Godzilla Powers

So far the weekend has been ok. A lot of more of the same with respect to last time. I'm headachey in a big way, but I think we may have found the right cocktail of medicine to get around that. It makes me a little sleepy, but it's better than the pounding head, and the feeling that lasers are shooting from my eyes. Admittedly, having the powers of Godzilla would be nice, but it's not worth a pounding noggin. 

I've had lots of friends and family this weekend, and the support has been really great. I got to see the girls today after church, which was wonderful. Yesterday was great, since I got to spend most of the day with Jane. Even though we don't do much but sit and chat, it's the best day I could ask for.

For my birthday (tomorrow) the neighbors got me a really cool game called Tantrix - which is a domino-like pattern forming game. Difficult to explain here but lots of fun nonetheless. Our neighbors are a whiz at this game, which is really saying something, because it's a bit complex.

I promised some graphs of data set from the weather station, but, to my dismay, MS Excel 2007 is not a carbon copy of Excel 2003, and it's taking me a little time to pull them together.

For the record, I'm really happy that it's getting to be Autumn - thought I can't say that I remember much of this summer. 

Aah, and there's a beep which signals the end of the number 2 bag bright orange chemo. I'm off to get bag 3!

Round 5 begins

I went into Martha Jefferson this afternoon at around 1pm. The interthecal chemo was administered around 2pm, and I went to my roomaround 3. I've now started on the Rituximab and should be getting the other meds in a little while. I'll be  here until Wednesday.

It was hard to come in this afternoon, because I was feeling so well, and I know this'll knock me down big time.

We've had some weather over the past two days. I've pulled a 180+ datasets from my weather station andwill put together some graphs for posting here

More info to follow...

CAT Scan and other updates

I had a CT scan this morning. That was interesting because I asked the tech to explain the process and result to me, and she showed me the scan images, with a caveat that she couldn't diagnose -  only show. It was cool to see a 3-d flythrough of my chest. Like a sightseeing tour, we flew through my innards, and she identified all of the major organs and features, avoiding any mention of anomalous. That was fun. 

Next, after coffee (because I had to skip it for the CT - grrrr) we went to the doc. He said that the new results showed the tumor at 4.6 x 2.6cm. this is an 86% shrinkage from the original mass. The previous CT showed a 75% from when the tumor was first identified. So it's shrinking at a slower rate.  Apparently, that's the norm. I learned that complete disappearance of the tumor isn't something that I should expect, instead, we'll watch it shrink to a manageable size, and then zap it with radiation to eliminate any active cells. I'm excited about the idea of 'zapping' something inside me. 

At any rate, I found that I can't expect the lesions to just 'go away'. Instead we'll kill them back as far as they'll go with the chemo, and then work from there.

On the bright side, there will be no dose increase in this round. I will still be getting the lumbar puncture, however. 

Another bright side - I was able to go for a run this afternoon. My red blood cells must be back up, because 3 miles was easy. My last couple of attempts have ended in lots of walking to make it home. This time, I ran the whole way. Sure it's not my normal 5 miler, but I'm stoked anyway.

I kegged the oatmeal stout tonight. I'll set the keg to carbonate while I'm away. Initial tastings prove positive. I think it'll be good - maybe a little light on the body.

I go back to the hospital on Friday, so thanks in advance for your prayers, love, help and friendship. I do appreciate it. I'll let you know how it goes :)

Mowing the lawn

Wow, over a week since my last post! I'll forgo the apologies, this time. I only post when I have something to report or update, and honestly, this week there's been nothing happening. It's been the same routine. I think I've figured the schedule - following the chemo on Wed, 1 week of feeling generally very ill,  and then another week and a half of worry about  my white blood cell count.By Friday of week 2 I'm good to go, except for the aches and pains that accompany this condition. This week was especially tense while my counts were low, since the family was a little sick- just a couple of colds - nothing to for them to worry about. But enough to drive me into the basement and the comfort of my new futon. :) It's nice to have a safe place  to sleep.

The oatmeal stout I described  a few posts back is about to be kegged. I'll make that happen this week and give a report on that. I sampled it on Sunday, and it's good - though a lighter body than I might have hoped for. 5.5% abv. Details will follow in a couple of weeks when the beer is kegged, cold, and ready for consumption.

