I thought I'd start a new thread for updates on my cancer treatments and whatever else is going on, since the bad news thread title is misleading now.
My last treatment went better than the previous two and my chest wound is still closed up, which is a good thing. My arm is getting slightly stronger and I hope to resume lifting dumbbells next week. I need to build up my strength again, because I am going back to Denmark in May and I am extremely pumped about that! I'd like to be able to schlepp my own checked bag and not have someone else lifting it for me.
It's going to be a fabulous trip, 6 weeks and a couple of days for me. My brother is going along as well as my friends Chipp and Rod. Chipp is staying close to 3 weeks and has not gone with me over there since 2006 so he is also very pumped to be going. It will be Rod's first trip and he will be there for 2 weeks. I will get to be a tour guide. Also, I am throwing a party in my favorite pub of all, the wonderful, ever-magnificent Irish House in Aalborg on May 7th. The owner and I are friends and he will give me a little discount. We'll have Irish stew and brews in the cellar and I hope to have around 25 family and friends there. I might bill it as the "Fu** Cancer Party." A few months back, I was not sure I'd ever be able to go over to Denmark again or if I'd even be alive, but the cancer hasn't gotten me yet. I'm doing a number on it, instead.
Some other cool things I plan to do when I am back in my ancestral lands include a wine tasting in a castle, touring another castle and the northernmost manor home in the country, and visiting Skagen, the top of Denmark, where you can stand on a little patch of beach and have one foot in one sea and one in another. They also have a brewpub up there I am wanting to check out. I will start and end my trip in Aalborg and spend 5 weeks in an apartment I rent that is very close to the beach. I can hardly wait for May 4th to roll around! [Reply]
Thanks for the gift of perspective Ed, speaking for myself at least. You'd probably be surprised how much you're in thoughts of people around here. [Reply]
Sorry to hear, Ed. It's been inspiring to see your attitude and good humor through all of this. You've proven cancer can't take that away no matter how hard it tries. [Reply]
Ed you are a Warrior....whatever small ache and pains I have are trivial compared to what you are going though. Be strong..a whole lot of us are with you... [Reply]
I got a call from my actual doctor this morning. He said one of the meds he wanted to start me on Wednesday, the insurance company will not approve. So, I will get two out of three, since the two are ones I stopped due to the side effects, not that it quit working on my cancer. He wanted me to know ahead of time so I was not confused over why I was not getting what we had talked about last week. Thanks a ton, Blue Cross and Blue Shield. :-) [Reply]
Originally Posted by Lonewolf Ed:
I got a call from my actual doctor this morning. He said one of the meds he wanted to start me on Wednesday, the insurance company will not approve. So, I will get two out of three, since the two are ones I stopped due to the side effects, not that it quit working on my cancer. He wanted me to know ahead of time so I was not confused over why I was not getting what we had talked about last week. Thanks a ton, Blue Cross and Blue Shield. :-)
Sorry to hear it, man. Insurance companies should be helping the ones who need it the most, and that's you. [Reply]
Eddie, you have already far exceeded everything they told you at the beginning
What you have been doing is WORKING, somehow find the strength within yourself to keep fighting back with the EXACT same sense of humor, positive thinking and love of life that you've been tapping into all along
Easy for me to say, I know... but you can Do This [Reply]
Originally Posted by Simply Red:
Keep fighting Ed, I think about you every day and pray at night.
100% agree...
Long time registered lurker here. I've been following your posts. In my years of living you are one of the strongest people I have ever had the pleasure to (stalk :-)) watch. I have, and will continue to take to heart your comments on this board.
You, sir, are one of the strongest people I have never met. Keep up the fight. Don't ever give up!!!!!
I commend you for your fight and will. I will continue thoughts and prayers of you and yours.
Oh! Fight the insurance companies as much as you can. You paid them for a reason...It's their time to return the payment. Do what is, in you and yours best interest.
Do what makes you happy. That's what is important.
