Well here it is Saturday evening and I just wanted to get a couple of things down before going to bed. Dave is not having fun with this. The main complaints today have been achy joints - knees, ankles, hands, back - sore mouth, that feeling of something caught in his throat again, and some nausea. He did have a slight fever this evening - 99.4, so I finally got him to take two regular strength Tylenol (he can't have aspirin or aspirin based products, so I can't give him anything else). I tried to get him to take either the Phengren or the Kytril for the nausea, but he isn't too keen on the idea.
The trip to the clinic (Lake Wright office) today was fairly uneventful. Dr. Atienza's nurse, Kathy, was there today, and is keeping an eye on us. She again stressed the importance of fluids - Gatorade, Jello, soup, stuff that will keep Dave hydrated and be easy on his throat. On the way home, we stopped and picked up some Gatorade, and he's consumed about 24 oz since 2pm. The hard part is getting him to eat or drink. He did have a couple of sausage, 2 over-easy eggs and a piece of toast for dinner tonight. Then proceeded to go to bed at 7pm - he is just tired of feeling horrible.
Both his PEG and PICC are looking fine, but this is about the time that he gets a small infection with his PEG - it starts oozing more - a white to yellow snot like substance. So far it is looking good, and his PICC is looking good as well. Speaking of PICC, had a slight problem with the home care folks, and their visit schedule. Dave's PICC dressing is supposed to be changed every 3-7 days - we are on the 7 day schedule to minimize the wear and tear on his arm with the adhesive. Three weeks ago when Dave was noticing his PICC wound was getting red and had a slight discharge, we had them come out a day early - Friday instead of Saturday. This in turn was to shift the dressing change to Fridays, last week - no problems, yesterday - when we didn't hear from the nurse by 10, I called them and was told his visit was on Saturday. A few phone calls later, things were straightened out, their supervising nurse came out and changed his dressing, and ensured us that he was scheduled for Fridays. Of course all of this compounded with Dave's current disposition, made it an enjoyable Friday in this Vigal's household.
Well - so much for a quick update...I'm still sticking with the mantra of one day at a time, and tomorrow will be better. Take care and stay safe as you finish out this year and bring in the next.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Day 7-6
Well here it is Saturday morning, and I figure I had better give everyone an update. Although this round started out easier then the previous two we are back to the low point again. Treatment started on Tuesday (7-2), and since he still had the ringing in his ears, no Cisplatin, so we were out of the clinic before lunch. Wednesday (7-3) Dave felt fairly good - as you have read - went to the mall with David, and ended up installing the four new light fixtures we got for Christmas. Thursday (7-4), Dave started the day out fairly well at 0500 since I had to go to work again. He and David took back the lamps that we decided not to use and then by the end of the day he started feeling a little run down. Yesterday (Friday and day 7-5), Dave spent the entire day on the couch, really just feeling achy, very grumpy, nothing was right and as the day progressed he really didn't feel any better. His mouth is getting sore, his joints hurt, and nothing seems to go right. Woke up this morning feeling pretty much the same, although the corners of his mouth are getting chapped. I am going to try to really push the fluids hard today. The good news is that we are heading to the clinic this afternoon to turn in the pump, then tomorrow the Neulasta shot, and we're back on the road to recovery.
The hardest part is keeping Dave's spirits up. Days like yesterday and today, just wear on his psyche. Feeling and thoughts like is it really worth it? Is the pain, the hassles, feeling really sick really worth it? Of course the answer is yes to all, but to keep him in a positive mindset is hard, when he really doesn't want to go through this.
This morning has been a slow morning - tried to get Dave to eat some breakfasts (I made some "Savory Breakfast Pudding" recipe by Emril - sounded good - bread pudding with meat and cheese) which didn't appease his appetite, so ended up making an Orange Julius and that seemed to go over fairly well. Sticking with the theme of any thing liquid today.
Overall, it is still one day at a time. I know that tomorrow will be a better day for Dave, just have to get him through this one. Well I've got a couple more chores to finish this morning before heading to the clinic. Thanks again for all your prayers and support, Dave will be back up writing in a day or so. Take care.
The hardest part is keeping Dave's spirits up. Days like yesterday and today, just wear on his psyche. Feeling and thoughts like is it really worth it? Is the pain, the hassles, feeling really sick really worth it? Of course the answer is yes to all, but to keep him in a positive mindset is hard, when he really doesn't want to go through this.
This morning has been a slow morning - tried to get Dave to eat some breakfasts (I made some "Savory Breakfast Pudding" recipe by Emril - sounded good - bread pudding with meat and cheese) which didn't appease his appetite, so ended up making an Orange Julius and that seemed to go over fairly well. Sticking with the theme of any thing liquid today.
Overall, it is still one day at a time. I know that tomorrow will be a better day for Dave, just have to get him through this one. Well I've got a couple more chores to finish this morning before heading to the clinic. Thanks again for all your prayers and support, Dave will be back up writing in a day or so. Take care.
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
7-3 Day
Woke up last night just after midnight after a cough that was like a VIRP (Vomit/Burp). It was really weird, I just coughed real hard, got a vomit taste in the way back of my throat and thought I was going to throw up. Grabbed my Chemo bag, jumped out of bed and made it to the bathroom in less than two seconds. Held my head in the toilet and coughed numerous times but never got sick. Laid on the floor for about 15 mins and started feeling like it might want to come out the other end. Nothing! Made it back to bed, but my throat was burning with the vomit taste that I just couldn't get rid of. 2 hours later I experienced the exact same thing. Never got sick but just a burning taste in the back of my throat. Back to bed and slept with no more issues. Got up at 6:30, took a shower, brushed my teeth and gargled with some mouthwash and started feeling pretty good. Not really sure what caused this episode, but haven't had it start back up yet.
I'm actually feeling pretty good today except for the fact that where my feeding tube goes into my stomach, the muscles around it are extremely sore from all the coughing. I really think that that Cisplatin was/is the major cause of the ill side effects that I have been feeling in the past and by not getting it this time, it's causing me to feel much better this 3rd round.
Marjie went to work around 7:30 this morning, I sat on the couch drank coffee and watched the news till 9am when I woke up David so we could go to the mall and do little shopping. David and I spent the entire day shopping, getting some lunch, and hanging 4 new light fixtures around he outside and inside of the house. Ate a good chicken dinner and tasted it without any unpleasant tastes.
Time will tell, but after 36 or so hours since I got my 3rd round, I'm doing pretty darn good. My ears are pretty much good to go, very slight ringing in the ears. I'll discuss all this with Dr. Atienza next Wednesday and see what he says. Maybe it will be ok, or maybe he'll want to give me another dose of that Cisplatin. Just gonna have to wait and see.
That's it for now! More to follow!
I'm actually feeling pretty good today except for the fact that where my feeding tube goes into my stomach, the muscles around it are extremely sore from all the coughing. I really think that that Cisplatin was/is the major cause of the ill side effects that I have been feeling in the past and by not getting it this time, it's causing me to feel much better this 3rd round.
Marjie went to work around 7:30 this morning, I sat on the couch drank coffee and watched the news till 9am when I woke up David so we could go to the mall and do little shopping. David and I spent the entire day shopping, getting some lunch, and hanging 4 new light fixtures around he outside and inside of the house. Ate a good chicken dinner and tasted it without any unpleasant tastes.
Time will tell, but after 36 or so hours since I got my 3rd round, I'm doing pretty darn good. My ears are pretty much good to go, very slight ringing in the ears. I'll discuss all this with Dr. Atienza next Wednesday and see what he says. Maybe it will be ok, or maybe he'll want to give me another dose of that Cisplatin. Just gonna have to wait and see.
That's it for now! More to follow!
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
7-2 Day
3rd round of Chemo started today. Marjie and I arrived at the Oncologist at 7:45 this morning. Nurse drew some blood and checked it for platelets which were apparently down the last time they took blood. Actually, the last time they checked blood it was only two days after my Nuelasta shot which was right after the 2nd round of chemo. Anyway, platelets looked good so they began preparing for the dose of chemo. I mentioned to the nurses that Dr. Atienza told me that if I still had ringing in the ears or other issues with my hearing that he was not going to give me the Cisplatin this time. Since I do have a slight ringing in the ears, I advised he nurses. They read the doctor's notes and said that they were not going to give me Cisplatin.
Started off with the Aloxi (anti-nausea), then to the Taxotere and finally to the Flourouracil (5FU). This procedure only took about 3 hours instead of the usual 7-8 hours that we had been used to. Not getting the Cisplatin this time meant not getting 3 other IV fluids which really cut down the time there.
One of the other pluses about not getting the Cisplatin is that there is a good chance I'll feel much better this week instead of so lousy like I have the other two times. We found out from the nurses that the Cisplatin really causes a lot of nausea and of course the ringing in the ears deal. So we'll see as the hours tick away on how I feel.
The downside about not taking the Cisplatin is that I'm not going to get all the Chemo that the doctor originally planned on. Dr. Atienza and the nurses said not worry....but I am!
Obviously, since this is getting updated, I'm home. I feel good, not nauseated, still have an appetite and taste buds are working good.
Hope everyone had a nice Christmas. We sure did. We spent Christmas Eve with our good friends the Reeves up in Stafford, VA. Brought back some great memories of holidays spent together with them in Guam. Christmas was enjoyed with Marjie's brother, George, and her sister and brother-in-law, Sarah and Aaron. We enjoyed a classical Vigal holiday dinner - prime rib roast. Marjie has got the roast down, and complimented it with garlic mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, rolls and a jello salad.
That's about it for now, we'll see how the 3rd round works.
Started off with the Aloxi (anti-nausea), then to the Taxotere and finally to the Flourouracil (5FU). This procedure only took about 3 hours instead of the usual 7-8 hours that we had been used to. Not getting the Cisplatin this time meant not getting 3 other IV fluids which really cut down the time there.
One of the other pluses about not getting the Cisplatin is that there is a good chance I'll feel much better this week instead of so lousy like I have the other two times. We found out from the nurses that the Cisplatin really causes a lot of nausea and of course the ringing in the ears deal. So we'll see as the hours tick away on how I feel.
The downside about not taking the Cisplatin is that I'm not going to get all the Chemo that the doctor originally planned on. Dr. Atienza and the nurses said not worry....but I am!
Obviously, since this is getting updated, I'm home. I feel good, not nauseated, still have an appetite and taste buds are working good.
Hope everyone had a nice Christmas. We sure did. We spent Christmas Eve with our good friends the Reeves up in Stafford, VA. Brought back some great memories of holidays spent together with them in Guam. Christmas was enjoyed with Marjie's brother, George, and her sister and brother-in-law, Sarah and Aaron. We enjoyed a classical Vigal holiday dinner - prime rib roast. Marjie has got the roast down, and complimented it with garlic mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, rolls and a jello salad.
That's about it for now, we'll see how the 3rd round works.
Friday, December 22, 2006
6-5 Day
Had a doctor's appointment with Dr. Debo this morning for a basic check-up and to make sure all was well. Since he's the ENT doctor, we talked to him about the issues I've been experiencing with my hearing. About the only symptoms I'm having now is a slight ringing in the ears. He basically looked in my ears, cleaned out some wax, and had the audiologist run a hearing test. Tests showed that my right ear is within specs, but I have a loss of high frequency in my left ear. This had already been noted when I had a hearing test done by the VA when I retired from the Navy. I'm gonna try to get the results from the test I had earlier and get them to Dr. Debo, so we can establish some kind of baseline to see what if any loss has occurred since I started the Chemo treatment.
That's about all we can do about the hearing issue right now. Not sure if I'll still get the Cisplatin on Tuesday or not.
PICC line dressing got changed this afternoon and is looking much better.
Food is tasting better and better so I'm trying to enjoy it as much as possible since I only have a few more days left.
That's all for now!
That's about all we can do about the hearing issue right now. Not sure if I'll still get the Cisplatin on Tuesday or not.
PICC line dressing got changed this afternoon and is looking much better.
Food is tasting better and better so I'm trying to enjoy it as much as possible since I only have a few more days left.
That's all for now!
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
6-3 day
Quick post tonight. I'm feeling tons better. Most of the side effects have subsided greatly. Taste buds much better and most things are tasting pretty good. Still have a slight ringing in the ears, but have an appointment with Dr. Debo on Friday, so I'll have him take a look and then whatever he says, I'll relay to Dr. Atienza so he can make a decision on whether or not to give me the Cisplatin on Tuesday.
Went to Dr. Atienza's office this morning to have his nurses look at my PICC line. They both took a look and said that it looked ok. Actually, the redness around the insertion point has subsided a little, but there is a little dried puss I can see under the bandage that was worrying me. The nurses said if the red ring got bigger and/or sore and I developed a fever, then I should have it looked at again.
So with all that, things are going good...looking forward to enjoying some Prime Rib Christmas night.
Went to Dr. Atienza's office this morning to have his nurses look at my PICC line. They both took a look and said that it looked ok. Actually, the redness around the insertion point has subsided a little, but there is a little dried puss I can see under the bandage that was worrying me. The nurses said if the red ring got bigger and/or sore and I developed a fever, then I should have it looked at again.
So with all that, things are going good...looking forward to enjoying some Prime Rib Christmas night.
Sunday, December 17, 2006
5-7 Day
It's been a few days since I posted, so I figured I'd better get this thing updated. Have been feeling pretty good for the last few days and a lot of the nasty side effects have subsided. A few are still here and bugging me.
My tastes buds seem to still be out of whack. Food is tasting better than it did a week ago, but things still aren't like they're supposed to be. Meat doesn't seem to have the nasty metallic taste, but for some reason things just taste bland and no matter what I do, I can't improve them. We bought a bag of pistachios at Costco yesterday. I ate some this afternoon and couldn't even taste the salt on them. They tasted very bland and totally unsalty. I don't what's going on...seems like I have an issue with salt and not being able to taste it for some reason.
Other issue is that it appears my PICC line is getting infected. This has been ongoing for almost a week now with no improvement. Friday night I was having a lot of pain shooting up and down my arm and around my armpit where the PICC line goes in. Seemed better Saturday so we just have been monitoring it over the weekend. I'm calling the nurse at the Oncologist tomorrow morning and hopefully they'll want me to come in and have a look at it. I've been taking antibiotics for the the last 7 days for the infection around the feeding tube, but that doesn't look any better either.
