Weekend update

Other than the cold and ice, we have had good news this weekend. Man U beat Everton 1-0 to go 5 points up in the table. But best of all was Kukpot Charlie (alias Mike the chef) getting accepted into the University of Maryland at College Park. Yes, the same school that Rob is currently at. We are really excited for him and he is thrilled. Nice one. It has to be Diana's genes!!!

This is for Emily. If you need the following decoded or deciphered, call me (he he). Sunday morning we watched the Chelsea vs. Liverpool game. To all you Liverpool fans out there, I have 2 words for you all. Bloody lucky! Man U is still in front with a game in hand. By the way, Lampard's red card was pure bulls&%t. Never thought I would say that.

Sunday evening we watched the Super Bowl at some friends. I must admit, it was quite an entertaining game. Once again, there were some really funny ads and Springsteen was amazing at half time.

Carpe Diem.

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.

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.

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 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.

A speed bump on the road of life

Well, the results came back from the lung tap. It was not quite what we wanted or expected but, nonetheless, we have to deal with it. The fluid that they removed from the pleura surrounding the lung came back positive for cancer cells on the cytology test. Dr. Erlich told us not to panic as we still have many options to achieve a remission again. Those were his words. We still took it kind of hard but it was wonderful to be surrounded by so many of our close friends. Once again, my family was fantastic passing messages back and forward and reassuring us that every cloud has a silver lining. We have hit a speed bump on the road of life but our journey continues.

Carpe Diem.

We're baaaaaack

Hi all. Boy, it's been a while. I have so much to show and tell. I will catch up in the next few days.

Carpe Diem.

Dulini update

We're sitting here at Johannesburg airport. I can't believe how 2 weeks has flown by. We had an amazing holiday and an amazing last game drive. Last night, we followed a pride of 6 lions on the hunt. If Diana had swung her foot over the side of the land rover, she would have touched the back of a lion. We also almost reversed into a lion as he was waiting for the rest of his pride. This wouldn't have bothered us that much had we not been sitting in the last row of the rover. What an adrenaline rush! Yesterday also marked the 1 year anniversary of Diana's mom's death. What a year it has been.

Carpe Diem.

The people who made this special

Carpe Diem.

Ngala and Dulini accomodation

Both places were simply amazing. Ngala was bigger with 20 thatched huts and Dulini only had 6 suites. The food was incredible at both places with Ngala having the slight edge. From a game viewing standpoint, they were both awesome but once again, Ngala got the nod. The staff at both places were marvelous ( I sound like Billy Crystal doing Fernando Lamas). I'm running out of superlatives!

Carpe Diem.