Good News? Depends on Who You Ask...

So, on Thursday I had my appointment with Dr. Kevin Weeks. Strangely enough, it was the first time I had met him. He'd been on vacation since Dr. Sierra retired, so my previous appointments had been with Mitra Turner. I'm not sure what her official title is, but I'll give her the benefit of the doubt since she seemed to know what she was talking about. Anyway, the results of my PET and CT scans were outstanding. Everything has gone as well as could be expected. I had thought the plan was for me to have at most one more cycle (two more treatments) if everything looked good. Unfortunately, Dr. Weeks wants to have TWO more cycles (for more treatments), and then another PET/CT scan. I was not very happy to hear that. I really thought I was getting towards the end of this, but I still have quite a ways to go. I am not going to be done by the beginning of hockey season, which is very disappointing.

I had another chemo session after the doctor's appointment, which went exactly as the previous three sessions had gone. (Read about the previous sessions if you don't know what I mean.) It was strange, as all of my previous appointments had been in the morning, but this one was in the late afternoon. It totally through off my sleep schedule. I got home about 5:00 PM and immediately fell asleep. I woke up wide awake about 11:00 PM, and just watched TV until 4:30 or 5:00 AM. I went back to sleep, and didn't get up until almost 1:00 PM today. I hope I don't have anymore late afternoon sessions, as it made it tough to get anything done today.

Anyway, I am feeling okay. Still a little nauseous, but I'm eating a lot of ice cream, which helps my stomach feel better. I am going over to my parents' house tonight where I will be spending the night. Michigan kicks off it's college football season at 9:00 AM tomorrow morning, and I don't think I could get myself up and over there in time if I stay here, so I will just sleep in their spare room tonight. I am amped for this season. I expect Michigan to start 10-0 before going to Wisconsin on November 10. If we can get past the Badgers, and then Ohio St. at home the next week, we'll be playing in the BCS title game in New Orleans. But it all starts tomorrow against Appalachian St...

Radioactive Man

This session went pretty well. I was just exhausted for the few days after the session, but the nausea wasn't too bad, I had no headaches, and the over-the-counter supplement L-Lysine has helped keep the mouth sores away. I was actually able to put in a full day of work on Monday, which is the first time since I started treatment. Everything was good upon my return, except somebody was holding my stuffed Aflac duck hostage. That's fine...take advantage of the sick guy...I can deal...

Today I had my CT and PET scans. Basically they inject me with a radioactive sugar that any rapidly growing/dividing cells (like cancer cells) feast on. Then these cells will glow when I am scanned in an MRI machine. Pretty cool technology. Yesterday I couldn't eat any sugar or carbs so the cells would be "extra-hungry" for the injection. I didn't realize how carb-heavy my diet is...

On Saturday, I'm buying a new car! I've decided to buy a 2007 Jeep Wrangler. I found the one I want at a dealership in Idaho, about 3 hours away, and am going to pick it up on Saturday morning. I'm very excited. I've always wanted a Jeep, and I finally decided to do it.

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

So I had my eighth treatment today. There is a small possibility this is my last one (fingers crossed!). I have a CT/PET Scan scheduled for next Thursday, August 23. Hopefully this will show that all the cancer cells are gone, and I will be done with the chemotherapy. More realistically, they will want to do one or two more sessions to make sure. Either way, I feel like I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

For the third straight time, I tossed my cookies right after treatment before leaving the cancer center. I'm not sure why it has been like this the last few sessions. They increased the strength of the anti-nausea medicine they gave me, and I did something a little different with breakfast (tried bagels and cream cheese instead of fruit and/or cereal). Didn't work. Anyway, once again I felt immediately better after that, and came home, had lunch, then took a nap.

I woke up and got a little work done, then watched the Tigers lose to the Indians. The Tigers have played absolutely awful the last few weeks, and with 8 games against the red-hot Yankees in the next 12 days, it's only going to get worse. Sooo frustrating. Mostly, I just lounged around through the rest of the evening. I felt okay - not great, not terrible. Headed to bed early to get a good night's sleep.

Doesn't Make Any Sense

I felt pretty good on Friday, but for some reason I felt worse on Saturday and Sunday. Somewhat lightheaded and nauseous all day long. On Saturday I went over to my sister's place and saw her new apartment, and today I had lunch over at my parents' house. Forcing myself to get out helped me feel a little bit better, but I still pretty much feel like crap, which doesn't make any sense to me, seeing as how I felt pretty good on Friday. I'm hoping to go to work tomorrow, but if I feel tomorrow like I felt today, I don't think it's going to happen...

Will I Boo, or Will I Cheer?

The first part of this session has gone okay. For the second straight time, I vomited during treatment at the cancer center. They tried a different anti-nausea medicine this time, but it didn't really work. Fortunately, I was able to keep my dinner down on Wednesday night, and being able to drink liquids helped keep me from getting dehydrated.

Today, I slept away most of the day. I didn't wake up until almost 11:00 AM, and then after breakfast, proceeded to go back to sleep until almost 4:00 PM. I got up and took a shower which helped me feel better, then sat down to watch Barry Bonds go for home run #755. As much as I hate Bonds, I will certainly cheer for him when he breaks the record. This is the "Steroid Era", and he has been the best player in the Steroid Era.

Back Home

So, I had a very good trip to the east coast. I flew into Philadelphia on Saturday, then drove up to Wes and Kathy's place in Jersey City. We took the train into Manhattan and met up with Erica and Dan for lunch. We went to a restaurant in Little Italy (I don't remember the name of it) and had a very pleasant lunch. Afterwards, we went to a little cafe and had pastries and coffee and played with one another's cell phones - Erica has both a Blackberry and an iPhone. What does she need with both?! :-P Anyway, it would have been a perfect afternoon except for it rained nonstop while we were up there. Either way, it was a fantastic lunch, and I appreciate the four of them coming out in the rain to meet me.

The rest of the trip went pretty smoothly. The bed and breakfast I stayed in was very nice, and the people that I trained in the office in Medford were fantastic. Ron, the boss, took me into downtown Philadelphia on Monday night, and gave me a mini-tour of all the historical places there. I saw Independence Hall, Christ Church, Carpenter's Hall, and the remnants of Ben Franklin's house. We had a nice dinner out there - we ate outside at a nice restaurant, and though the day was very hot and humid, the evening was very comfortable. On Tuesday night, I had my first real Philly Cheesesteak. I will say that (unfortunately) it didn't live up to the hype. Don't get me wrong - it was very good. But with all the hype, I was expecting an orgy in my mouth...

The only downside of the trip was the trip home. I had the nice Philadelphia to Minneapolis to Salt Lake City to Pasco trip. First, it took over an hour to get through security in Philadelphia. Then, my plane was delayed in Minneapolis, and I missed my connection in Salt Lake City. I was put on a later flight, which ended up being delayed almost an hour itself! All in all, I left my hotel in Medford at 6 AM EST/3 AM PST and didn't get home in Pasco until almost 10 PM PST/1 AM EST.