My stomach is a little sore about 6 inches all around from where the tube goes in, and that is also bothersome.
I tell you what, this stupid PICC line and Feeding tube are major pains in the a$$. This treatment can't get over soon enough for me.
Ringing in the ears have subsided a little, but it seems that instead of it coming and going with real noticeable changes, I now just have a constant, not as loud as before, but a constant ringing in the ears. I don't know what the doctors are going to do about it. I talked to Dr. Debo's (ENT doctor) nurse about it Friday and was informed that the doctor was advised, and if he wanted to see me prior to my scheduled appointment on the 22nd, they'd call me for an early appointment. So far nothings happened.
Other than that, things remain the same around here. I'm getting sick of sitting around here all day with not much to do, but whenever we go out and do something, I start to feel tired and not very good after a while, so I'm trying to keep busy here...lots of short walks with Coho I guess.
Glad to hear my buddies in Washington finally have power back after that storm. With all the fallen tress in the area, JR shouldn't have to worry about firewood for a long time.
My tastes buds seem to still be out of whack. Food is tasting better than it did a week ago, but things still aren't like they're supposed to be. Meat doesn't seem to have the nasty metallic taste, but for some reason things just taste bland and no matter what I do, I can't improve them. We bought a bag of pistachios at Costco yesterday. I ate some this afternoon and couldn't even taste the salt on them. They tasted very bland and totally unsalty. I don't what's going on...seems like I have an issue with salt and not being able to taste it for some reason.
Other issue is that it appears my PICC line is getting infected. This has been ongoing for almost a week now with no improvement. Friday night I was having a lot of pain shooting up and down my arm and around my armpit where the PICC line goes in. Seemed better Saturday so we just have been monitoring it over the weekend. I'm calling the nurse at the Oncologist tomorrow morning and hopefully they'll want me to come in and have a look at it. I've been taking antibiotics for the the last 7 days for the infection around the feeding tube, but that doesn't look any better either.
My stomach is a little sore about 6 inches all around from where the tube goes in, and that is also bothersome.
I tell you what, this stupid PICC line and Feeding tube are major pains in the a$$. This treatment can't get over soon enough for me.
Ringing in the ears have subsided a little, but it seems that instead of it coming and going with real noticeable changes, I now just have a constant, not as loud as before, but a constant ringing in the ears. I don't know what the doctors are going to do about it. I talked to Dr. Debo's (ENT doctor) nurse about it Friday and was informed that the doctor was advised, and if he wanted to see me prior to my scheduled appointment on the 22nd, they'd call me for an early appointment. So far nothings happened.
Other than that, things remain the same around here. I'm getting sick of sitting around here all day with not much to do, but whenever we go out and do something, I start to feel tired and not very good after a while, so I'm trying to keep busy here...lots of short walks with Coho I guess.
Glad to hear my buddies in Washington finally have power back after that storm. With all the fallen tress in the area, JR shouldn't have to worry about firewood for a long time.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
14 December 2006, Oncologist Appointment
Had a follow up appointment with Dr. Atienza yesterday, he's my oncologist. This was basically just a routine appointment to see how I was recovering from the chemo and to check my white blood cell count. We got to the appointment on time, but ended up waiting for an hour and a half to finally get seen by the doctor. Guess they had some walk-ins and just got behind during the day. The nurse took a couple vials of blood and by the time we finally got to see the doctor, we forgot to get the white blood count from him. I'm currently waiting on the place to open up this morning so I can get that information.
The appointment went good. I did most of the talking and Dr. Atienza did most of the listening. I basically reiterated how I was feeling and how I felt right after the treatment. We discussed some of the side effects I've been experiencing and he was concerned about the issues I brought up in regards to my hearing. I've been getting some ringing in the ears for about the last week and certain noises/sounds have changed. It's hard to describe what's going on, but things like the beep on my GPS unit really bothers me when I drive now, and talking on the cell phone with the ear bud is bothersome, and yesterday, when I was at the store, all the background noises really seemed weird.
Anyway, he seemed pretty concerned about those issues and wants me to keep him informed over the next week to see if any other changes in my hearing happen. He suggested I talk to Dr. Debo, the ENT doctor and possibly schedule a hearing test this week. He also said if the ringing in the ears doesn't clear up by the 26th of December, then he was not going to give me the Cisplatin chemo during my next session. He said that one of the side effects associated with taking the Cisplatin is that the nervous system can be affected and ringing in the ears or difficulty hearing high pitched sounds can occur. He says that not giving me the Cisplatin wouldn't be detrimental on my progress as I've already had two doses of the stuff and that during the radiation therapy I would be continuing to get chemo therapy once a week during that process. About the only good thing associated with the radiation therapy is that my chemo dose will go way down. He said that during that portion of the treatment, I would not be getting the same chemo that I'm receiving now and instead of it taking 8 hours to get all the chemo, the lower dose he would be giving me would only take about an hour to get.
So what I got out of all that is that if I'm still having issues with my hearing, I won't get the Cisplatin this time. Not getting this next dose of Cisplatin shouldn't have too much of an effect on me getting rid of the cancer???? Does that make sense?
We also noticed where the PICC line goes into my arm, there is some redness and a little bit of discharge that's appeared in the area. This was very concerning to me because of the fact that this PICC line bandage MUST remain sterile. If it gets infected, I could have serious issues due to the fact my immune system is down and t that the other end of the line goes into the large vein just above my heart.
Since Dr. Hollis, the PEG doctor had placed me on some antibiotics for the same issues I am experiencing with the feeding tube, Dr. Atienza decided to "lets do a wait and see" thing and see if the antibiotics I'm taking might clear it up.
If no results by Monday, I'm to call him.
Marjie and I decided to go ahead and call the home care people and see if they could come out today and change the dressing instead of waiting till Saturday when it's scheduled to be changed. I'll feel better if that happens and for a nurse who works on these things to get a good look at it.
Other than that, Dr. Atienza thinks things are going well with my treatment and says that 95% of the stuff I'm telling him is to be expected. He's seems like a very good doctor to me and has made it known to both of us that if we want to try other types of nausea medicine or mouth sore medicine or diarreaha medicine that there out there and if I don't feel like I'm getting the results with what he's given me that we can try other alternatives. Sounds good to me, seems like things are working ok. I haven't thrown up yet, and the nausea medicine makes me tired, but maybe that's a good thing.
That's about it for now, I need to call his office and get those white blood cell counts, reschedule an appointment with him, call Dr. Debo about the hearing stuff, call the home care people and then mail some packages off.
Take care out there and thanks for all your prayers and well wishes!
The appointment went good. I did most of the talking and Dr. Atienza did most of the listening. I basically reiterated how I was feeling and how I felt right after the treatment. We discussed some of the side effects I've been experiencing and he was concerned about the issues I brought up in regards to my hearing. I've been getting some ringing in the ears for about the last week and certain noises/sounds have changed. It's hard to describe what's going on, but things like the beep on my GPS unit really bothers me when I drive now, and talking on the cell phone with the ear bud is bothersome, and yesterday, when I was at the store, all the background noises really seemed weird.
Anyway, he seemed pretty concerned about those issues and wants me to keep him informed over the next week to see if any other changes in my hearing happen. He suggested I talk to Dr. Debo, the ENT doctor and possibly schedule a hearing test this week. He also said if the ringing in the ears doesn't clear up by the 26th of December, then he was not going to give me the Cisplatin chemo during my next session. He said that one of the side effects associated with taking the Cisplatin is that the nervous system can be affected and ringing in the ears or difficulty hearing high pitched sounds can occur. He says that not giving me the Cisplatin wouldn't be detrimental on my progress as I've already had two doses of the stuff and that during the radiation therapy I would be continuing to get chemo therapy once a week during that process. About the only good thing associated with the radiation therapy is that my chemo dose will go way down. He said that during that portion of the treatment, I would not be getting the same chemo that I'm receiving now and instead of it taking 8 hours to get all the chemo, the lower dose he would be giving me would only take about an hour to get.
So what I got out of all that is that if I'm still having issues with my hearing, I won't get the Cisplatin this time. Not getting this next dose of Cisplatin shouldn't have too much of an effect on me getting rid of the cancer???? Does that make sense?
We also noticed where the PICC line goes into my arm, there is some redness and a little bit of discharge that's appeared in the area. This was very concerning to me because of the fact that this PICC line bandage MUST remain sterile. If it gets infected, I could have serious issues due to the fact my immune system is down and t that the other end of the line goes into the large vein just above my heart.
Since Dr. Hollis, the PEG doctor had placed me on some antibiotics for the same issues I am experiencing with the feeding tube, Dr. Atienza decided to "lets do a wait and see" thing and see if the antibiotics I'm taking might clear it up.
If no results by Monday, I'm to call him.
Marjie and I decided to go ahead and call the home care people and see if they could come out today and change the dressing instead of waiting till Saturday when it's scheduled to be changed. I'll feel better if that happens and for a nurse who works on these things to get a good look at it.
Other than that, Dr. Atienza thinks things are going well with my treatment and says that 95% of the stuff I'm telling him is to be expected. He's seems like a very good doctor to me and has made it known to both of us that if we want to try other types of nausea medicine or mouth sore medicine or diarreaha medicine that there out there and if I don't feel like I'm getting the results with what he's given me that we can try other alternatives. Sounds good to me, seems like things are working ok. I haven't thrown up yet, and the nausea medicine makes me tired, but maybe that's a good thing.
That's about it for now, I need to call his office and get those white blood cell counts, reschedule an appointment with him, call Dr. Debo about the hearing stuff, call the home care people and then mail some packages off.
Take care out there and thanks for all your prayers and well wishes!
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
12 December, 2006
Don't laugh too hard!
Not much to update tonight. I'm feeling better and better and the nausea is all but gone. Went for a long walk with Coho which did me good. Weather has been awesome around here for the last week and since it's supposed to rain a little tomorrow I figured I should take advantage while I can.
Changed the name of the blog and decided to post another picture to document the changes in me.
Re-read some of my older posts to compare how I was feeling after the 1st round of chemo compared to how I'm feeling after this round and was astonished how different it was this time. Guess it goes to show that you cant' expect it to be the same with each dose.
That's about it for now.
Monday, December 11, 2006
11 December 2006
Wow! Do I ever feel better today. Marjie had to go to work this morning and take care of Department Head stuff and submit the paperwork for the HUMS transfer, so she figured she'd get up at 0400 and head out the door by 0500. I had been tossing and turning most of night and had woken several times with bouts of diarrhea, so I went ahead and got up with her. Had about a half a bowl of oatmeal and some grape juice which went down fine and my stomach was actually feeling a little better. Made some coffee later in the morning and that also seemed to work just fine. Ate a half of a chicken sandwich and some yogurt later, then had a tuna fish sandwich and some chips later on.
One more bout with the diarrhea and now my gut seems to have calmed down. Time will tell, but I figure, now that I've been able to get some solid food in my stomach, and the Nuelasta shot is working, maybe this diarrhea crap will be over or at least contained to once a day instead of 6 o 7. I know this is probably TMI (Too much information), but I'm telling it like it is.
Other side effects I'm experiencing: Ringing in the ears! Big time! Seems it comes and goes all day long. It just kind of starts and goes on and on. Stops and starts again? I've also noticed some changes in my hearing??? Hard to describe, but some noises are just different and really bother me. More to follow on this as I'll be monitoring this closely.
Another is a really funny feeling in my mouth. The roof of my mouth feels like sandpaper as well as the inside cheeks of my mouth. My taste buds almost went back to normal a week or so ago, but now seems like things are tasting funny again. I have to ask Marjie and David how things taste just to make sure it's not me thinking something tastes funny.
As far as how I feel on a scale of 1-10, I'd say I'm up to a 6-7 right now. Definitely have more energy and really haven't felt too nauseated for most of the day.
Had another doctors appointment with Dr. Hollis to check on the feeding tube. Marjie and I have noticed this past week that I'm getting some more drainage/snot looking stuff on the bandage when she changes it. We think, this might be caused by the chemo drugs that I'm getting and possibly it's getting a little infected. Dr. Hollis looked at it this afternoon and didn't seem too concerned, but went ahead and put me on another batch of antibiotics to combat it. He prescribed a different drug this time called Levaquin and I'm supposed to take this for 7 days. He also wants us to not put the bandage on and see if a little air might help it out????? He told us what to look for as far as an infection and sent us on our way with another follow up in a month if all clears up. Guess we'll see!
Went back Naval Hospital to get the prescription filled....thought I learned my lesson last time....there were 50 people ahead of us and it was going to be at least an hour wait....screw that! Left there and went to the civilian pharmacy, got the prescription filled as well as another dose of the Emends since we were already there. 15 minute wait here so we sat in the little lunchroom there and I ordered a grilled cheese sandwich. Didn't quite taste like I was expecting, but at least I ate it and didn't feel sick.
That's about it for now, not much else going on, just trying to deal with this situation and get healed.
Marjie is back to work for the time being but able to leave work around noon so as I see things, it shouldn't be a problem with her going to work and taking care of Navy business and then coming home in the afternoon to help me out. Hopefully this HUMS deal will pan out for us.
Thanks again for everyones support and prayers. They are much needed.
One more bout with the diarrhea and now my gut seems to have calmed down. Time will tell, but I figure, now that I've been able to get some solid food in my stomach, and the Nuelasta shot is working, maybe this diarrhea crap will be over or at least contained to once a day instead of 6 o 7. I know this is probably TMI (Too much information), but I'm telling it like it is.
Other side effects I'm experiencing: Ringing in the ears! Big time! Seems it comes and goes all day long. It just kind of starts and goes on and on. Stops and starts again? I've also noticed some changes in my hearing??? Hard to describe, but some noises are just different and really bother me. More to follow on this as I'll be monitoring this closely.
Another is a really funny feeling in my mouth. The roof of my mouth feels like sandpaper as well as the inside cheeks of my mouth. My taste buds almost went back to normal a week or so ago, but now seems like things are tasting funny again. I have to ask Marjie and David how things taste just to make sure it's not me thinking something tastes funny.
As far as how I feel on a scale of 1-10, I'd say I'm up to a 6-7 right now. Definitely have more energy and really haven't felt too nauseated for most of the day.
