Hook, Line, and Stinker One Last Time

I sitting in the ole’ chemo chair for the last time, receiving my half dozen bags of toxic crap and big old horse needles of nasty medicine, but they put the needle into the IV, so it is no big deal. I still dealing with my Chemo top five. Nausea, tingling in fingers and toes, bad taste in my mouth, sores in my mouth and constipation. The nausea and the constipation have been the top leaders these last three or four weeks. But nothing new and as long as I have lots of drugs, I can to live with them all. The oncologist said everything is looking good. He said that the tingling in my hands will probably get worst before it gets better. I guess I am going to have to go through Chemo Drug withdraws or detox for the next couple months. I hope I don’t saw seeing creepy crawly things or lose my mind, not much to lose. I wonder if they have a detox center for Chemo addicts. I go in six weeks for a PET scan, see him again in two months, and a CAT scan in about four or five months. SO I SAY I AM NOW CURED.

Debi still isn’t completely over whatever she has. She had to go back to the doctor and get more drugs for her breathing last week. She is feeling a little better, but is tired all the time, which is probably related back to the poor breathing.

We have five out the six & 9/10th grandkids at the house today. I left the oldest grand daughter in charge. Dylan, who is from Houston, is going back today. The other two are here until Friday. They were all around this last weekend for the Relay for Life in Highland. Everything seemed to go off pretty well. My daughter and I were the leaders at the start of the relay, an honor neither of us wanted. She was one of the two oldest survivors with 25 plus years and I was one of the two youngest.

She raised a little over $900 dollars (which gets matched by her work) and I raised about $700 with our bake sales. But we aren’t through yet. We can collect money until the end of August for this year’s Relay, so we are both planning more sales. Another item that we are selling is cantaloupe. The farmer that rents my mother’s ground is raising them and we were selling them at the Relay and she is selling them at work. He giving us some of the biggest ones he has, they weighed in between 10 and eleven pounds. Both my daughter and I plan on having bake sales year round to start building up our funds for next year. We are all ready talking ideas for next years relay and about having two teams, so anyone who wants to join our team. Let me know.

The blogging is slowing down a lot as I am returning to my dull and boring life, so hoping nothing will happen that I have to start it up again. I will let everyone know if anything does happen.

Good Week For Me, Bad Week For Debi

Well I have had a pretty fair week as far as my health goes. I still have the Chemo top five. Nausea, Tingling in fingers and toes, bad taste in my mouth, sores in my mouth and constipation. But nothing new and I have learned to live with them all. Two more weeks and I get my last chemo treatment. Then by my schedule, six weeks to get the poison out my system and then NO side effects. This is my first day back at work and it has been a pretty busy day. I feel more fatigued that I expected, but I am doing well. It was a battle to get the OK to get back to work. I didn’t go to the regular plant doctor, but group in Wood River that the company uses. I saw three different people and all three asked the same question. “Why is your company forcing you back to work?” I kept telling them they weren’t, that I want to go back to work. I have been watching cooking shows for thirty days and I wanted to go back to work. I am going to avoid going back to them at all costs. If I can walk through the gate, I am coming in.

Debi’s week has been pretty bad, I think as far as being sick, she has been worst this week than I have the entire three months of chemo, except for maybe one or two days. She started to get sick last Friday and even wanted to go to the emergency care facility. We got there at 1:15 Saturday afternoon and they closed at 1:00 PM. So she suffered until Monday when she was able to get into the doctor. She has some kind of virus, but isn’t supposed to be contagious. Tuesday she got up for the kids at 7AM, but went back to bed at 8AM and slept until noon. Stayed up a couple hours and then went back to bed. Wednesday and Thursday were worst for her, she slept most of the day and night. Well grandpa got to watch the kids Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Let me tell you, grandpa doesn’t have the patience that grandma has. Grandpa is more the let’s play now and then go away now type of guy. My hat is off to grandma and her skills, but I will still give her crap about having roid one and roid two up her ass.

Five Down, One To Go

Well Wednesday I saw the oncologist and then got treatment number five. Had a really good talk, I am starting to ask questions not only what is happening now, but the after treatment life. Which I think is a good feeling for both Debi and I. He showed me the results of the Cat Scan and then asked me the oddest question? Did I shallow a paper clip or a piece of metal. He showed me on the scan where it was at. Bright, silver thing there in the scan in my abdomen. I didn’t know what it was either. So I sat in therapy for five and a half hours thinking about it and on the drive home I finally figured it out. About two weeks before the scan, I broke a back molar and didn’t realize it until I felt it with my tongue. It didn’t break off much and didn’t hurt at all. I thought I would have it taken care after all this other crap is over with. Well then I got the sores in my mouth and went to the dentist. The Hygienist mention that if it started to hurt the dentist could probably temporarily fit it with a filling. REALIZATION, my wife isn’t trying to poison me, because of the how much of a pain in the ass I have become. This was one of my weirder theories going through my Chemo injected brain. But I did have a metallic taste in my mouth, so I was wondering.

