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]
Originally Posted by Lonewolf Ed:
I got a call on the way home from one of my nurses, but it was not one of those "come back right away!" calls. She said my platelets rose from 84 to 137, but they are still low. 150 is the minimum they want to see. They might put me back on the stuff that gave me a horrid rash on my face last year to try to knock that CEA down, but I hope there is another option. The rash on my face did go away but you can still see some discoloration on my abdomen where it popped out there. That was miserable and I don't care to revisit it. .
Deal with the rash, enjoy the holidays and look forward to your kick ass spring trip. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Chiefnj2:
Deal with the rash, enjoy the holidays and look forward to your kick ass spring trip.
I can't recall if I ever posted a pic of myself with the rash, but I looked like an extra from the Walking Dead. The rash burns, itches, and hurts all at the same time. Just turning my head at night on my pillow popped several of the blisters I had and I woke up with blood spots on the case. The first day I go the treatment that ended up giving me that hideous rash, I threw up three different times that day, too. If I get that treatment again, I hope it's after Christmas. I want to enjoy a nice brew on New Years Eve.
Then I just have to survive until April 24th and I am out of here! [Reply]
Originally Posted by Lonewolf Ed:
I got a call on the way home from one of my nurses, but it was not one of those "come back right away!" calls. She said my platelets rose from 84 to 137, but they are still low. 150 is the minimum they want to see. They might put me back on the stuff that gave me a horrid rash on my face last year to try to knock that CEA down, but I hope there is another option. The rash on my face did go away but you can still see some discoloration on my abdomen where it popped out there. That was miserable and I don't care to revisit it.
I feel so tired. Nap time. I just got a message from a dear friend. Her husband found out today he has testicular cancer. A needle biopsy awaits. I'd have to be knocked well out before they took a needle to my bollocks. I feel terrible for the guy.
You've kicked this cancer's ass back and forth across the pond a couple times now. I know I speak for many here when I say your zest for life is inspiring.We are all 100% in your corner whatever comes next. [Reply]
Originally Posted by cdcox:
You've kicked this cancer's ass back and forth across the pond a couple times now. I know I speak for many here when I say your zest for life is inspiring.We are all 100% in your corner whatever comes next.
Originally Posted by cdcox:
You've kicked this cancer's ass back and forth across the pond a couple times now. I know I speak for many here when I say your zest for life is inspiring.We are all 100% in your corner whatever comes next.
This is unusual for me... I can hardly wait for treatment tomorrow. The lymph nodes in my upper abdomen are swollen again, causing constant pain and making me think of a certain scene in the movie "Alien." I've got a lingering cough, little energy, and aches in my back muscles. If they can make that all go away or least calm down some, I will be happy. I can't eat as much as I normally do with those stupid lymph nodes crowding my guts. I made a big pot of chicken soup which is going to last for a third dinner as a result.
So it all comes down to what the results of the CT scan on Friday were before I know what treatment comes next. I hope I can sleep tonight, but if the lymph nodes keep this up, I won't get much at all. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Lonewolf Ed:
This is unusual for me... I can hardly wait for treatment tomorrow. The lymph nodes in my upper abdomen are swollen again, causing constant pain and making me think of a certain scene in the movie "Alien." I've got a lingering cough, little energy, and aches in my back muscles. If they can make that all go away or least calm down some, I will be happy. I can't eat as much as I normally do with those stupid lymph nodes crowding my guts. I made a big pot of chicken soup which is going to last for a third dinner as a result.
So it all comes down to what the results of the CT scan on Friday were before I know what treatment comes next. I hope I can sleep tonight, but if the lymph nodes keep this up, I won't get much at all.
I'm out of awesome words, damn... you just have to hang on through it
Sleepless nights, little appetite... just DONT give in brother, please [Reply]
Originally Posted by Lonewolf Ed:
This is unusual for me... I can hardly wait for treatment tomorrow. The lymph nodes in my upper abdomen are swollen again, causing constant pain and making me think of a certain scene in the movie "Alien." I've got a lingering cough, little energy, and aches in my back muscles. If they can make that all go away or least calm down some, I will be happy. I can't eat as much as I normally do with those stupid lymph nodes crowding my guts. I made a big pot of chicken soup which is going to last for a third dinner as a result.
So it all comes down to what the results of the CT scan on Friday were before I know what treatment comes next. I hope I can sleep tonight, but if the lymph nodes keep this up, I won't get much at all.
I'm praying for you Ed. You're one awesome human being... [Reply]
Sorry to hear about your troubles, Ed. cdcox said it far better than I ever could, other than to say, if I were in your shoes, I'd be throwing a fit.
Originally Posted by cdcox:
You've kicked this cancer's ass back and forth across the pond a couple times now. I know I speak for many here when I say your zest for life is inspiring.We are all 100% in your corner whatever comes next.
