Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Live From the Chemo Room 31

Long day ahead today We added a new medicine that takes 2 hours to infuse, so my total chair time will be in the 7 - 8 hour range today. Sheesh!

Marcie brought me lunch and hung out for a while, along with Danny G. Danny is my healthy eating hero - gluten-free and paleo. He brought me some awesome snacks from Trader Joe's to help nudge me more in that same direction.

I thought I'd use this post to share my thoughts on Lance Armstrong and Livestrong. The short version is pretty simple, Lance cheated and his foundation does lots of good. Hate the founder, not his charity.

But, it can be more complicated for some people. I've even heard of big donors to Livestrong asking for their money back because their support was based on Lance who is now know to be a liar. But that's kinda lame, IMHO. If Jerry Lewis turns out to be a child molester, should I get my money back from all those Labor Day telethons I supported?

Of course not. Which person with cancer should not receive referral to helpful resources now that Lance is a convicted doper? Who no longer deserves a free guidebook to navigating through a cancer diagnosis and treatment? The mission of the foundation is clearly being met. Livestrong is among the most efficient charities in financial terms, with over 80 cents of every dollar of donated funds being used directly in it program services (as opposed to G&A expenses).

I have benefitted from the work at Livestrong. They introduced me to Imerman Angles and their website lead me to my colorectal cancer support group. I continue to support the organization. My Twitter profile picture includes the iconic Livestrong wristband.  My daughter even has the word livestrong in her e-mail address. As you may have already read I delivered a Livestrong Guidebook to my friend Jerry this past weekend.

I'm deeply disappointed in Lance Armstrong  but not for doping. He continues to profess his innocence while not formally pursuing any appeal of the latest findings. I think he's lying, and like it or not, some people won't support the charity he helped to start because of his lies. I think he would do a world of good to admit to whatever he's done, and to apologize, so that donors don't stop supporting the great work of Livestrong.

There, I'm off my soapbox and settling back into my lounger.

Friday, October 19, 2012

It's not for me, it's for my friend

So, I um, have this friend. And he recently got some news about having cancer, so, you know, I was wondering, if you could, you know, help my, um, friend out.

My running friends are just starting to hear that one of the really good guys in our midst recently learned he has cancer. He has a bunch of tests lined up next week that will help determine what the road ahead looks like. I've already talked to him and he's got a great attitude, exactly what I expect from the guy who I first met in a van during a 200 mile relay race in Oregon. "We're in it to WIN IT!" I recall this seemingly mild-mannered runner exclaim as we rumbled down the road towards Seaside.

So if you're one of this guy's friends, let me coach you a bit on how to handle it next time you see him. Avoid eye contact, pretend there's nothing wrong, and take advantage of his diminished energy level to finally beat him in a race.

Wait, that's all wrong. Let's try again.

It's OK to say "I heard, and that sucks." It's also OK to say "I'm sorry to hear about your cancer diagnosis" or similar words. In fact it's OK to say just about anything, although you do risk making onto his list of stupidest things people said to me when they heard I had cancer. What's important is to be supportive, as so many of you have been to me over the years since my first go round.

Support means lots of things. Encouraging words, slightly inappropriate eCards, a donation to a charity, a meal. For a runner, it might mean slowing down a bit on a long run a few months from now so he can keep up. Although knowing this guy as I do, that may not be an issue at all.

See you out there on the road, my friend!

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Live From The Chemo Room 30

Game on!

I'm starting my new chemo routine today. It's a 3 drug cocktail, one of which my insurance company has not approved. So instead of a tequila sunrise, I've just got orange juice and grenadine, mixologically speaking.

The best part of today has been hanging out with two of my high school buddies. Luis and Dave, and Luis' wife, Mary. We took over a corner of the chemo lounge and were leafing through the high school yearbooks that Luis brought. My nurses were particularly impressed with my 8th grade basketball action shot, even though you couldn't even tell I was wearing short-shorts in that one.

The worst part was right after they left, when I had a sudden rush of cramping, nausea, and sweating. There's a drug for that, and now that I've had it, I feel much better. And a little sleepy.

Make that a lot sleepy.

Nite-nite.


Monday, October 8, 2012

(Not So) Live from the Chemo Room 29

The astute among you have already asked me, "so where's the post you promised on Friday?" I'd like to say I can chalk it up to a case of post-Braves Blues, or even worse, a post-Dawgs Depression, both of which were cured by Falcons Fever, but that wasn't the case. Actually, you dear readers had to wait in line while Marcie and I talked to the kids and our folks first.

What we told our families is that the latest scans show some tiny spots that are starting to show activity. Dr. Z says we don't need to be in a huge hurry, but I don't want to play "wait and see" with this. So, I'm going to be starting a new round of chemo this week, the kind where you spend a good 6 or 7 hours at the Doctor's office getting pumped full of Draino.This will be a little different that the last time because this new routine also earns me a little pump that I'll take home and play with for 48 hours, like my own personal Tamagotchi

The good news is this new routine, called Folfiri + Erbitux, will probably be a little easier on me than the original one was, at least in the ways that matter, like fatigue and nausea. The downside is that I'll probably lose my hair and develop an acne-like rash that would look right at home on a 14 year old. I know, so sexy, right?

I really don't give a sh&% about my hair, but we were hoping to avoid that for the kids sake. "Daddy's tired" is a card I can pull every now and then, but every time they see me, it will be a reminder that I'm not all the way better yet. I'd rather they not have to deal with that. As the kids might say, "That's not fair!"

Here's a little preview, compliments of a cool app I added to my phone.

Monday, October 1, 2012

Live From the PET Scan Prep Room

This one goes to 11

I have to believe that's what the guy in the waiting room here in Radiology was told about his phone, because he's watching a video at such a high volume, we can all hear it - all 50 of us. I'm seriously hoping this is not a home sex tape. I'm about to donate a set of headphones to the cause.

Today's scan is is a PET, which is designed to measure the activity level in cells, as opposed to the size of a tumor. They tell you not to exercise the day before or day of the scan, as the process of muscle recovery apparently looks like cancer on the scan. So, I kinda forgot that part and went to the gym with Adam yesterday. I can just imagine the meeting with Dr. Z on Friday.

"Well, the good news is your lungs are fine. The bad news is you now have raging cancer of the biceps and triceps."

Today's Prep team is lead by Adam, a young guy with a good sense of humor. One example: Adam, who is white, introduced me to another member of the team, a much taller and blacker guy, saying, "this is my twin brother, Eric."

They then proceeded to guess what my glucose level would be. Eric nailed it (93) and I told him he was wasting his talents in medicine. He should be in Vegas, or at least hanging out in some convenience store playing the lottery.

I've just downed another delicious vanilla contrast smoothie, and I have radioactive glucose coarsing through my veins, so it's time to get this party started. I'll post again on Friday once I talk to Dr. Z about the results.