I had what the ENT doctors are referring to as my next-to-last checkup with them today. They cut out my uvula on July 11, 2012, and I’ve been back to them regularly since then. At first it was bi-monthly, then quarterly, and most recently bi-annually. First they do an exam with tongue depressors and a miner’s headlamp, pushing and prodding and looking for spots. Then they run a camera-on-a-cable up one of your nostrils and down the sinus cavity to see the palate and back of the throat. Here’s what the medical equipment looked like:

They found nothing. The lead doctor said in his ripe Mississippi accent that if all remains good at the next visit in November “we get that big ol’ rubber stamp that says ‘CURED’ and stamp it all over your files.”

That will be a nice confirmation.