I Can-Cer Vive

Well, I spent the entire weekend both sick and in pain from my new feeding tube. My throat is more sore than I have ever experienced in my life.  It is from radiation and from being aggravated by the airway being put in and a camera being placed down my throat to install my feeding tube.  I am having trouble just swallowing my spit, much less pills or water.  It is chemo day today so I know the next two days will be as bad or worse. On the way to the hospital both Kim and Ryan suggested that I take a break on the chemo today and add it on the end of the treatment.  Kim wasn't sure I had the strength to face the sickness we all knew was coming.  I couldn't stand the thought of adding another week of treatment, and knew I just had to do this. The first stop was radiation.  I am not full of mucous in my throat and mouth from the radiation and I am having trouble swallowing.  I explained my situation to Gail and Michelle, the two radiation techs, and with their advice and knowi

First things first, I want to wish Kim a happy birthday.  I am taking her away for a three day all inclusive stay on her birthday, but for some reason she said the hospital was not her idea of a five star resort.  I will have to try harder next year, Lol.   Seriously, she has been a trooper and has jumped in to caring for me and taking care of what needs to be taken care of without feeling cheated or upset.  I can't say enough how lucky I am to have her. Once I got to the hospital I started the pre-op procedures.  I had to get an x-ray, get an IV started, answer a laundry list of questions and get ready for the surgery.  As soon as I checked in at the pre-op desk I was immediately escorted to the back.  I barely had time to say good bye to Kim, and wasn't able to talk to Jessie or Ryan at all. Once I got to the back the first step was to start an IV for surgery.  This is normally a challenge with my veins.  Now I have added extreme weight loss, and veins that are badly dama

Today was a pretty uneventful day.  I went to radiation and got that over with. After radiation, I had an appointment with my oncology dentist.  She checks my gums, teeth and the overall health of my mouth.  During my check-up she was very impressed with how well I was taking care of my mouth.  She said the mouth rinses were working well in helping keep some of the sores from developing and my gums were in fairly good shape. I normally hate going to the dentist because no matter how good I do they always seem to find something that needs fixing.  It was nice to leave there with a positive check up and a gold star for dong such a good job.

I went to my oncologist today before my radiation treatment.  We discussed my medications, made a few small changes and talked.  During the course of the conversation we decided it was time to schedule my getting a feeding tube. I am trying to cram in the calories, but still can't get enough in to maintain my weight, much less add to it.  Her concern is that if I wait another week and then decide to get the tube, I will already be so weak that the procedure will take a toll on me as well as the treatment. If I get the tube while I am still fairly strong, I will heal quicker and will benefit faster from it.  I have to say her logic makes sense. When we left her office we went over to radiation to get cooked.  While I was there I asked it the feeding tube will interfere with my radiation treatments. I don't want a lapse in treatment since this is what is primarily what is saving my life.  I was assured it would not. They wheel you from your hospital bed to radiation and then

Wow, I can't believe today I have gone passed the half way point in my radiation treatments.  From here it is all downhill.  The side effects of the radiation will start to intensify, but at least I can see the end approaching. It is the day after my chemo treatment, and this is always a hard day.  I feel like I have been run over by a large truck, twice.  I spend a lot of the day resting and napping so that I don't exhaust myself or get myself too nauseous. After my radiation treatment I get to go back to the cancer center and have fluids run through my veins. This may not sound like a good thing to most people, but for me it is a boost of energy and helps push the chemo drugs out of my kidneys and out of my body.  It really does help with the recovery. On the fun side of things, my body now does a new trick.  The radiation is obliterating my sinus cavities. I have to do a sinus rinse every day to keep my sinuses clear and keep working smooth.  Now when I do my rins

Today I had my fourth chemo treatment.  That is number four out of seven so I have officially crossed over into the second half of my treatment.  It may be a small milestone, but it feels so good to know that I have gone this far and only have three more of these to be done. Now for the rest of my day.  I went to radiation treatment and handled it like a boss.  I wasn't stressed out and the dry mouth did not bother me much at all.  That is my goal for the rest of my week. After getting cooked in radiation I had my weekly visit with the radiation doctor. When I weighed in I found out that I had lost 15 pounds over the last two weeks. He was not very happy and said that once I lose 18 pounds we will probably be putting a feeding tube in me. He explained that I will be in a catabolic state and my  body will stat eating itself for energy.  This will not only take a toll on my muscle mass, but will make my recovery from radiation and chemotherapy harder because my body will be t