Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Want to Trade Weeks?

It may be a little while before you hear from me on the blog. Here's our week, starting yesterday:

Monday - Marcie and I celebrated our 18th anniversary by preparing for everything else that lies ahead this week.
Tuesday - Adam's debut as Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls at Paideia School (a few seats still available!)
Wednesday - GD performance #2
Thursday - Family and Friends begin to arrive, many attending the 3rd and final performance of Guys & Dolls
Friday - Many errands for Bar Mitzvah
Saturday - Adam's Bar Mitzvah in the morning, Out of Towners party at night
Sunday - Race I haven't missed in over 10 years in the morning, Adam's Bowling party for his friends in evening, my birthday
Monday - I leave for Peru, potentially...

Notice there was not a drop of cancer news in this post? Me too.

Oops, spoke too soon. I left out radiation treatments today and Thursday. Take that, little spot on my lung!

Monday, May 23, 2011

It's (not) The End of The World, and I Feel Fine!

It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)Ah, normalcy. So this  is what it feels like? I think I like it.

Dr Z. was right, I had no chemo-complications this round. As Marcie pointed out, I technically didn't have chemo this time. I had non-chemo, or Nemo, if you prefer. The two drugs I received were a bone-building agent for my pelvis and a drug that cuts off blood supply to tumors. Technically, neither is chemo (thanks to Allison in the support group for the Avastin definition).

The only real chemo I'm taking now is my oral drug, and Dr. Z let me skip it for this round so I don't end up needing Imodium during Adam's Bar Mitzvah. I'm hoping I can enjoy a few runs without risk of the runs. Sorry if that's too graphic, but if you've been reading this blog for a while, you've been warned!

UPDATE - Right after I posted this, I received a comment from somebody at a group called FAMEDS, which is fighting a recent FDA decision to prevent Avastin from being used off-label to treat women with metastatic breast cancer. The drug is approved for colon cancer patients, and was tentatively approved for off label use for breast cancer, but now that breast cancer decision is being reversed. I don't know all the science behind this, but if you think that sounds like a stupid decision that might hurt the 17,500 US Women who take Avastin to treat metastatic breast cancer, click here http://fameds.org/index.php to sign the petition or to learn more.



Thursday, May 19, 2011

Live! From the Chemo Room #7

Don't have much time today. Way shorter infusion, plus tri-athlete stud Brian is visiting me today. Talk about survivors, Brian has one helluva Bike vs. Van story to tell. Thanks to strong faith and excellent care at Shepherds Spinal, he can actually tell that story.

Seeing B-man may only remind me how not in shape I am. I need to focus on running so I can be ready for Peachtree on July 4th, but I want to restart P90x ASAP. My weight is actually good, but it is all in my belly. Time to shred from there and add back to my chest, shoulders, back, and arms!  (yes, I'm talking about muscle in those areas, not hair.) Hoping the new chemo routine will allow me to do just that!

Met the Zapologist today. Looks like we will do 5 treatments spread over 2 weeks. I also got my first 3 tattoos today. Actual needle under the skin permanent marks on my torso. Why the last ones used Sharpies but this time I get Hells Angels ink, I have no idea. But I do have a sudden urge to don leather, drink beer, and straddle 1200 cc's of American-made iron.

Anybody know a good biker bar in Johns Creek?

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Live Blogging of PET Scan Results?

11:20a UPDATE - Good news! Continued progress from the chemo. Looks like the pelvis is done, and I will be talking to a radiation oncologist about zapping the lung. No more nasty chemo either, just a mild drug infusion every three weeks and continued oral for 2 weeks out of every 3.  Smiles all around!

8:00a Hey, if Apple can get dozens of bloggers to stream updates from their keynotes (Steve is on stage now... He looks thin... what is that, an iWatch? OMG!), why can't I live blog my Dr. visit? HIPPA shmippa!
Well maybe not live but I plan to share the results ASAP after my 10:30 appointment today.
Until then...

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Looking Good!

"You look good!"

It's a phrase I'm happy to report I've heard a lot lately, from male and female, young and old. It is a compliment, and one I very much appreciate. Still, it rings a bit odd to me. I'm not someone who would normally comment on someone's appearance, at least not directly to them. (I have been guilty of commenting on the appearance of others, especially those in the public eye. But if you run for Vice President and you show up at rallies showing cleavage, I will call you out. Got it Mr. Biden?)

