Not much to report

Spoke with my nurses, they say things are going fine and that they'll be ready to release me to radiation soon. I'm looking forward to that because it means I'm onto the short end of this whole ordeal. Also, I can start running again and getting back to the state of fitness I was before all this. I've even registered for my next run, Bloomsday, here's hoping I can get to some form of running fitness by then...it might be a while.

Blood count reports I've got blood that counts

As in thankfully, my WBC is back up to "normal," thank you Neulasta; for taking your time, Grrr! So, that means I've got an immune system again, which is great concidering this "laying low" deal is getting boring....

Everythign else is uneventful.

A close up of my weekly Chemo Meds

I don't think you've gotten a good shot of what the chemo itself looked like so here's a pic and explanation: The Orange stuff is the Adriamiacin, a vesicant (causes blistering on skin), basically the nasty stuff I had to be hooked up for 24/3; next to it on the left is Ifosfamide, a clear liquid, that can lead to internal bleeding, I had to get it 4/5; the little bottle on the far left is just some albumen which was administered each time before the Ifosfamide. What you don't see; Mesna, an injection prior to Ifosfamide to prevent internal bleeding; hydration, TKO(To Keep Open); Zofran , the anti-nausea injection, decadron, a steroid and anti-nausea injection.

From Bulletin Board

Blood test reveals its all red

As in I currently am immuno-deficient and have low white blood count and low platelet count. Also seem to have managed to stir up a thrush infection. Docs got me on some meds for that, so I'm hoping that keeps it in check and my immune system ramps back up in time to avoid this getting out of hand.

Other than that I feel just fine and will continue to lay low until my next blood draw, Wednesday.

Blood work came back better than I expected

Yesterday I had blood draws and the CBC/WBC thing. I was surprised that after I went in pretty early they didn't get back to me right away with the results. I gave them the benefit of the doubt as it was Friday and finally called them later in the afternoon. Surprisingly decent counts this time, must be all the walking I'd been doing prior to my 4th round? WBC is low, so I have to be careful, not a problem, I don't have anything pressing at the moment. Platelet were low also, but not low enough to cause concern like they had previously. I'm glad, but laying low. Thankfully my nephew brought over Entourage season 5, which, I'm enjoying...really pleasntly surprised that I enjoy that program...

Everything else is decent.

About the my 4th round of chemo

First day was just fine, Mark dropped me off and we hung out until it got a bit later and Mark took off. Despite my best efforts to get things started early, they were in no hurry, so I finally got my chemo drugs at about 5pm... This just means my discharge is at an inconvenient hour, so I end up staying to the morning. They get the chemo started and I'm feeling fine, but I have no appetite for the hospital food this time. The first 2 rounds it wasn't bad, but that last two I just couldn't stomach it, the thought of it just left me feeling like I could skip it. I wisely had stopped at the grocer before admit, so had brought some frozen dinners I knew wouldn't offend me and I would eat. Those ended up being all I ate....

By the next morning I'm already feeling the chemo kill my appetite and my mouth getting all numb. This is par for the course, but the appetite thing really worries the nurses and they even suggest marinol, the drug from marijuana that increases appetite. I tell them that I'll at least eat dinner so it's not a big deal which seems to pacify them... I took a stroll and rested. Resting is about all I feel up to when I start to feel the "Adria" get to me.

:gross part:
One thing I have to do while on chemo is collect my urine so they can test it for blood; the "Ifos" damages your bladder, but they give me drugs for that. So EVERY time I pee, I have to pee in a pitcher and leave it in the bathroom. That wouldn't be so bad. I've mentioned before that you take on this whole smell of chemo as the drugs are infused througout your body, well this includes the urine and that makes having to collect it pretty icky. First, wierd smell of my "chemo-sweat" is gross, my stomach is rambunctious, the urine is especially punjent, and there just seems to be no escaping it. Did I mention this is EVERY time I pee and they have me drink loads of water....
:end gross:

The rest of the time is pretty much the same, just hanging out, drinking loads of water, making a few laps, and sleeping tons. Thankfully, that was it for a while!

On the rest

That's what I'm up to right now. I got back Tuesday eve and went straight to bed. Tuesday was actually a long day of me going to the SCCA for some meetings and getting some scans. Started early, but somehow ended late... such is the medical world.

I had to fast for the scans so I was starving by the time I got out of there. It was probably the worst thing I could have eaten, but since my buddy lives in the neighborhood, so I could smell the food; I had Pagliacci's. Just a pizza place.... My taste buds were ineffective, so I loaded up the chili pepper and enjoyed it! Actually was really good, if more bland than normal on account of my taste-buds.

About the time I finished that, my father called and said he was a half hour away, so I could expect him soon. I marched back to the apartment and gathered my things together and tried to leave it as I had found it. Big Thank you to Allan for putting up with me again; I owe him a real visit in which I don't have to be in hospital; that goes for Amber, too.

Father arrived shortly there after and with minor difficulty we got out of there by 1:30 ish. The drive back was uneventful, and actually decent considering the sunlight...

At my meetings only one thing really came out; Radiation treatment to begin soon, and that will 6 weeks of getting "microwaved"(no, not really) and then just check-up's to make sure this doesn't come back...

Still planning for the "Chemo Shmemo" Party, aka. F--- Chemo, Let's Dance Party! I'm hoping to have it on a weekend, so please feel invited!!!!

Round 4 is in the bag

Whew, that was blah! But, now I'm out of there for a while, hopefully a long while! The nurses had a small send off for me, but I was still dragging so no back-flips from me. I beat it out of there as soon as I could and am now holed up at my buddies until tomorrow for a morning of meetings/scans/chats.

I had to eat something and all I cold think about in the hospital was either Pagliacci's or pho. I chose pho and it was good.

Just keeping well rested for now.

Round 4

Today, I begin round 4! This is scheduled to be the last round and that's good! I'm actually kind of tired from the drive up so I'll update later...I'm doing fine for now, and despite my best efforts I won't get started on my chemo drugs until 5ish and won't be discharged until Monday AM...

Here's another story!

When I was last in the SCCA, I mentioned, I met a young woman starting her cancer treatment. I was surprised to see anyone near my age who wasn't working there. I started a conversation with her and in that conversation I suggested it was nice for me to have a blog so people I didn't have a chance to always talk to were able to keep up on my status. Here's a link to her blog!

http://baldheadsaresexy.blogspot.com/