Had another doctors appointment with Dr. Hollis to check on the feeding tube. Marjie and I have noticed this past week that I'm getting some more drainage/snot looking stuff on the bandage when she changes it. We think, this might be caused by the chemo drugs that I'm getting and possibly it's getting a little infected. Dr. Hollis looked at it this afternoon and didn't seem too concerned, but went ahead and put me on another batch of antibiotics to combat it. He prescribed a different drug this time called Levaquin and I'm supposed to take this for 7 days. He also wants us to not put the bandage on and see if a little air might help it out????? He told us what to look for as far as an infection and sent us on our way with another follow up in a month if all clears up. Guess we'll see!
Went back Naval Hospital to get the prescription filled....thought I learned my lesson last time....there were 50 people ahead of us and it was going to be at least an hour wait....screw that! Left there and went to the civilian pharmacy, got the prescription filled as well as another dose of the Emends since we were already there. 15 minute wait here so we sat in the little lunchroom there and I ordered a grilled cheese sandwich. Didn't quite taste like I was expecting, but at least I ate it and didn't feel sick.
That's about it for now, not much else going on, just trying to deal with this situation and get healed.
Marjie is back to work for the time being but able to leave work around noon so as I see things, it shouldn't be a problem with her going to work and taking care of Navy business and then coming home in the afternoon to help me out. Hopefully this HUMS deal will pan out for us.
Thanks again for everyones support and prayers. They are much needed.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Sunday Night
Well I'm back! Barely. Thanks to Marjie for keeping this blog going. If it were up to me you all would have been in the dark for the last week. This has absolutely been the roughest so far. I haven't had the energy to even get up off the couch and have spent most of the days sleeping and being queasy. Went for a walk this morning which did me good. Felt good to stretch my legs, but after the walk spent the rest of the morning and afternoon dozing on the couch and watching football. This round has posed many changes such as even less energy then before, weird tastes in my mouth, more queasiness and it seems like everything tastes awful. Water even tastes like poison sometimes. Meat is almost out of the question...just had my first today.....Uncle Dick, thanks for the suggestion on using plastic utensils, they seem to work better than the metal forks and spoons...I've finally begun to eat a little bit. Had some macaroni and cheese and tried some mashed potatoes and gravy. Both went down ok and tasted alright. I've lost about 8 pounds this week, but seem confident that I'll be able to get back to normal this week.
So here it is 5:26 and watching the San Diego game and finally not laying down on my back. I'm actually sitting on the couch and feeling a ton better than this morning.
Jane Jett, thanks so much for card, it's nice to know someone who's been there!
Thanks to ALL for your comments and prayers. I need em'.....and last but not least, if weren't for Marjie, I don't think I'd be able to do this.
That's all for now.
So here it is 5:26 and watching the San Diego game and finally not laying down on my back. I'm actually sitting on the couch and feeling a ton better than this morning.
Jane Jett, thanks so much for card, it's nice to know someone who's been there!
Thanks to ALL for your comments and prayers. I need em'.....and last but not least, if weren't for Marjie, I don't think I'd be able to do this.
That's all for now.
Dec 10 - Sunday
Good morning to all, it's Marjie again. Just as I had started writing a blog for yesterday morning - Dave got up and I thought that he would have the energy to update it. As we can tell - he did not. He is doing better. Friday, we had to go to the Lake Wright office to turn in the IV pump. Dave was feeling like crap - really very little energy, nauseous, achy, but very glad to get the pump removed. The nurse there gave us another medication for the nausea, Kytril. To take one tablet every 12 hours to control the nausea, and shouldn't make Dave feel funky and tired like the Phenegren does, and Dave really doesn't seem to like taking the Phenegren. The bottom line is that it was good to get the pump off - no more sidekick or pump whirl every 90 seconds. Even though it was hard for Dave to get out and move - it actually did him some good. He did go to bed early though - 1930, and ended up sleeping until almost 0900.
Yesterday (Saturday) was better - still nauseous, achy, and tired, but it seems to be subsiding. Went in for the Neulasta shot, again Dave still not quite up to par. We talked with the nurse again, and she brought to light a couple of items. 1) He needs to get between 10-12 cups of fluids a day (we've been in the 8 range) - this will do two things, help to flush the drugs through his system, and keep him hydrated (which will keep his energy level up). 2) The nausea is most likely from the Cisplatin and Taxotere he got on Monday, and that the metal taste in his mouth is from the Five FU. It was nice to get again which symptoms are associate with which drug.
Overall things are improving - Dave is moving more and more..hopefully he'll update this today. David and I are headed to the commissary - so Dave gets a couple of hours to himself. Thanks again for all the comments and emails. God Bless
Yesterday (Saturday) was better - still nauseous, achy, and tired, but it seems to be subsiding. Went in for the Neulasta shot, again Dave still not quite up to par. We talked with the nurse again, and she brought to light a couple of items. 1) He needs to get between 10-12 cups of fluids a day (we've been in the 8 range) - this will do two things, help to flush the drugs through his system, and keep him hydrated (which will keep his energy level up). 2) The nausea is most likely from the Cisplatin and Taxotere he got on Monday, and that the metal taste in his mouth is from the Five FU. It was nice to get again which symptoms are associate with which drug.
Overall things are improving - Dave is moving more and more..hopefully he'll update this today. David and I are headed to the commissary - so Dave gets a couple of hours to himself. Thanks again for all the comments and emails. God Bless
Friday, December 8, 2006
Dec 8: Day 4-5
It's Marjie again and early Friday morning. Thanks again for all the comments, emails, and thoughts, I've been reading them to Dave since he hasn't had the energy or desire to sit down to the computer or play on the laptop. Dave had another rotten day, yesterday. I can't say that it will be our worse, because I am not looking forward to January, but pretty much, he is miserable, and thus grumpy. Still has the nausea, fatigue, aches and is constantly wondering is this really worth it. Of course the answer is yes - but it is hard when you are going through it. I think that I am going to have to do a little more research on ways to combat his symptoms for the next round...spending 4 days on the couch feeling miserable is not the way to do it. On a good note, it is Friday and we get to turn in the pump this afternoon, he gets the Neulasta shot tomorrow, and then we are clear until after Christmas. It's my chance to get him back whole and strong again - physically and mentally. I wish he had an indoor hobby that would distract him for dwelling on his symptoms. We'll find it - other than complaining, although I should know that if he is complaining then things should be alright. Thank the Lord, that this is only temporary situation.
Overall David and I are still pressing on with other things. David finished all his college applications last night, so all we have to do is wait for their response, and file our financial aid application right after the new year. I am about done painting the shower portion of the master bath - was working on the trim yesterday, when I had to stop to wash Coho. Since Dave changed the shower head in the shower, washing the dog is not that difficult, just still a little messy - dog hair and water almost everywhere. So had to do a little cleaning, and I'll finish it up this morning. Well the sun and David are about up, so another day begins in the Vigal home. Take care, and God bless.
Overall David and I are still pressing on with other things. David finished all his college applications last night, so all we have to do is wait for their response, and file our financial aid application right after the new year. I am about done painting the shower portion of the master bath - was working on the trim yesterday, when I had to stop to wash Coho. Since Dave changed the shower head in the shower, washing the dog is not that difficult, just still a little messy - dog hair and water almost everywhere. So had to do a little cleaning, and I'll finish it up this morning. Well the sun and David are about up, so another day begins in the Vigal home. Take care, and God bless.
Thursday, December 7, 2006
Dec 7 - Update by Marjie
Well here it is early Thursday morn of our 2nd round of chemotherapy and Dave has not had the energy or the stomach to update the post. He has been feeling miserable these past few days, taking this round of chemo harder than the first, but actually it is to be expected. Nauseous, no energy, achy, just an overall sick feeling and as it continues he gets crankier and more critical of everything - the clutter, the dirt, the smell of the dog, which blanket he is using - so we are having fun. On the positive side, he is eating. Yesterday's consisted of cinnamon toast and orange juice for breakfast, toast and ham for lunch, and chicken, mac & cheese, and garlic bread for dinner (he left the veggies on his plate), had a couple of Popsicles and a chocolate milkshake for snacks. Not the most nutritious, but as long as he continues to eat we are doing well.
The NASHVILLE returned to Norfolk yesterday, so I had to reluctantly leave Dave by himself for a couple of hours until David got home from school. I checked back in off leave, talked with the CO and XO, and met and talked with the new CO (Change of Command is next Wednesday). Over all consensus is that I should probably put in for a HUMS (temporary duty for humanitarian resons), and looking over my duties, there is going to be too much conflict between work and taking care of Dave, especially on weeks like this one. And I don't need to split my loyalties, when the Navy has programs like HUMS to help, and actually the HUMS is written for just our type of situation - short term (less than 6 months) that can not be fixed with just emergency leave. I have to go back to work on Monday to start the process on the ship. We have already submitted the paperwork for Dave to be in the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) and now I just have to submit my letter of request, and call my detailer again. Overall it is best for all parties - I get the time to focus on Dave and the ship will get another Operations Officer. Once Dave is through the treatment and on the mend, I'll get assigned to another ship as a Dept Head for 12 or so months. I will end up with three short (9-15 month) DH tours vice the traditional two 18-month or one 3yr, and since I am ahead of my year group, by over a year, there is no negative career implications to this 6-month hiatus.
Back to Dave - Even though he is pretty much down for the count for right now, his brain definitely isn't and David and I get to take care of all the other little things that he would like to do or thinks that needs to be done. He keeps us hopping.
Speaking of David, he has been the perfect son, extremely helpful, up beat, and doesn't complain a bit. David and I are finished up the Christmas decorating last night, primarily finished decorating the tree and rearranged the Christmas stuff to minimize the clutter. New house, higher ceilings, different nooks and crannies, definitely a challenge to get things right, or at least acceptable to Scrooge. First challenge was the Christmas tree height - an 8 ft tree in a room with 10-15ft ceilings looks a little small. So with a little improvising, a couple of boxes, and a white sheet, made a nice hill for the tree to stand on, now the tree stands at 10 ft, a much better fit to the room. So last night we finished with putting the ornaments on it, and I think we are done in the living room for Christmas - on to the dining room.
Well, the sun and David are now up, I need to close this to eat breakfast with my baby, and get a couple of things (floors, laundry) to take care of before Dave gets up. Hopefully he will feel like updating this with his own thoughts, mine are just observations. As always, thanks for the thoughts and prayers, we are taking this one day at a time. Smiles :)
The NASHVILLE returned to Norfolk yesterday, so I had to reluctantly leave Dave by himself for a couple of hours until David got home from school. I checked back in off leave, talked with the CO and XO, and met and talked with the new CO (Change of Command is next Wednesday). Over all consensus is that I should probably put in for a HUMS (temporary duty for humanitarian resons), and looking over my duties, there is going to be too much conflict between work and taking care of Dave, especially on weeks like this one. And I don't need to split my loyalties, when the Navy has programs like HUMS to help, and actually the HUMS is written for just our type of situation - short term (less than 6 months) that can not be fixed with just emergency leave. I have to go back to work on Monday to start the process on the ship. We have already submitted the paperwork for Dave to be in the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) and now I just have to submit my letter of request, and call my detailer again. Overall it is best for all parties - I get the time to focus on Dave and the ship will get another Operations Officer. Once Dave is through the treatment and on the mend, I'll get assigned to another ship as a Dept Head for 12 or so months. I will end up with three short (9-15 month) DH tours vice the traditional two 18-month or one 3yr, and since I am ahead of my year group, by over a year, there is no negative career implications to this 6-month hiatus.
Back to Dave - Even though he is pretty much down for the count for right now, his brain definitely isn't and David and I get to take care of all the other little things that he would like to do or thinks that needs to be done. He keeps us hopping.
Speaking of David, he has been the perfect son, extremely helpful, up beat, and doesn't complain a bit. David and I are finished up the Christmas decorating last night, primarily finished decorating the tree and rearranged the Christmas stuff to minimize the clutter. New house, higher ceilings, different nooks and crannies, definitely a challenge to get things right, or at least acceptable to Scrooge. First challenge was the Christmas tree height - an 8 ft tree in a room with 10-15ft ceilings looks a little small. So with a little improvising, a couple of boxes, and a white sheet, made a nice hill for the tree to stand on, now the tree stands at 10 ft, a much better fit to the room. So last night we finished with putting the ornaments on it, and I think we are done in the living room for Christmas - on to the dining room.
Well, the sun and David are now up, I need to close this to eat breakfast with my baby, and get a couple of things (floors, laundry) to take care of before Dave gets up. Hopefully he will feel like updating this with his own thoughts, mine are just observations. As always, thanks for the thoughts and prayers, we are taking this one day at a time. Smiles :)
Monday, December 4, 2006
04 December 2006, 2nd Round of Chemotherapy
4-1 day. Just got back from getting the second round of Chemo this afternoon, so I'm going to keep this one short as I'm feeling a little nauseated at the moment. The chemo went good I guess. Arrived at the Oncologist at 0915 this morning and and after having my blood drawn and checked for white blood cells, which were back in the high range, I started my 2nd round of chemotherapy. 6 bags of IV fluids in a 6 hour period. Started with Aloxi which is the anti-nausea medicine, then a bag Saline for hydration, then a bag magnesium, then the chemo medicine Cisplatin, followed by the other chemo medicine Taxotere. Finished all that around 4pm, then the nurse hooked me up to the pump which will dispense a bag of Fluorouracil 5FU over the next 5 days.
All in all, I guess I'm doing okay. Like I mentioned above, I'm feeling a little nauseated right now, but have a couple pills I need to take later this evening and more to take over the next couple days to help deal with that.
Time will tell on how I'll be feeling.
The office where I get the chemo is pretty nice. They have a bunch of Lazy Boy leather recliners to sit in and a nice view of the woods to look at while your hooked up to the machines. I spent the day reading magazines and listening to music. Marjie was able to be there the whole time which is really nice. Ate McDonald's for lunch...figured I'd better since food is tasting good right now
I purchased a set of Bose quiet comfort2 headphones a week ago to listen to my MP3 player with because the ear buds I had been using were really hurting my ears after a while. What a difference those Bose headphones make. If anyone out there is in the market to replace their headphones, I definitely recommend the Bose Quiet Comfort 2 headphones. They cost a pretty penny, but after listening to them for 4 hours today, I'd say they are worth every penny. Now all I need is a 30gb video iPOD, but will have to see what Santa says about that.
That's all for now.....More to follow.
