This past week has been a whirlwind.
I spent three long days running a tournament at the bridge club.
I had a board meeting to prepare for and attend.
And then I showed up Tuesday morning at the cancer center for my first session of the new chemo regime. My blood numbers were excellent as a result of having a little extra time off.
However, the nurse practitioner noticed that fluid was building up again in my abdomen. As a result, I will have another procedure to remove the buildup on Friday. The doctor feels that after a few sessions of the new chemo, the fluid build up will stop. The good news is that were no cancer cells in the fluid.
And so, we move on to the chemo treatment. Since the drugs were new, we were given literature about the two new drugs. For both drugs, I was instructed to advise the doctor if I was pregnant or may be pregnant. I told the nurse that I might be pregnant and was told that it would be a real exception if that were true. I took that to mean that there is a chance that I am exceptional.
The chemo is hard hitting and will take a little getting used to. It has drained me of a lot of energy,but I feel it is getting better.
When the nurse was setting me up for the two day pump routine, she noticed a little extra bulge next to my belly button and said she thought it was an abdominal hernia. The nurse practitioner felt the bump, determined that it was not a tumor and suggested that we see what happens when the fluid is drained on Friday. Just in case, I have set up an appointment with the surgeon next Tuesday. I do not think this is as serious as the groin hernias, but time will tell.
Meanwhile, we have virtually completed plans for a trip to Canada around the middle of October. It will be good to see family and friends there that I have not seen in a few years. We are hoping to do a book signing at the Indigo book store in the Conestoga mall in Waterloo on Saturday October 19. As that firms up, I will let you know.
Thanks for your encouragement, support and prayers.
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
Not Much to Report
Today, I have almost nothing for you.
My new chemo regime starts next Tuesday and so I had no blood tests taken and therefore nothing to report.
I played tennis three times in the past week and survived. Mind you, Tuesday was very humid and I felt drained after playing.
The cancer center has changed to a new system for tracking results, I does not provide anywhere the level of data as the old system and the research manager is livid that she cannot play with the numbers in the way she used to. I feel sorry for the doctor this coming Tuesday when she expresses her dissatisfaction.
On the positive side,, she cannot see my weight on the new system and so I can tell her whatever I want!
My new chemo regime starts next Tuesday and so I had no blood tests taken and therefore nothing to report.
I played tennis three times in the past week and survived. Mind you, Tuesday was very humid and I felt drained after playing.
The cancer center has changed to a new system for tracking results, I does not provide anywhere the level of data as the old system and the research manager is livid that she cannot play with the numbers in the way she used to. I feel sorry for the doctor this coming Tuesday when she expresses her dissatisfaction.
On the positive side,, she cannot see my weight on the new system and so I can tell her whatever I want!
Wednesday, September 11, 2019
Left Behind
I found this week interesting.
You may recall that last week, I was hoping to get a procedure done to remove fluid that had built up in my abdomen. Not being able to get an appointment quickly, I went to the Morton Plant ER on Thursday.
What a wonderful time. I got processed and moved to an emergency room bed and then to a waiting area for radiology. I fairly quickly got transported to an ultrasound room. The tech (Angela) working there was 8 months pregnant and I identified her as my twin. She set to work with the ultrasound and determined that I did indeed have enough fluid floating around to justify the procedure. Anthony came in and stuck a needle in my side, which was connected by a tube to a one liter bottle. I filled almost three of those bottles. When all was said and done, I weighed 14 pounds less that I had two days earlier. That makes it a lot easier to play tennis.
The oncologist, Dr, Patel is concerned that the chemo regime we have been using is diminishing in effectiveness as those pesky cancer cells are adjusting to the cocktail we are feeding them. As a result, we are changing the treatment in the next week or so. He is confident that it will be effective.
The two areas which it will work on is the lymph nodes and also the cause of the fluid build up.
On Tuesday, I had a new experience. When we got to the bottom floor of our building, I realized that I had forgotten my water and went back up to get it while the research manager got the car and was to bring it around to the front door. Imagine my surprise when I got down and saw no car either in front of the building or in her parking space. It turns out that she had driven away from our building not realizing that I was not in the car. When she looked right to make a turn, she realized that I was not there. She hurried back to get me and we laughed about it all the way to the cancer center.