This weekend was fun. On Saturday, we took the girls to a race at Panorama farms. While neither of them placed, they both did great. Margaret was the youngest in her race, but ran like a champ. She was barely winded after the 1/2 mile run, though she had a cramp in her side.  I think she's got the endurance genes. See the attached video for her takeoff - she's the girl in pink at the far right.

Madeline was super-excited, and did a great  job, coming in 3rd in the race - an impressive feat for such little legs. She's the pigtailed girl. I love watching her run. Her enthusiasm is incredible.

My feat for this week was getting the lawn mowed. With the rain from a few weeks ago, I was a  little daunted - the grass has grown high. I'd planned to use the riding mower this afternoon, but lately I've found that I can't hear my podcasts while I'm mowing on the riding mower. So I thought I'd make a change. 

Before Jane and I were married, we bought a push mower of the old-timey type - I think they're called reel mowers. Well, we never were able to use it in Kensington, MD, because the yard was full of twigs, sticks, and acorns which jam up the mower. Well, this mower has followed us for years, and finally it's found a home...

So I mowed... and mowed... and mowed...

After about an hour an a half, the back yard was mowed. This type of mower doesn't devastate the grass like a regular bladed mower does. It presses down and then shaves the grass like a razor. It's fun to watch it in action, and it produces a clean flat-cut on the lawn. But I'm not so sure how clean the cut is in the long run. It seems to mash the grass a lot. It's also very hard to work on hills and temperamental if there are any solid objects in the way - e.g., bark, twigs, etc. 

But, after about 3 and a half hours, I had a mowed lawn. The picture below is of my back yard...

In the final analysis, its  a tough road to take - using this eco-friendly mower. But, if you don't mind the effort -  and it is excellent exercise - especially on those hills, this mower may be the way to go. 

Final note -I'll have some more tests this week, and possibly an update on my status. Thanks again to all for your prayers and positive wishes.

Home again, again

It's been a few days, I know, and I apologize for not contributing more frequently to those of you who have been following the blog closely.

I'd like to say that I've been remiss in writing because I've been so involved in other enjoyable activities. Sadly, no. Since Sunday I've done little more than return from the hospital and go back to work.  The headache returned on Monday, and has been with me since. I'm not sure where it's coming from, whether it is the chemo or the spinal tap, but it returned. My initial predictions of a headache-free cycle were premature. Add to that, this round has been more brutal than the previous three. 

I sabotaged myself this time around, I hate to say. I was given a patch to wear to stave off the pain, and this worked so well, I took it off on Wednesday after my return home. I figured that the headache was gone for good, but it was really just the medicine working as it should. 

In short, I shouldn't have taken it off. Yesterday and today have been unpleasant in the extreme. I guess I'll know better for next time :) 

Not all has been bad. Jane and I celebrated our 10th anniversary today, and just being with her and the girls tonight for movie night was the best anniversary present I could think of. Spending time with my family is my favorite thing to do these days.  

I'm sure it sounds cliche, but cancer has really made me pull closer and think more about what is important, and how I want to prioritize my life and time. I get so much more enjoyment now out of the little things that the girls do, and just hearing them speak than I think I ever got before. I suppose that it's just a little harder to take your whole world for granted.

Of course, it's also made me emotional, short-tempered, and flabby - but I guess there are trade-offs to everything. :)

So many thanks again to all of my friends, neighbors, and family who have asked and helped and given support and encouragement. It truly means a great deal to me, especially when I'm feeling low - which happens a lot more often than I'd like to admit. 

Round 4

It's now Sunday, and I've been in room 712 in beautiful Martha Jefferson Hospital  for a couple of days now. The intrathecal chemotherapy went well on Friday, and while there is still some pain, it was slower to arrive and has not been as intense as the last time.  I'm truly thankful for that, since it's allowed me to walk around more and to feel more active. I've noticed that as the chemo dosages have been higher, there's been more nausea as well this time.

I've had lots of visitors this weekend, and spent most of yesterday evening playing Chess with my brother. I did well early on, though I got worse as I became tired.

I've been listening to a book on tape - Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. I've been enjoying it, though I think it's geared more to the young adult set. But good sci-fi is good sci-fi, and it distracts me a lot and entertains me on my walks down the halls and outside. 

