I thought I'd start a new thread for updates on my cancer treatments and whatever else is going on, since the bad news thread title is misleading now.
My last treatment went better than the previous two and my chest wound is still closed up, which is a good thing. My arm is getting slightly stronger and I hope to resume lifting dumbbells next week. I need to build up my strength again, because I am going back to Denmark in May and I am extremely pumped about that! I'd like to be able to schlepp my own checked bag and not have someone else lifting it for me.
It's going to be a fabulous trip, 6 weeks and a couple of days for me. My brother is going along as well as my friends Chipp and Rod. Chipp is staying close to 3 weeks and has not gone with me over there since 2006 so he is also very pumped to be going. It will be Rod's first trip and he will be there for 2 weeks. I will get to be a tour guide. Also, I am throwing a party in my favorite pub of all, the wonderful, ever-magnificent Irish House in Aalborg on May 7th. The owner and I are friends and he will give me a little discount. We'll have Irish stew and brews in the cellar and I hope to have around 25 family and friends there. I might bill it as the "Fu** Cancer Party." A few months back, I was not sure I'd ever be able to go over to Denmark again or if I'd even be alive, but the cancer hasn't gotten me yet. I'm doing a number on it, instead.
Some other cool things I plan to do when I am back in my ancestral lands include a wine tasting in a castle, touring another castle and the northernmost manor home in the country, and visiting Skagen, the top of Denmark, where you can stand on a little patch of beach and have one foot in one sea and one in another. They also have a brewpub up there I am wanting to check out. I will start and end my trip in Aalborg and spend 5 weeks in an apartment I rent that is very close to the beach. I can hardly wait for May 4th to roll around! [Reply]
Originally Posted by Lonewolf Ed:
Thank you very much for that. But, if things do go poorly and I end up dying from this, remember what I have said: I didn't lose my battle with cancer. I won. I aim to kill the stuff, and if I die, it dies, too, so I win either way.
Whats all this talk of things going poorly, of peace with the enemy?
Sounds like you better have a talk with the Full Bird
Originally Posted by Cochise:
Sassafras has significant safety concerns associated with it. I'd do your homework or ask your doctor before using if I were you.
The oil which makes the plant poisonous is still present in tea preparations at several times the safe level even in those preparations which claim to have removed it. The oil is a known carcinogen and can cause liver damage in higher amounts. I am not sure a physician would permit a patient with a complex medical history to use it.
Originally Posted by Lonewolf Ed:
Tonight, I had one of those warm your heart moments. Some background first... my best friend was killed when I was 12 but I stayed close to the family, since he and I were twin sons of different mothers. His sister is my big sis and I was a father figure to her two children when they were young. I even changed the girl's diapers once. She was just here with me tonight learning how to cook Danish meatballs and Danish white gravy with parsley. In my mind, it was not that long ago that I changed her diapers. She has been accepted to the KU School of Medicine to become a nurse practitioner. I am so proud of her and it is such a joy to see the capable, confident, focused young lady that she is now at 23 years of age. I could not be more proud of her if she was my actual daughter. Spending the time with her, showing her how to make one of my favorite dishes, and letting her do a lot of the cooking after I showed her what to do was beyond wonderful to me. It makes me envy those of you guys out there who are fathers. Isn't it amazing how those precious little girls work their way into your heart?
didn't have any daughters but have three granddaughters and a grandson...
makes me wish i had started my family sooner and not to have been so much older (in body but not in spirit) while the grandkids are growing up and then starting off on new lives...
but i sure can relate to your taking such well-deserved pride in your budding nurse practitioner; congratulations for having contributed to her becoming the person she is today... :-):-):-) [Reply]
Originally Posted by Lonewolf Ed:
Thank you very much for that. But, if things do go poorly and I end up dying from this, remember what I have said: I didn't lose my battle with cancer. I won. I aim to kill the stuff, and if I die, it dies, too, so I win either way.
I started on the chemo pills again Monday and it was not fun. It felt like someone kicked me in the gut and I was in pain all day and into the night. Luckily, it was not bad the next day and I caught up on sleep for the most part. Wednesday, I had my appointment at the cancer center. Initially, I was very pleased to see a nurse who usually was in the treatment area on the third floor, but she was going to jab me and do the blood draw. The last time she did that, it felt like she merely pressed her fingertip against me. Not this time. Even though she does it the same way every time, it hurt! I winced and twitched, saying OW! It even bled when she took the needle out of my port, which is very unusual. Sure, there is a drop or two, but this time, it was running. She felt bad, but I know it was not her fault. I can't explain why, but every time is different. It varies from no pain at all to feeling like a nail instead of a needle. Often, it's between a big mosquito bite to a bee sting regarding the pain involved.
Anyhow, after that, I waited almost 90 minutes before my doc came into the exam room, and I had to keep asking him stuff to keep him from running off. He spoke with me for not even 10 minutes. We went over my trip, I asked him if my feet and ankles swelling up should be something to worry about and he said not so much, and I got a double prescription so I won't run out of my xarelto and metoprolol during my long time in Europe. I teased the nurse later when she double checked what I needed from the pharmacy. I said if she can't get me double on the blood thinners, I will just drink more alcohol over there to keep my blood clots at bay. She scolded me even though I think she knew I was just messin'.
Now I just have to get through this cycle of pills. Two more days, then I have the weekend off, then Monday to Friday next week and I am done with them until I get back. Oh, and I told my doc about feeling like I am about to throw up often, but I end up sneezing instead. He has never heard of such a side effect. I've had several new ones that medical science has not yet seen. I just know I am going to end up in some lab soon where they will study me like I am some kind of mutant. It better pay well, dammit. [Reply]
This morning didn't start off so well. Eight or nine dry heaves turned my guts into a pretzel and even though it was 2 hours ago, my insides still hurt from that! :-) [Reply]
Sounds like the side effects of the drugs are in full swing. Let's hope that the primary effects of the drugs is also in full swinging that the drugs are kicking those cancer cells' ass. Hang in there, buddy. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Lonewolf Ed:
I had Mexican food tonight and it calmed my stomach down a bit. Is that good?
Ed you will know how good the Mexican food is when morning rolls around and you are sitting on the growler. :-) If you're like me, I like my Mexican food with the super hot salsa which tastes great at the time, but the next morning can be a bit of an adventure. You're still In my thoughts buddy. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Bwana:
Ed you will know how good the Mexican food is when morning rolls around and you are sitting on the growler. :-) If you're like me, I like my Mexican food with the super hot salsa which tastes great at the time, but the next morning can be a bit of an adventure. You're still In my thoughts buddy.
Medium hot is all I can tolerate anymore and nothing I had was beyond mild, but it was very tasty and settled my stomach down, which was a welcome relief. I am glad I have two days off the chemo pills and I hope it is noticeable. Thanks for all the support out there! [Reply]
If you don't need asbestos toilet paper the next day then it wasn't hot enough. We had some green chili in hunting camp a few years ago that we accused the cook of causing forest fires from self-ignition.:-) [Reply]