the question is how much strength will I have. I'll be better able to tell in a few days.

“I have signed up again for home health care, which will keep track of my general health (blood levels) during the next few weeks. And I'll be doing physical/occupational therapy to regain my muscle strength.”

As Nance wrote in a comment on last Saturday's post: We wish you wellness and well-being, Saul.