Before:
After:
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Got a Haircut
Hey All - feeling pretty good. Haven't slept well over the last couple of nights but I don't think it's chemo related and I have a feeling I will sleep well tonight. Been feeling a little nauseous but nothing I can't handle. Kind of strange, I felt so good over the weekend that I have a much better feeling of how the chemo is affecting me now because I am much more aware of the contrast; this actually gives me much better insight on how to deal w/the issues.
Still losing hair so I went and got my haircut yesterday (Tues) at a barbershop near work where a number of my co-workers go. My first time there. I arrived a few minutes early so the master barber asked me if I wanted to wait or to have his assistant cut my hair - a nice looking Italian woman - so I said 'why not'. I told her that I was going through chemotherapy which was causing me to lose my hair and I needed a really short cut. She didn't seem to understand anything other that 'short cut' but that was sufficient. After cutting for a while she said 'you have a lot of hair, you're not losing you're hair' so I explained to her again that I have cancer and that the treatment is causing me to lose my hair. She understood that time and stopped, asked me my name, introduced herself, and we talked for a while along w/the master barber who came over as well. Yet more nice people in the world. I felt kinda bad, tho, like I was exploiting my cancer situation for sympathy or something but I'd brought it up just so she would know what she was dealing with - particularly if large amounts of hair started coming out while she was cutting. She cut my hair the most meticulously it has ever been cut and it is by far the shortest I've ever had it cut (except that time I was 5 and Dad took me to the barber shop for both the first and last time) and it actually looks pretty cool. I also asked her to clean up my beard and trim it down into a goatee, something I was planning to do myself, but she did such an awesome job on my hair that I trusted she'd do a good job there too - and she did - much better than I would have done on my own. The best part was when she cleaned up the hair on my neck - hot foam and a straight razor. My co-workers tell me that having the master barber give you a hot shave followed by a hot towel is the ultimate barber shop experience; I may just have to give it a try next time.
I am now starting to play around w/posting pictures. I'll try to post a picture of my new haircut sometime soon but, for now, here's a picture of my friends Dave (far left) and Jerry (far right) when they came to visit me at my apartment on the Thursday before my hospital visit - enjoy :)
Still losing hair so I went and got my haircut yesterday (Tues) at a barbershop near work where a number of my co-workers go. My first time there. I arrived a few minutes early so the master barber asked me if I wanted to wait or to have his assistant cut my hair - a nice looking Italian woman - so I said 'why not'. I told her that I was going through chemotherapy which was causing me to lose my hair and I needed a really short cut. She didn't seem to understand anything other that 'short cut' but that was sufficient. After cutting for a while she said 'you have a lot of hair, you're not losing you're hair' so I explained to her again that I have cancer and that the treatment is causing me to lose my hair. She understood that time and stopped, asked me my name, introduced herself, and we talked for a while along w/the master barber who came over as well. Yet more nice people in the world. I felt kinda bad, tho, like I was exploiting my cancer situation for sympathy or something but I'd brought it up just so she would know what she was dealing with - particularly if large amounts of hair started coming out while she was cutting. She cut my hair the most meticulously it has ever been cut and it is by far the shortest I've ever had it cut (except that time I was 5 and Dad took me to the barber shop for both the first and last time) and it actually looks pretty cool. I also asked her to clean up my beard and trim it down into a goatee, something I was planning to do myself, but she did such an awesome job on my hair that I trusted she'd do a good job there too - and she did - much better than I would have done on my own. The best part was when she cleaned up the hair on my neck - hot foam and a straight razor. My co-workers tell me that having the master barber give you a hot shave followed by a hot towel is the ultimate barber shop experience; I may just have to give it a try next time.
I am now starting to play around w/posting pictures. I'll try to post a picture of my new haircut sometime soon but, for now, here's a picture of my friends Dave (far left) and Jerry (far right) when they came to visit me at my apartment on the Thursday before my hospital visit - enjoy :)
Monday, October 09, 2006
Another One Down
Got home about an hour ago. As I mentioned, I got all 3 meds today and they take a while. At the end, the nurse came in and said "That's a long day for you" to which I responded "Yeah ... but it beats the alternative" to which she said, quizzically, "What's that" to which I responded "Dying" to which she laughed and said "At least you have a sense of humor about it" to which I said "I'm serious, this is much better than dying" and we both started laughing. Always good to have a nurse w/a good sense of humor. I told her this was going up on the blog. So here it is :)
Met w/Dr I. before treatment, as per usual. He explained that, given the reaction I had vis-a-vis the white blood cells as well as some other minor problems I've had, the culprit was most likely the Irinotecan (one of the two chemo meds) and that he would decrease the dosage slightly which should 1) prevent me from having a recurrence of the white blood cell count problem and 2) generally improve my day-to-day experience w/chemo. I'm all for that.
I also talked to him today about travel/vacation during the 6 week period between the end of the chemo/radiation treatments and the operation. He thought it was a great idea to take vacation then and that they would coordinate w/my plans. He recommended I wait 2 weeks after finishing treatment before vacation as it would take that period of time to fully recover from the side-effects of the radiation and I would probably prefer to have vacation when I was feeling my best. So my plan is to take about 3 weeks off from work and go home for the holidays (Christmas and New Years). While I'm there, I'll not only be able to spend time w/my family and friends but also be able to spend time outside getting some exercise (biking, kayaking, swimming, hiking, camping, and, of course, bowling) all of which will help prepare me physically and mentally for the operation.
