Around this same time a year ago, I was celebrating eight weeks’ post-op from heart valve repair surgery and about to start cardiac rehab. Everything turned out fine. Again. I had been under the knife for open-heart surgery once before, in summer 2001, to remove a cardiac tumor nearly the size of a tennis ball. Today is my 18th anniversary. Resembling a sinister collection of red blood cells, this silent monster growing inside my chest looked bad, almost certainly a secondary cancer that had originated somewhere else, according to my doctors, who shared that tidbit only after my surgery. Thank God it was benign. And thank goodness for Dr. Kevin…