All in all, I guess I'm doing okay. Like I mentioned above, I'm feeling a little nauseated right now, but have a couple pills I need to take later this evening and more to take over the next couple days to help deal with that.
Time will tell on how I'll be feeling.
The office where I get the chemo is pretty nice. They have a bunch of Lazy Boy leather recliners to sit in and a nice view of the woods to look at while your hooked up to the machines. I spent the day reading magazines and listening to music. Marjie was able to be there the whole time which is really nice. Ate McDonald's for lunch...figured I'd better since food is tasting good right now
I purchased a set of Bose quiet comfort2 headphones a week ago to listen to my MP3 player with because the ear buds I had been using were really hurting my ears after a while. What a difference those Bose headphones make. If anyone out there is in the market to replace their headphones, I definitely recommend the Bose Quiet Comfort 2 headphones. They cost a pretty penny, but after listening to them for 4 hours today, I'd say they are worth every penny. Now all I need is a 30gb video iPOD, but will have to see what Santa says about that.
That's all for now.....More to follow.
Saturday, December 2, 2006
02 December, 2006
Had a follow up doctor's appointment with Dr. Debo yesterday. He was the surgeon who did the surgery on my neck back in October. He's kind of coordinating this whole thing and has taken a sincere interest in what's been going on in my treatment. I saw him two weeks ago when I was feeling run down, so it was good to see him yesterday when I was feeling pretty good.
Marjie and I noticed a bump on the end of the scar that had a white scab like thing on it and we weren't sure what it was. We suspected it might be a ingrown hair or something. I picked at it and Marjie went after it with tweezers, but it hurt and we didn't' get anywhere, so I decided to have the Doc look at it. Good thing! It turned out to be the end of a stitch with a knot that somehow got pushed to the surface and ended up not getting dissolved like it was supposed to. Good ole Dr. Debo snipped the thing right off without hardly any pain to me and the bump is gone and the scar is good to go now. In fact, you can hardly even notice the scar on my neck anymore.
I had been experiencing a sore throat in the evenings last week and this week it's all but gone, but since he's a Ear Nose and Throat doctor, who better to ask than him. I was concerned because the symptoms I was experiencing were not the same as if I was coming down with a cold or something and I thought it might be an issue with my tonsils due to the chemo treatment. Basically, the sore throat would go away during the day and come back in the evenings. Dr. Debo said that he wasn't too concerned about it and explained something about how your body produces less of something in the evenings which would possibly explain the sore throat and more of something during the days...blah blah blah......Bottom line, he's the doc and I'm not. He looked all around my mouth and throat then sent the scope up through my nose and down my pipes to look all around. This is the same procedure he did when I first visited his office. He took a few pictures of my vocal cords and looked all around with the camera and said all looks well.
So that makes me feel much better. Good check up with him.
I'm feeling pretty good these days...still get a little tired as the day goes on, but a short nap gets me back on track. My taste buds seem to be getting back to normal over the last couple days and since I go back for another round of chemo on Monday, I told Marjie I wanted steak for dinner last night, ribs for dinner tonight and chicken fried steak for dinner Sunday. Figure I should eat all the meat I can while it taste good. Hair kind of quit falling out for the time being. I shaved my head as you all know, so that's not an issue, but I still have a mustache...kind of....it's very thin but still hanging on. Still have the rest of my body hair but think it's thinned a little. I can't pull any of it out like I was able to pull the hair out of my head and mustache last week. Maybe what I have left will stay. Who knows. Still have eyebrows and eyelashes. My facial hair has really thinned. I only have to shave every 3-4 days instead of every day like I'm used to doing.
I guess that's about it. Monday starts another round of chemo that I'm not looking forward to except it's one day closer to recovery.
Again, thanks for all the comments in the blog and your emails and cards. Much appreciated.
Happy Birthday to my daughter Jennifer...25 years old! Where has time gone.
Marjie and I noticed a bump on the end of the scar that had a white scab like thing on it and we weren't sure what it was. We suspected it might be a ingrown hair or something. I picked at it and Marjie went after it with tweezers, but it hurt and we didn't' get anywhere, so I decided to have the Doc look at it. Good thing! It turned out to be the end of a stitch with a knot that somehow got pushed to the surface and ended up not getting dissolved like it was supposed to. Good ole Dr. Debo snipped the thing right off without hardly any pain to me and the bump is gone and the scar is good to go now. In fact, you can hardly even notice the scar on my neck anymore.
I had been experiencing a sore throat in the evenings last week and this week it's all but gone, but since he's a Ear Nose and Throat doctor, who better to ask than him. I was concerned because the symptoms I was experiencing were not the same as if I was coming down with a cold or something and I thought it might be an issue with my tonsils due to the chemo treatment. Basically, the sore throat would go away during the day and come back in the evenings. Dr. Debo said that he wasn't too concerned about it and explained something about how your body produces less of something in the evenings which would possibly explain the sore throat and more of something during the days...blah blah blah......Bottom line, he's the doc and I'm not. He looked all around my mouth and throat then sent the scope up through my nose and down my pipes to look all around. This is the same procedure he did when I first visited his office. He took a few pictures of my vocal cords and looked all around with the camera and said all looks well.
So that makes me feel much better. Good check up with him.
I'm feeling pretty good these days...still get a little tired as the day goes on, but a short nap gets me back on track. My taste buds seem to be getting back to normal over the last couple days and since I go back for another round of chemo on Monday, I told Marjie I wanted steak for dinner last night, ribs for dinner tonight and chicken fried steak for dinner Sunday. Figure I should eat all the meat I can while it taste good. Hair kind of quit falling out for the time being. I shaved my head as you all know, so that's not an issue, but I still have a mustache...kind of....it's very thin but still hanging on. Still have the rest of my body hair but think it's thinned a little. I can't pull any of it out like I was able to pull the hair out of my head and mustache last week. Maybe what I have left will stay. Who knows. Still have eyebrows and eyelashes. My facial hair has really thinned. I only have to shave every 3-4 days instead of every day like I'm used to doing.
I guess that's about it. Monday starts another round of chemo that I'm not looking forward to except it's one day closer to recovery.
Again, thanks for all the comments in the blog and your emails and cards. Much appreciated.
Happy Birthday to my daughter Jennifer...25 years old! Where has time gone.
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
29 November, 2006
3-3 day,
Not much new to report for the last couple days. Figured I'd make a post so at least when someone opens up the blog, my mug isn't the first think they see.
Mustache is still hanging in there...literally!!
David thinks it looks funky and I should just whack it off, but this baby's been on my lip without being shaved off since 1986.
Marjie and David have never seen me without a mustache.
All the black hairs that once graced my lip are gone and just a few straggly gray ones are left....
I'm keepin it for as long as I can!!!!
As far as the bald head, I'm getting used to it. One nice thing is showers. Get to skip a step in there.
That's it for now....More to follow. For all my RM/ET buddies...I'm ZKL as a Pickle.
Not much new to report for the last couple days. Figured I'd make a post so at least when someone opens up the blog, my mug isn't the first think they see.
Mustache is still hanging in there...literally!!
David thinks it looks funky and I should just whack it off, but this baby's been on my lip without being shaved off since 1986.
Marjie and David have never seen me without a mustache.
All the black hairs that once graced my lip are gone and just a few straggly gray ones are left....
I'm keepin it for as long as I can!!!!
As far as the bald head, I'm getting used to it. One nice thing is showers. Get to skip a step in there.
That's it for now....More to follow. For all my RM/ET buddies...I'm ZKL as a Pickle.
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Dave's Bald Gourd
As you can tell I'm now bald. Picked up a nice POW Dew rag at the Harley Davidson shop yesterday to cover my gourd. I now fit in with my hunting and fishing TIMBUCKTWO buddies JR and Rick. They both have been saying for years that grass doesn't grow on a playground, bald is beautiful and something about making U turns under the sheets or something!!!
But anyway, got up this morning and while showering noticed more and more hair falling out of my head and clogging up the drain so decided to go to the base and get a buzz cut. If I didn't get it cut today, I honestly don't know how much longer I'd be able to hang on to the hair that I had left. It was bugging me knowing that it was just falling out in hunks and I didn't want to look like I was molting so.....whacked it all off. My mustache is barley hanging on and figure I might get another day or so out of it.
I've also been experiencing a sore throat in the evenings for approx. 4-5 days. Starting to get a little concerned. Don't feel like I've got a cold or anything, but it is definitely something I'll discuss with Dr. Debo, the ENT doctor on Friday. I hope it's not something going on with my tonsils????
Other than that, things are going ok. Sense of taste is still AFU...Meat is the major issue and has a metallic taste to it. Potatoes and such also have a funky taste, but vegetables seem to taste ok. I still eat normal and haven't quit eating anything.
I've re-read all pamphlets on the drugs I'm taking and the symptoms you can experience, and two of them talked about hair thinning and loss after the first two to three weeks of chemo. All of the medications recommend drinking plenty of water (6-8 glasses) a day. This is something I've been remiss on, so I'm back to carrying around a water bottle and trying to get plenty of it in me.
Appreciate all the support everyone is giving my with their comments and emails. Keep em' coming. I look forward to reading them each day.
Saturday, November 25, 2006
25 November, 2006 "FALLOUT"
I guess it's to be expected, but this morning as I was getting ready to take my shower, I was looking in the mirror at my mustache thinking I might trim it up a little bit since it was starting to hang down over my lip. I noticed a couple hairs just kind of sitting there as if they were an extra half inch longer than the rest. I pulled at them and started examining my mustache more closely and found out if I grab a finger full of hairs, I can pull them right out....I started tugging on my mustache and hairs pull out with ease. I then did the same with the hair on my head, and same thing.
To look at me now, you wouldn't be able to tell anything different than normal, but after experimenting a little, I can't pull not hunks yet, but can pull out numerous strands of hair out of my head and mustache with ease. Tried pulling some chest hairs and other hair on my body, but it that hasn't started yet. I noticed about 7 hairs on my deodorant stick after applying it.
So I guess the hair falling out thing is upon me.. I was hoping that I wouldn't be experiencing this aspect, but NOT! This is going to suck.
The picture was taken this morning just for documentation purposes..No noticeable change yet. More to follow.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
22 November 2006
Today we had an appointment with Dr. Atienza during the middle of a powerful storm..check out some of these photos "Nor'easter" that moved through the area today. With 3.44" of rain today, it took Marjie and I 1.5 hours to drive the normal 20 minute drive to the doctors due to flooding. We got detoured 3 times...Boy oh boy does this place have some flooding problems when there's a lot of rain and the tides get high. Lost power for a few hours this morning, but things are getting back to normal this evening.
Now results of the appointment.
White blood cell counts are not high, but Dr. Atienza said that they were within normal ranges. We talked a lot about how I was feeling and what were some of the side effects of the chemotherapy that I had been experiencing. What it basically came down to was that I experienced a great deal of fatigue, but other than that, he's happy with the results so far.
There's a change to the plan however. This initial round of chemo, that we thought was going to be two doses, each followed by two weeks off, has now been increased to three doses. Dr. Atienza explained to us that after further reviewing his notes and the study on this new theory, that we are looking at three chemo sessions vice the original two before we start the radiation/chemo punch. The focus is to totally get rid of the cancer.
So here is the revised plan:
Got my first dose of chemo last Monday, carried the pump which injected more chemo slowly over the rest of the week, got the pump taken off on Friday, got the Nuelasta shot on Saturday, have two weeks off which I'm currently on the first of the two weeks off.
Next, I go back on the 4th of December for another fun filled day of getting the chemo, take the pump home and carry it for the rest of the week, go back Saturday for the Nuelasta shot, then two more weeks off.....
Go back the day after Christmas for the 3rd dose of chemo and so on.....after those two weeks off we will begin the 7 weeks of chemo/radiation therapy - the middle of January.
That's about it for now...I'm feeling ok today. Sense of taste is still all screwed up. Had a chicken sandwich for lunch today, that should have tasted awesome, but it was a great disappointment....
Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!
Now results of the appointment.
White blood cell counts are not high, but Dr. Atienza said that they were within normal ranges. We talked a lot about how I was feeling and what were some of the side effects of the chemotherapy that I had been experiencing. What it basically came down to was that I experienced a great deal of fatigue, but other than that, he's happy with the results so far.
There's a change to the plan however. This initial round of chemo, that we thought was going to be two doses, each followed by two weeks off, has now been increased to three doses. Dr. Atienza explained to us that after further reviewing his notes and the study on this new theory, that we are looking at three chemo sessions vice the original two before we start the radiation/chemo punch. The focus is to totally get rid of the cancer.
So here is the revised plan:
Got my first dose of chemo last Monday, carried the pump which injected more chemo slowly over the rest of the week, got the pump taken off on Friday, got the Nuelasta shot on Saturday, have two weeks off which I'm currently on the first of the two weeks off.
Next, I go back on the 4th of December for another fun filled day of getting the chemo, take the pump home and carry it for the rest of the week, go back Saturday for the Nuelasta shot, then two more weeks off.....
Go back the day after Christmas for the 3rd dose of chemo and so on.....after those two weeks off we will begin the 7 weeks of chemo/radiation therapy - the middle of January.
That's about it for now...I'm feeling ok today. Sense of taste is still all screwed up. Had a chicken sandwich for lunch today, that should have tasted awesome, but it was a great disappointment....
Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
21 November 2006
2-2 day.
First of all, a very special thanks to our friends the Reeves, who live here in Virginia. Marjie and I were stationed with them back in 1987 at NAVCAMS WESTPAC GUAM. Bob and Steph sent me a package that I received this morning in the mail with 5 Yellow bracelets from the Lance Armstrong Foundation. The Lance Armstrong Foundation believes unity is strength, knowledge is power and attitude is everything. They provide the practical information and tools to help people affected by cancer live life on their own terms. There was a note from Bob saying that they hope things are going ok for me and to Hang in there! You'll kick it's ass! They are each wearing one of bracelets as I, Marjie and David.
Thanks so much!
I checked out their website this morning and it's packed with lots of good information.
If anyone is interested, here is their link: LIVESTRONG SurvivorCare
In the last week I've received emails, posts to my blog and cards from friends and family that have been truly amazing. I should probably thank each and every one of you separately, but figure that I'll just take care of it in this blog. Your comments mean more to me than you will ever know. THANKS to all of you. You know who you are.
