Hi All,
Yesterday wasn't too bad, felt a bit like I was hungover most of the day but everything went pretty well.
Today was s different story; felt good this morning but shortly after I got to work started feeling horrible. Took some of the meds but they only helped so much. Went home around 4, laying down felt a lot better. Min dropped by around 7:30 w/some pizza which was awesome. Bad news - didn't feel good today; Good news - did manage to eat and drink and am doing okay. Very tired at the moment, heading back to bed. More later.
--Dr. D
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Quick Update
Appreciate all of the comments and calls - keep 'em coming.
On Monday morning I weighed 195lbs, when I got back home I weighed around 200lbs - that was all the fluid they had pumped into me (and I'd made several trips to the bathroom while they were pumping it into me). I was tired but not really sleepy so I ended up awake until about 3:30 - making plenty more trips to the bathroom (the plastic trash can started looking really tempting around 2am :p). Guess it didn't help that I drank an extra liter of water and gatorade but one of the meds can cause kidney damage if you don't drink enough fluids (i.e. 2+ liters) for the 2 days following treatment so I figured too much wouldn't be a bad idea. I had some slight cramping that evening but I think it was the gatorade rather than anything else so next week I will stick to straight water on Monday night.
Tuesday I went to work and felt pretty good most of the day. Drank over 2 liters of water while at work and, as such, got plenty of exercise walking. Dr. S called to see how I was doing after my first session. I had previously sent him this blog address and he's been reading it - like I said he's a stand up guy. He thinks the blog is a great idea, a sentiment that many of you have also expressed. When I got home, I was exhausted so I took a nap for about an hour then forced myself to get up and make some food (thankfully my sister called or I might have just skipped dinner). I was slightly nauseas but fell asleep pretty quickly; up a few times but a good, long sleep overall.
Today, despite the good sleep, I was a little foggy in the morning. Not sure what that's about but I was pretty good for the rest of the day. Drank a lot again.
While the nausea is mostly under control, I did have it slightly for most of the last two days which really cuts down on my appetite. To deal with this, I've avoided large meals and have taken to eating smaller snacks throughout the day - lots of vegetables, fruit, nuts, and oj (they provide this for free where I work so it works out pretty well) plus some kind of protein at night (had me a bubba burger tonight). I think I need to track calories a bit better just to make sure I'm getting enough to eat but I'm pretty sure that I am.
Tommorow I stop the meds I've been taking for the last two days to counteract the sideffects of the chemo meds. There's another med they've provided for me to take as needed - hopefully I won't need it but I'll have it with me just in case.
Going to try to hit the gym in the morning before work - just a bit of cardio but I think it will help me overall.
Good Night All
--Dr. D
On Monday morning I weighed 195lbs, when I got back home I weighed around 200lbs - that was all the fluid they had pumped into me (and I'd made several trips to the bathroom while they were pumping it into me). I was tired but not really sleepy so I ended up awake until about 3:30 - making plenty more trips to the bathroom (the plastic trash can started looking really tempting around 2am :p). Guess it didn't help that I drank an extra liter of water and gatorade but one of the meds can cause kidney damage if you don't drink enough fluids (i.e. 2+ liters) for the 2 days following treatment so I figured too much wouldn't be a bad idea. I had some slight cramping that evening but I think it was the gatorade rather than anything else so next week I will stick to straight water on Monday night.
Tuesday I went to work and felt pretty good most of the day. Drank over 2 liters of water while at work and, as such, got plenty of exercise walking. Dr. S called to see how I was doing after my first session. I had previously sent him this blog address and he's been reading it - like I said he's a stand up guy. He thinks the blog is a great idea, a sentiment that many of you have also expressed. When I got home, I was exhausted so I took a nap for about an hour then forced myself to get up and make some food (thankfully my sister called or I might have just skipped dinner). I was slightly nauseas but fell asleep pretty quickly; up a few times but a good, long sleep overall.
Today, despite the good sleep, I was a little foggy in the morning. Not sure what that's about but I was pretty good for the rest of the day. Drank a lot again.
While the nausea is mostly under control, I did have it slightly for most of the last two days which really cuts down on my appetite. To deal with this, I've avoided large meals and have taken to eating smaller snacks throughout the day - lots of vegetables, fruit, nuts, and oj (they provide this for free where I work so it works out pretty well) plus some kind of protein at night (had me a bubba burger tonight). I think I need to track calories a bit better just to make sure I'm getting enough to eat but I'm pretty sure that I am.