Well, that's enough for today. I'm getting a bit of cabin fever so if anyone is up for a visit sometime in the near future, give me a holler.
regards,
--Dr. D
P.S. - bought a 'Livestrong' wrist band today at the hospital gift shop. Apparently they are no longer trendy/fashionable but it seems to suit me just fine.
P.P.S - finished rereading another Murakami novel in chemo today. Haruki's been a fine companion getting me through these sessions.
Met w/Dr I. before treatment, as per usual. He explained that, given the reaction I had vis-a-vis the white blood cells as well as some other minor problems I've had, the culprit was most likely the Irinotecan (one of the two chemo meds) and that he would decrease the dosage slightly which should 1) prevent me from having a recurrence of the white blood cell count problem and 2) generally improve my day-to-day experience w/chemo. I'm all for that.
I also talked to him today about travel/vacation during the 6 week period between the end of the chemo/radiation treatments and the operation. He thought it was a great idea to take vacation then and that they would coordinate w/my plans. He recommended I wait 2 weeks after finishing treatment before vacation as it would take that period of time to fully recover from the side-effects of the radiation and I would probably prefer to have vacation when I was feeling my best. So my plan is to take about 3 weeks off from work and go home for the holidays (Christmas and New Years). While I'm there, I'll not only be able to spend time w/my family and friends but also be able to spend time outside getting some exercise (biking, kayaking, swimming, hiking, camping, and, of course, bowling) all of which will help prepare me physically and mentally for the operation.
Well, that's enough for today. I'm getting a bit of cabin fever so if anyone is up for a visit sometime in the near future, give me a holler.
regards,
--Dr. D
P.S. - bought a 'Livestrong' wrist band today at the hospital gift shop. Apparently they are no longer trendy/fashionable but it seems to suit me just fine.
P.P.S - finished rereading another Murakami novel in chemo today. Haruki's been a fine companion getting me through these sessions.
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Round 2
starts tomorrow. I'm getting all 3 meds so it's going to be a long day. yin and yang, man.
Had a good weekend, been feeling really good since I got home on Thursday. Took Friday off from work to take care of some things what needed taking care of (including a bunch of food shopping). Friday night I went out to dinner at a place I've gone to quite a few times. Last time I went there was just before I started chemo and I was really struggling to eat that night because swallowing had become so difficult; Friday I ordered the same thing I had that previous time and was able to eat it w/o any difficulty - it was awesome and clearly shows that the tumor is shrinking. Saturday I just took it easy and laid around the apartment all day reading, watching movies, and eating. Kinda felt I should have taken more advantage of feeling well but it was a good day all the same. Today I took care of a bunch of paperwork and such in the morning and went to central park in the afternoon. Walked around the park for a while and then sat down and read for a couple of hours. Awesome day, lots of people outside having fun, it was just nice being part of it all for a while. My goal this weekend had been to gain a bit of weight and I seem to have been sucessful - will get the official word tomorrow when they weigh me at the Dr's office but my scale shows I've gone up 2 lbs (really weird experience to want to gain weight).
I'm starting to lose my hair. It doesn't seem to be coming out in clumps but rather evenly all over but there's sure a lot of it. Losing my hair doesn't bother me except that it's getting all over the place (you should see my hair brush), particularly since it is so long. I plan to get it cut short sometime this week, probably on Tuesday which should address the problem. If it gets too thin, I'll eventually just shave it all. Planning to buy a beret this week as well ;)
That's pretty much it for now, I'll try to post tomorrow and let you know how chemo went. Until then,
--Dr. D
Had a good weekend, been feeling really good since I got home on Thursday. Took Friday off from work to take care of some things what needed taking care of (including a bunch of food shopping). Friday night I went out to dinner at a place I've gone to quite a few times. Last time I went there was just before I started chemo and I was really struggling to eat that night because swallowing had become so difficult; Friday I ordered the same thing I had that previous time and was able to eat it w/o any difficulty - it was awesome and clearly shows that the tumor is shrinking. Saturday I just took it easy and laid around the apartment all day reading, watching movies, and eating. Kinda felt I should have taken more advantage of feeling well but it was a good day all the same. Today I took care of a bunch of paperwork and such in the morning and went to central park in the afternoon. Walked around the park for a while and then sat down and read for a couple of hours. Awesome day, lots of people outside having fun, it was just nice being part of it all for a while. My goal this weekend had been to gain a bit of weight and I seem to have been sucessful - will get the official word tomorrow when they weigh me at the Dr's office but my scale shows I've gone up 2 lbs (really weird experience to want to gain weight).
I'm starting to lose my hair. It doesn't seem to be coming out in clumps but rather evenly all over but there's sure a lot of it. Losing my hair doesn't bother me except that it's getting all over the place (you should see my hair brush), particularly since it is so long. I plan to get it cut short sometime this week, probably on Tuesday which should address the problem. If it gets too thin, I'll eventually just shave it all. Planning to buy a beret this week as well ;)
That's pretty much it for now, I'll try to post tomorrow and let you know how chemo went. Until then,
--Dr. D
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