You may recall that last week, I was hoping to get a procedure done to remove fluid that had built up in my abdomen. Not being able to get an appointment quickly, I went to the Morton Plant ER on Thursday.
What a wonderful time. I got processed and moved to an emergency room bed and then to a waiting area for radiology. I fairly quickly got transported to an ultrasound room. The tech (Angela) working there was 8 months pregnant and I identified her as my twin. She set to work with the ultrasound and determined that I did indeed have enough fluid floating around to justify the procedure. Anthony came in and stuck a needle in my side, which was connected by a tube to a one liter bottle. I filled almost three of those bottles. When all was said and done, I weighed 14 pounds less that I had two days earlier. That makes it a lot easier to play tennis.
The oncologist, Dr, Patel is concerned that the chemo regime we have been using is diminishing in effectiveness as those pesky cancer cells are adjusting to the cocktail we are feeding them. As a result, we are changing the treatment in the next week or so. He is confident that it will be effective.
The two areas which it will work on is the lymph nodes and also the cause of the fluid build up.
On Tuesday, I had a new experience. When we got to the bottom floor of our building, I realized that I had forgotten my water and went back up to get it while the research manager got the car and was to bring it around to the front door. Imagine my surprise when I got down and saw no car either in front of the building or in her parking space. It turns out that she had driven away from our building not realizing that I was not in the car. When she looked right to make a turn, she realized that I was not there. She hurried back to get me and we laughed about it all the way to the cancer center.
Wednesday, September 4, 2019
Twists
This week has had its share of twists.
I suppose that the biggest is that the fluid in my abdomen and groin area has gotten the attention of the oncologist. He wants to drain it so that he can have it analyzed to determine the cause. The twist? As a result, I will not have my scheduled chemo until that procedure is done.
I am in total agreement with this. The fluid build up is really annoying.
The next twist is that I cannot have the procedure until a week tomorrow. That means that I will not have chemo next week either.
Twist number three is interesting. I take Tulsi Holy Basil each night as it helps me go to sleep. The other night, I had taken it and had just fallen asleep when the research manager appeared to ask me if I had taken my Tulsi Holy Basil. She had found the bottle in her bathroom and thought that perhaps I had not taken it. So, she woke me up to ask me if I had taken a pill to help me get to sleep. Go figure.
Finally, I had a delightful visit with a podiatrist this morning. Among other foot issues, I had trouble trimming my toe nails due to my inflated abdomen. He is a great guy and we got along very well. He was giving me health advice in terms of food, being positive and then having a sense of humor.
He then talked about the power of prayer and described a test that reflected the positive effect of prayer.
The twist? He said with a smile that it was good to have people praying for you unless, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,they were praying that you would not do well. My kind of humor.
Life is full of twists. Just roll with them!
I suppose that the biggest is that the fluid in my abdomen and groin area has gotten the attention of the oncologist. He wants to drain it so that he can have it analyzed to determine the cause. The twist? As a result, I will not have my scheduled chemo until that procedure is done.
I am in total agreement with this. The fluid build up is really annoying.
The next twist is that I cannot have the procedure until a week tomorrow. That means that I will not have chemo next week either.
Twist number three is interesting. I take Tulsi Holy Basil each night as it helps me go to sleep. The other night, I had taken it and had just fallen asleep when the research manager appeared to ask me if I had taken my Tulsi Holy Basil. She had found the bottle in her bathroom and thought that perhaps I had not taken it. So, she woke me up to ask me if I had taken a pill to help me get to sleep. Go figure.
Finally, I had a delightful visit with a podiatrist this morning. Among other foot issues, I had trouble trimming my toe nails due to my inflated abdomen. He is a great guy and we got along very well. He was giving me health advice in terms of food, being positive and then having a sense of humor.
He then talked about the power of prayer and described a test that reflected the positive effect of prayer.
The twist? He said with a smile that it was good to have people praying for you unless, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,they were praying that you would not do well. My kind of humor.
Life is full of twists. Just roll with them!
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