Back to what's going on. Things are so so today. The feeding tube they put in me doesn't look infected or anything, but hurts like crazy. The pain feels like it did a day or two after the surgery and I'm having a hard time walking around without being all hunched over. When Marjie changed the dressing this morning, she noted that there was less puss on the bandage than had been there the day before, so it should be healing up and not getting worse. I started taking antibiotics yesterday evening for this, so hopefully things will start to get back to normal. I still can't figure out why the tube is causing me so much pain, but I'll have to deal with it and see what happens over the next few days.
Nausea is still at bay and my taste buds remain screwed up. Other than that, things are the same.
Went to the commissary with Marie early this afternoon to pick up last minute stuff for Thanksgiving and by the time I was finished pushing the basket through the store,
my gut was in so much pain all I could think about was getting back home and relaxing on the couch.
So here I am, updating the blog and watching Saving Private Ryan on HBO. Stomach still hurts like hell, but tomorrow is a new day. I have an appointment with Dr. Atienza, the Oncologist tomorrow morning to get my white blood cells checked and to see how everything else looks as far as bloodwork goes.
More to follow.
First of all, a very special thanks to our friends the Reeves, who live here in Virginia. Marjie and I were stationed with them back in 1987 at NAVCAMS WESTPAC GUAM. Bob and Steph sent me a package that I received this morning in the mail with 5 Yellow bracelets from the Lance Armstrong Foundation. The Lance Armstrong Foundation believes unity is strength, knowledge is power and attitude is everything. They provide the practical information and tools to help people affected by cancer live life on their own terms. There was a note from Bob saying that they hope things are going ok for me and to Hang in there! You'll kick it's ass! They are each wearing one of bracelets as I, Marjie and David.
Thanks so much!
I checked out their website this morning and it's packed with lots of good information.
If anyone is interested, here is their link: LIVESTRONG SurvivorCare
In the last week I've received emails, posts to my blog and cards from friends and family that have been truly amazing. I should probably thank each and every one of you separately, but figure that I'll just take care of it in this blog. Your comments mean more to me than you will ever know. THANKS to all of you. You know who you are.
Back to what's going on. Things are so so today. The feeding tube they put in me doesn't look infected or anything, but hurts like crazy. The pain feels like it did a day or two after the surgery and I'm having a hard time walking around without being all hunched over. When Marjie changed the dressing this morning, she noted that there was less puss on the bandage than had been there the day before, so it should be healing up and not getting worse. I started taking antibiotics yesterday evening for this, so hopefully things will start to get back to normal. I still can't figure out why the tube is causing me so much pain, but I'll have to deal with it and see what happens over the next few days.
Nausea is still at bay and my taste buds remain screwed up. Other than that, things are the same.
Went to the commissary with Marie early this afternoon to pick up last minute stuff for Thanksgiving and by the time I was finished pushing the basket through the store,
my gut was in so much pain all I could think about was getting back home and relaxing on the couch.
So here I am, updating the blog and watching Saving Private Ryan on HBO. Stomach still hurts like hell, but tomorrow is a new day. I have an appointment with Dr. Atienza, the Oncologist tomorrow morning to get my white blood cells checked and to see how everything else looks as far as bloodwork goes.
More to follow.
Monday, November 20, 2006
20 November 2006
2-1 day. Just a reminder for anyone reading this blog. I'm doing this mainly as a living document for me as a way of tracking what's going on with me, to friends and family that want to keep up as to exactly what's going on with me IRT this cancer treatment and maybe even more importantly, to anyone who might find themselves in this situation and wants to know what to expect.
I sometimes wonder if I'm putting too much information down or not enough or if it's just senseless BS that nobody really cares to read or know about in the first place...
Who knows!
Anyway, like I mentioned it's 2-1 day. That would be 2nd week, 1st day.
Feel ten times better today than I did a few days ago. The nausea is gone and the extreme exhaustion is gone. I think some of the side effects that I've been reading about are starting to kick in though. I keep telling myself that it might be in my head, but after several days of experiencing them, Marjie and I feel that it is the side effects of the Chemo therapy.
Weird taste in my mouth!!! It seems like my taste buds aren't working as they should. Things don't taste as good as they normally do. For instance, during the football games yesterday, I had a craving for a chili cheese dog. We went to Walmart and bought the 33 cent can of chili for chili dogs, boiled hot dogs, warmed the buns, and put melted American cheese on top with some onions. To me, that's the perfect chili dog...It was good, but just didn't taste quite right. Burger for lunch today...still not right, gum isn't right, Coke isn't the same, everything seems like I need more salt added to it, but it still doesn't make it right.
My tongue feels funny and the inside of my cheeks feel coarse. No sores in my mouth though. I've been reading up on "dry mouth" which concerns me greatly and is one of the side effects of radiation, which I haven't done yet, but have bought a couple products that I've read about on the internet to see if they might help. The dentist recommended rinsing with ACT fluoride rinse...did that, but think that it might be an issue later on due to the alcohol in it. We bought a product today called "Biotene". Actually we picked up a bottle of the mouthwash and a bottle of Biotene oral balance dry mouth moisturizing liquid. Check the website out if your interested. Haven't tried it yet, but will report on it later. Anyway, the mouthwash is a mouthwash and the other stuff comes in a small bottle and says to squirt directly into mouth several times daily, whenever relief is needed.??????? Guess I'll find out.
Saw some other stuff there that I might try: Salivart
My mouth isn't grossed out or anything yet, but as of today, it feels different and my tastes have gone out the window. Something I'm hoping comes back when this is all said and done.
Picked up some lemon drops (sugarless)...Helps a little.
Had a doctors appointment with Dr. Hollis (The Doctor who put in the feeding tube) for a checkup. Marjie and I have been noticing a little puss on the bandage when she changes the dressing and we were both a little concerned. The doc looked at it and said not to worry and that it looked fine to him. He did prescribe some antibiotics (Cephalexin) for me to take for 10 days, especially since I was on the chemo medicine, he didn't' want to take any chances with an infection, but still assured us that we were taking care of the wound properly and that it looked good to him.
Left his office and headed to Portsmouth to fill the script....Dropped Marjie off in front of the hospital with instructions to get the ticket and wait for me while I parked the truck. It takes so long at the Naval Hospital that anything you can do to save some time is time well spent. By the time I got up there after parking, we were still over 50 numbers behind in the line...Screw that!!!! We left and went to the civilian pharmacy. Cost $3 and took ten minutes, plus I got to shop for the dry mouth stuff. Tricare Prime is awesome! Meds are free at the Naval Hospital and only costs $3 out in town for generics and $9 for the original....I think it costs me 3 bucks to warm my truck up. This should have been a no brainer. From now on, we're going to the civilian pharmacy. Oh and by way, if I understand things correctly, the Naval Hospital gives you generic drugs as their first choice anyway.
Finished up with all that around noon and Marjie wanted to get her nails done, so I went and got a burger while she pampered herself for a little while.
Got back home around 1300 and figured since it was a nice day and I was feeling good, that we ought to get all the leaves picked up in the backyard. Spent the rest of the day doing that and went for a walk afterwards.
Feeling good now...like I mentioned, side effects so far is the loss/lack of taste in my mouth, the fact that my tongue feels odd and my mouth feels different......and have been noticing a ringing in my ears periodically....hard to explain, but about 20 times today, my ears would start ringing for no reason at all.
That's all for now! Lasagna for dinner tonight.
I sometimes wonder if I'm putting too much information down or not enough or if it's just senseless BS that nobody really cares to read or know about in the first place...
Who knows!
Anyway, like I mentioned it's 2-1 day. That would be 2nd week, 1st day.
Feel ten times better today than I did a few days ago. The nausea is gone and the extreme exhaustion is gone. I think some of the side effects that I've been reading about are starting to kick in though. I keep telling myself that it might be in my head, but after several days of experiencing them, Marjie and I feel that it is the side effects of the Chemo therapy.
Weird taste in my mouth!!! It seems like my taste buds aren't working as they should. Things don't taste as good as they normally do. For instance, during the football games yesterday, I had a craving for a chili cheese dog. We went to Walmart and bought the 33 cent can of chili for chili dogs, boiled hot dogs, warmed the buns, and put melted American cheese on top with some onions. To me, that's the perfect chili dog...It was good, but just didn't taste quite right. Burger for lunch today...still not right, gum isn't right, Coke isn't the same, everything seems like I need more salt added to it, but it still doesn't make it right.
My tongue feels funny and the inside of my cheeks feel coarse. No sores in my mouth though. I've been reading up on "dry mouth" which concerns me greatly and is one of the side effects of radiation, which I haven't done yet, but have bought a couple products that I've read about on the internet to see if they might help. The dentist recommended rinsing with ACT fluoride rinse...did that, but think that it might be an issue later on due to the alcohol in it. We bought a product today called "Biotene". Actually we picked up a bottle of the mouthwash and a bottle of Biotene oral balance dry mouth moisturizing liquid. Check the website out if your interested. Haven't tried it yet, but will report on it later. Anyway, the mouthwash is a mouthwash and the other stuff comes in a small bottle and says to squirt directly into mouth several times daily, whenever relief is needed.??????? Guess I'll find out.
Saw some other stuff there that I might try: Salivart
My mouth isn't grossed out or anything yet, but as of today, it feels different and my tastes have gone out the window. Something I'm hoping comes back when this is all said and done.
Picked up some lemon drops (sugarless)...Helps a little.
Had a doctors appointment with Dr. Hollis (The Doctor who put in the feeding tube) for a checkup. Marjie and I have been noticing a little puss on the bandage when she changes the dressing and we were both a little concerned. The doc looked at it and said not to worry and that it looked fine to him. He did prescribe some antibiotics (Cephalexin) for me to take for 10 days, especially since I was on the chemo medicine, he didn't' want to take any chances with an infection, but still assured us that we were taking care of the wound properly and that it looked good to him.
Left his office and headed to Portsmouth to fill the script....Dropped Marjie off in front of the hospital with instructions to get the ticket and wait for me while I parked the truck. It takes so long at the Naval Hospital that anything you can do to save some time is time well spent. By the time I got up there after parking, we were still over 50 numbers behind in the line...Screw that!!!! We left and went to the civilian pharmacy. Cost $3 and took ten minutes, plus I got to shop for the dry mouth stuff. Tricare Prime is awesome! Meds are free at the Naval Hospital and only costs $3 out in town for generics and $9 for the original....I think it costs me 3 bucks to warm my truck up. This should have been a no brainer. From now on, we're going to the civilian pharmacy. Oh and by way, if I understand things correctly, the Naval Hospital gives you generic drugs as their first choice anyway.
Finished up with all that around noon and Marjie wanted to get her nails done, so I went and got a burger while she pampered herself for a little while.
Got back home around 1300 and figured since it was a nice day and I was feeling good, that we ought to get all the leaves picked up in the backyard. Spent the rest of the day doing that and went for a walk afterwards.
Feeling good now...like I mentioned, side effects so far is the loss/lack of taste in my mouth, the fact that my tongue feels odd and my mouth feels different......and have been noticing a ringing in my ears periodically....hard to explain, but about 20 times today, my ears would start ringing for no reason at all.
That's all for now! Lasagna for dinner tonight.
Sunday, November 19, 2006
19 November 2006
1-7 day. Feeling much better this morning. The nurse from Bon Secours Home Care stopped by yesterday to change the dressing on my PICC line and flush the two injection ports with saline solution and something else to keep it from getting clogged up. I was relieved to know that there was no infection starting and it was looking and doing ok. I had been worried because the doctors and nurses kept stressing that we need to keep the thing dry. It's a chore everyday taking a shower, as Marjie has to wrap the whole contraption up in a bread wrapper, and tape it really good against my arm before I can get in the shower. Then while in the shower, I try to keep my arm elevated so water won't get on it, but it seems like whatever we do, a little water does touch the bandage. Oh well, I guess we're doing it right.
Took Cohomojo on a walk yesterday by myself mainly because my back and muscle joints were starting to get all sore from just lying around on the couch for the last couple days. It felt good to walk around in the sunshine, but I must look like some old decrepit man to observers out there. I'm definitely walking slow these days.
We had an appointment to get my Neulasta shot at 1500, so Marjie and I took off around 1400 and got there in plenty of time. This was a quick semi-painless shot in the arm. The nurse explained that it would be normal for me to experience a fever of 100 degrees and some pain in my bones due to the effect of the drug trying to build back bone marrow.
After the shot, we headed to the base (NOB) Norfolk, so I could get a haircut and Marjie could pick up a couple things at the commissary. That went pretty good. I basically waited in a chair at the barber, while she did everything else.
Felt a little hungry when we were leaving, so got a burger and fries at Burger King for the ride home. That tasted like Sh*t.......For some reason, I had a craving for French Fries....
Got home around 1630 and hit the couch again and slept till dinner. Taco night!!! Had a taco and back to the couch.
Actually feeling a lot better now. David spent the night at one of his buddies and Marjie and I watched a couple movies. Not feeling nausea, but my muscle joints in my ankles, knees and legs were throbbing. Good ole Marj!!! Rubbed them for me and made me all better.
Ate some popcorn and that made me feel better?????
Went to bed and slept pretty good last night...
It's now 0810 and I'm feeling tons better than I have for the last few days....
Figured I'd update this blog, take a shower, eat some breakfast and then Marjie and I will take Mojo on a walk since it's such a nice day out there.
So where am I at with this you might ask?
Completed 1st week of chemo....
Have the next two weeks off...
One more week of chemo...
two weeks off..
Radiation/chemo for 7 weeks.
More to follow as I see the doc who put in the feeding tube on Monday, and my Oncologist on Wednesday.
Later!
Took Cohomojo on a walk yesterday by myself mainly because my back and muscle joints were starting to get all sore from just lying around on the couch for the last couple days. It felt good to walk around in the sunshine, but I must look like some old decrepit man to observers out there. I'm definitely walking slow these days.
We had an appointment to get my Neulasta shot at 1500, so Marjie and I took off around 1400 and got there in plenty of time. This was a quick semi-painless shot in the arm. The nurse explained that it would be normal for me to experience a fever of 100 degrees and some pain in my bones due to the effect of the drug trying to build back bone marrow.
After the shot, we headed to the base (NOB) Norfolk, so I could get a haircut and Marjie could pick up a couple things at the commissary. That went pretty good. I basically waited in a chair at the barber, while she did everything else.
