To be perfectly honest, I still haven’t absorbed this, but the results from the PET Scan were negative! All is good! Everything that I went through was worth it for this result.

I am overwhelmed by this and not thinking clearly about it yet. I went in prepared for the worst, having heard about “virulent” cancer cells, so I was fearful that something else might’ve popped up, and I would have to go through more treatments, but it didn’t! All of the chemo and the radiation worked! I will not have to continue treatments! Now, if only the neuropathy would clear up…

That nets a big WHEW!!

Now I have to completely change my mindset and focus my concentration on my own personal rehab program that I started in earnest a couple of weeks ago. Oddly, I did not lose very much upper body strength and I’m pretty much back to my pre-April levels, albeit with a bit more resting between sets. However, my leg strength is significantly lacking. On the Elliptical, I’ve managed to work my way back to half the duration of the pre-April levels, and I find it more tiring, but I will be able to get back. I know this because I’ve already doubled the elliptical from where I was a month ago!

Once again I thank you for all of the support and help I was given through this 8 month ordeal! This would have been a great deal more difficult without the help, support, and incredible good vibes I got from sooooo many friends, family, and acquaintances.

Onward and Upward! Time to go celebrate Life, the universe and EVERYTHING!!!

It’s time for a pre-holiday upbeat update! There will be NO holiday music in the background of this particular missive. Let’s simply imagine a Ripple-fest going on in the background. (For the uninitiated, "Ripple" is a wonderful song on the Grateful Dead album "American Beauty" written by Robert Hunter and covered by many other performers).

As I get further from the chemo - 3 weeks now - I'm getting much more clear-headed. The physical will return and I've been going to the Y twice a week at minimum to aid that. My leg strength and stamina were weak (but now getting stronger), yet, surprisingly, I haven't lost much upper body strength. I use the Elliptical as both my first and last exercise of the “workout.” The first one has me doing as many as 4 minutes plus at a medium stress level (which is less than half of what I had been doing when this started). The second go at it has me doing a minute plus of going backwards on it- and that’s the exclamation point of the workout. In between I have a series of upper body and abs exercises which I am doing just about as well as before at the same satisfactory weight levels. I also have a series of stretches that are mixed in. When I'm done w/the gym, I'm wiped, but I feel better for it. A lot of my lower back and leg soreness eases or disappears afterwards. It’s probably related to my relative dormancy during the treatments. I’m going to be doing a more intense version of my workout as the weeks progress to better build up my stamina and hope to have this all behind me once my hair and beard come back...! Mind you, a true body builder would laugh at my regimen, but it works for me!

My wife says I'm my more-normal goofy self, which is a good thing! My writing is clearer and it flows more freely and my mind is allowing me to focus better on things that need doing. Slowly but surely the house is returning to some semblance of organized and I’m more able to work on my photo projects.

The medication Neurontin (for the below-mentioned neuropathy) still has side effects like light-headedness and grasping for words that I normally wouldn’t (sort of chemo-brain magnified), and I'm still dealing with the Stage 2 neuropathy, which involves numbness and tingling on my fingers and my feet. I have to be careful handling things from silverware to heavy kitchen things (like somewhat slippery bottles) because I can’t really feel how much pressure I’m putting on them with my fingers, but as long as I’m careful, all is good.

So overall, I’ve gotten over the hump I believe, and as we approach the December 2nd PET scan, I improve in almost visible increments. I shall enjoy and participate in Turkey Day (tho’ we’ll be having a rib roast instead- no stuffing sadly, but Yorkshire Pudding in New Jersey instead!) and shortly after the scan we will be returning to Aruba for a week’s vacation and photo expedition! We are all getting back on track and having a muuuuuch better time of it!

11/2

Okay gang! Good news at last! or mostly good news at any rate: The chemo and all other treatments are officially over! (Great BIG sigh of relief here in our household and mostly from ME!) We won’t know anything about it’s success or failure for 1 month.

On December 2nd I have a PET Scan and see the doc later that afternoon. I will also have a follow-up visit with my Oncologist the following week to check on my various blood levels and get his take on the scan. We don’t expect anything to show on this scan. It’s more the subsequent scans that we need to pay attention to, but we’re in new territory here, so I’ll probably dip into my pool of scariness as I go in for the scan on the 2nd.

As of now, it is my intent to take it easy for the next week or two to allow my body to clean out as much as possible. I’ll go to the Y a few times in that period, but once I feel strong enough I will kick it into a higher gear. I have a lot of stamina to regain and a lot of strength to re-find. I’ve not lost as much as I did last time, and my mental clarity is significantly better than it was then as well. (I can still write a coherent sentence or two!)

The path back is much more clear, and, I think, easier. I know what I need to do and I am not in a state of depression at all. I need to regain my appetite for the foods I normally love. overall, as of this morning I lost about 8 pounds, which under normal circumstances would be fine. However, hard as I tried, my protein and vitamin intake was reduced, certainly in the last few weeks, because the foods that provide ‘em were too rich for my mouth to accept. Back to V-8 and cheese ASAP! Might even try tonight. As the Xeloda cleans out, my appetite usually returns.

