Yesterday, my 3-week "waiting period" was up. I went back in for blood tests and my cancer markers didn't move. That means round 4 starts on Monday. The doctor wasn't really surprised. He reiterated that when I originally checked-in I was really borderline between needing 3 and 4 rounds of chemo.
Just to make things easier, I'm going in-patient for the first 5 days. Yeah, it sucks to have an IV in 24/7, but it's easier than making that drive twice a day. (that was like 2-2.5 hours of rush-hour traffic every day)
And it sounds like in about 6-8 weeks or so, I'll have the surgery to remove the damaged lymph node(s). I learned why my doc isn't especially excited about me having that surgery--it's really invasive. They've done it a million times and I guess it's not technically complicated. But what they need to get to is behind a bunch of other stuff, so they've got to open me up and take some stuff out to get back there. Fun stuff.
And after that, I *should* be done. I'm starting to see an endpoint somewhere out there in the future.
25 June, 2008
19 June, 2008
17 June, 2008
14 June, 2008
Why not?
Two Names You Go By? Boone and The Boone
Two things you are wearing right now? Jeans and a t-shirt
Two of your favorite things? (excluding people) Lappy and iPod
Two things you want very badly at the moment? The cancer to be
gone and a new car
Two favorite pets you have or had? Trog and Buddy (childhood dog)
Two people you hope will fill this out? Whoever is left that
hasn’t done this.
Two things you did last night? Went out for pizza and beer with the
guys and didn’t get enough sleep
Two things you ate last night? Pizza and really good pizza
Two people you last talked to? (two people from the office)
Two things you are doing tomorrow? Going to a friend’s anniversary party and trying to plan 2 future trips
Two of the farthest trips taken in the last 5 years? Stavanger,
Norway (farthest by hours) and Amsterdam, The Netherlands (farthest geographically)
Two favorite beverages? About any good lowland scotch whiskey
and an ice-cold coke in a glass bottle
Two things you are wearing right now? Jeans and a t-shirt
Two of your favorite things? (excluding people) Lappy and iPod
Two things you want very badly at the moment? The cancer to be
gone and a new car
Two favorite pets you have or had? Trog and Buddy (childhood dog)
Two people you hope will fill this out? Whoever is left that
hasn’t done this.
Two things you did last night? Went out for pizza and beer with the
guys and didn’t get enough sleep
Two things you ate last night? Pizza and really good pizza
Two people you last talked to? (two people from the office)
Two things you are doing tomorrow? Going to a friend’s anniversary party and trying to plan 2 future trips
Two of the farthest trips taken in the last 5 years? Stavanger,
Norway (farthest by hours) and Amsterdam, The Netherlands (farthest geographically)
Two favorite beverages? About any good lowland scotch whiskey
and an ice-cold coke in a glass bottle
05 June, 2008
Not Quite Yet
Well, I got the results today and they weren't quite what I was hoping for.
My AFP count dropped from 10 to just 8.6. So the plan is to wait 3 more weeks and test it again to see what happens. If it continues to go down, that might be about it. If it starts going back up, I'll need to do round 4.
When I started this process, I was really borderline between needing 3 and 4 rounds of chemo. I guess this means I was closer to needing 4.
And it looks like I'll probably need surgery to remove that lymph node. But that's not going to happen until all of the rest of this gets fixed.
So it looks like this will be part of my life for a little while longer. Oh well. Give me a day or so to feel sorry for myself and I'll be back to my normal, upbeat self. I'm just a bit disappointed right now.
My AFP count dropped from 10 to just 8.6. So the plan is to wait 3 more weeks and test it again to see what happens. If it continues to go down, that might be about it. If it starts going back up, I'll need to do round 4.
When I started this process, I was really borderline between needing 3 and 4 rounds of chemo. I guess this means I was closer to needing 4.
And it looks like I'll probably need surgery to remove that lymph node. But that's not going to happen until all of the rest of this gets fixed.
So it looks like this will be part of my life for a little while longer. Oh well. Give me a day or so to feel sorry for myself and I'll be back to my normal, upbeat self. I'm just a bit disappointed right now.
04 June, 2008
Waiting
So, I'm in the hospital again tonight. This time it's to do all of my follow-up tests.
Right now I'm in a waiting room with about 50 other people. I've got my 64 oz. of barium contrast I've got to drink over the next hour or so. And then it's time to change into the all-popular hospital gown and get one more IV. Then more waiting.
After this, I've still got to go home and find some way not to think about the hours slowly ticking away towards tomorrow afternoon when I get all the results.
I'm nervous.
Believe it or not, this is the first time I've really been nervous through this entire process. For me, everything hinges on these results. Did the last 9 weeks of suffering do the trick? Did it work or is there more yet to go? Is it over or just getting started?
The rational part of my brain says that there's no reason to believe that I'm going to get anything other than good news. But there's that part--the little devil on my shoulder--that reminds me that nothing is certain. There are no guarantees.
Scared and alone. Yeah, that about covers it.
Right now I'm in a waiting room with about 50 other people. I've got my 64 oz. of barium contrast I've got to drink over the next hour or so. And then it's time to change into the all-popular hospital gown and get one more IV. Then more waiting.
After this, I've still got to go home and find some way not to think about the hours slowly ticking away towards tomorrow afternoon when I get all the results.
I'm nervous.
Believe it or not, this is the first time I've really been nervous through this entire process. For me, everything hinges on these results. Did the last 9 weeks of suffering do the trick? Did it work or is there more yet to go? Is it over or just getting started?
The rational part of my brain says that there's no reason to believe that I'm going to get anything other than good news. But there's that part--the little devil on my shoulder--that reminds me that nothing is certain. There are no guarantees.
Scared and alone. Yeah, that about covers it.
02 June, 2008
Milestones
Just a short update...
Today I'm celebrating two milestones:
1) As of this morning, I'm completely done with all treatment. Yeah, my last chemo was on Friday, but I had to get 3 days of Neupogen shots to raise my white blood count. Now that's finally over.
2) Today is the first day since the start of round 3 that I'm been completely pain-free. I don't think it was the chemo causing all the pain--rather the chemo and its side-effects that let my Crohn's run wild for a while. It's really nice not to be in pain.
Anyway, I go in Wednesday afternoon for all of my follow-up tests and see the doc on Thursday afternoon to get the final verdict.
Today I'm celebrating two milestones:
1) As of this morning, I'm completely done with all treatment. Yeah, my last chemo was on Friday, but I had to get 3 days of Neupogen shots to raise my white blood count. Now that's finally over.
2) Today is the first day since the start of round 3 that I'm been completely pain-free. I don't think it was the chemo causing all the pain--rather the chemo and its side-effects that let my Crohn's run wild for a while. It's really nice not to be in pain.
Anyway, I go in Wednesday afternoon for all of my follow-up tests and see the doc on Thursday afternoon to get the final verdict.
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