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 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!
Great news brother!! Awesome about your trip!! [Reply]
As my trip to Denmark approaches, I have been planning various things and I always make a DVD of my trips, and film an intro page stating stuff like "Denmark 2014: My Tenth Trip in Ten Years" with a hand drawn Danish flag and whatever else I fancy to put on there. I play some tunes, without a shred of permission, as well. Since last year was my 10th trip in ten years, I chose two songs that mention ten years in the lyrics for the intro music and the ending. I went with Ramble On and Ten Years Gone by Led Zeppelin.
I asked two of my lady friends if they thought it would be in poor taste if I went with Zeppelin's In My Time of Dying for the intro and one of them said yes and said she was about to scold me and the other called me a turd! Ah, wimmens, you need to lighten up a bit! :-)
I am actually thinking of Zeppelin's Bring it On Home for the intro and Sabbath's Hard Road for the ending. [Reply]
OW! This could have started better. The nurse stuck the needle in my chest that will be there for 2 days and it flaming well hurt like a big bee sting. It's taking a while to feel better, too. It's sort of a tight feeling and twinges until it calms down. I did not pass out, however. My average is getting better on that! Now I wait to be called back to see the nurse practitioner, then go upstairs and wait some more for treatment. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Lonewolf Ed:
OW! This could have started better. The nurse stuck the needle in my chest that will be there for 2 days and it flaming well hurt like a big bee sting. It's taking a while to feel better, too. It's sort of a tight feeling and twinges until it calms down. I did not pass out, however. My average is getting better on that! Now I wait to be called back to see the nurse practitioner, then go upstairs and wait some more for treatment.
I finally saw the nurse. She got caught up in traffic by Olathe slowed by snowfall. My blood work looked good, she said. Now I am waiting for my chemo bags, and have been for over 30 minutes now. It is slow as molasses in, well, February in this place. [Reply]
I was told last time that I'd be taken off oxaliplatin for a while to hopefully avoid permanent nerve damage. I was happy for the fact that it takes 2 hours for that stuff to drip into me, so I thought I'd be out of here very early today and didn't bring any food or a drink. I was just told that I will be getting the full regimine today, so instead of being out of here by 11:30 am, I will be lucky to get done by 3 pm. I am NOT happy at all. :-) [Reply]
I get the pump removed tomorrow and I must admit, the oxaliplatin is making me nervous. I've had twice the dosages that most receive and it can cause permanent nerve damage and the cold sensitivity sucks. I asked my nurse if we could continue my treatments in Zimbabwe until it warms up in KC. [Reply]
I'm sure they e got your best interest in mind and wouldn't give you more than you can handle. They just know you're a warrior so they aren't taking it easy on you.
On Friday, I have to see the colon doc again. Maybe he will be setting up my next CT scan. He has talked about surgery a bit, but not anything too specific as far as dates go. I will remind him I am going to Denmark on May 4th, so if he does want to hack on me, it better be no later than March. I want to be fully recovered before I go so I can get back in shape and build strength. I do a lot of walking over there and when I am in Løkken, I have to drag my suitcase and carry-on about a quarter mile or more to the apartment from the bus top and vice versa. I don't want to have to stop every 50 feet or so and catch my breath like I am some brokedick old fart.
I was told that before my next treatment in 2 weeks, they will test me by having me pick up coins and not drop them, which is what happens when the nerve damage and cold sensitivity are getting to be too much. So far, I've done fine the two times she had me pick up coins. Also, I walk down the hall and back. If my feet are numb and tingly, I'd walk funny or stumble or even fall. I told them I used to be a martial artist and assistant instructor, so it's hard for me to fall down on accident. I shift my weight instinctively and don't fall. That isn't to say I've nearly fallen, though. I just walk slower when my feet feel all tingly and like there are needles in them. [Reply]
