Wednesday, July 29, 2009

They call me... Patches!

I've been really lucky with side effects on this chemo trip. But a funny one, I guess, has been hair loss.

I haven't started losing any on my dome yet, at least as far as I can tell. It was already starting to get a bit shiny top side any way. But my shoulders now have smooth spots. I haven't had smooth spots since I was a kid. It's really pretty funny looking, patches here and there. If my head starts going out in patches, I'm going to shave it.

I am feeling better. I'm still tender in the tummy from my spill. Now I just take it real easy when I get up. I feel like Thomas Covenant in the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever. He was always taking inventory of his health and welfare. Though I'm not a leper like he was in one reality, I do take inventory BEFORE I stand up from bed. Have to make sure those legs are wide awake and ready to face the task at hand.

I get tomorrow off from chemo, and for that I'm really grateful.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Wow... week three

Week three on this cycle has been a tough one. I spent yesterday sleeping and shivering. Never had a fever, but couldn't seem to stay warm most of the day. Standing up stinks, my hemoglobin levels must be bottomed out. I have to take everything very gingerly.

Night before last's fall wasn't too good for me. I think in either the fall itself or the effort to get my butt back up I pulled a stomach muscle. With the zipper down my belly, that's a little unnerving. I feel a lot better today, so I think I just strained my muscle group there, but it sure is tender.

I hope today shows some improvement in the way I feel. I'm always pretty good in the morning, but I seem to get worse as the day progresses.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

3 down, 15 to go

Man, this one whooped me. Queasy and tired for two days. :-(

Now I have 13 days off until the next round, so that will give me a bit to recover. All of my numbers for my CBC improved except my platelets, they were down to 107. No more running with scissors for me.

Last night, on a side note, I found out what really old folks feel like when they fall. I awoke in the middle of the night and got up to use the rest room. Although I didn't know it at the time, my right leg was asleep (so was I still at that point). My right big toe caught the carpet. My leg apparently didn't pull up high enough when I took my step. I tried desperately to regain my footing, but 1 second later, I was on the floor holding my foot and then trying to get up. My still asleep leg was going to hear nothing about getting me up and bearing weight. My toe was wide awake, screaming at me like it had a hang-over or something. My girlfriend thought she heard the cats, saw that I was missing from the bed and looked down on the floor to find me whining about my toe and apologizing for waking her. Jeez!

This morning, I have the beginnings of a purple toe. Dang it, right along the base of my nail. I hope I don't lose it. It's a pretty color of purple though.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Dread

I am SO not looking forward to today. Today is treatment 3 of 16.

The nice thing is, I am looking at my skipped week a little differently. I was looking at the entire program as 3 weeks on one week off. It is actually more like 3 Thursdays, and then 1 Thursday off. My dad pointed out that I will get like 14 days off from chemo just by missing one Thursday.

So, I just need to tough today out and then I get 14 days away. That will leave me 15 treatments to go, just 5 months.

Friday, July 17, 2009

2 down, 16 to go

Wow! Yesterday's chemo visit kicked my butt. I didn't get sick or anything, but man... I was wiped out. I could hardly keep my eyes open all evening, and was just a vegetable on the couch.

So far I'm having only mild side effects from the Gemzar. I get really tired really easy, the sun cooks me in a hurry and my brain is a bit on the foggy side. Overall, no real big deal.

What really floored me was the result of yesterdays blood work. They have to do a CBC (complete blood count) at each visit. They check three things. My WBC ( I think this is white blood count), my Hgb/Hct (these are red blood cell numbers) and PLT (platelettes). The change in the numbers was mind bogglling considering how well I feel (so far).

Week one numbers: WBC - 6.8/ANC 4.6, HGB./HCT - 12.8/38.0, and PLT 203.
Week two numbers: WBC - 4.1/2.0, HGB./HCT - 12.2/35.4, and PLT 145.

That's a trip! Seeing the PLT count drop so fast makes me understand why I'm supposed to be VERY careful with sharp knives, shave with an electric razor and wear shoes all the time. I could really bleed a lot if I'm not on the ball.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Follow Up with Oncologist

Today was a pretty terrific day for me.

Before the surgery, my marker count for CA199, my cancer, was at 317.
After surgery, my marker count is at 28!
Normal range is from 0 to 35.
This is very good news!
Dr. Keech says that the ongoing blood work is a really good way to keep an eye on this in between the more detailed visits back at Stanford.

I'm stoked!

Tomorrow is day 2 for chemo!

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Super Sniffer 2.0


I wonder if this is another side effect? After my stay at Stanford, I came back with a heightened sense of smell. Everything smelled so strong, so nasty.

Now it's back and driving me nuts.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Wowie



One of the side effects that the staff told me about with the Gemzar is fatigue. They weren't kidding! About 12:30 yesterday, I zonked out and slept for like an hour. I never nap, it usually just makes me cranky. But yesterday, I just couldn't help myself. I woke up and noticed I had slept for an hour and made myself get up.

I was falling asleep on the couch by 7:30 last night. I gave up at 8 and went to bed. I only woke up once in the middle of the night.

So far, no other side effects, but they are starting.

Friday, July 10, 2009

1 down 17 to go



Chemo went pretty well yesterday. It was a long afternoon though I had expected to only be there 30 minutes. My oncologist had indicated 30 minutes, but on the best days it will be 90. Adding all of the "training" for my first day, it made my first visit nearly four hours.

The staff at the infusion center was terrific, and so were the other guests. There were a lot of people getting a variety of treatments. Everyone seemed to be pretty happy and jovial. It was a nice first day.

Man! Talk about a number of restrictions. I have so many things I have to watch for as I go through the next six months. I have to avoid groups, have to watch for all kinds of infections and illness. I need to shop when the stores are slow so I don't get exposed to sick people. I need to avoid kids who have recently been vaccinated for chicken pox and polio types of vaccinations. I even have to watch for bleeding. Had to switch from razor blades to an electric razor to prevent nicks.

It's going to be a long 6 months.

Today I go for another CT scan to set a baseline view of my new liver. It should nearly be done regenerating by now (yesterday was 5 weeks after surgery).

As things go on with the chemo, and as I get side effects, I'll keep posting. I'm interested to see what side effects I'll be experiencing. So far, nothing! That works for me.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Why are we SO tolerant?

Why is it that we as paying customers tolerate increasing levels of incompetence????


What fired me up is the 25 minutes I spent punching numbers and telling the fruitcake voice from ATT my telephone number over and over again. Yes this is broke, No this isn't broke...


Friggin machine took me SO long to report that my voice line was down.


GOOD NEWS! They will call me in 48 hours to arrange repair! Are you friggin kidding me?!


Incompetence is rampant, and we continue to tolerate it! Why?

2 days for a MAJOR phone carrier to call me back about my broken phone service?
Office Admin staff at doctors offices running the operation from post it notes?
Check out clerks that don't know the difference between Bok Choy and wheat tortillas?
Leaders who know they hired a computer tech, but haven't got a clue why?



I'm up to here with this bull-loney!


And to think, I was just telling a friend last night on the phone that it's all small stuff... maybe that's the problem... we've allowed it to all be small stuff and are content to pay outrageous monthly payments to be screwed with less than adequate customer service. It's crap I tell ya! Crap!

Monday, July 6, 2009

Getting ready for my first chemo.

Nothing much has been going on this last week. I can sneeze without feeling like I'm going to drop to my knees in agony. Today I mowed my own yard for the first time in 5 weeks. That was fun! Well... sort of!

Chemo is on Thursday. I'll be ready to get that under way just so I know what to expect.