Tommorow I stop the meds I've been taking for the last two days to counteract the sideffects of the chemo meds. There's another med they've provided for me to take as needed - hopefully I won't need it but I'll have it with me just in case.
Going to try to hit the gym in the morning before work - just a bit of cardio but I think it will help me overall.
Good Night All
--Dr. D
Monday, September 18, 2006
Chemo Session I - A Long Day
Today ended up being a lot longer than I'd expected. At 8:30 I had to get an esophogram which involves drinking barium while they take xrays. The barium was much tastier than the crystal lite. After that, I met with my doctor and we went over the treatment plan and the cat/pet scan results. The good news is that the results confirms my cancer at stage II, still very localized and no evidence of it having spread to any of the local lymph nodes. I then had to have an EKG done, a urine test, talks w/various nurses/fellows on the possible side effects of the drugs I'll be taking, followed by a lot of waiting while they got the results of the various tests. Eventually around 5, I finally started the chemo - it involves my getting 3 different medications via IV. The first two take half an hour each to administer and the third takes an hour and a half. There are potential side-effects during the administration of the IVs but I didn't have any, which is a good sign. I have some drugs that I take over the next 2 days to deal with possible side-effects of the drugs - if I have any negative side effects, they are likely to show up on Thursday after I'm off those meds. Future sessions will go a lot faster as 1) I won't need to do any of the tests and 2) they'll increase the flow of the IV's so that drugs are adminstered quicker. Tomorrow I'll give a more detailed report on my treatment and it's timeline.
A number of you have expressed distress at seeing me go to chemo on my own. To me, it feels completely natural to do so and I experience no distress on discomfort at being on my own during the treatments. What I do appreciate is the support, messages, and phone calls during the in-between times. This weekend was a bit tough, due to the unknowns, but I made it through pretty well thanks to my friends that visited and my friends/family that called - I have not felt alone at all.
All the best,
--Dr. D
A number of you have expressed distress at seeing me go to chemo on my own. To me, it feels completely natural to do so and I experience no distress on discomfort at being on my own during the treatments. What I do appreciate is the support, messages, and phone calls during the in-between times. This weekend was a bit tough, due to the unknowns, but I made it through pretty well thanks to my friends that visited and my friends/family that called - I have not felt alone at all.
All the best,
--Dr. D
Sunday, September 17, 2006
A Note on Comments
At the end of each of my posts, there is a link called 'comments'. If you click on that link, you will see comments that other people have made on that particular post along with a place for you to post your own comments. You can post anonymously which simply means you don't need have to register with the website or do anything else to post (i.e. it's very simple) though you should sign you name at the end so that I know who you are.
I mention this because I want people to comment on my posts. The point of this blog is to create a community of support - not just for me but for all of us. This blog not only allows me to broadcast to you what's going on with me and how I'm feeling about it but also, by way of comments, gives you the ability to communicate your thoughts and feelings to me and everyone else who is pulling for me. It's very cathartic and I encourage you to give it a whirl.
As Red Green says "remember I'm pullin' for you; we're all in this together"
I mention this because I want people to comment on my posts. The point of this blog is to create a community of support - not just for me but for all of us. This blog not only allows me to broadcast to you what's going on with me and how I'm feeling about it but also, by way of comments, gives you the ability to communicate your thoughts and feelings to me and everyone else who is pulling for me. It's very cathartic and I encourage you to give it a whirl.
As Red Green says "remember I'm pullin' for you; we're all in this together"
Chemo Starts Tomorrow (Mon 9/18)
Chemo starts tomorrow. I have to be there at 8:30 and, according to the schedule, will see my oncologist, Dr I., at 9:45, followed by the treatment at 11:15. Not sure why the long wait but I'll post here as soon as soon as I am able. At my 9:45 meeting I should be going over the results of my pet/cat scans - I feel fine about starting the chemo but will feel a lot better after getting the results.
