Chemo - Days 23-25, (Thu-Sat) May 27-29

Sat Morning: Get together is a go. I'm well enough to receive guests. Thanks in advance to all who attend today's gathering. :-)

Thu & Fri: was a fight with injection induced nausea, but I managed. Only lost the battle Wed night. Overall went better than first go-around since I know what to expect and how to manage myself a bit better now.

Sat Afternoon (update): party was a success. Thanks to all to dropped by to lend a hand or just say hi. It was an "uplifting" experience. Special thanks to Gary, Derek, James W., James B., Tyron the heavy lifters. Thanks to Ted, Lianne, Deb and Heather who helped dig/level and supervise. Thanks to Sam and Dalson for watching the kids. Also thanks to our parents, Sheila, Ming, James and Dale for helping with food and cleanup. Thanks for the gift folks! I will remember this for a long time. :-)

-- Shane

Chemo Round 2, Day 1 (day 22 total)

 Chemo - Days 19-22, (Sun-Wed) May 23-26

 Enjoyed some sun @ SpringRidge farm with the kids on Sun, fireworks with them on Mon.

Tue: blood lab work & doctor consult -- results ok, white blood cells down a little, but nutrition and cell counts (red and white) cleared for continued chemo. They agree with me, they like Imodium too. (It really works well.)

Wed: Day: chemo injections x2 all day, was ok. Made use of Greg's radio he loaned me and listened to some 1955 sci-fi radio shows. Creepy writing/acting.
Night: nauseated. Going to sleep now. Was in good spirits until about 8pm. ... Darn, lost my cookies! (Don't bother looking for them, not that kind of lost.) :-(
Sigh, going to be another rough couple of days. Going to sleep for real now (hopefully). Hopefully, I 'll have better control over these symptoms by Sat. for my guests. But don't expect it.

Thanks,

Shane

Chemo - Day 16-18, (Thu-Sat) May 20-22

Fri May 21: started loosing my hair (everywhere), small amounts, and they don't just fall out, only with scrubbing do the hairs come out (like from a wet washcloth), but its coming out.

I was also particularly in pain and grumpy on Friday. I'm thinking its related to the hair loss starting. I apologize to all who crossed my path that day.

Nothing special to report for Thu or Sat.

FYI: Sat May 29th, looks like the event has been down-graded to "level the troublesome stones in my patio that can make people trip". A much smaller project. It was meant as something people can help me with and it needs to be done. If people have the desire to do something for me, but can't think of any way to help me, this is something that I need that people can help with. It is purely up to each person if they lift a finger, it is for those who feel they want to contribute but don't know how too.

Thank you,
Shane

Chemo - Day 12-15, (Sun-Wed) May 16-19

Not much to report. Apparently they zap me with the injection, life is hell, then I slowly recover, but not quite to the point of before the first injection, then they zap me again a bit stronger, then I recover until the next injection, but less than before the last one, zap & repeat.

So right now I don't feel so bad. I'm 1 week from my next injection and getting a little stronger each day, trying to recover the weight lost from the first 4 days after my first injection when I had trouble eating anything.

-- Shane

Chemo - Day 11, (Sat) May 15

Today was uneventful, relaxing. Had Vietnamese Pho soup for supper, yum! :-)

-- Shane

Chemo - Day 10, (Fri) May 14

...
This was a good day. Walked to Home Depot and back for some supplies, bathed Tao and a couple of other feats. Might have been due to the lunch Tea though... first caffeine fix for the last 10 days.

I like Gary P's suggestion of May 29th for a gathering at my place. Honestly, I'll be useless as it will be 3 days after my 2nd round of injections. I might be able to handle one bag and one stone, but then I'll be done... probably, we'll see. I bought safety stuff so I don't scratch myself and have to worry about my low white/red cell counts though, some 2x safety gloves and 5x dust masks. Let me know who's interested in attending so I can get supplies together. Since I won't be much help, if we don't get enough people, it will just be a work party (minus the work).

Shane

Chemo - Day 8-9, (Wed-Thu) May 12-13

Seems to be getting a little easier. I'm getting a handle on the self medication dosages / frequency so that I'm of more help around the house. Did the dishes last night! (Whoot!)

