Fake Names

Well, here I am the day after chemo. The major issue is that I do not feel like eating and I am also tired.

I had dry mouth last night and can see it getting worse tonight. I will take some precautionary medicine, like Biotene.

I am hoping that I will be back in the swing by Friday, but to be realistic, it may be Saturday.

This morning, I had a major coughing spell that approached throwing up. I think it was caused by nasal drip and have purchased more Claritin. The research manager declared "It's not in the stomach." Apparently she meant "It's snot in the stomach."

I have one more chemo in two weeks and then a petscan the following week. At that point, there are two alternate approaches for maintenance. One is effectively the same routine as I am doing now with the most damaging drug dropped. That would mean a four hour visit every two weeks and the pump. The other is pills. A possible side effect is what they call hand and foot disease, which is lesions on your hands and feet. There is about a 16% chance of this happening .I am leaning to the pills. I think it gives me the best lifestyle choice.

I inquired about immunotherapy and was advised that while it is a possibility down the road, it is not for now. At some point, they would do a test on my tumor. When I pointed out that the tumor was gone, I was advised that samplings from the tumor are kept for the future. So, there is actually a museum of tumors. I asked if we could make the museum public and could I get a royalty on entrance fees. Apparently not.

I do need your help on one issue. When I sign in at the cancer center, I usually use a fake name. Things like Mike Rofone, Ann O. Rexic and Sally Forth. I am running out of ideas. Any suggestions that I could use would be appreciated. I need two each week. Thanks.

Off to Paris?

Well, here we are, a week out of the most recent chemo and I am finally feeling pretty good.

The five days after last Tuesday were a little rough with mouth sores and dryness, neuropathy, lack of appetite and fatigue. But other than that, things were great!

The last couple of days have been great with improving mouth dryness, increased appetite and more energy.

Tennis has been going not badly also. When I have a good partner, I do well. When I have a nice partner, even better. Fortunately. all of the tennis group are nice.

Anything else happen? Well, yes.

My fingernails have gotten brittle and crack at the edges. I decided on the weekend to get a manicure to see if that would help. It did for a day or two, but the rough edges are returning.

Also, new news on the black spot on the toe. It seems to be getting better. The Research Manager who documents everything takes pictures of my toe. The other day, while I was sleeping, she snuck (sneaked?) into the room and took a picture of my naked toe sticking out from a hole in my sock. I have heard of people taking pictures of people while they are sleeping and defenseless and now I am such a victim. Photo evidence shows improvement.

I have two more chemo sessions before the next petscan and at that time, I will have to decide on one of two approaches to maintenance. One involves pills and the other involves more frequent visits to the cancer center and a few days every other week with Bob. The whole issue is what yields the least bothersome and toxic side effects. This is a tough decision.

Speaking and hearing properly remains a problem. Today, I heard the Research Manager refer to "Parisites", which can play a role in getting rid of dead cancer cells. I immediately thought of flying off to France to see the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower and the Arc dueTriomphe, all of which are Paris sites. But apparently she was talking about Pericytes.

I guess I am stuck in St. Petersburg for a while longer.

Thanks again for your interest, prayers and encouragement..

Studying My Bears

Well, here we are the day after chemo and on day 2 of the pump, which will be gone tomorrow.

I find that I am tired and with not much appetite.

So far, I have a little dry mouth, but not bad.

I feel some neuropathy.

The interesting thing is that I have developed a black spot on my big toe. There is a wide range of possibilities for this, but the doctor thinks my tennis shoes are too tight. Time will tell.

I had a good weekend with my son. The only thing of note is that I found myself getting emotional in circumstances where I was watching people excelling in their work. I have always found joy is seeing success and I seem particularly susceptible in my current condition.

Yesterday at the cancer center was unusual for a few reasons.

1. We found out that the dog Bob, who my pump is named after has died. This raises the question as to whether my pump should be renamed. I am thinking of reversing his name, by spelling it backwards.

2. As mentioned last week, the driver was away this week. I had an alternate driver lined up, but the research manager wanted to talk to the doctor and so we went together.

3. This proved to be beneficial for a guy named Walter who is blind and had to go to get his blood typed before getting a transfusion the next day. He had no way of getting there. The research manager offered to take him to the testing center and then to drive him home. Now all the staff at the cancer center love the research manager for what she did.

I don't know if my speech has become a total mumble or if the research manager is becoming hard of hearing. Last night I told her I was going to eat some berries. She thought that I said that I was going to study my bears. This kind of thing happens all the time.

Time to go to study my bears.

Weekend Away

A lot of little things to report.

In general, until this past Monday, I have been a little under the weather as it relates to the chemo effects. Dry mouth and mouth sores have been a big issue, Mugard, Oragel Rinse and Biotene have all been employed in the battle and the last few days have improved the sores, but not the dry mouth.

My neuropathy still is present, but again, it is slightly better.

I do get tired. More about that later.

Way back when I started this process a year ago, I joked about getting a sore toe from the chemo. I was rewarded almost immediately by a case of athlete's foot. (If I was an astronaut, it would have been missletoe!). Well, we are back to toes. I have developed a black spot under the nail of my big toe on my right foot. The research manager has listed possible causes - fungus, melanoma, bruising. The cancer center says "Chemo effect." We are watching this with interest as things develop.

The blood tests from yesterday tell a tale. My White Blood Cell count is down, but not grievously so. However, my Red Blood Cell count has been slipping steadily. This can cause fatigue and other maladies . The low count is likely caused by adverse effects on the bone marrow from chemo . I don't think we are at scurvy levels, but this is a matter to be pursued.

I am looking forward to a weekend away with my son Graham and then we are back for session six of the new chemo. After that there are decisions to be made re more plain chemo or maintenance and, if maintenance, pills or two days with Bob. Stayed tuned for developments.

I am afraid that my prowess on the tennis court is having a negative effect on attendance. A number of players are not showing up. I doubt it has anything to do with the fact that they are snowbirds.

Even the driver is going to be away next week. I asked if she could drive back from Hilton Head on Monday night, drive me to Morton Plant and then return to be with her family. She thought about it for 0 seconds and declined the opportunity. Surprise announcement on this next week.

Finally, Andy and my daughter Krista independently worked on converting my blog to "Word" format. Andy has then worked hard to make it into a true book presentation and then converted my email conversations with my dear friend Mary Jo, who has pancreatic cancer. It really moves me to read back over those first six months. I am close to being ready for a conversation with a publisher. I am excited about this.

I will be thinking of you all over the weekend and look forward to catching up with you next week.