7th and 8th treatment

Finished with radiation treatments 7 and 8 and and the 2nd chemo... still hanging in there pretty good. Not really experiencing too many side effects as of yet except for the start of dry mouth. I'm getting kind of a weird taste in my mouth and every once in a while I'm getting this thick saliva stuff going on. I've been trying different things to combat it and so far have had pretty good luck. Found out that sugarless lemon drops work. Biotene mouthwash works and Marjie made up a concoction of water, salt and baking soda for me to swish when needed. Haven't tried that yet, but will when needed.

I talked to the radiation therapists again today about the side effects and they all said that anything I was experiencing now was probably from that very first radiation treatment. They reiterated again today that usually about the 10 session or 3-4th week is when the side effects really kick in. They keep advising to drink lots of water, keep the lotion on my neck, not to worry too much and when shit hits the fan, use the feeding tube! I guess I keep asking them questions because I want to hear "Hey Dave, you're doing great and it's looking like you might not get all these side effects after all"...but what I keep hearing is "Stand-by for heavy rolls"....

After the radiation today, we headed over to the Oncologist for my Chemotherapy. Before the chemo, we saw Dr. Atienza and got to discuss how things were going and then he got to check me out and ensure I was doing okay. He seems to think I'm doing fine and said we need to press on. He also mentioned that my scans from a month ago were clear and he's pretty confident I'll be able to kick this cancer's butt. I also talked about the side effects and the nausea I have been experiencing this past week. He prescribed me a new anti-nausea medication, Compazine, to try. The Phenegan, he originally prescribed for nausea, really knocked me out when I took it - not a side effect I particularly want. He again said to stand-by for heavy rolls and that side effects and the use of the feeding tube are just around the corner.

After my appointment with the doctor, we headed back to the chemo room to get my drugs. Boy oh boy was that place full today. Every chair in the house was taken and everyone was getting their chemo. The chemo process was normal and took about an hour or so to get it. They started with the anti-nausea bag first and then to the Carboplatin....nothing interesting about that.....talked to Sarah, (my nurse), about what was going on and she basically said the same thing. She said she has another patient that is going through the same thing as me except for he's about 2 weeks ahead of me and apparently he just started using his feeding tube. She said when he was in today, he was complaining of sore throat, difficulty eating and talking with a scratchy voice.

So just to keep everything straight - my current meds/ointments are:
- Carboplatin: Chemotherapy drug - once a week
Along with Kytril for nausea prevention as well.
- Salagen: to increase saliva production / 5 mg / 3 times a day
- Prilosec: to keep my stomach in check / 20 mg / once a day
- Compazine: for nausea / 10mg / every 8 hours
- Multivitamin: currently taking One-A-Day for Men
- Juven: therapeutic Nutrition drink mix / 1 packet twice a day
- XClair: to aid in my skin recover / rub on neck area three times a day
Marjie is having a blast keeping all of this straight.

So what I learned today is that no matter how good I feel now, and how much I want to continue feeling good, nobody out there thinks I'm exempt from what is coming.
They all do stress that each person is different, and everyone handles things differently, to keep up with my fluids and diet not to worry so much.
One day at a time!
Easy to say I say!

I am taking things one day at a time and I will beat this!

Thanks to everyone out there that's been sending me cards, letters and emails of support. I really appreciate them and believe it or not, they actually make me feel better.