Felt a little hungry when we were leaving, so got a burger and fries at Burger King for the ride home. That tasted like Sh*t.......For some reason, I had a craving for French Fries....
Got home around 1630 and hit the couch again and slept till dinner. Taco night!!! Had a taco and back to the couch.
Actually feeling a lot better now. David spent the night at one of his buddies and Marjie and I watched a couple movies. Not feeling nausea, but my muscle joints in my ankles, knees and legs were throbbing. Good ole Marj!!! Rubbed them for me and made me all better.
Ate some popcorn and that made me feel better?????
Went to bed and slept pretty good last night...
It's now 0810 and I'm feeling tons better than I have for the last few days....
Figured I'd update this blog, take a shower, eat some breakfast and then Marjie and I will take Mojo on a walk since it's such a nice day out there.
So where am I at with this you might ask?
Completed 1st week of chemo....
Have the next two weeks off...
One more week of chemo...
two weeks off..
Radiation/chemo for 7 weeks.
More to follow as I see the doc who put in the feeding tube on Monday, and my Oncologist on Wednesday.
Later!
Saturday, November 18, 2006
18 November 2006
1-6 day. Yesterday was a pretty crappy day. Had an appointment with Dr. Debo, the surgeon who removed the mass out of my neck for a check up. Our appt. was for 0900 and I'd been feeling nauseated all morning, so just moving about without getting sick was a chore. We made it to the appointment ok, then headed back home, where I ended up sleeping the rest of the morning and afternoon. Had another appointment with the Oncologist to get the pump removed at 1500. I woke up about 1400 and we left at 1430, still nauseated and feeling wiped out. Got the pump taken off (yeah!), but still have that nauseated feeling and the feeling of being totally wiped out. Spent the rest of the afternoon and all evening on the couch dozing. Think I finally went to bed about 8pm last night and I figure I spent all but about 3 hours on the couch snoozing. It's hard to explain, but I just feel drained and sick to my stomach. My back and legs are starting to ache, probably from lying down too much.
Got up this morning (Saturday), and currently waiting on a phone call from the Home Care providers, as they are supposed to make an appointment to come out and change the dressing on my PICC Line bandage, then we have an appointment to get my Neulasta shot this afternoon.
I'm feeling a little better today, but still have that drained out feeling. Marjie made me some scrambled eggs and bacon, which tasted good, but sent me to the bathroom almost immediately. My mouth has a weird feeling and taste to it.........This is some bad sh*t!
I wouldnt' wish this on my worst enemy!
Hopefully, this afternoon or tomorrow I will have a little better news to report, but right now it's not going so good. I'll sign out for now.
Thanks again for everyone's support and if I don't answer you email directly, know that I did see it or at least someone read it to me.....
Got up this morning (Saturday), and currently waiting on a phone call from the Home Care providers, as they are supposed to make an appointment to come out and change the dressing on my PICC Line bandage, then we have an appointment to get my Neulasta shot this afternoon.
I'm feeling a little better today, but still have that drained out feeling. Marjie made me some scrambled eggs and bacon, which tasted good, but sent me to the bathroom almost immediately. My mouth has a weird feeling and taste to it.........This is some bad sh*t!
I wouldnt' wish this on my worst enemy!
Hopefully, this afternoon or tomorrow I will have a little better news to report, but right now it's not going so good. I'll sign out for now.
Thanks again for everyone's support and if I don't answer you email directly, know that I did see it or at least someone read it to me.....
Thursday, November 16, 2006
16 November 2006
Here we are on the morning of the ole 1-4 day and doing so so I guess. Just wanted to thank everyone who's called, sent email's and posted to the blog. It means a lot to me to know you are all out there praying or thinking about me.
I'm doing okay or as as good as can be expected. I've had minimal side effects with the exception of getting tired very quickly throughout the day and a little nausea during the evening.
My routine has been getting up around 0700 and trying to do a little work on the computer, then get something to eat and take a few meds that the docs have prescribed for me. Shower comes next. That is a real pain the ass, as I have to have Marjie tape up my the bandage covering this PICC line really good on my right arm so it won't get wet, hang the Chemo Pump outside the shower so it won't get wet, then I inch my way in there and shower as best I can keeping right arm lifted out of water spray while also trying to keep the Feeding tube (PEG) tube dry (that doesn't work). We put one of those new shower heads on that has a 6' portable handle which seems to be working much better than the regular shower head, so bottom line is that even though it's a bit of a hassle, I still get to take a shower everyday.
After my shower, Marjie flushes the PEG and changes the dressing on it and I get dressed and ready for whatever we have going on during the day.
Ran some errands around town on Tuesday for a couple hours and it wasn't so bad, but after a couple hours I began to get pretty tired and started feeling nauseated, so we headed home and I spent the rest of the evening on the couch.
Same routine for yesterday except instead of running errands, we took Coho for walk and finished refilling the hot tub.
Seems that if I take it easy a little more often, it's not to bad dealing with side effects. I'm trying to eat small meals and drink plenty of fluids throughout the day rather than just a couple bigger meals like usual.
I guess time will tell as far as what I'm to expect with the side effects. Haven't lost any hair yet, no tingling of the toes or hands. Every once in a while I thought I've experienced a tingling in my mouth...not sure if I'm just imagining it or not, but who knows.
Tomorrow at noon, I go to see the surgeon that removed the mass out of my neck. He's a great doctor and wants to continue seeing me to just to keep up with the situation. I think this will be the last time I see him for another month or so, but he wants to stay in the loop.
At 3pm I go back to the chemotherapist, Dr. Atienza and get this pump taken off me for a couple weeks. We talked to his nurse yesterday and the plan is for me to build back up white blood cells for the following two weeks, then start on the 4th of December with the next dose of Chemo like I'm going through now.
So if I have it right, it's one week of chemo, two weeks off, 1 more week of chemo, two weeks off, then we start the radiation/chemo...but that's another month down the road.
I'm gonna close for now, hope this makes some sense....Time for some breakfast and need to get going on the morning routine...Thanks again for everyone's support! Your thoughts and prayers must be working cause I'm still here doing ok.
I'm doing okay or as as good as can be expected. I've had minimal side effects with the exception of getting tired very quickly throughout the day and a little nausea during the evening.
My routine has been getting up around 0700 and trying to do a little work on the computer, then get something to eat and take a few meds that the docs have prescribed for me. Shower comes next. That is a real pain the ass, as I have to have Marjie tape up my the bandage covering this PICC line really good on my right arm so it won't get wet, hang the Chemo Pump outside the shower so it won't get wet, then I inch my way in there and shower as best I can keeping right arm lifted out of water spray while also trying to keep the Feeding tube (PEG) tube dry (that doesn't work). We put one of those new shower heads on that has a 6' portable handle which seems to be working much better than the regular shower head, so bottom line is that even though it's a bit of a hassle, I still get to take a shower everyday.
After my shower, Marjie flushes the PEG and changes the dressing on it and I get dressed and ready for whatever we have going on during the day.
Ran some errands around town on Tuesday for a couple hours and it wasn't so bad, but after a couple hours I began to get pretty tired and started feeling nauseated, so we headed home and I spent the rest of the evening on the couch.
Same routine for yesterday except instead of running errands, we took Coho for walk and finished refilling the hot tub.
Seems that if I take it easy a little more often, it's not to bad dealing with side effects. I'm trying to eat small meals and drink plenty of fluids throughout the day rather than just a couple bigger meals like usual.
I guess time will tell as far as what I'm to expect with the side effects. Haven't lost any hair yet, no tingling of the toes or hands. Every once in a while I thought I've experienced a tingling in my mouth...not sure if I'm just imagining it or not, but who knows.
Tomorrow at noon, I go to see the surgeon that removed the mass out of my neck. He's a great doctor and wants to continue seeing me to just to keep up with the situation. I think this will be the last time I see him for another month or so, but he wants to stay in the loop.
At 3pm I go back to the chemotherapist, Dr. Atienza and get this pump taken off me for a couple weeks. We talked to his nurse yesterday and the plan is for me to build back up white blood cells for the following two weeks, then start on the 4th of December with the next dose of Chemo like I'm going through now.
So if I have it right, it's one week of chemo, two weeks off, 1 more week of chemo, two weeks off, then we start the radiation/chemo...but that's another month down the road.
I'm gonna close for now, hope this makes some sense....Time for some breakfast and need to get going on the morning routine...Thanks again for everyone's support! Your thoughts and prayers must be working cause I'm still here doing ok.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
13 November 2006 First day of Chemotherapy
Today is the first day of chemo so I’m calling this 1-1 day to signify week 1, day 1.
Woke up this morning at 0400 tossing and turning so I suspect it’s from the anticipation of the unknown of what’s going to happen today. Marjie also woke up at the same time and suspect it for the same reasons and also the fact that she is still a little jet lagged from her cross ocean plane trip from Egypt.
Marjie got up and decided to start one of her workout tapes and then take the Coho for a walk, so I finally got this blog going. I started at the beginning and hope to get caught up in the next couple days, and then it will just be a daily update of what the hell is going on with me.
Anyway, I worked on the blog from about 0400 till almost 0800 and realized that I need to start getting ready since we needed to be at Virginia Oncology Associates at 0900.
Took a shower and headed downstairs to eat a quick breakfast consisting of an English muffin with peanut butter and a banana with some apple juice. While I was eating Marjie flushed and changed the dressing on my feeding tube. Once done with that, I packed my backpack with a blanket, ear phones for my cell phone which is also a MP3 player, a small bag of crackers, PC World magazine and a book.
Arrived at the doctors office at 0910 and waited in the waiting room till 0930 when we were called in to the chemo room as I call it. This room consists of about 12 Lazy Boy leather recliners that are spread out along the walls. Next to the recliners are portable IV tube hangers on wheels with some kind of computer that the nurses can control how much IV fluid they are transferring into you at a time. We were told last week that if all the recliners weren’t taken that Marjie would be able to sit with me rather than having to get a folding chair to sit in for the day. As it turned out, there were 3 other patients getting treatment, so it left lots of open chairs and Marjie was able to kick back next to me all day.
The nurse came over and explained what was going to happen today and it basically goes like this. I will be receiving numerous chemicals/medicines/anti-nausea/hydration fluids in a series through IV bags which will attach to my PICC line.
First thing was for me to take another pill called Emend, which is an anti-nausea medicine. This is taken on the first day of chemo treatment and its 150mg, then I’ll take one the second day 80mg and another on the 3rd day after treatment 80mg.
First IV bag hooked up to the machine and then to me was yet another anti-nausea medicine called Aloxi .25mg.
>
Next IV bag was what the nurse called a hydration bag which was 1000ml of saline.
Next IV bag was 250ml of Magnesium Sulfide 50% 500mg/ml. (This is to offset losses from the next drug called Cisplatin (Platinol).
Next IV bag was the real deal chemo drug 1000ml – Cisplatin (150mg) plus Mannitol 2,500mg. (This bag took over an hour to drain into me.
Next IV bag was another Chemo drug 150mg of Taxotere.
This all started about 0930 and the last drop went in approx 1545….what a day!
The nurse comes back in with the final drug 5-FU (Fluorouracil). This is a drug that needs to be dispensed for 96 hours continuously. The way this will work is that I will carry a fanny pack with a pump in it that is connected to the IV fluid bag which will inject through my PICC line 7,880 mg which is 157.6cc’s of 5-FU (Fluorouracil) over 96 hours at a rate of 2cc’s an hour into me.
Man, this is a real joy! I now have this freaking feeding tube coming out of my stomach, a PICC line installed into my upper right arm with two medicine ports dangling out, and connected to one is a tube going to an IV bag which is connected to this pump that I have to carry continuously for the next four freaking days. This damn thing can’t be more than 3 feet from my body and can’t get wet. Sheesh!
>
So to recap for the day, I basically sat in a comfortable recliner reading magazines, listening to Dire Straits and Kenny G, wrapped in my own personal blanket very comfortable. The drugs going into me did not hurt and I really didn’t feel anything at all. The PICC line worked very well and because of it I didn’t have to have any needles today poking into me. When we were all done and the pump was turned on, Marjie and I left.
My next appointment is at 1500 on Friday to have the pump removed and another appointment at 1455 on Saturday for a shot of NUELASTA. This is the drug to bring your white blood count back up.
Headed home with Marjie driving this time. Think I’ll be a passenger for the next couple months.
Got home and Marjie had a roast in the crock pot for dinner cooking. Went out in the back yard and did a little cleaning up while Marjie and David finished cleaning the hot tub.
Came back in feeling good, ate a good dinner and kicked back on the couch and watched a little TV. So far, I’m feeling no side effects and all is well.
Went to bed at 2130 and watched TV in the rack till about 2230.
Goodnight!
10 November 2006 PICC Install
Well, Marjie flew home last night on Emergency Leave and will be able to stay here with me through this whole ordeal.
Thanks again to my folks who unselfishly flew in from Tucson, AZ to be with me, take notes at Doctors meetings, cook dinners, clean house and give me moral support. I really appreciate that!
Mom and Dad will be flying back to Arizona after having passed all the information to Marjie.
Arrived at Chesapeake General Hospital Friday at 1130 for the PICC tube installation. It went very well and had little pain during the surgery.
The PICC was put in by a specially trained nurse, in an outpatient department on the ward. It was put in using a local anaesthetic, so that you do not feel any pain.
First, the skin in the area where the PICC will be inserted is numbed, using a special anaesthetic cream. When the skin is completely numb a needle will be inserted and then removed as the PICC is threaded through it into the large vein which leads to your heart. This did not take long and was painless. The PICC is held securely in place by a transparent dressing. I then had a chest x-ray to check that the end of the tube is in the correct position.
A PICC is a long, thin, flexible tube known as a catheter. It is inserted into one of the large veins of the arm near the bend of the elbow. It is then pushed into the vein until the tip sits in a large vein just above the heart.
The space in the middle of the tube is called the lumen. The tube has two lumens (known as double lumen). This allows different treatments to be given at the same time. At the end of the tube outside the body, each lumen has a special cap to which a drip line or syringe can be attached. There is also a clamp to keep the tube closed when it is not in use.
