What ails me

Results back from the latest CT scan. And excellent news it is. The cancer continues to be contained, i.e. the scan showed no noticeable spread. Also, no sign of pneumonia. (Insert happy hand clap here - I have tried to heave a huge sigh of relief, but end up coughing each time an attempt is made.)

So it seems I have little more than a very bad spring cold. Slept almost as much over the past three days as I normally do after a stiff chemo cocktail. While I'm feeling much better today, the coughing continues along with the occasional sneeze. As a result, group gatherings continue to be avoided. My immune system remains very much compromised so it's easy to pick up anything and everything that is going about, and I don't want to spread what ails me to anyone else. When awake, I putter in the garden and help Phil as much as I can. By mid afternoon, I'm pooped and settle down for a 3-4 hour nap. Yes, excitement-filled days these are. On the other hand, I can't help but think that napping has helped me recover faster than if I simply soldiered on. As Momzy says, it's best to do what your body tells you.

Speaking of things viral, the Internet offered up the following advice re what ails me at present:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W728NGYhmmQ&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPXY8Xa8icw&feature=related

Lucky Charms Nothing To Sneeze At

Still awaiting CT scan results from Wednesday. Expect they'll take a while to be reviewed and written up prior to my receiving the results. Still, I can't help but wonder if the cancer has spread further into my lungs if not my trachea. Can't shake this awful cough. Sometimes it's so bad I choke. Yesterday brought the added effects of wheezing, especially when I lay down - which explains why I'm not sleeping very well. During the night I started sneezing as well. Yeah, okay, so it's likely just hay fever (I actually blame the uncontrolled spread of Scotch Broom) or a spring cold. But the wheezing and cough have me more than slightly concerned as those symptoms were often followed by a bad oncologist's report. No sense in wishing for bad and knocking on wood, but I know the bottom of the Lucky Charms box isn't all that far away.

Bye Bye Gem

Today I was to have had the last dose of gemcitabine (had the last gemcitabine/carboplatin cocktail last Tues). However, as seems to be the pattern with that drug, I couldn't have chemo today because I'm sick. Again. This time it is a nasty cough that is leaving a raw feeling in my throat. So no more chemo for me, at least until I see my oncologist on June 5. And then it will likely be something new. Again.

As for my general state of health since my last posting, I reluctantly report that the "collection of tears" that I noticed in my left eye is in fact a conjunctival cyst (looks like a clear bump on my left eyeball). Doesn't hurt, but it does feel a tad odd when I blink.

CT scan at St Mary's tomorrow. Will have a better idea about my situation after getting the results from that test.

Cycle of Change

Just returned from my latest chemo treatment - Day 1 of Cycle 6. My hemoglobin is back up to 130, and neutrophils are hovering around normal levels. Cancer markers are also holding steady. Have a CT scan on May 23, so will know for certain how things stand, but at this point all seems well. In the meantime, my energy level is much better than it has been for some time. Now, if only my medical team can figure out why I keep having issues with my left eye - yesterday afternoon a clear "bump" showed up on the white area of the eyeball  near the nose, likely nothing serious but it's very irritating. Have been advised to see my GP or opthamologist  if it doesn't disappear by Thurs.

Was a bit taken aback by news that this will likely be my last cycle on this cocktail, however. Yes, I will have the Day 8 treatment next Tues, unless my immune system or hemoglobin tanks again, but then that's it. Seems 6 cycles is normal for this regime. Sometimes it's extended to 8 cycles, but given my toxicity issues with the drug combo, it's doubtful I'll be getting the two "bonus" rounds unless next week's CT scan looks very, very good. An appointment is being made with my oncologist to see what the next step options will be. Must say, if nothing else, living with cancer is never boring. Something is always changing re treatment and potential treatment. And I never know from one day to the next how I'll be feeling. Guess you could say every day is something of a surprise at least in that regard.

Currently feel well enough to get at the gardening for the first time this year. Damn cats in need of litter box facilities and obese slugs with ample appetites can't have all the fun!

RIP Rex

Sad day here. I was cleaning the bowls of my roomies Rex and Murphy (two Siamese Fighting Fish) when one suddenly went belly-up. Literally. Mere seconds earlier Rex was happily swimming about without a care in the world. I fear I hurt him somehow when removing him temporarily from the bowl. Feel very bad about his passing as I so obviously caused it in some way. The event underscores the lesson I seem to be getting rather frequently the past while re the fragility of life. Being a Pisces, the loss of one fish seems all the more poignant as if acknowledging half of my life (at least) is now gone. But then I still have Murphy who is circling his bowl on my desk as I type - and a lively portion of my own life is yet to be lived. Suspect it is a good thing that I didn't get a dog after all. RIP Rex.

Jerry's Visit

Somehow managed stay awake enough on Sunday to keep a rendezvous with a former boss who was in Vancouver for a medical conference.

Hadn't seen Jerry since we worked together at the Ottawa Civic Hospital (he's a diabetes researcher - I ran the office). Even so, we seemed to pick up the conversation where we had left off, as if only a few months time had passed rather than 20+ years!

Enjoyed a stroll 'round the rhodo gardens at Stanley Park - a pleasant way to work off an excellent lunch at Kingyo Izakaya (http://www.kingyo-izakaya.ca/).

Great Blue Herons making nests in trees near the Parks Board offices

Bela Lugosi's Breakfast

Hurray, hurray the first of May! In the south of France, folks give bouquets of lily-of-the-valley in exchange for a kiss. At St Mary's Hospital, at least for me, the day meant getting a unit of blood just for showing up.

This is the first time I've ever received a blood transfusion. There was talk of the possibility after last week's pre-chemo blood work which noted a serious drop in hemoglobin levels - should be around 130, I was 88. Yesterday the count had dropped to 81. Seems the prolonged chemotherapy (four years worth now, minus a wee brake just over two years ago) has finally caused my bone marrow to produce far fewer red blood cells and platelets than my body requires. As a result, I'm anemic. No wonder I'm so tired all the time! It was felt the injection of some extra blood (yummy looking, like a melted thick dark cherry sundae with too much sauce) would greatly enhance my perky factor. Seems to have helped matters a bit as I'm not quite as tired as when I went into the ACU this am for treatment. However, I was warned the addition of a single unit of blood would only bring the hemoglobin level up by about 10 points, or to about 90. Still low, but an improvement just the same. Could really use a nap, but at least I don't want to sleep standing up!

The blood was administered over a two-hour period. A very slow drip. Since my neutrophils were also compromised this week, I was denied the opportunity to follow up with my usual Day 8 chemo. Have a CT scan scheduled for May 23 so will have a better idea then whether or not the current chemo cocktail is working its magic in spite of constant delays and skipped doses.

On the up side, I could do a heck of a lot worse than be constantly tired!