Amazing

Another week. More blood tests. Mixed results.

A few numbers were improved. ANC, for example, went from 1.4 to 1.7. The doc is happier if that number is over 1.5 and it has been known to be 3.0 or more. Strangely, my white blood cell count went down from 3.0 to 2.8. Both measures are indicators of my immune system's ability to function properly.

Stay tuned for the amazing thing,

It is encouraging that my level of alkalinity is up. It is now in the range of 7.25 to 7.5 whereas it was often around 6 a while ago. This is good. The more alkaline that I am, the tougher it is for cancer cells. Credit a few things, but 60 ounces of Essentia high ph water is helping.

I finished my week of Xeloda yesterday and am happy about that. My hands, in particular, are very red and fairly sore. I am using liberal amounts of Udderly Smooth cream.

Stay tuned for the amazing part of this blog.

I won at tennis today. It threatened rain when we started. Paul and I won the first game and then it started raining. We would have continued, but everyone else ran for protection. Chalk up another major victory for team Gill.

I sometimes play with three younger more energetic women who are not part of our group. The last time that I played with them, all the courts were in use and we had to vacate our court for some people who play pickleball. But we were ahead 6-5 when we had to quit. We agreed to meet later, but they did not show. It is bad enough being stood up by one women, but three? That hurts.

I know that you have been waiting with baited breath for the amazing part of this blog. Here it is. You know that the research manager concocted an attack on low platelets. The first week's efforts had no positive effect (73 versus 77 the week before). But this week we added papaya leaf extract and the count went from 73 to 89. We have asked the doc often about whether there is anything that can help platelets and they knew of nothing. The research manager finds papaya leaf extract and it has immediate results. Amazing!

I am off for dinner. I am dressed too warmly because when I checked what the weather was going to be later tonight, I accidentally looked at Cupertino California rather than St. Petersburg. Oh well. I am not going to change now.

I intend to have a great week and hope the same for you.

Moral Fabric

Well, last night I started back on Xeloda. Over the week off, things have improved significantly.

My hands are better, not great, but better.

My blood test showed improvement in virtually all categories, except for platelets, which dropped from 77 (bad) to 73 (worse). Having said that, my mouth sores did get better. A week ago, I was waking up looking like Dracula with blood trickling out of my mouth. That is not happening right now, anyway.

We are working on the platelets with many approaches. Beet root juice, papaya and a few other things did not seem as helpful as we hoped, but a new fix is in hand. The research manager learned that papaya leaf extract has improved platelet count for many and fairly quickly. I began those capsules last night also. It will be exciting to see the results at next Tuesday's blood tests.

Speaking of blood tests, yesterday's was exciting for me beyond the blood test results. Since it was a finger prick test this week, I was given a Snoopy bandage and, lo and behold, Snoopy was playing tennis, I could hardly contain my excitement. I mentioned it to a few people, but they did not seem that impressed. I think the blood technicians believe that I am crazy. They may be right.

One interesting thing this past week Someone at the club is moving and had a large amount of fabric that she wanted to get rid of. Someone expressed interest and she brought the fabric to the club. I asked if she had any moral fabric. She thought I was questioning her character, but I told her the moral fabric was for me. I hope she believed me.

Normal

Things could be called largely normal this week.

Most of my blood numbers are within a normal range (for cancer guys like me.) However, the platelet count is down to its lowest yet.......77. So the research manager is on a campaign to get the count up. Anybody want to participate? Beet root juice, papaya, vitamin k2, more spinach and a few other things are in my immediate future.

My CEA is up slightly but still in a range that Dr. Patel is comfortable with. I think it is more a measure of colon issues than liver or lymph node issues and the liver and lymph nodes are our primary focus.

My hand/foot syndrome got bad over the weekend, the same as two weeks ago. I think it gets better duringthe non-Xeloda week. I hope so. It was tough playing tennis on Monday morning and I took today off to recover a little bit.

The mouth sores are also back in a minor way. But I will survive..

I learned that a bridge club nearby runs a stroke clinic on Saturday morning. That is super, tennis for those with heart problems.