Ok what’s happening now? I am still having some nausea, but the cramps have pretty well have stopped. I am taking three times the normal amounts of laxatives. This doesn’t make for a very interesting day, because I still don’t have to use the bathroom very much. When I do it is volatile, but no cramps, no pain killers. So I want to go back to work next week. But I have been off so long this time; I have to see the company doctor. I hope to see him some time in the middle of the week.

Ok what’s happening after number six? Well it sounds kind of simple. Every three months I get blood work done and see him. Every six months I get another Cat scan. As long as there is no change then we have whipped this thing. But then I was talking to the nurse who was giving me my Chemo and she said that I will need to come back to the office every six weeks and get my port flushed out with saline as long as my body doesn’t reject the port. She has patients who have been doing this for ten or fifteen years. I am planning to for the record.

Good News, But Not So Good Week

My oncologist called and we got the initial results of the CAT scan. He said that tumor has significantly has reduced in size and there are no new growths or changes. Debi said it was like having a weigh lifted off her.
The last week hasn’t been very good for me. A lot of cramps and nausea. That was another thing we talked to the oncologist about. He and we think that the drugs are catching up to me and so is the constipation. He is not sure they are connected, but probably are, they have both been happening for the last week. The cramps have been so bad that I have been taking pain killers. Fortunately the pain killers have codeine in them for me, for I lose the pain. Unfortunately I can’t go to work while I am taking it.

For the constipation, the oncologist told me I could use up to four times the normal amounts of laxative. Which let me tell you something, I am darn glad I installed a large flat screen TV in the bathroom? I am now trying to find that fine line, where I don’t have cramps and I am not watching a miniseries in the bathroom. Of course I am not looking forward another round of chemo tomorrow.

Debi and I both agree that I haven’t had it that bad during chemo. I believe that most people react worst. So I shouldn’t complaint. So I try and concentrate on the good things. I don’t have to shave everyday, I don’t have to get haircuts and my wife is jealous of my legs because are hairless.

Bad Tuesday, Never Know

Monday was the same old stuff. Didn’t feel great, but nothing different. Tuesday started off the same but went downhill from there. Started having abdominal cramps in the afternoon and then about later in the evening I started throwing up. The good thing was once I finished, I took another pain pill and nausea pill and felt better in about an hour. Then I took the rest of my drugs and still felt OK. Only problem was I couldn’t fall a sleep even with drugs. Finally did get some sleep, but Debi made me stay in bed this morning for a couple hours after the kids got here. So now I am up and just waiting to go the hospital for my CAT scan. I have to go in early to drink something so there is a contrast.

Debi’s Got a Tight Grip

Still not feeling the best, so Debi keeps me restricted pretty well. So I sit in the house, frustrated that I can’t do any thing. I still have nausea, but it is not very bad in the morning, but the end of the day I am hurting. My hands are the same with the numbness and sensitivity. The bad taste in my mouth is a little worst. I think some of it is because I have been battling a sinus cold and have of sinus drainage. Also the sores in my mouth are a little worst this time, which makes some foods taste crappy and some foods with salt hurt. I am trying to gargle more, but I have to dilute it down a lot otherwise it brings tears to my eyes. I am seeing my dentist later this week after my Cat scans to see what he has to say. I have an appointment next Wednesday with the Oncologist, so Debi & I figure that’s when we will get the results.

Quick Note from my Doctor

Saw my primary care doctor and routine labs showed very good results on my diabetes. She cut my diabetes and blood pressure medication in half. So Debi and I figured that the chemo drugs are clearing out my system of evenything bad (Just Kidding). There isn’t much more the doctor can do with the nausea, numbness, and general funky bad feeling I have been having. Like I told her, I have learned to live with it. I have also got a runny nose and a little cough. Which hopefully she can take care of that minor thing with few drugs. It just adds to the general overall crappy feeling I have, so Debi has me mostly confined to the house. This is frustrating, because I want to get out and do at least a little.

I figure with the doctor, that exception for cancer, diabetes, gout, hypertension, indigestion, allergies, high cholesterol, over weight, lacking exercise and bit of foot fungus, I am a prefect specimen of 57 year old human being.