Dr. Evil

I'm only kidding, he's not evil at all. I met my Radiologist/Oncologist Monday. My radiation treatments will begin in about 2-3 weeks. I will have another PET scan next week to see if there are remaining cancerous cells. Following that test, I will have a planning session where the positioning of the radiation on my body is determined. Side effects from this treatment can be a sore throat & heartburn due to the location of the treatment. Long term side effects can be a secondary cancer. I will receive 20 treatments, Monday-Friday for 4 weeks. The actual procedure, or laser, will be a low dose of radiation for about 2 minutes each day.

After we finished the consultation, and my Radiologist was walking us out, he asked if I had any other questions. I'm not sure why I even thought of this, but I asked him if he were in my shoes, would he go through with this treatment? He laughed a little and replied, "I have been through it." He had Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Despite all my anxiety & hesitation about this, I know I'll be in good hands.

Did I mention tomorrow is my last day of chemotherapy? I'm breaking out the last of my hoarded Reese's peanut butter eggs.

Kick-the-can anyone?

Let's get a few items of business out of the way. To my knowledge, no Nitrogen Mustard has been located, so we'll just move forward without it. My red & white blood counts are getting very low. I'm not exhausted & still functioning as normal, hopefully, I can avoid a transfusion altogether. I still have my eyebrows & eyelashes, they didn't fall out. If everything (my body) could just hang in there for 2 more weeks, this will all be over with soon.

To alleviate some apparent confusion, yes, I am totally bald.


So the big question, how am I feeling? Let me tell you. I have thoroughly enjoyed the onset of spring and with it, the warm weather. It recharges me, much like the scent of chlorine. I've spent several days working in the yard when the munchkins allow it. Dividing & transplanting, pulling a few weeds but mostly the encroaching grass in the flowerbeds, it's all therapy to me. I watched my parents & grandparents work in their yards, it was inevitable that I'd become just like them.

I did not appreciate yard work (much like dark chocolate) until I was an adult. I hated pulling weeds as a kid. Why would I enjoy it when there was that weird clown with a hat sprinkler to run through, dirt hills to ride our bikes on and kick-the-can to be played? I'm either that old, or we were just that cool. During the age of Atari and before every toy was battery-powered, we played kick-the-can.

Pardon me,

It’s difficult to believe, but there is a shortage of Nitrogen Mustard. This is one of the, ever so lovely, components in my chemotherapy. When I arrived Thursday, the beginning of my last cycle/round of treatment, I was informed that there was a little problem.

I’ll back track a little to explain. My presentation of Lymphoma is unique. Marla, my mediastinal tumor for those of you now joining us, went all out and had to be large & bulky. As such, my Oncologist felt it was best to treat me with the Stanford V regimen. This includes Nitrogen Mustard, Adriamycin, Bleomycin, Vinblastine, Vincristine, Etoposide, and Prednisone. Once a week, I get a specific combination of drugs injected in my PICC line. It takes one cycle (4 weeks) to go through the different drug combinations, and then repeat. This treatment is completed after 3 cycles. Most Lymphoma patients are now treated with the ABVD regimen, which includes Adriamycin, Bleomycin, Vinblastine, and Darcarbazine and 4 cycles long. So what’s the big difference? Stanford V has lower amounts of Adriamycin and Bleomycin. This lowers my risk for a secondary disease such as Leukemia or breast cancer.

There is just not enough demand (I guess that’s a good thing) for Nitrogen Mustard, as it is no longer being produced fast enough, if it is being produced at all. My Oncologist was unable to locate any after calling all over the country. My response to treatment has been so successful, that maybe skipping this one won’t make much of a difference. That’s what I hoping for. I still marvel at medical advances. I try not to think too much about how chemotherapy was really developed. I like to imagine a group of bored scientists going out to Utah’s west desert, digging up some dirt, extracting some chemicals from it and deciding to inject them into cancer patients to cure them. Fight poison with poison.

Little Treasures

From my 6 year old neighbor, Brynn.
How cute is that?

No News Is Good News?

Sadly, this is a very anti-climatic post. Everything is status quo. My last chemo-cocktails, Vincristine & Bleomycin, went great. As expected, I had mild nausea and flu-like symptoms late that night. Everything was gone by morning. Reducing the amount of Prednisone was fantastic news to me. Hopefully, this will reduce the weird sensations, comparable to that of Restless Leg Syndrome, in my own legs. The tingling & lack of sensation in my fingertips has increased from the Chemo, resulting in numerous typos. When I find them my internal monologue is says, “Me fail English, that’s unpossible.”

My nurse Terri.

Seriously, look at what she's required to wear before pushing my drugs.

Every week I go in for treatment, I’m always the youngest patient there. I’m not certain how I feel about this. My age probably explains part of why I haven’t been hard hit with the standard side effects (at least that’s what I’m telling myself.) I do like the way my Oncologist gets so excited about my progress and pinches my chipmunk-cheeks as I walk out the door. Makes me feel like I’m six years old again & I can’t help but smile.

My view from "Kick Cancer's Ass Inc."

This was April 1 in Utah, I'm not joking either.