At a friend's suggestion I'm also reading 'Its Not about the Bike" by Lance Armstrong, who himself is a survivor of testicular cancer. It's also enjoyable, since I can  relate to some of his treatment experiences. It does come across as a little bit of shameless career self-promotion, but it doesn't get too much in the way of the read.

With all of the rain we had this weekend, I'll try to post some info on what our home weather station reports. I think some graphs might be in order. :)

I've been playing around with booting my computer from a USB key, which has allowed me to experiment with a couple of different operating systems without the trouble of going through a messy install. So far I've tried Ubuntu and Fedora, both with good success. I think it helps to keep intellectually engaged, when possible. 

This round has found me a little more reflective than the others. The aches and pains are catching up with me, and that can bring one down a little.

Not much else to support, more visitors are coming today and I thank you all for your patience in reading about this patient, and for your prayers and good thoughts for him.

Sunday tree

On Sunday this week, I was feeling pretty good, and so Jeff, Dad and I did some cleanup of a few dead trees in the woods. We need the firewood, and some of the dead trees can be dangerous. One tree has a limb which falls across a path the girls use, and so we figured it would be best if we cleaned that one up for safety's sake.

Pix and video attached...

Dad

Jeff

Me

And our limb dropping experience...

Brew day

Monday was Labor Day - hurray. Coincidentally, Monday was also brew day - even better! I haven't had a chance to brew since about two weeks before I was diagnosed with lymphoma. At that point, I wasn't really into it, and I think the brew suffered a bit (it was unbalanced - a bit too bitter for the body).  But this time I had help. Mom and dad are visiting for round 4 - so I was able to leave the kids to mom (thanks Mom!) and get dad to help with all of the dirty details of brew day - cleaning, stirring, lifting things -(thanks Dad!). 

This recipe was one of my own design - an Oatmeal Stout. The grain bill follows, for any of my homebrewing friends. 

12 gallon Oatmeal Stout

20.00 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row)            

3.00 lbs. Flaked Oats                  

2.00 lbs. CarAmber           

1.00 lbs. Crystal 55L        

1.00 lbs. Crystal 150L       

2.00 lbs. Chocolate Malt     

1.00 lbs. Roasted Barley     

1.00 lbs. Turbinado Sugar

Challenger Hops (2 additions for 26 IBU)

At any rate, the brew went well with only a few exceptions, and the beer is happily fermenting away in the basement now. The attached picture is one of me pre-cooking the oatmeal before the mash. I'll let y'all know how it turns out in a couple of weeks.

My soda water experiment is coming along well. I've managed to fix some of the issues with my kegerator setup which were holding me back. I now have 10 gallons of seltzer on tap for my return from the hospital.

Speaking of which...

Jane and I went to see Dr. Cirenza today (my oncologist). He seemed reservedly positive about my results and the results of the CT scan a few weeks ago - I hadn't seen him since round 2. On the positive side - he reinterpreted the test results to take into account the width as well as the length of the mass. The upshot of which is that the  primary tumor has actually decreased by more than half - in fact, the numbers indicate a shrinkage of around 75 percent.  Woo hoo. I hope the other growths are the same.

On the less positive side, I'm due for another round of chemo on Friday. This time the doses will be increased by another 20 percent, and last an extra day (until Wed). Apparently this is an aggressive regimen and it calls for increasing the dosages of all of the chemotherapy agents until such time as I yell "Uncle", or beg for mercy. 

Seriously though, we will continue to increase the chemo doses as long as my blood counts don't get too bad, and I don't have any other serious adverse events (in the industry we call them 'SAEs') -:-). I'm expecting this round to really kick my butt. 

Also, I'm scheduled to have the prophylactic intrathecal chemo (spinal tap) again on Friday. As I told one of my coworkers today - I'm really excited about that. Sarcasm, however, translates poorly in a blog. I am hoping that things will be a little less unpleasant this time around.

Not much else to say, except that Jane and I will go out on our traditional pre-chemo date on Thursday. I think we'll see 'The Mummy' and have a nice dinner out.  I can't wait. Spending time with her is one of the best medicines available to me these days.

Thanks again for all of your prayers and kind thoughts. They seem to be working - I'm feeling pretty good today!