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]
I thought I was in for a LONG day at the cancer center. I was supposed to have a CT scan on Friday, but the machine went down, so I had to do it this morning 4 hours before my appointment with the doctor, and then treatment later. I was looking at 10 hours or more stuck there. But, I caught a break today. My doctor decided not to have me receive chemo today so I can be up for Thanksgiving and all the cooking I have to do, and she even said I can have a glass of wine. The CT scan showed that my liver tumors and blood clots are shrinking and she said the treatment is working well. My doc then told me she is moving to San Diego the first week of January and said it has been an honor to treat me. Her replacement will have some very large shoes to fill. Doctor Baranda has taken exceptional care of me these past 15 months.
I will bring her a thank you card when I see her again for the last time. [Reply]
Congrats, best wishes and keep fighting. I lost my grandfather Saturday to lung cancer. Its been a shitty couple of days. He just found out he had it less than a month ago. [Reply]
Originally Posted by dmahurin:
Congrats, best wishes and keep fighting. I lost my grandfather Saturday to lung cancer. Its been a shitty couple of days. He just found out he had it less than a month ago.
I am sorry for your loss. I know it is a shock with how sudden it was. When I was first diagnosed, my doctor said I'd be dead in 10 weeks without treatment and that stunned me so badly since I was not feeling like I was about to drop over anytime soon. Try to take some comfort in that treatment is far from a picnic, and unfortunately, the older a person is, the rougher it can be. It may have been a blessing that he went so fast. I saw my secondary mother slowly go downhill for a year before she finally passed, and it was wrenching to witness. I am not glad that she is gone, but I am so very glad that she is no longer suffering, and did she ever suffer horribly. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Lonewolf Ed:
I am sorry for your loss. I know it is a shock with how sudden it was. When I was first diagnosed, my doctor said I'd be dead in 10 weeks without treatment and that stunned me so badly since I was not feeling like I was about to drop over anytime soon. Try to take some comfort in that treatment is far from a picnic, and unfortunately, the older a person is, the rougher it can be. It may have been a blessing that he went so fast. I saw my secondary mother slowly go downhill for a year before she finally passed, and it was wrenching to witness. I am not glad that she is gone, but I am so very glad that she is no longer suffering, and did she ever suffer horribly.
My dad passed away last weekend unexpectedly. He fell and hit his head doing yardwork and went into a coma a couple of hours later as a result of a hematoma. He never regained consciousness. I was close to my dad and I'm not glad he's gone, but I'm happy for him that his end was relatively quick and painless. He had a good, 80-year life and he was a good dad. Good luck with your treatments, Lonewolf. [Reply]
Originally Posted by dmahurin:
Congrats, best wishes and keep fighting. I lost my grandfather Saturday to lung cancer. Its been a shitty couple of days. He just found out he had it less than a month ago.
Originally Posted by patteeu:
My dad passed away last weekend unexpectedly. He fell and hit his head doing yardwork and went into a coma a couple of hours later as a result of a hematoma. He never regained consciousness. I was close to my dad and I'm not glad he's gone, but I'm happy for him that his end was relatively quick and painless. He had a good, 80-year life and he was a good dad. Good luck with your treatments, Lonewolf.
That has to be a horrible shock. I am glad to read he had a good 80 years. My prayers are sent for comfort for you and your family in this difficult time. And thanks, those treatments can be rough! [Reply]
Originally Posted by Lonewolf Ed:
I am sorry for your loss. I know it is a shock with how sudden it was. When I was first diagnosed, my doctor said I'd be dead in 10 weeks without treatment and that stunned me so badly since I was not feeling like I was about to drop over anytime soon. Try to take some comfort in that treatment is far from a picnic, and unfortunately, the older a person is, the rougher it can be. It may have been a blessing that he went so fast. I saw my secondary mother slowly go downhill for a year before she finally passed, and it was wrenching to witness. I am not glad that she is gone, but I am so very glad that she is no longer suffering, and did she ever suffer horribly.
I definitely take comfort in knowing he didnt suffer much. Just didnt wake up saturday morning. Peacefully in his sleep was how went. Initially he was given a year and made it less than a month. Went very quick. [Reply]
Originally Posted by patteeu:
My dad passed away last weekend unexpectedly. He fell and hit his head doing yardwork and went into a coma a couple of hours later as a result of a hematoma. He never regained consciousness. I was close to my dad and I'm not glad he's gone, but I'm happy for him that his end was relatively quick and painless. He had a good, 80-year life and he was a good dad. Good luck with your treatments, Lonewolf.
Originally Posted by dmahurin:
Congrats, best wishes and keep fighting. I lost my grandfather Saturday to lung cancer. Its been a shitty couple of days. He just found out he had it less than a month ago.
Today was a tough one at the center. It was crowded and I got into the treatment room about a half hour late and my first of the IV bags a half hour past that. During the initial blood draw after the nurse jabbed the needle into the port in my chest, which by the way I got placed in there one year ago today and no problems with it at all, she put a bandage rather sloppily over the needle and pulled out several clumps of chest hair... :-)
So it was about 1 pm when I got started with the IVs. I left about 15 minutes past 6 pm. I did doze a little during the afternoon, but this treatment sets fatigue upon me right away. I will be in bed by 11 pm tonight, after I take one last anti-nausea med. I feel about a 2 or 2.5 on the 10 point scale, where a 5 would have me next to a bucket to be safe, a 7 would mean it's coming at some time, and 10 would be no matter where I was, bucket or not, it's RAAAALLLF time.
I have muscle spasms along my calves and heels, and the instep of my feet which sometimes leads to a cramp that makes my foot feel like it wants to fold on itself like a switchblade being closed. That will wake a guy out of a deep sleep! [Reply]
Thanks, and I did have a great Turkey Day. It was not as memorable as last year where I felt so invigorated after eating the big meal. I was injured and had a lot of healing to do, so it made my body feel good last year. This year, it was not like that but it was just as tasty. I will make another turkey dinner on Christmas Eve and aside from the occasional ham and turkey barbecue sammiches, I won't have turkey again until next Thanksgiving, 2016. If I don't eat turkey as often, then the big turkey dinners are more special and something to look forward to. And that attitude is even more important for me now since I am battling cancer. Anything that is positive for me, no matter how small, I strive to be aware of it and grateful. When I charge that battery up, it helps me through the rough and tough times. [Reply]