Originally Posted by Lonewolf Ed:
I didn't get that good of news today at the cancer center, but it was not entirely unexpected. The cancer in my liver has grown and nearby lymph nodes are swollen, plus I probably have two small spots of cancer, one in each lung now. I go in for chemo on Wednesday of next week, so I'll be there all day and come home with the pump hooked into my chest for 2 days like I used to do.
I did ask flat out if I am circling the drain and the nurse practitioner said no. I asked about if she thought I'd be alive next year to go back to Denmark and she looked down at her feet and said, "I don't know." I didn't ask so much to find out but to see if she'd be open about it, and she was. I already say I never know if my last trip was my last trip or not. In my condition, making plans even 6 months out seems like a bad idea. I just have to wait until the end of the year and see how things are going before I can decide if I should make plans and get my tickets or not.
Goddamn. Sorry for the shit news. Keep fighting Ed. You are a rock. I had kind of a tough week, but it's tough to even type that when you are dealing with this. [Reply]
I don't really come here much anymore but do check in on occasion just to see how you're doing.I wish you nothing but the best, good vibes, and the strength to keep going.
Thanks, all. I had my first chemo treatment yesterday since before I left for Europe in April. I was having problems last week with my swollen lymph nodes, in that I could eat maybe half of what I normally would, and it felt so crowded inside that it hurt and I had to stop eating. After Saturday, it got better and I have been able to eat my normal portions with no pains. Also, I am coughing less and it hurts less when I do. Somehow, I feel like there is more room in my abdomen and that my liver is not as large, either.
I told the nurse practitioner about it and she raised an eyebrow, listened to my lungs and said they sound " a lot better than last time." She felt around my abdomen and asked if this hurt, and if that hurt. No, no, no pains. Eyebrow went up again. "Well... good," she said. So then I went and had my trio of chemo bags and left with the pump which is slowly giving me 120 ml of folfiri or something like that, over a course of 46 hours.
Last night after 11 pm, I came as close to throwing up as possible. I sat with the raaalf bucket in hand, took my anti-nausea med and had the pre-puke drools. I physically willed myself not to puke, even though I felt my gut well up and get ready to launch my dinner. After 10 or 15 minutes, the atavan kicked in and I went to bed. The first time I was on this regimen, I never felt like I was going to throw up, but I had some nausea. I think it is since I have been on other stuff that my body is readjusting to this treatment and I will be okay with it soon. I have to get a late breakfast and take several pills now. [Reply]
That Viking willpower you possess Lonewolf is pretty damn impressive! Not sure I could have done a fraction of the fight you have been able to withstand.
You've got a lot of cheerleaders here Ed, albeit mostly ugly fat old guys, but what the hell it doesn't need to be pretty........ [Reply]
Originally Posted by scho63:
That Viking willpower you possess Lonewolf is pretty damn impressive! Not sure I could have done a fraction of the fight you have been able to withstand.
You've got a lot of cheerleaders here Ed, albeit mostly ugly fat old guys, but what the hell it doesn't need to be pretty........
Thanks. I sort of channeled that scene from Deadpool when his crazy girlfriend has the strap on behind him, and he says, "No! NO! NO! NO!" :-) [Reply]
I had my first round of chemo with the triple bags. It hit me pretty well from all sides. I've got the cold sensitivity back, neuropathy is coming back, chemo hiccups, chemo heartburn, and I may be dealing with the chemorrhea soon, too. I got my pump unhooked Friday, so at least I have full freedom of movement now and can use the shower. I go back August 1st for some more and the blood tests should show if the chemo is working on me or not. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Lonewolf Ed:
I had my first round of chemo with the triple bags. It hit me pretty well from all sides. I've got the cold sensitivity back, neuropathy is coming back, chemo hiccups, chemo heartburn, and I may be dealing with the chemorrhea soon, too. I got my pump unhooked Friday, so at least I have full freedom of movement now and can use the shower. I go back August 1st for some more and the blood tests should show if the chemo is working on me or not.