I am thinking of having a baby. The less than a year old grandson of two of the tennis players was brought down to the tennis court the other day and the ladies all fawned over him. With a baby, I would get at least peripheral attention.

I still need rest and so I am going for my soak now. Earlier this week, the research manager said that she was out of thyme and that is how I feel some evenings also.

Changes

There were a few surprises this week.

The first is that I did not have any blood tests. There were some scheduling errors and as a result, the blood tests were not scheduled. When I called about it, I was told my numbers were okay last week and so I did not need to come in.

In general, I feel good. Just battling all the usual issues, but I am still smiling.

As many of you will know, we made our goal in raising funds for the book. The research manager has been working on the Appendix which details the supplements and activities that I am following in addition to the Chemo pills. I hope that her appendix will not burst like it did for the wife of one of my tennis friends last week. Seriously, her appendix will be valuable to many. I am thinking of sending it to Alex Trebek. He has pancreatic cancer just like Mary Jo did.

Three things have changed this week, two of which are true.

I have always said that I will not eat dinner for breakfast or breakfast for dinner. I broke the breakfast for dinner hurdle a while ago, but now I have had dinner items for breakfast a few times in the last week. Who would have ever thought that I would be eating peas in the morning!

The second is that I have always indicated that I do not like sushi.. Imagine my surprise when I went to pick up our take out order of Thai food the other day and was told that the sushi would be ready in a minute or two. When I said that I did not order sushi, I was told that the seaweed salad which I eat is sushi. Who knew?

The third is that I was told by a lady at the health food store where I get my wheatgrass that what I needed was Noni Juice. When I said that I can get that locally, I was told that you have to go to Hawaii to get the real stuff. Do you think that I should abandon the book idea and use the funds to move to Hawaii. I will let you know how this turns out!

I am still waiting for the oncologist and the dentist to get together on my tooth extraction. Meanwhile, it does not hurt much anymore. Besides that, I am too busy to take a few days off to recover.

Thanks for your interest.

Side Effects

Today, for your reading pleasure, I will share the side effects that I am currently experiencing.

You have heard for weeks now about hand/foot syndrome. It seems that it gets worse during the weeks that I am taking Xeloda. That was this past week and my hands, in particular, turned about as read as Rudolph's nose and as sore as a jilted lover.

My mouth has a few sores and dry mouth lurks during most nights. I have magic mouth wash, a supplement recommended by the dentist and Biotene gel to deal with this. And the research manager has added Hydrogen Peroxide to the mix.

I now have some digestion problems, another possible side effect. The research manager has been pushing more fiber, particularly more veggies.

I am dealing with all of this and still playing tennis. I even make the odd good shot and win from time to time.

My blood numbers? Oh yes....they were good, better across the board. That should allow me to have the tooth extraction which I need. I am just waiting for the oncologist and the dentist to communicate with each other to clear me for the oral surgery. But let's see if the post Xeloda decline kicks in again this week.

I am a few hundred short of my Kickstarter goal and have 24 hours left. Thanks to those who have gotten us this far. If you are interested, you still have time. Go to www.kickstarter.com  and search for Red Shirts and Rubber Duckies.You will have the dual benefit of my eternal gratitude and a copy of the book when it comes out.

Thanks all. You inspire me with your prayers and supportive comments.

The toilet paper test

What a difference a week makes.

A week ago, I had improved blood numbers. This week, many of them are lower. Heather, the Nurse Practitioner says that it is normal for numbers to get worse after you have finished a week's worth of Xeloda. We will see. I am back on Xeloda now and if Heather is right my numbers will improve.

What does a visit to the cancer center entail. Well, it may be slightly different for me, but this is what happens. I enter the center to a waiting room and a receptionist. I sign in under a fake name. (This week, it was Mack N. Cheese). This week, I also got told that the sign-in slips are sent to corporate and that I should use my real name. This, after months of using fake names.

After a wait, the blood technician comes and gets you, takes your weight, blood pressure and then takes blood (this week it was from my arm for multiple tests.) I learned that the Snoopy I had given them the week before was now sporting a bandage wrapped around his arm, just like me.