The PICC line can be used to give you treatments such as chemotherapy, antibiotics and intravenous fluids and feeding. It can also be used to take samples of your blood for testing. You can go home with the PICC in and it can be left in for weeks or months. This makes it possible for you to have your treatment without having to have needles frequently inserted into your veins. This may be particularly helpful if your veins are hard to find or have been hardened by previous chemotherapy treatment.
Biggest issue that I'm faced with is the fact that the dressing cannot get wet, which is going to make taking a shower even more difficult since I now have to deal with the PEGG feeding tube and now this.
08 November 2006 Planning meeting with Radiologist
Went to “planning session” at Dr.Amin’s office this morning – met and talked with Dr.Sinesi at length. The treatment plan has changed.
First of all, Dr. S. emphasized the importance of being able to keep up nutritionally during treatment, saying that the PEG gastric tube is best for this. Obviously nutrition by mouth is best and easiest, but as treatment progresses Dave will tend to develop mouth sores which can make eating difficult, and maintenance of proper nutrition is essential to his health.
Again the Dr. emphasized that radiation is for local treatment - tonsil and lymph nodes in the neck. Basically the radiation will treat an area (on both sides) from the top of the jawbone to the collarbone. Chemo is administered intravenously and the drugs flow throughout the body via the blood system. CAT scans can’t pick up tiny, microscopic cells that might be floating around, but chemo can attack those.
Chemo + radiation has a synergistic effect that enhances the effects of both – a 2+2=5 situation.
Dr.Atienza has been doing further research and both doctors agree that the cutting edge, “gold standard” of treatment would be to do two sessions of just chemo first, and then progress to the chemo + radiation 7-week program.
After the initial chemo treatments with Dr.Atienza, Dave will return to Dr.Sinesi and Dr.Amin for 2-3 days of planning – pictures, measurements, CAT scans, fitting of the mask – prior to beginning radiation treatment. It is probable that the “picture” at that point will be different from what it would be today – therefore it is prudent to wait till after chemo for this planning.
Dr.Sinesi told us to go directly to Dr.Atienza’s office to finalize discussions of the chemo plan, which we did.
After a long wait, Dr. Atienza came in to explain further all of the above, and to further explain the chemo treatment. Dave will undergo two sessions of chemo treatment over a three-week period. Raw data suggests that this plan is more effective and potentially easier for treating tonsil cancer. The “wrinkle” is that with the three drugs they will be using, there is some little risk.
Plan is now to start Chemotherapy on Monday 13 November. But first, I have an appointment for Friday the 10th to have the PICC installed.
First of all, Dr. S. emphasized the importance of being able to keep up nutritionally during treatment, saying that the PEG gastric tube is best for this. Obviously nutrition by mouth is best and easiest, but as treatment progresses Dave will tend to develop mouth sores which can make eating difficult, and maintenance of proper nutrition is essential to his health.
Again the Dr. emphasized that radiation is for local treatment - tonsil and lymph nodes in the neck. Basically the radiation will treat an area (on both sides) from the top of the jawbone to the collarbone. Chemo is administered intravenously and the drugs flow throughout the body via the blood system. CAT scans can’t pick up tiny, microscopic cells that might be floating around, but chemo can attack those.
Chemo + radiation has a synergistic effect that enhances the effects of both – a 2+2=5 situation.
Dr.Atienza has been doing further research and both doctors agree that the cutting edge, “gold standard” of treatment would be to do two sessions of just chemo first, and then progress to the chemo + radiation 7-week program.
After the initial chemo treatments with Dr.Atienza, Dave will return to Dr.Sinesi and Dr.Amin for 2-3 days of planning – pictures, measurements, CAT scans, fitting of the mask – prior to beginning radiation treatment. It is probable that the “picture” at that point will be different from what it would be today – therefore it is prudent to wait till after chemo for this planning.
Dr.Sinesi told us to go directly to Dr.Atienza’s office to finalize discussions of the chemo plan, which we did.
After a long wait, Dr. Atienza came in to explain further all of the above, and to further explain the chemo treatment. Dave will undergo two sessions of chemo treatment over a three-week period. Raw data suggests that this plan is more effective and potentially easier for treating tonsil cancer. The “wrinkle” is that with the three drugs they will be using, there is some little risk.
Plan is now to start Chemotherapy on Monday 13 November. But first, I have an appointment for Friday the 10th to have the PICC installed.
07 November 2006 Home Health Care Provided
Home Health care nurse from Bon Secours (related to Maryview Hospital) came to show him how to care for wound and how to flush PEG tube:
Wear rubber gloves to maintain sterility
Remove old tape and dressing.
Soak gauze pad with betadine and use to clean all around site, especially around edge of circular plastic piece.
Then apply triple antibiotic ointment to area, squeeze under edge of circular plastic piece.
Coil up tube and appliance and hold in place while you-
Recover with fresh dressing and tape in place.
To flush tube – twice a day with 200 cc water using syringe supplied.
Take up 70 cc water in syringe, undo clamp on tube holding tube upright, flush through first 70 cc water. Re-fasten clamp to avoid backwash. Repeat this procedure twice, using only 60 cc water the third time. Be sure to unclamp and reclamp tube for each “push”. Getting a little air bubble into the line is not a problem – just would cause a little gas..
If there should be a little debris or particles apparent in the tube, can use Sprite or ginger ale for the flush – the carbonation will help to clear out any debris in the tube….this would only occur when the tube is being used for actual supplemental feeding, probably not at this point.
For second flushing of the day, it may be possible just to gently uncoil tube and pull out from top of dressing, then tuck back in afterwards – to avoid having to reapply tape and dressing each time.
The bottle of normal saline is to use for external cleaning only – do not use to flush tube.
Home Health care provides all necessary supplies – when you are running low on something, let them know and they will bring more out.
06 November 2006 PEG install
Surgery this morning to have the PEG (feeding tube) put in place – went to the hospital (Maryview) at 6:30 – was back in recovery by 8:30. We left the hospital with Rx for Demerol and Prilosec – to Portsmouth Naval Hospital to get these, and the Salagen Rx filled. While there he came close to passing out – chills and sweating – had to get a wheel chair and orderly to get back to the car. Probably due to taking a Percoset at Maryview on, essentially, an empty stomach. Stopped to get a milkshake en route to home and he seems better. REALLY better after phone call from Marjie with flight info!
02 November 2006 1st Meeting Radiation Therapist
Once again, thanks Mom for you input on this!
On Thursday, Nov 2, I accompanied Dave to his appointment with Dr. Biral Amin, the radiation therapist. Again, a very impressive person – a young man, Indian?? But with no discernible accent. He was extremely personable, encouraging, understanding, explained things well.
Side effects Dave will experience include sore mucosal membranes in the mouth and throat, possible difficulty in swallowing, dryness of the mouth, and altered taste sensations.
They will be using IMRT…..defined in one of the booklets we picked up as intensity-modulated radiotherapy, a recent advance that in some cases may spare normal tissues, including saliva glands. The doctors are able to adjust the radiation dose more precisely to the tumor.
He recommends that Dave be followed after treatment by an endocrinologist because of possible trauma (from the radiation) to the thyroid gland. This could be a life-long thing.
He prescribed Salagen, a drug to promote maximum salivary output, to be taken the three days immediately preceding radiation treatment. He requested an immediate “Pre-Radiation Exam” by Dave’s dentist (further explained in the pamphlets), and he was adamant that a feeding tube be inserted by a gastro-intestinal surgeon prior to beginning treatment. Reasoning for this is that it is easier to do that BEFORE treatment begins, and it is important that Dave’s nutritional level be kept at a high state, not allowed to suffer if and when his eating becomes difficult. He also explained that a chemo port, called a PICCline, will be inserted into a vein in the upper arm for chemo administration. (Dr. Atienza had explained this, also.) Both these tube insertions will be done in the hospital under anesthesia, but as an “in-and-out-in-one-day” procedure.
Dr. Amin said the radiation treatment would last 7 weeks, every day Monday thru Friday, about 20-25 minutes per session. At the first session (longer) ---or at the planning session???--- A plastic mesh mask will be fitted - the purpose of this is to help focus the X-ray beams, and to keep his head immobilized during the treatment.
Sequence of immediate future appts – Dental “pre radiation TX exam, GI dr. to insert feeding tube, Planning Session. Dr,s all to coordinate appts and treatment plan.01 November 2006 First meeting with Oncologist
First meeting scheduled with Virgina Oncology Associates, Dr. Daniel Atienza.
Fortunately my Mom and Dad flew in from Tucson Arizona to be with me and help with things around the house till my wife Marjie could return from her deployment in the Mediterranean Sea. Marjie is stationed on a ship that is currently deployed and not scheduled to return till December 6Th.
Here are Mom's notes which is a 100 times better than I could have done. Thanks Mom!
Wed., Nov 1. David Jr. and I accompanied Dave to the appointment with Dr.Daniel Atienza, a short, genial Filipino doctor. He started in to explain the rationale behind chemo/radiation therapy.tumor site only – radiation; tumor + metastasis to a lymph node – chemo. Chemotherapy will (1) enhance the effect of radiation on the tumor and (2) prevent further metastasis of the cancer cells. There is concern about metastasis to the lungs and bones; however, Dave's chest X-ray is clear which is very good. Side effects will include increased sensitivity to sunlight.
The combination of chemo AND radiation enhances the effects of both.
Chemo has the effect of bringing down the white blood cell count (white cells fight infection) so they will keep a close check on his blood chemistry. There is also the potential for hair loss (head, eyebrows, beard, everywhere). Unfortunately the best drug for the treatment of head and neck cancer also had an increased potential for nausea; Dave will be given pretreatment medication of Dexamethasone (Decadron) and Emend for nausea and joint pain. A side effect (of this medication??) may be numbness and tingling in the fingers and toes. This should subside when treatment is complete although there could be some lingering and possibly permanent numbness/tingling. Another side effect is possible loss of high frequency tones in hearing (something the Vigal boys already suffer from!!)
Side effects to the kidney will be monitored – the kidney tends to flush salts from the body (apparently the chemo meds are salts), and yet some salts are critical to maintain…..need to research this a bit more.
He may experience mild anemia, which they can counteract with the medication Procrit.
Another medication they will use is 5-FU (Fluorouracil) – this can cause diarrhea and mouth sores which will be temporary in nature, but still annoying. Several other drugs were mentioned – Aloxi, Emend, I believe these were all anti-nausea drugs.
It will be important to keep Dave’s nutrition at a high level, but eating may become difficult because of mouth sores, decreased saliva output, swelling of the throat, etc. For that reason they may want to insert a feeding tube, to be used when and if eating becomes difficult. The effects of the radiation on throat tissues, both internal and external, are similar to a heavy sunburn, but as radiation continues, internal throat swelling may occur. There are meds to counteract this, too.
Dr. Atienza anticipates a 6-week course of radiation and chemo – both together the first and last weeks, and radiation only in between. He also discussed the drug Ethyol (helps to reduce the occurrence of moderate to severe dry mouth) which will be used to prevent esophagitis and neuropathy in the throat (I’m really having to dig deep for my biology vocabulary!! – we’ll all be a lot more educated by the time we are through with this!) A possible deleterious side effect of Ethyol is a rash, and if he gets the rash, the drug is immediately discontinued.
I felt very comfortable about this doctor – he was thorough, understanding, easy to talk to. Dave asked him for a “guesstimate” of his chances of going through all this treatment and beating the cancer – the doctor said, at least 50-50, which was of course NOT what Dave wanted to hear. Would have to give the Dr. a D- on that particular bit.
He also explained that the surgery for this problem is HUGE – massive loss of tissue in the jaw and neck – and that is why they much prefer to treat the problem with chemo and radiation. He also said that, should the surgery become necessary at some later date, having had the chemo and radiation previously would not have a negative influence on the surgery. Obviously, this is an option we all would hope would never become necessary.
This IS tonsillar cancer, metastasized to the lymph gland. This is ONLY on the left side, which certainly is a plus.
He referred us also to the NIH and NCI websites, also PDQ, and a site called PLWC (People Living With Cancer).
Fortunately my Mom and Dad flew in from Tucson Arizona to be with me and help with things around the house till my wife Marjie could return from her deployment in the Mediterranean Sea. Marjie is stationed on a ship that is currently deployed and not scheduled to return till December 6Th.
Here are Mom's notes which is a 100 times better than I could have done. Thanks Mom!
Wed., Nov 1. David Jr. and I accompanied Dave to the appointment with Dr.Daniel Atienza, a short, genial Filipino doctor. He started in to explain the rationale behind chemo/radiation therapy.tumor site only – radiation; tumor + metastasis to a lymph node – chemo. Chemotherapy will (1) enhance the effect of radiation on the tumor and (2) prevent further metastasis of the cancer cells. There is concern about metastasis to the lungs and bones; however, Dave's chest X-ray is clear which is very good. Side effects will include increased sensitivity to sunlight.
The combination of chemo AND radiation enhances the effects of both.
Chemo has the effect of bringing down the white blood cell count (white cells fight infection) so they will keep a close check on his blood chemistry. There is also the potential for hair loss (head, eyebrows, beard, everywhere). Unfortunately the best drug for the treatment of head and neck cancer also had an increased potential for nausea; Dave will be given pretreatment medication of Dexamethasone (Decadron) and Emend for nausea and joint pain. A side effect (of this medication??) may be numbness and tingling in the fingers and toes. This should subside when treatment is complete although there could be some lingering and possibly permanent numbness/tingling. Another side effect is possible loss of high frequency tones in hearing (something the Vigal boys already suffer from!!)
Side effects to the kidney will be monitored – the kidney tends to flush salts from the body (apparently the chemo meds are salts), and yet some salts are critical to maintain…..need to research this a bit more.
He may experience mild anemia, which they can counteract with the medication Procrit.
Another medication they will use is 5-FU (Fluorouracil) – this can cause diarrhea and mouth sores which will be temporary in nature, but still annoying. Several other drugs were mentioned – Aloxi, Emend, I believe these were all anti-nausea drugs.
It will be important to keep Dave’s nutrition at a high level, but eating may become difficult because of mouth sores, decreased saliva output, swelling of the throat, etc. For that reason they may want to insert a feeding tube, to be used when and if eating becomes difficult. The effects of the radiation on throat tissues, both internal and external, are similar to a heavy sunburn, but as radiation continues, internal throat swelling may occur. There are meds to counteract this, too.
