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:
My brother lives in Colorado, so should I need some alternative meds, he can help me out there. Thanks, though!
In other news, I took a strong anti-nausea med last night and half an hour later, timidly ate an apple. It stayed down. That was at 9 pm. At 3 am, I was in need of another pain pill and I had a small bowl of Cheerios with it, and that stayed down. For breakfast today, I had two boiled eggs, yogurt, orange juice, and a Boost. It's still with me. I am sleepy, but feel almost good. My brother said I look much better today and not like I was about to fall over at any moment like I looked the past two days.
Good news, Ed. That class of meds is very effective. Your docs know what's best for you and I'm glad you are eating too. Keep your eyes on Denmark! [Reply]
Originally Posted by Lonewolf Ed:
My brother lives in Colorado, so should I need some alternative meds, he can help me out there. Thanks, though!
In other news, I took a strong anti-nausea med last night and half an hour later, timidly ate an apple. It stayed down. That was at 9 pm. At 3 am, I was in need of another pain pill and I had a small bowl of Cheerios with it, and that stayed down. For breakfast today, I had two boiled eggs, yogurt, orange juice, and a Boost. It's still with me. I am sleepy, but feel almost good. My brother said I look much better today and not like I was about to fall over at any moment like I looked the past two days.
For what it's worth Ed, your story and battle was a small part of my inspiration to make the decision to resign from my 100K job after 6 years and move to AZ to work on my health and well being for the next 6 months and screw any work. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Gonzo:
Yeah, man it's time to seek other methods for pain. You're way too sensitive to narcotics. See my earlier post about alternatives. There has to be something.
Weed might do the trick. Plenty of guys on here might be able to help you out there.
Originally Posted by scho63:
For what it's worth Ed, your story and battle was a small part of my inspiration to make the decision to resign from my 100K job after 6 years and move to AZ to work on my health and well being for the next 6 months and screw any work.
I am humbled that you give me some credit for that! Take it from me, health is nothing to take for granted. I hope you renew yourself on many levels and grow from your experiences. [Reply]
I am no longer going to be getting the experimental treatment. My bilirubin is still going up and that means something is blocking the bile drain down in my liver, probably the cancer tumor. I am jaundiced and it is probably also what has been making me throw up, so it may not be the narcotics. The doc even said it may be making me itchy, but I was not jaundiced when that all started. I am going back to my original team, so what happens next, I have no idea. I am worried about my body not allowing me to go on my trip, and if I don't go, I know that will be a factor in me dying. [Reply]
Not to already harp on the weed but I really wish my old man had started smoking before he passed away, the cancer cause him to not be able to eat. He was just so against smoking pot and I really think it would of helped him but ed like everyone else please brother start with some edibles if the smoke is too harsh or vape instead, as always your in my thoughts viking warrior [Reply]
Originally Posted by Lonewolf Ed:
I am no longer going to be getting the experimental treatment. My bilirubin is still going up and that means something is blocking the bile drain down in my liver, probably the cancer tumor. I am jaundiced and it is probably also what has been making me throw up, so it may not be the narcotics. The doc even said it may be making me itchy, but I was not jaundiced when that all started. I am going back to my original team, so what happens next, I have no idea. I am worried about my body not allowing me to go on my trip, and if I don't go, I know that will be a factor in me dying.
This is the cause of your itching both now and recent past. Not going to be fun [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaNewGuy:
Not to already harp on the weed but I really wish my old man had started smoking before he passed away, the cancer cause him to not be able to eat. He was just so against smoking pot and I really think it would of helped him but ed like everyone else please brother start with some edibles if the smoke is too harsh or vape instead, as always your in my thoughts viking warrior
I had a very rough day yesterday. Pains were way up. I think I need new meds as they are messing up my stomach and I threw up some blood twice. Today, I go in for a liver drain to be placed in me. Slicing and prodding begins at 3:30 pm at the main KU hospital. If it allows my liver to drain bile, it should be a huge help, but drain it where exactly? This stuff is scaring me, guys. [Reply]
Hang in there brother. I hope the drain does the trick. I was diagnosed with hodgkins in HS treated with radiation, came back in college treated with 22 months of chemo. If it hadn't been for weed I wouldn't have lived through round 2. It literally save my life. I wouldn't or couldn't eat, my counts we off, couldn't get treatments, then pneumonia and shingles set in finally this red neck kid received a package from a friend who couldn't take watching me like that. I had a little smoke, then for the first time in many many months killed a full order of biscuits and gravy. Receiving that package was my turning point. I'm praying for you and hope that you have relief after this procedure. [Reply]
