Happy New Years to all

Hello all, I took some time off from blogging while my mom and dad were in town. Cari spent the night X-Mas eve so we all could wake up early for Paige. She surprised us this year and was up before we were. That was a first. Gifts were plentiful and we all had a good time -- I hope all of yours was the same. We ran into some bad luck just after mom and dad left though. Paige, dad, Cari, and I all got a case of the stomach flu and has kept us all down either in bed or near the bathroom. I was going to post Tuesdays weight from the holidays which had gotten to 170 lbs, but was already down to 166 lbs just after one day of being sick. I should say that I will not have to have a colon cleansing any time soon.

I had chemo yesterday instead of today this week. I wanted to be around for the book closing at work. Paige had a chance to go with me because Cheryl had to work and she jumped on it. It was a real commitment for her because I had to get her up at 6:30am to get there on time with the weather and roads. We still were 20 minutes late. She had fun, we took pictures with her Nintendo DS and played with our faces with the decorative modes. She got the layout of the place and soon had mastered where snacks, water, ice and the restrooms were at. The only thing she missed was the care dog that gets to come see everyone. I am not sure if that is a Friday thing only, or if some of the volunteers just didn't come in for the holidays. We had one person "graduate" for cancer treatments while we were there, she was from Wyoming. There seems to be a lot of people from there coming to get cancer. They rent an apartment when they come, I can't imagine what a financial burden they are placed under.

I have two more treatments until my next petscan, the new protocol is 4 treatments now to make sure the medication stays on top of things.

Talk to you all later and have a safe Happy New Years.

Love you all for caring,

Jeff

Some great news for X-MAS

HO HO HO!!!!!! Merry Christmas. I know its a bit early, but the good news is that my body is responding to chemo well and there is significant size reduction and activity reduction. They noticed some lumps on my thyroid though, but it too has reduced from the last scan. The lymph nodes around the colon and liver have also reduced in size and activity. 

The guy who comes to see me on Fridays just came to say hello, and his new chemo batch can't stop the cancer. They can only hope to slow it down to give him as much time as possible. Sad news, I felt a bit guilty being happy when he has such opposite news. He and his wife just found out that their 3 year old daughter has type 1 diabetes and will have to be on insulin for her lifetime. It has already taken her pancreas in the battle.

It sure sucks being in a room full of sick people, but then I have to remind myself that I am one. We will take the victory today and ride it for awhile and see what the next 5 treatments will do.

Talk to you all later,

Jeff

No word yet.

Well, it looks like I will have to wait until Friday to get my results. I called, but did not get a call back yet. I hate this part because the anxiousness is just bugging the crap out of me. I want to know if I am winning or losing this battle and some good news would go a long way.

I did weigh myself on Tuesday and I gained one pound to come in at 166lbs. I got home today and got right down to getting the exercise done before getting tired. I have been going to bed around 9-9:30 and I figured its the fatigue factor coming back.

I am going to cut this message short, I get pissed off waiting, but wanted to let all of you know.

Have a great night,

Jeff

The Day after

Hello all,

Yesterday I went in for my PET scan to see if these treatments are doing any good. After all, it's still about winning or losing this battle. I was so anxious this week and really was looking forward to yesterday. I wasn't allowed to eat after 5am for this test, but I made it up to eat though. When I got done, I ran into my nurse in the cafeteria while I was scarfing down a big slice of pizza. She said she would look at it Monday or Tuesday. The anxiousness continues.

I did weigh myself on Tuesday and I stayed at 165lbs. Yeah!!!! I really feel good at this weight and has helped me feel a little more fit. I believe that has allowed me to work out a little more. The numbness in my feet is also going away and I have much better balance with the backing off of the meds. I hate to give cancer a break, but this coordination coming back is good though. The chances of falling goes down and thats a good thing with the platelets dropping. All this week I have had continous bloody noses. I not sure if its all the platelets fault. This dry air and the allergy to the cats doesn't help either as I am constantly blowing my nose.

Well, I am going to see if I can get on the roof and put up some Christmas lights. I thought the house would go bare this year with me being sick and the roof getting so much snow lately, but this weeks warm weather and rain has melted the roof clean.

Talk to you all later and have a great weekend,

Jeff

This blog coming to you live!!!!!!

Well maybe not live to you, but I am hooked up and taking in round number 5. I haven't blogged all week, but I have been getting tired and going to bed right after Paige goes down. I only gained 1 pound this week and I would love to stay at 165, as I feel good at this weight. I have been working out, but I didn't drink as much water this week as I normally do. Shame on me I will have to do better as  I can tell by me getting dizzy every time I stand up or lay down. The exercise has been split between snow removal and a lot of walking on job sites or a little weight lifting. The arms are still week, but they are getting better.

The doctors seem a little fickle on my treatment. I am staying at the 20% less treatment this week, but they are going to schedule a pet scan before my sixth treatment now. That is good for my knowledge and for insurance purposes. That test is $4700 bucks a pop and I am at least close to this years deductibles being met. Damn it's expensive to be sick. They were going to wait until after my 8th treatment, but now the policy is every two months. I should have Cheryl take a picture and post it like they always have a picture of the reporter when they are covering the story but the video feed is down.

Take care everyone,

Jeff