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 hate to break up the baby sitter discussion, but I have prepared a speech for my party I am holding in the Irish House on April 27th, and thought maybe some of you might like to read what I plan to say. I hate speaking before groups, but I think it is called for here, so I have to grin and bear it. Just a reminder what the party is about, I have invited my cousins and their spouses, and friends I have made over there. I used to make it an early birthday party, but this year it is a gathering of family and friends. I bet I get presents anyhow...
In Danish: Hearty welcome, good friends and family and thanks for coming. This is a special place and it is good to see you all here.
In English: First, I would like to introduce the owner of the Irish House, Jerome, and thank him for all the work to make this party happen. Also, welcome to my nephew Alan making his first visit here, and welcome back to my brother Darron and to Chipp. Even when I am not here, I feel like part of me is always here in Aalborg. I have so much to come back for here in people and places. Denmark is part of me and I feel it in Aalborg, Vrensted, Løkken and places like the Irish House. I hope that in some small way, I am part of those places, too.
Two years ago, Darron, Chipp, and Rod joined the King Christian IV Guild after me. I saw to that in part so that they would be part of Aalborg, too. So if I am gone, (looking at Darron and Chipp) you can still come back here on your own and I hope that you will. But, if this is my last trip here, let it be sad after I am no longer living. I want to celebrate with you all that I am here now and I will be here tomorrow and the day after that. Right here and now, I have family and friends and good food and drink in one of my favorite places. For me, this is a fine moment in life to share.
In Danish: To friends, to family, to life. Cheers!
Originally Posted by Cochise:
Dang Ed, that's a lot of juice. Hope there is some gatorade in your near future.
I threw up violently about 10:45 pm, so that set me back yet again. Once my gut was calmer, I took a stronger anti-nausea med and two oxycodones. My skin is so itchy now, it woke me up so in a haze I sat here and put skin lotion on myself, but it still itches. I hope it is just this winter air and not some new cancer crap side effect. I had been avoiding that particular anti-nausea med because one of the warnings was it has been shown to kill elderly dementia patients. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Lonewolf Ed:
I threw up violently about 10:45 pm, so that set me back yet again. Once my gut was calmer, I took a stronger anti-nausea med and two oxycodones. My skin is so itchy now, it woke me up so in a haze I sat here and put skin lotion on myself, but it still itches. I hope it is just this winter air and not some new cancer crap side effect. I had been avoiding that particular anti-nausea med because one of the warnings was it has been shown to kill elderly dementia patients.
Ed, that's a common side effect of strong narcotics and lotion won't help. It's your nerve endings having a field day. You're very sensitive to the drug. Try cutting them in half. You may also notice some digestive issues, (more then you normally do). Oxy can seriously slow down your plumbing.
If all else fails, ask your doc about codine, tramadol or bupenophrine. Those are lower level scheduled narcs. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Lonewolf Ed:
Gitte is one of my favorite bartenders at Café Frandsen in Løkken. Danish girls are so hot!
Good choice there! That's some prime Danish pastry for sure. :-)
Your skin might be very itchy if your liver is releasing extra bile into your body. Did your doctor mention how the skin will be itchy with liver cancer? :-) [Reply]
Originally Posted by Gonzo:
Ed, that's a common side effect of strong narcotics and lotion won't help. It's your nerve endings having a field day. You're very sensitive to the drug. Try cutting them in half. You may also notice some digestive issues, (more then you normally do). Oxy can seriously slow down your plumbing.
If all else fails, ask your doc about codine, tramadol or bupenophrine. Those are lower level scheduled narcs.
Yeah, histamine reaction. I had some major tooth problems a couple years ago and got prescribed oxy. Had the same problem. Nausea too. It went away for me after a little while. Constipation was the worst. Didn't shit right for a month. [Reply]
What a terrible Sunday I had. I had pains all through my abdomen and colon all day, threw up my Cheerios shortly after eating them, and had a whopping two whole eggs to eat today. I could hardly even drink fluids. And the kicker, my liver is malfunctioning. When your poo comes out chalky grey like caulk, it's not a good thing. I feel weak, too, and like I got into a fight and didn't land one punch, but the other guy sure did. [Reply]