Speaking of the pet/cat scans, that was quite an experience. I arrived at 4:30, a bit early, and filled out the obligatory paperwork. The nurse then took me to a prep room and asked me to remove my shoes so she could get my weight and height. I told her I prefered doing my height w/my shoes on as I liked that result better but she told me that she had to take my height w/my shoes off to get a consistent reading - she had no sense of humor whatsover (but was nice all the same). Next, I got to sit in the prep room for a while where a different nurse came in to inject the solution for the pet scan into me. It's a radioactive dye and I aksed her how long I would glow in the dark and she said I shouldn't glow at all but, if I did, give them a call - she had a good sense of humor. I thought that was it been then she came back w/a liter of the vile stuff I had to drink for the cat scan. Basically a solution of water, iodine, and raspberry crystal lite - I like water, can stand iodine, but that crystal lite garbage don't not go down so easily; blech. I then had to wait for an hour for the chemicals to get to the various parts of my body before starting the scans. The scans themselves were simple - the pet scan took about a half an hour during which time I fell asleep and the cat scan only took about 10 minutes. Afterwards they gave me a card stating that I was going to be radioactive until 9/16, in case I got stopped by the police in the subway, train station, or airport; Its a great card and is going in my scrapbook. They also recommended drinking a lot of water over the next couple of days to flush the chemicals out of my system.
According to what I'd been told (and read), the pet/cat scans are not supposed to have any real side effects but, when I was done, I felt really fatigued. Could have been that I didn't get much sleep the night before but it was all I could do to eat, post a quick message here, and crawl into bed. That night I had a bunch of nightmares; after each I would wake up and have to go to the bathroom. The next day, I was still pretty exhausted and didn't get much done at work but started feeling a lot better towards the end of the day and a bunch of friends visited w/me on Friday night which made me feel even better. Saturday I just kinda lay around, watched movies, and slept. In the evening, I went out to Maplewood where I hooked up with some friends for a show followed by some dinner. It was then that I really felt myself again.
I can't say unequivocally that the pet scan was the cause of my fatigue but my first cat scan didn't give me any problems and I gotta figure that radioactive dye running through you brain has to have some effect. The card said the radioative dye would be completely broken down by Saturday and it was Saturday evening that I felt fine again. Of course, it could all just be in my mind.
Speaking of the pet/cat scans, that was quite an experience. I arrived at 4:30, a bit early, and filled out the obligatory paperwork. The nurse then took me to a prep room and asked me to remove my shoes so she could get my weight and height. I told her I prefered doing my height w/my shoes on as I liked that result better but she told me that she had to take my height w/my shoes off to get a consistent reading - she had no sense of humor whatsover (but was nice all the same). Next, I got to sit in the prep room for a while where a different nurse came in to inject the solution for the pet scan into me. It's a radioactive dye and I aksed her how long I would glow in the dark and she said I shouldn't glow at all but, if I did, give them a call - she had a good sense of humor. I thought that was it been then she came back w/a liter of the vile stuff I had to drink for the cat scan. Basically a solution of water, iodine, and raspberry crystal lite - I like water, can stand iodine, but that crystal lite garbage don't not go down so easily; blech. I then had to wait for an hour for the chemicals to get to the various parts of my body before starting the scans. The scans themselves were simple - the pet scan took about a half an hour during which time I fell asleep and the cat scan only took about 10 minutes. Afterwards they gave me a card stating that I was going to be radioactive until 9/16, in case I got stopped by the police in the subway, train station, or airport; Its a great card and is going in my scrapbook. They also recommended drinking a lot of water over the next couple of days to flush the chemicals out of my system.
According to what I'd been told (and read), the pet/cat scans are not supposed to have any real side effects but, when I was done, I felt really fatigued. Could have been that I didn't get much sleep the night before but it was all I could do to eat, post a quick message here, and crawl into bed. That night I had a bunch of nightmares; after each I would wake up and have to go to the bathroom. The next day, I was still pretty exhausted and didn't get much done at work but started feeling a lot better towards the end of the day and a bunch of friends visited w/me on Friday night which made me feel even better. Saturday I just kinda lay around, watched movies, and slept. In the evening, I went out to Maplewood where I hooked up with some friends for a show followed by some dinner. It was then that I really felt myself again.
I can't say unequivocally that the pet scan was the cause of my fatigue but my first cat scan didn't give me any problems and I gotta figure that radioactive dye running through you brain has to have some effect. The card said the radioative dye would be completely broken down by Saturday and it was Saturday evening that I felt fine again. Of course, it could all just be in my mind.
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