Kaye and Dale picked up a patio set for me today from Ikea:

• Picnic table
• Detached Bench (for one side of table)
• 2 single chairs (for other side of table)
• Overhead patio umbrella for center of table
• = $320 (ish), Picket white fence style chair/bench/table, lots of space between wood so light and airy looking.

They hope I'll sit outside more.

I think for that, I'll have to have a family gathering of able bodied people over to level the stones in our patio first. Looks like winter/summer heaving for a few years has wrecked havoc on their alignment. Anyone want to party at my place on a warm day coming soon (before mid summer, suggestions welcome). Hey, my BD's June 1st, I think this qualifies as one hell of a joint communal gift for a birthday (I'll still pay for the dirt required for leveling and can supply some food). ;-)

Shane

Chemo - Day 7, (Tue) May 11

Imodium is good. Praise be to Imodium! (I'm kidding, but it is still good!) In an attempt to fight back against weight loss, Imodium has allowed me to consume a lot of calorie laden corn chips. I'll go back to healthy stuff for my next meal, promise. ;-)

Chemo - Day 4-6, (Sat-Mon) May 8-10

Still here, still fighting.

Figuring out ways to fight, or overcome nausea to eat/drink more. Discovered having something dry to suck up the nausea saliva helps keep the pills down. Constipation replaced by the runs.

I've lost 5 lbs in the last 6 days. Kaye says I look now more like when we first met (11 years ago). Who knew? To loose weight, all you have to do is barely eat, and have your food not digest properly when you do. Cramps still keeping me up though, so I'm sleeping longer time periods to compensate.

Periods of non-nausea longer now, so I've had more food cravings. (What was with the craving that made me eat half of a head-lettuce today?!)

Kept myself busy (when I wasn't resting/sleeping):

• Sat: Did some Karate Sat morning. Managed to do about half a class at 20-25% normal intensity before becoming too fatigued to continue. Kids and Kaye did their classes too.
• Sun: Broke Nia's PC (whoops), disassembled Tao's old PC, used its parts to resurrect Nia's PC (Yay, don't need to buy a new one!)
• Felt sad for Kaye always looking at me like she was going to cry. Figured my messy hair and generally untidy, tired appearance didn't help, so I shaved my head to 2/8ths of an inch and shaved my whiskers off. Will make things easier to maintain and it looks way better, like I'm neat or something.
• Mon: Did some errands out of the house. Nice day for a walk. Ming's making Taco's for the kids (they're so happy). Kaye's out gardening.

Shane

Chemo - Day 2 + 3, (Thu,Fri) May 6-7

Fighting constipation, nausea and fatigue.

I couldn't keep down Thu night's dosage/supper, the nausea was too great and I wasn't in time with the just in case pill that time.

I can still get around, all my hair is still present, just discomfort, fatigue and the inability to eat much because my intestines aren't making room for more food. I'm trying to address that today. I look forwards to being able to eat normal quantities again. Two reasons for the constipation: 1) Kidneys demanding more than their share because of one of the injected chemo drugs, sucking water from everywhere, 2) one of the anti-nausea drugs (that runs out tonight) is very constipating. So hopefully as the kidneys recover, and the anti-nausea drugs wear off, it will go away.

Sleeping more (during the day), and sleeping less (during the night). The marathon has begun.

Shane

Chemo - Day 1, Wed May 5th [part 2]

Ok, that wasn't great, but it wasn't unbearable. Manged to get through it, read my kids a bed time story, and still check emails (hard on the eyes, my white screens are, yes! [in a Yoda voice])

All symptoms I've had previously in my life:

• Signs if pending throw-up (but it didn't happen, I prevented it), sweaty hands, upset stomach, increased saliva...
• Pains (stabbing kind) in the stomach/intestines like I'd foolishly eaten both milk and wheat recently. (aka constipation & cramps that stop digestion by clamping off the intestines with their spasms)
• Eye sensitivity, like I'd just had eye-doctor like drops that make it so that your eyes are very sensitive and someone else has to drive.

The nausea "just in case / super gravol" pill seems to have helped. Before that kicked in, tai-chi breathing meditation helped take my mind off it and self instinal massage helped with the cramps and pains as did (ahem...) trying to relieve the constipation so that the cramping areas could have somewhere to move too. All things I've dealt with before.

