Friday, January 30, 2009

The Game Plan

This coming Wednesday (February 4th) I start my new round of chemotherapy. It will be every 2 weeks. It looks like Mary just can't get ride of me! Of the 3 drugs I will be getting I have only previously had Avastin. I didn't seem to do too badly with it. The Alimta I apparently should do fine with. But there are interesting side effects with the Oxaliplatin. For the 3 to 5 days following treatment I should have a strong sensitivity to cold. No, this is not a joke. I will not be able to eat or drink anything cold. Just room temperature, warm or hot! Even when I reach into the fridge I will have to wear gloves. The sensation you get is like being electrically shocked. Going out in the cold is another matter. I will just have to be careful breathing in the cold air. Or move!!! I call this the "wet paint" syndrome. Whenever you see a sign that says 'wet paint" don't you feel the need to see if it's really wet? Well, I'm sure I will be testing the cold equals shock theory. I just hope it's not too bad.

In conjunction with the chemo I will also have to have shots twice a week to keep my blood counts in the normal range. This chemo regimen may knock the crap out of the blood counts. I am also going to be getting vitamin B12 shots and have to take other oral multi vitamins.

You know, this all sounds so shit but the alternative is not appealing at all! If this does it's job and puts me in remission then sign me up. By no means am I a brave person. I just want to be rid of all this and get on with my life. There isn't a big choice.

Carpe Diem.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Meeting with Dr. Erlich

The good news is, I'm off the Sutent. The not as good news is, I will be starting a new regimen of chemotherapy starting next week. Dr. Erlich explained a lot of things to us and answered a lot of our questions. For all you doctors and aspiring doctors out there, the chemo cocktail will be:
Avastin, Oxaliplatin and Alimta every 2 weeks.
Throw in a couple of other shots and various drugs and there you have it!

Also, I will have another lung tap next week to remove the fluid from the pleura. Dr. Skaryak will determine, at that time, whether to do a procedure to seal the gap that the fluid has left or install a small catheter to drain the fluid over time. Sorry if this is gross or I'm not explaining it very well. I'm just a pilot!

There was no alarm in Dr. Erlich's voice nor was there any doom and gloom talk. They are treating this as a chronic disease albeit cancer. It's merely the word cancer that flips everyone out, including myself. We will eventually find the combo that gets ride of this crap once and for all.

Carpe Diem.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Facebook

What have I done? Much to the dismay of our kids I signed up on Facebook. Wow! Talking about overwhelming. I woke up this morning to check my usual 3 emails and there were a s%#t load of messages. I'm gobsmacked! This is all new to me so I will try and answer all the messages, wall posts, finger painting etc. etc. in the near future.

Carpe Diem.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Monday with Mary

I had my monthly port flush and blood work done today. Yes, it was with Mary. It was good to see her again. My vital signs were good and my weight is stable. Unfortunately, I may be visiting with her more than I bargained for. I will get the blood work results and see Dr. Erlich on Wednesday. At that time I will get the game plan. I'm not going to speculate as to what lies ahead, suffice to say that another round of chemo is quite likely!

Carpe Diem.