Dr. Atienza anticipates a 6-week course of radiation and chemo – both together the first and last weeks, and radiation only in between. He also discussed the drug Ethyol (helps to reduce the occurrence of moderate to severe dry mouth) which will be used to prevent esophagitis and neuropathy in the throat (I’m really having to dig deep for my biology vocabulary!! – we’ll all be a lot more educated by the time we are through with this!) A possible deleterious side effect of Ethyol is a rash, and if he gets the rash, the drug is immediately discontinued.
I felt very comfortable about this doctor – he was thorough, understanding, easy to talk to. Dave asked him for a “guesstimate” of his chances of going through all this treatment and beating the cancer – the doctor said, at least 50-50, which was of course NOT what Dave wanted to hear. Would have to give the Dr. a D- on that particular bit.
He also explained that the surgery for this problem is HUGE – massive loss of tissue in the jaw and neck – and that is why they much prefer to treat the problem with chemo and radiation. He also said that, should the surgery become necessary at some later date, having had the chemo and radiation previously would not have a negative influence on the surgery. Obviously, this is an option we all would hope would never become necessary.
This IS tonsillar cancer, metastasized to the lymph gland. This is ONLY on the left side, which certainly is a plus.
He referred us also to the NIH and NCI websites, also PDQ, and a site called PLWC (People Living With Cancer).
Monday, November 13, 2006
27 October 2006 Two weeks after surgery
Here are a few pics beginning with before and after. You can see that the scar is getting better and better each couple days.
Returned to Dr. Debo's office for a check up on my surgery and talk further about treatment possibilities. I guess we discussed this last week but didn't put a post about that. Basically, he wants to send me to talk to a Oncologist and a Radiologist and get a second opinion. He feels it would be better to treat with a combination of radiation and chemotherapy rather that go in and do more surgery. He says surgery is still a possibility, but after the other two.
Appointments are made!
19 October 2006 Pathology Report
Here is the pathology report.
A 44-year old male presented with left neck mass. Patient underwent biopsy to rule out lymphoma.
Pre-operative diagnosis: left neck mass
Post-operative diagnosis: left squamous cell CA
Specimens (a): left neck mass (FD)
(b): left tonsil biopsy
Gross description:
A: Received is one appropriately labeled container additionally labeled "left neck mass, rule out lymphoma:. It consists of a 3.2 x 2.2 x 2.2 cm large necrotic lymph node. A small portion of the tissue is submitted as (FSA1). The remaining tissue is submitted in (A1) through (A6). NTR
B: The specimen is received in buffered formalin labeled with the patients name and "left tonsil biopsy". The specimen consists of two portions of brown and tan, soft tissue. This is filtered into a biopsy bad and measures 1 x 0.5 x 0.3 cm in greatest dimensions. The specimen is totally submitted in one cassette labeled (B).
Diagnosis:
A: Left neck mass, biopsy, frozen and permanent section diagnosis:
- Metastatic squamous cell carcinoma, moderately differentiated, focally keratinizing in lymph node. The metastatic focus measures 3.2 cm in greatest dimension. Extracapsular extension is identified.
B: Left tonsil, biopsy:
- Invasive moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma.
The pathology report in a nutshell showed squamous cell carcinoma (T1 N 2 a of the left Tonsil.)
A 44-year old male presented with left neck mass. Patient underwent biopsy to rule out lymphoma.
Pre-operative diagnosis: left neck mass
Post-operative diagnosis: left squamous cell CA
Specimens (a): left neck mass (FD)
(b): left tonsil biopsy
Gross description:
A: Received is one appropriately labeled container additionally labeled "left neck mass, rule out lymphoma:. It consists of a 3.2 x 2.2 x 2.2 cm large necrotic lymph node. A small portion of the tissue is submitted as (FSA1). The remaining tissue is submitted in (A1) through (A6). NTR
B: The specimen is received in buffered formalin labeled with the patients name and "left tonsil biopsy". The specimen consists of two portions of brown and tan, soft tissue. This is filtered into a biopsy bad and measures 1 x 0.5 x 0.3 cm in greatest dimensions. The specimen is totally submitted in one cassette labeled (B).
Diagnosis:
A: Left neck mass, biopsy, frozen and permanent section diagnosis:
- Metastatic squamous cell carcinoma, moderately differentiated, focally keratinizing in lymph node. The metastatic focus measures 3.2 cm in greatest dimension. Extracapsular extension is identified.
B: Left tonsil, biopsy:
- Invasive moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma.
The pathology report in a nutshell showed squamous cell carcinoma (T1 N 2 a of the left Tonsil.)
16 October 2006 Day of Surgery
OK, today is the day of the surgery. I haven't been able to eat or drink since midnight last night and it's a b--ch not being able to have my morning cups of coffee. Marjie's sister Sarah picked me up at 1130 and we headed to the hospital. Sarah dropped me off and I checked in. The nurse took me to a room and had me undress and put on a surgery gown and then climb in bed. I laid there for about 30 minutes till the nurse came back and started hooking up gear to me. Heart rate monitor on my finger, blood pressure gadget to my arm, and then an IV. They started pumping some IV fluid in me for the next couple hours while I watched TV and waited on Dr. Debo who was doing other surgeries that day. Around 2pm, the anesthesiologist came in and said she was going to give me some "feel good medicine", then the anesthesia.
Boy oh boy is that stuff good! A few minutes later, they wheeled me out and to the operating room. I remember heading out the door and into the passageway, and I asked the nurse what this medicine was supposed to do? because as far as I could tell, it wasn't doing anything. She said that I should feel like I consumed three or fours beers. I wasn't feeling antthing! Next thing I remember was waking up in the recovery room!
There was a nurse attending me and I asked her where I was and what was going on? She said I just came out of surgery and the doctor would be in shortly to talk with me.
Now for the bad news!
Dr. Debo arrived about 20 minutes later and explained that while doing the surgery, it turned out that it was not a brachial cleft cyst, rather an infected lymph node gland. He noticed a small lump on my tonsil and did a biopsy of that and along with the lymph node gland, sent it all to pathology to have them tested.
Both came back as squamous cell carcinoma.
Dr. Debo said he would have the pathology report in a couple days and we would discuss options then.
David and Sarah met me in another room while I was recovering and both had been briefed by the doctor as to what was going on.
I was released that evening since there was no point keeping me through the night if I could recover just as well at home. They wheeled me out of the hospital in a wheel chair and David and I proceeded to the Naval Hospital to fill my prescriptions for pain meds. I was given some Percoset, some antibiotics and something in case I became nauseous. We then headed home and I spent the next couple days recuperating.
Percoset works for the pain, but I was getting an alergic reaction to it I think. It really made me itch. Used percoset for a day and a half then switched to regular 325mg tylenol.
A few days later, Dr. Debo sent me this email:
Dear Mr. Vigal,
My nurse informed me that you requested that I e-mail you a brief synopsis of what we found at the time of surgery. I sent the tumor we removed from your neck to the pathologist for frozen section evaluation. This gives us a preliminary result and is not as accurate as the permanent pathology (so the results could change) but the results of the frozen section were that you have a squamous cell carcinoma. This tumor is likely related to your previous tobacco use. The primary site is as yet undetermined, however, while you were asleep, I examined the back of your throat and did a directed biopsy of your left tonsil to try to identify the primary tumor. I mentioned that this is a serious but treatable tumor. We will talk further on thursday when hopefully we will have the permanent pathology back.
Richard F. Debo, M.D., F.A.C.S.
06 October 2006
Back to the ENT clinic for the results.
Turns out the biopsy came back Non malignant. This is good right???? Dr. Debo thinks what we are dealing with now is called a: Branchial Cleft Cyst.
The plan is to perform surgery and remove the thing. Surgery is set up at Virginia Beach General Hospital.
Dr. Debo explains that he will make an incision in my neck, Left side and remove the cyst. I will check into the hospital on the 16th of October at 2pm and will be able to go home the following afternoon if all goes well. They are calling this a 23 hour short stay.
Turns out the biopsy came back Non malignant. This is good right???? Dr. Debo thinks what we are dealing with now is called a: Branchial Cleft Cyst.
The plan is to perform surgery and remove the thing. Surgery is set up at Virginia Beach General Hospital.
Dr. Debo explains that he will make an incision in my neck, Left side and remove the cyst. I will check into the hospital on the 16th of October at 2pm and will be able to go home the following afternoon if all goes well. They are calling this a 23 hour short stay.
04 October 2006 ENT Appointment
Arrived at Eastern Virginia Ear, Nose & Throat Specialists on time and met Dr. Richard Debo. We talked for a while and he informed me that he wanted to run a tube with a scope up my nose and down my esophagus to check for any tumors or anything unusual. First they sprayed some kind of numbing stuff down my throat so I wouldn't feel much, then he ran the scope up my nose and all the way down. I was watching with him on a monitor of my internal workings. Boy was that weird. Everything looked normal so he decided to do a biopsy of the lump on my neck. Biopsy
He took two biopsy's and said he would have the results in two days.
Here is a copy of the email he sent me following our appointment:
Here are the notes Dr. Debo sent me in an email:
Dear Dave,
As per your request I am writing to summarize our discussions from today's appointment. You presented to the office today for evaluation of a three month history of a left neck mass which has not responded to treatment with a first line antibiotic (Amoxicillin). You are a recently reformed smoker having formerly consumed one pack per day for the previous 20 years. The CT scan you brought with you revealed a well circumscribed mass in the left neck which touches the jugular vein, carotid artery and the parotid gland. The differential diagnosis at this point includes both benign and malignant possibilities. More commonly these things turn out to be benign tumors like branchial cleft cysts, enlarged lymph nodes, or infections. I am concerned however because of your past tobacco use about the possibility of a malignancy such as a squamous cell carcinoma, lymphoma or a thyroid neoplasm. After obtaining a through history and physical exam on you in the office we then performed a fine needle aspiration(FNA) of the neck mass to try to obtain cells for diagnostic studies. This may help to guide our further management. I placed you on another stronger antibiotic while we await the results of the FNA to see if we can shrink the mass down. I will see you back in the office in one week to review the biopsy results and to plan our next steps. I hope this helps you out. If you have other more specific questions please feel free to call me in the office I'll try to get right back to you.
R. F. Debo, M.D.,F.A.C.S.
He took two biopsy's and said he would have the results in two days.
Here is a copy of the email he sent me following our appointment:
Here are the notes Dr. Debo sent me in an email:
Dear Dave,
As per your request I am writing to summarize our discussions from today's appointment. You presented to the office today for evaluation of a three month history of a left neck mass which has not responded to treatment with a first line antibiotic (Amoxicillin). You are a recently reformed smoker having formerly consumed one pack per day for the previous 20 years. The CT scan you brought with you revealed a well circumscribed mass in the left neck which touches the jugular vein, carotid artery and the parotid gland. The differential diagnosis at this point includes both benign and malignant possibilities. More commonly these things turn out to be benign tumors like branchial cleft cysts, enlarged lymph nodes, or infections. I am concerned however because of your past tobacco use about the possibility of a malignancy such as a squamous cell carcinoma, lymphoma or a thyroid neoplasm. After obtaining a through history and physical exam on you in the office we then performed a fine needle aspiration(FNA) of the neck mass to try to obtain cells for diagnostic studies. This may help to guide our further management. I placed you on another stronger antibiotic while we await the results of the FNA to see if we can shrink the mass down. I will see you back in the office in one week to review the biopsy results and to plan our next steps. I hope this helps you out. If you have other more specific questions please feel free to call me in the office I'll try to get right back to you.
R. F. Debo, M.D.,F.A.C.S.
CT Scan
Boy was this ever weird! I arrived for the appointment and was escorted to a trailer where the CT Scan machine was located. The nurse had me take off my wedding ring and necklace and lay down on the CT Scan machine. This looks like a big table with a circular device that can travel the length of the table and has the ability to take pictures of your body. Here is a link that might be helpful:CT Scan
After I was laying down on the table the nurse hooked up an IV tube to me and informed me that he was going to inject some kind of dye into me that would basically light up my veins so they could see what was going on.
The dye they inject instantly makes your whole body warm. You can feel that stuff immediately. It also causes an urge to pee for some reason. After the dye was injected, the CT Scan machine began moving back and forth from the top of my head to my shoulders. This went on for about 20 minutes and then was finished.
I was advised that the as soon as the results were in that I would be notified.
After I was laying down on the table the nurse hooked up an IV tube to me and informed me that he was going to inject some kind of dye into me that would basically light up my veins so they could see what was going on.
The dye they inject instantly makes your whole body warm. You can feel that stuff immediately. It also causes an urge to pee for some reason. After the dye was injected, the CT Scan machine began moving back and forth from the top of my head to my shoulders. This went on for about 20 minutes and then was finished.
I was advised that the as soon as the results were in that I would be notified.
Summer 2006
My son and I left Port Orchard, Washington and arrived in Chesapeake, VA on the 2nd of July. We spent the next couple months unpacking boxes, putting the house together, figuring out the area, getting my son enrolled in school (Senior Year), getting a new vet for the dog, finding doctors for us and all the things one has to do when they move to a new area.
I made an appointment to see a Family doctor in August 2006 and had my first appointment on September 15, 2006.
During the exam, I pointed out the the lump on my neck. The doctor, (Dr. Kim-Foley) became very worried and said that we needed to get this checked out immediately. She scheduled an appointment for me to have bloodwork done, a chest xray performed and a CT scan done.
I was immediately sent over for the chest xray, but had to wait another day for the bloodwork due to the requirement to fast for at least a day. You are not supposed to eat or drink anything before blood tests, so I scheduled an appointment for the next morning.
The CT scan was scheduled for a few days later.
Chest xray and bloodwork came back fine with no problems.
I made an appointment to see a Family doctor in August 2006 and had my first appointment on September 15, 2006.
During the exam, I pointed out the the lump on my neck. The doctor, (Dr. Kim-Foley) became very worried and said that we needed to get this checked out immediately. She scheduled an appointment for me to have bloodwork done, a chest xray performed and a CT scan done.
I was immediately sent over for the chest xray, but had to wait another day for the bloodwork due to the requirement to fast for at least a day. You are not supposed to eat or drink anything before blood tests, so I scheduled an appointment for the next morning.
The CT scan was scheduled for a few days later.
Chest xray and bloodwork came back fine with no problems.
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