So, even though the original plan would’ve had me ending next Monday, I am quite satisfied that I did all I could to make this happen, and my body just plain could not handle it. I come out of this with temporary (fingers crossed!) Stage 2 hand and foot neuropathy and an almost total loss of all my hair (beard included). We are treating the neuropathy as best we can and I’m putting extra effort into re-growing my beard! After all, winter approacheth!!

So! Onward! Upward! Excelsior! and all of that-there stuff! I’m done with the ick and it’s time to return to Life, the Universe, and EVERYTHING!!!

!0/20

An eventful week. For one thing, I've got this blog going! For another, the Mets have moved on to the League Championship, and, well, more in a few...

On Friday, I was suffering enough from the foot pain that was making it difficult to walk and experiencing more ill-effects on my fingertips and mouth that the docs decided to skip the last 5 pills of the chemo drug Xeloda. So I started my week off a bit earlier and basically did nothing until Saturday evening, when we bundled up and went to the Mets game to see them take on and defeat a very good Chicago Cubs team. It was a lot of fun but a lotta wind and cold!


As a result of the rest before and the cream I mentioned below, the Neurontin and a good dose of Advil all of my symptoms continued to ease. For those of of you who know Lil Moosie of the Wolf Pack, he and I went to the game the following night armed with even more layers and I once again I got to see my Mets win! This time the temps were about 10 degrees colder and we had a steady wind of 10-15 mph. A nifty wind chill.



Overall, I am steadily improving. While I still have numbness in my feet and fingertips, the pain seems to be completely gone, and the side-effects from the Neurontin are far lessened as my body adjusts to it. We have come to our place in Shawnee, PA for a few days of rest and relaxation. It's away from home and "stuff-to-do". I slept 8 hours last night which is absolutely unheard of for me and woke up feeling much better!
If I had to guess, I will be resuming the chemo on Monday, perhaps with lower doses, though unlikely, I suspect. It will be the final 2 week round and then it'll be over... It's possible that it might be delayed a week if my platelets and white blood cells are too low, but, the way I'm feeling now, I would guess they won't be.
Tonight I get to watch the Mets in Chicago in the warmth of my house and may get through the game without a single shiver!

Beware The Murph and Let's Go Mets!!

10/14

Monday was “Just-show-up day” (name courtesy of a neighbor- thank you Pam!) and I (reluctantly) did. I had my scheduled iv chemo session, but it was only half of the previous weeks dosages. Apparently the regimen is somewhat altered now (I am maxing out on one of the meds) and in 2 weeks, assuming no delay due to bad blood-work, I'll have a final full dose and then in 3 weeks, the same as this one.
What that did for me was significantly ease the side effects such that it was possible for me to not only drive to and from the Mets playoff baseball game on Monday at CitiField that I was so lucky to get tickets to, it also allowed me eat with an appetite! We left the game after 7 innings (and after midnight!) assuming that a 9-run lead would hold. Fortunately it did. We got to watch the post-game stuff in full when we got home. and still get to bed at a (halfway) reasonable hour. We also went to last night's disappointing game, but ya can't win 'em all- hopefully the Mets win Thursday night.

This morning I am still feeling much better, but am also still under the influence of the oral meds that continue. A bit wobbly and jittery - I keep missing keys on the keyboard without realizing it (thank goodness for red, squiggly lines under mis-spellings!) - and a slight headache, but overall, I do feel more sharp and functional than I have after previous sessions!) Overall, I’m feeling better! The foot pain that I’ve been experiencing has also been greatly reduced thanks to an (icky-sticky) new cream that was designed specifically to fight this chemically-induced neuropathy. The mouth pain has dissipated except from some fairly extreme sensitivity at the tip of my tongue requiring me to eat very mildly.

The bad pill has one more week to go and then I get another full week off all chemo drugs before starting the final cycle, so the end is within sight. What comes after that will be dealt with then, but some pretty intense rehab is pert-darn likely. Not to mention a follow-up PET scan a month after the end of the chemo. (oops- I mentioned it).

10/4

Well, it's time for yet another one of my periodic updates.
This segment of the treatment has been rougher. I've been getting mouth soreness, foot pain, and lightheadedness. And that is after 5 days off. On the days that I’m supposed to take the pills, it is getting harder to open my mouth to ‘em, and it’s all a general drag. When they sang “Kind of a Drag” way back when, they had no idea!
It turns out my pulse is a bit low, as is my white blood cell count. My platelets are still ok. As a result of this, my restart of the treatment has been delayed by a week.
I cannot say that I am sorry. I think I welcome the extra week to recover. I have been given a new drug, called Neurontin, that has helped with the foot pain and the mouth. It made me a tad more light-headed. I think I can handle that. The additional week has improved the rest. I am now ready to face the chemo again. We shall see if my blood and body are, too tom'w...
On the upside, I am very pleased to say that I have tickets for the Mets post-season run and the Yankees (maybe) run as well. So I have something good to look forward to!
Unless both teams disappoint…
I am trying to stay upbeat and engaged as much as possible, as was evidenced by my recent posting regarding Hot Tuna and music in general. I am continuing to work on my photographs from the summer trips (I may have gotten a few good shots…), and I am of course following my baseball teams with great interest!!
I am getting incredible support from Cheryl, Lil Moosie and all of you. You cannot know how much it helps and I thank you very, very much for it!
more as the fun continues... Excelsior!!

http://goldtoken.com/games/info?infoid=50

http://goldtoken.com/games/info?infoid=42