Friday, August 8, 2008

Friday and Gaithersburg

The total body pain is still there but seems to be getting a little better with each day.

I'm actually starting to enjoy the drive out to Gaithersburg. It takes about an hour. Some highway and some rural (country) Maryland. The meeting with Rick went well. On the drive home we stopped at McDonald's. It has become somewhat of a ritual in order for me to elevate my calorie count for the day. I scarfed down a Big Mac and some fries. I shudder to think of what else is being elevated with regards my not-so-normal cholesterol!!!

Got home and relaxed out at the pool. Silvie and I have had a good chat. While we were babbling Diana and Robyn were playing tennis on the sport court. It's like miniature tennis (1/3 full size for the sport court). Anyway, Diana the avid fan and player and Robyn who seldom if ever plays, played a few games. Well, I think she (Robyn) may have given Diana a real run for her money on the court. Sad but true.

Shabbat dinner at home with Diana, Rob and Silvie. Then we proceeded to watch the tape delayed Olympic opening ceremonies on TV. Unbelievably impressive. We never finished watching til the end and will see the rest Saturday sometime.

Mike arrived home late evening from his trip to Cabo in Mexico. He had an absolute ball and looked really well. It's good to have him home.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

That was a mistake!

Don't laugh but that's it for work outs for a while. I woke up early this morning and could hardly move. I have total body pain and guess where it's from. That easy brief work out yesterday.

I'm going for a massage later today so maybe that will help along with some well deserved rest after that "traumatic" work out.

Silvie came back, this evening, from his visit to New York. He will stay with us until Monday and then Back to Zimbabwe. Hopefully he will have an easier time with the currency (10 zeros have been lopped off the bills) when he gets back. On a somewhat optimistic note, you can only hope that the talks between the MDC and ZANU-PF will produce something of substance.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Must be surgery day!


This morning, bright and early, I went for an Endoscopy at Sinai Hospital. They gave me "twilight' sedation (code word for not general anesthetic) and then looked down my throat with a scope. My surgeon, Dr. Lynne Skaryak, spoke to me afterwards in the recovery room. She said everything looked fine except for some typical post radiation scar tissue. The swallowing issue was due to some narrowing of the esophagus due to the scar tissue so she dilated my gullet!

I just have some mild throat pain right now due to the procedure but it seems like my swallowing is much better. Yay!!!

Russ left for London last night. It was tough saying goodbye again but I know I will see her and the rest of the Bass gang soon. It's always nice having my sisters here "doting" over me. I am one lucky individual. Diana does her (more than) fair share but it's also good for her too.

I actually did a very brief mild weight work out for the first time in 5 months. I need to balance not burning calories during the work out and putting on calories for weight gain. How the hell does that work???

Chinese food tonight.

*****NO MISUNDERSTANDINGS*****

Just so that there are no misunderstandings..........I am not cancer free, I am not in remission, I have not beaten this totally (yet) and am not "out of the woods" yet! However, yesterdays news or should I say "no bad news", was a positive development for me.

I still have treatments and scans ahead of me. The duration and exactly what treatments lie ahead will be brought more into focus when we meet with Dr. Erlich on Monday August 11th at my scheduled chemo treatment.

Though I am elated and encouraged by this news I also understand something. I have to treat this as a "chronic" disease. I may be having some form of treatment for the foreseeable future. One way or the other, I plan to be around for quite some time. I have too much to do and too many people to be here for.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

PET/CAT Scan

This morning, I went for my PET/CAT scan and Rus came with. I won't bore you with the details of the whole procedure because it's somewhat involved. We got home mid-morning and then for me, it was a mental and physical waiting game.

At about 1 PM, Dr. Erlich (my oncologist) called with the results. The first words out of his mouth were, "There is no bad news." He proceeded to tell me what he read from the report. The tumor on the lung has completely disappeared. Gone. There was no evidence of activity anywhere else in my body, with the exception of some very mild activity (uptake) in the media-steinum (esophagus area). He was not concerned about this, as there is a possibility that this could still be related to the radiation.

As of now, the plans are for me to have 3 more weeks of chemotherapy, instead of the 6, and then to put me on a daily medicinal regime. I have to take a pill for the next while. I am not sure of the duration at this time. We will be meeting with him to discuss this further on Monday. This may or may not change after our meeting.

I'm thrilled with this result, but here is the analogy. It's like getting out of prison and then not knowing what to do next.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Chemo 6 (Round 2)

Monday and it's chemo!

Woke up to a glorious day after a less than perfect night. I can actually feel the anxiety before the scan creeping in but I am getting so better at pushing those thoughts away. One tool I learned from Randy Pausch's wife was the simple technique of quietly saying 'not helpful' to those unwelcome moments! It's amazing how much we can learn from others!

A short session this time so no time to even enjoy the sandwich or buy some chips (french fries). We were home by 1:30 pm and the obligatory rest was due. Actually, as I've said before it feels less necessary so I did a few errands. It is truly wonderful to have a little more energy and also to see how much pleasure everyone else is getting from my well being. Normal pool time and soon I will be starting on a better fitness regime! We're all nervous for tomorrow but 'bring it on'! We have no control over these results but we will deal with whatever! Dinner was great! I felt like liver and onions!....go figure! Now to try and sleep and block out tomorrow.....

My anchor

My anchor, my strength, my nursemaid (not what you think). My everything.




Me and Diana (Lil, Aunt Edna, Ed, Eddie). Don't ask about all the nicknames!

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Weekend Update


Check out the tenderloin, mushrooms and boerevors (sausage).

Wow, what a weekend. The weekend that I was so looking forward to arrived and it was truly amazing! Let me set the scene! I have been feeling well, eating more than usual, sleeping better and at least not getting so worked up about it, and the latest set of meds were almost done. The fridge was so packed it was hard to open. The spare beds were all made up. The pool was very warm! Just the way I like it. Phil, under Rus' instructions, had washed Max so he too was ready (no doggie smell). AND I slept well enough!

The first of my visitors was here. Sylvie. Ilan arrived at 10:30am and Jack at 1:00pm and it was awesome to see them all. We had lunch together and so began an eating and laughing festival that went on till they left on Sunday at noon. As tired as I was nothing kept me away for long. We swam all afternoon and when it rained sought refuge in the pool room and played pool whilst snacking on chips, nuts,and junk. Well, not so much me but I am filling in the food bits earnestly to prove that I am trying. The evening barbie (braai) was perfect. Our friends Sandra and Neil arrived also laden with food (African sadza - corn meal) and we really enjoyed the evening together. I was up late and it was special! Mike has gone to Mexico so he missed the meat fest but I'm sure he will have a great time there. Rob actually went sailing for the day so you can see we were all back to fun and normal!

Sunday I actually overslept(8:ooam)!!! A nightmare crept in ....perhaps because I have my PET/CAT scan on Tuesday??? I was,however, able to push the anxiety aside and we had a great breakfast/brunch together followed by a laze at the pool. Good friends are an amazing source of energy and I am so appreciative of the visit. A real tonic! Thanks guys and hope to see you soon!The rest of the day slowed down, rested,swam with Rus and ended a wonderful weekend with a good movie. Ready to greet the week full on!

Ilan (Ivan), Jack (Tommie), Ade (Skin) and Hylton (Silvie).