Again, maybe not quite "That's easy!" like my last post, but based on my past 36 years of life, its still quite doable. I'll get through this! :-)

Shane

Chemo - Day 1, Wed May 5th

Shane:

"That's easy!", Brave Brave Sir Robin from scene 35 of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" at "The Bridge of Death".

So far so good. Only a strong sensitivity to light (that gives me a headache in strong light, but that's from the anti-nausea drug). Other than that, only a strange feeling of unease, like I know something is wrong but I can't place what. Also, probably for the first time in my life, I am super-hydrated. I have tonnes of energy and I feel very alert. They pumped 1.5 liters of saline solution (slightly salty water, like our blood) into me as well as the chemo drugs over a 4.5 hour I.V. period (plus 3.5 hrs waiting) made for a long 8 hr day.

I kept myself busy by talking with Kaye, playing Sudoku and watching "Angry Lady" across the way from me. At first she made me nervous as she just stared at me with a snear and talked in Spanish about me to her husband (?) and pointed my way with her finger talking about those "hombres" (men) over there in the two beds (me and another white guy), while she's stuck in a chair. I got a bed because all the reclining chairs were taken when I arrived. Then she unfortunately had the nurse forget to press "confirm" on her I.V. pump for her program with a bag change and was delayed for 30 minutes in her treatment. The unfortunate part was she thought they said 3 hours due to a language barrier. "Worst place she's been", she said. On the contrary, I thought the cancer center was one of the best places I've been. I mean, the service (drink, food, comfort) was on par with a good first class airplane seat. Better than many restaurant service, that's for sure. Probem was, she didn't know how to ask for things, like how to put her feet up, a pillow, blanket... etc. I wanted to help (at least to make her stop staring in apparently jelousy) but I wasn't sure how to help. I found that more frustrating than the Chemo (except for the hair pulling at the end to remove the tape holding the I.V... that hurt more than the I.V.).

The symptoms don't really kick in until 2nd day, or so. 6 to 8 days later is when I'll loose my hair.

oh oh... 8pm... starting to feel really nauseous for the first time. Time for the "just in case" pill.

-- Shane

May 04, Tue - Chemo 101

I'm now officially nervous about tomorrow.

I purposely didn't research all the side effects because I tend to dwell on things and I have an active imagination. Well, now I know the coming side effects (well, possible side effects) and I've felt nauseous all day, and I haven't had any meds yet... So I'm not looking forwards to tomorrow when I'll be nauseated for real.

I'll be taking 1100mg of the pill Capecitabine twice a day (=2200mg!), but I have to do it in 5 pills as they don't come in 1100mg dose sizes (1x 500mg + 4x 150mg = 1100mg). Also, I'm to take two different anti-nausea drugs 30 min before the first dose of chemo, and periodically for the next two days. I also have a 3rd anti-nausea drug that some describe as a super-gravol that is take as needed, but not often. All the anti-nausea drugs have side-effects of their own. I don't know if I'll be having diarrhea or constipation. Some do one, some do the other, so I'm hoping they'll cancel each other out.

However, it will take time for the side effects to "take effect", up to 6-8 days roughly for the worst symptoms. Then I'll stabilize somewhat and the symptoms will become more consistent, less variable. All are temporary and should stop after chemo is finished, except possibly the Chemo-Brain, or Chemo-Fog as they call it. Temporary memory loss or short-term memory loss, forgetting about where I put something, which word I meant to say (mid sentence) etc. I'm apparently allowed to use that as an excuse for anything I forget for the rest of my life. ;-)

But, so far, I'm the youngest adult I've seen at the cancer center by at least 15 years (usually older than mom & dad) with the exception of one preschooler who was there (and bald). So I'm hoping that my body can tolerate it better than some of the "standard" population of cancer examples that generate the symptom statistics listed for all these drugs.

If I'm lucky, I'll just be tremendously fatigued and most of the symptoms will pass me by (which is why I won't list the huge list here, I'll maybe list some upon request but only if I actually experience them).

So far, I have the "jitters" only. Chemo starts 10am tomorrow.

-- Shane