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:
The way my veins blow, and the last time it was just from having an IV in me for two days and felt like someone took a hammer to back of my hand, I'd probably be getting treatments started from between my toes by now if not for my port. I am glad for you if you don't need one, since there is a risk of infection and it happened to me with my first port.
Oh, I hate them in the back of my hand. Those fuckers hurt. I have a large vein on the other side of my elbow. It's deep, but these ladies in treatment are smart enough to use a longer needle.
Between the toes? LOL That's for heroin. :-) [Reply]
I was against this, but since the doc said it is good, I will let you all see. My rash is much drier and less irritating now since I am on prednisone. I have two pics, one from when the rash manifested initially and then 5 days after that. It is not pretty, but like the doc told me, when it is this severe it has shown patients live longer. And it better be LONGER and not like 3 months longer to go through this mess.
Originally Posted by Lonewolf Ed:
I was against this, but since the doc said it is good, I will let you all see. My rash is much drier and less irritating now since I am on prednisone. I have two pics, one from when the rash manifested initially and then 5 days after that. It is not pretty, but like the doc told me, when it is this severe it has shown patients live longer. And it better be LONGER and not like 3 months longer to go through this mess.
Jeez, I bet that's what Bryan Adams looked like when he was 14.
Great to hear that this negative rehash of puberty is actually a long term positive.:-) [Reply]
I have been on prednisone for 3 days now and it started drying and shrinking the bumps almost immediately. It's nice to be able to sleep without being disturbed by rolling hot waves of itchiness across my cheeks. Now if I can just ditch the hiccups, I might be able to get to sleep. [Reply]
I almost look normal again, so the prednisone is working well. My birthday dinner party went very well, save for the dessert. Damned hand held egg beater is broken, so I had to whisk the whipping cream with precious little success. So, the dessert could have been better looking with thick whipped cream on top. Oh, well. Everything else was great and we all had a good time. I even cleaned up the kitchen, took out trash, and started the dishwasher before going to bed. I felt good last night and I am tired this morning, but hungry.
Oh, and I am not to have alcohol, but I had a shot glass of Samuel Smith's organic chocolate stout ANYHOW. :-) [Reply]
Originally Posted by Lonewolf Ed:
I almost look normal again, so the prednisone is working well. My birthday dinner party went very well, save for the dessert. Damned hand held egg beater is broken, so I had to whisk the whipping cream with precious little success. So, the dessert could have been better looking with thick whipped cream on top. Oh, well. Everything else was great and we all had a good time. I even cleaned up the kitchen, took out trash, and started the dishwasher before going to bed. I felt good last night and I am tired this morning, but hungry.
Oh, and I am not to have alcohol, but I had a shot glass of Samuel Smith's organic chocolate stout ANYHOW. :-)
Originally Posted by Lonewolf Ed:
I almost look normal again, so the prednisone is working well. My birthday dinner party went very well, save for the dessert. Damned hand held egg beater is broken, so I had to whisk the whipping cream with precious little success. So, the dessert could have been better looking with thick whipped cream on top. Oh, well. Everything else was great and we all had a good time. I even cleaned up the kitchen, took out trash, and started the dishwasher before going to bed. I felt good last night and I am tired this morning, but hungry.
Oh, and I am not to have alcohol, but I had a shot glass of Samuel Smith's organic chocolate stout ANYHOW. :-)
And let's let that be the last Doctor's order you ignore.... We'd rather have you with us than not. When you beat this we'll hook you up with a beer ot three... [Reply]
Originally Posted by GloryDayz:
And let's let that be the last Doctor's order you ignore.... We'd rather have you with us than not. When you beat this we'll hook you up with a beer ot three...
Well, it was a small shot glass and I didn't even fill it. I'd get more alcohol on Sunday at Communion than I got last night! I did read the sheets of instructions again and it does say to avoid or keep alcohol intake to a minimum, so I won't get fussed at too badly if I tell my doc about it. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Lonewolf Ed:
Well, it was a small shot glass and I didn't even fill it. I'd get more alcohol on Sunday at Communion than I got last night! I did read the sheets of instructions again and it does say to avoid or keep alcohol intake to a minimum, so I won't get fussed at too badly if I tell my doc about it.
Heartburn woke me up way too early, but temporarily. I have been getting that fairly often with the new treatment. I will be going back to bed after this post. So, today is my 48th birthday and I will make a birthday wish for a Royals win, for members here to take some deep breaths and not snap at one another over the debacle at Arrowhead on Sunday, and for me to not end up diabetic since my friends brought me tiramisu, baklava, and a big gooey chocolate cake. I already finished off the bag of black jellybeans, because my will is only so strong. I said I just wanted birthday cards, but they didn't listen.
I have to go in to the cancer center today late, at 3:45 pm, for a blood test and visit with the doc, but no treatment today. That will be next week. I hope they don't have a cake waiting for me today. [Reply]