A few people I've seen this week hadn't seen me since this all began. Others, like the running crew, hadn't seem me much, at least not in daylight. So I found myself comparing the way they each said those 3 little words. I've categorized them as follows:

The obligee:  a well trained person who its going to comment something about you no matter what. ("Well, you look good") Would be just as likely to comment on one's new hairdo or wallpaper.

The disbeliever: says the words with a hint of surprise ("You look good), as if suspecting you might peel away your latex facade to reveal your true, chemo-worn face.

The shocked: can't imagine that's really you looking decent ("Wow, you look good!") Expected something from Bela Legosi's makeup artist.

The sincere: people who understand the physical and emotional stress that comes with this territory, and who are truly happy to see me looking relatively happy and healthy. ("You look good!") This of course is the majority of observers - you know who you are.

To anyone who had commented on my appearance recently, thank you. Your compliments do help keep me motivated.

And by the way, you look good too!

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Live from the Pet Scan Room

Off to a good start today. They took me on time, and my tech is a 50-something guy named Vince who obviously enjoys what he does. He's got my kind of humor. Example:

Vince: "do you mind if I use the right arm for the blood sample?"
me: "Not at all"
Vince: " Good, that's the one in the training video"

I am currently enjoying a concoction they amusingly depict as a milkshake with a soda fountain glass on the label. It's glucose with a radioactive tracer so they can see where it goes in my body. Cancer cells love them some glucose, so we want to see little or no areas of concentrated activity.

It will be a week before I get the results, so stay tuned. I will be entering the Tube in 40 minutes or so. Wish me a nap!
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Monday, May 9, 2011

Much Better Now

Just a quickie to let you all know this past Derby weekend brought me through the turn, now we're in the homestretch.

Translation - I felt like myself again yesterday. A slightly fatigued version of myself, but still myself. Had a nice evening with Marcie's folks grilling out at their place for Mother's Day. Our sliders and corn shared the community grill with some dude's thickest-steaks-ever. He nicely said all the smoke generated by the grease fire from my too-fatty beef was adding flavor to his $20/lb filets. BTW - I'm still not eating red meat,  so I made turkey/spinach sliders for myself. They managed not to ignite.

The weather is Summer-like this week. Might just have to lace up the running shoes. To remind myself of the short term goal, I dug up my first Peachtree Number. In 1980, running shorts were really short, and I finished in the 65 minute range. In those days you had to beat the 55 minute T-shirt clock to get a coveted shirt, but the clock didn't start until the last runner crossed the starting line. Even when the race was "only" 25,000 people, that meant a good 30 minute cushion. Now everyone gets a shirt, and all the timing is electronic based on a chip you attach to your shoe. 60,000 people will start the race on July 4th, including, we hope, me and Adam.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

This is No Longer Fun

If I had a publisher, they would probably tell me I'm nuts for giving a post that title. But I'm in a mood to be completely honest with you, dear readers. This round sucked, and it still sucks.

I was able to make it through a full day of work today, which is an improvement over yesterday's 2.5 hour afternoon nap. And yesterday's Imodium is still having the intended effect today, so that's also a good thing. But I have this hangover feeling, I describe it as a "metallic feeling in my face." The fatigue is also a factor and it's hard to concentrate for long periods. There are a few other minor issues like the tingling in my feet and hands when they are cold, but they aren't show stoppers.

Last round it was a full two weeks before I could exercise, and I fear this time may be the same or worse.

But here's the thing. I know, know, this is the path to getting better, to beating cancer. It may be a rocky, pot-hole filled path that I'm trying to navigate barefoot in my Flintstone-mobile, but it's the right path. And as much as I'd like to pull over, I won't. Next Thursday I start my day with a PET scan that will hopefully show that the cancer is all but gone. Whatever is left gets a little radiation zap this summer, and I can go on my merry way, taking some drugs for maintenance purposes but in less toxic levels. I've said all this before, but it helps me to repeat it, to remind myself of the goal.

Speaking of goals, David, Danny, Stu and I are making long term plans that just assume the news will continue to be good. We're all going to train for the inaugural Savannah Rock n' Roll Half Marathon in November. 13.1 is closer to my pace-per-mile than my peak distance these days, but we've got 6 months to change that.

Your encouraging pats on the back mean a lot. For example, it was great to hear from Wes this week and from Bettie just as I started to type this post. I know you're all pulling for me and for Marcie and the kids.

And while it's no longer fun, it is the right path. Thanks for helping me find my way.