I then visit with the doctor or nurse practitioner prior to getting an infusion of Avastin to discuss how things are. We discussed my hand/foot syndrome, my dry mouth and my mouth sores. And then my possible tooth extraction. There has to be coordination between the oncologist and the dentist when you have cancer treatments. It looks like things will be okay to do the extraction.

The extraction and not extractions? Yes.....I met with the second opinion dentist on Friday and we agreed on only extracting only one tooth for now. I think that is a safer route. I am glad that I got a second opinion because the dentist (Rachel Caldwell) reminds me of the Doctor that I fell in love with at Moffitt Cancer Center. She is smart, attractive and has a wonderful sensitivity to her patients' needs.

Today I was at the extraction specialist for a consult and I know things will be okay. They put the toilet paper on the roll the right way! I was given three prescriptions preparatory to the surgery. An antibiotic, a powerful painkiller and something to help heal my mouth after the surgery. The only issue is that I will not be able to play tennis for a few days afterward. I presume that is because I will not be able to yell (What?) every time the opponents call my shots out.

We have a six hour drive on Friday to Tallahassee on Friday. Since the research manager insists on driving, I will use the time to review the second and, hopefully final edit of the book.  I promise that this is the last time I will mention the Kickstarter campaign (go to www.kickstarter.com and search for Red Shirts and Rubber Duckies.) We still have a way to go to reach the goal and there is only a week left. Thanks to those who have indicated interest already.

Time for a soak and the nighttime routines. I finished the House of Spies last night and so I will have tell the research manager about Deep Freeze tonight.

With Xeloda, watch your mouth.

There is a lot to report this week. I hardly know where to start.

Let's start with the blood tests from yesterday. They showed good improvement everywhere. The only note which will affect the next item in this blog is that my platelets improved to 101 up from 91, but well short of the desired level of 140.

The next stop is at the status of side effects. My hand/foot syndrome is holding steady. My feet can withstand two or three sets of tennis, but I feel it later in the day. My hands hurt when handling anything that has an edge to it, but this is bearable.

The other side effect is my mouth. No good news here. I have a sore on my lips that persists in bleeding most evenings, creating interesting red blotches on my pillow. My mouth is dry every night and does not respond to anything I take before bed time. Thankfully, it is okay during the day.

However, I have developed a sensitive tooth and this is causing pain up to my ear. I went to the doctor when I felt the pain, but not the tooth sensitivity and got 10 days of Augmentin, which does not seem to be doing much. The cancer center has ordered my "magic" mouth wash and that will likely arrive tomorrow. I can't wait.

They also said that I should go to the dentist. I went that afternoon to a dentist who recommended extraction of 4 teeth.  All dental procedures, and particularly extractions require careful coordination with the oncologist. The platelet level is an issue and often chemotherapy, (even of the oral kind) may have to be suspended for some dental procedures. I am not sure about the validity of 4 extractions. The fact that the toilet paper in the dentist's washroom was put on the roll the wrong way was the first thing that gave me pause. In any event, I am going to seek a second opinion tomorrow. I will keep you posted.

A few other interesting things occurred this past week.

The week prior, I had gained a fair bit of weight and the research manager was not impressed. So I decided to do something about it. The first thing I did was cut my toe nails. Yes, I cut back on a few other things also. The result? I lost 10.8 pounds in one week. I told one of the volunteers at the cancer center about this and she commented on the 10 pound toe nails. I think that is or certainly could be the name of a rock group.

I should tell you that my visit to the cancer center two days before Valentines Day had an appropriate theme to it. I signed in as Olive Yu. And I brought the blood technicians a small Valentines Snoopy given that they know my preference for Snoopy bandaids.

This past week my favorite purveyor of wheat grass told me that he was cautious about making claims as to the effectiveness of any cancer "cure" because his father died when he was seven. Imagine having a child when you are only 6 or 7. He obviously matured early.

Thanks to those who have visited Kickstarter. It is effectively a way of preordering the book. I am now on the second edit review of Red Shirts and Rubber Duckies. I still hope to be public with this in May.

That's enough for tonight. I am going to have a soak and get to bed early tonight.