This Will be a Short Update

Tuesday Gary and Dennis went to my Oncologist appointment with me. They had some questions they needed to ask the doctor. It was nice to have them along because these appointments are a lot about hurry and wait.

My CT results were okay. Most of the areas had stayed the same, shrunk a little and one area had increased which the doctor will be watching. That's such good news considering what's been going on.

The Oncologist said that I have some pneumonia along with the bronchitis and that's why I'm not seeing much recovery. He didn't prescribe any medications so he must feel that things will progress. I don't see much difference in how I feel every day. My voice is still a problem and that's been weeks. Food still runs through me so gaining back weight is impossible. My appetite has improved some but by evening I can't stomach eating anything.

I've been told that my recovery should take 4 to 6 weeks and that's my goal right now.

Thank you to so many of you for the phone calls, the caroling, offers of food, the elf Christmas stocking, and just you're special kindnesses. Believe me it means a lot to me.

Oncologist Appointment

Gary and Diane met me at the Oncologist's office yesterday. When I saw my Oncologist and gave him a list of all the pain areas in my body. He came to a different diagnosis than I thought. I thought my right lung was collecting fluid but that wasn't the case. Instead I have bronchitis. It's the usual signs: I cough day and night, my jawbone hurts, my sinuses hurt--just to name a few. He gave me a prescription to get a Chest X-Ray and I did that the same day also in Scottsdale. My doctor asked them to fax the results.

I assume since they didn't call me with the results that his diagnosis is correct. Before I left his office I had two prescriptions for antibiotics and nausea. He also gave me the name of a cough medication.

I've been taking all three and I'm hoping I'll be seeing some results soon. It's been a long time since I've been symptom free enough to do my activities.

ROUGH DAY

I told friends I would post on my blog today if the news was good but probably wait a week if it wasn't. So here's the story.
It's Thursday and I had signed up for golf since it started at 1:30 pm. I would certainly be home in time to tee off with the 9 Holers. After all my handler had planned my morning by the minute: 10:45 see RN, 11:00 see Doctor, and 11:30 take Chemo Pill. What I didn't know was that all the patients who's normal appointment would fall on Thanksgiving weekend would have to come in a week early (on my day). The Infusion room and the spill over rooms were full, only one seat left.

I was told that I wouldn't be seeing my Oncologist because he was in Berlin giving a speech on the two new drugs he's testing. (Disappointment because I had a couple of things to discuss with him.) My handler came in first, was 25 minutes late and she had barely asked one question when there was a knock on the door and the nurse must have told her that the subsitute doctor was ready to see me. She left and the doctor came in. We started with some chit chat and finally I asked him what the CT Scan results were. He knew nothing about it and even though my file is 4 or 5 inches high there wasn't a sheet in there with my results. He left the office and 15 minutes later came in with a piece of paper. I asked him to interpret the results of the Scan.

Let me just say that it was a good result--no new cancer growth and all the areas are the same size as last month. Aside from that I have very few side effects except for the nausea right now so I feel pretty good. Plus my Fitness Buddies threw me an early birthday party yesterday: high tea with all the special foods. It was outstanding and a dream come true. Great gifts too!

After the doctor left the examination room they walked me to the infusion spill over and there was one chair left. The nurse took my blood and I sat forever waiting for my handler to be free to ask me about old and new side effects. She also had to go to the pharmacy to get my allotted number of the mystery pill. With all the extra patients the pharmacy was swamped and it took forever to get my pills . When the clock reached 12:30 and I still had no pills, I called the pro shop and asked to cancel my golf. There was no way I would be leaving in time to drive an hour to SCW and get my golf shoes and golf cart.

I looked at my watch and it was 12:45 when I left hungry as a bear. My stomach had been growling since the doctor saw me . By the time I came home I ate everything I could get my hands on and couldn't stop.

Good news is always welcome.

Recent Oncologist Visit

My appointment with the Oncologist was on Thursday. He checked my feet and found the pain sites, one on each foot. We talked about my options. I'm on the lowest dosage of the mystery drug so lowering that once more is not an option. I asked if I could keep talking the drug since I am still able to walk. The reason is that I have had such promising results in shrinking and I didn't want to stop that positive action. He agreed that was a good idea. I had some lab work done in the office and received another batch of pills enough for 3 weeks.

I've used a lot of different creams on my feet: a prescription cream called UREA CREAM and got no results. Then I tried Udderly Smooth Cream which kept my feet moist but not the results I wanted. Finally I tried Aquaphor. I started using it a couple of days before my Oncologist appointment and the morning after my appointment the pain site on my right foot stopped hurting. I'm hoping that eventually the other foot will follow.

My next CT Scan is scheduled on November 16, two days before my next appointment with the Oncologist. We'll see if the mystery drug is still shrinking the tumors.

I golfed in the 18 Hole League, my first time since early May. It's cart path only so I was exhausted from all the walking. I signed up for the opening league day Tuesday and hope to find a better way to honor the cart path only and at the same time without walking my way to exhaustion.

To build up my stamina and strength I've been exercising 6 or 7 days a week. I'm loving the Spinning (Cycling) classes and try to get 3 sessions in a week at Mountainside Fitness. Two of the days are Weight Training here at Corte Bella Fitness. Total Body Class I do once or twice a week at Mountainside. Joining the gym in Peoria has enabled me to take a class mornings, afternoons or evenings depending if I have plans during the day. Another bonus is that two of my Fitness Buddies became members of Mountainside months before I joined. We sometimes car pool.

Happy Halloween to you all.

Latest Results

Even though I had been off the mystery drug for 11 days in September and 12 days in October the CT results were good. This time there was another 10% shrinkage in most of the tumors and adding that to the shrinkage from the August Scan results makes it 30%. Also I had been on a lower dose of the drug since mid September.

The first time they lowered my dose of the drug it went to 60 mg. When the feet were better this time they lowered the dose to 39 mg. Hopefully this is the dose that will shrink my tumors but not cause the feet to get those painful "blisters".

My feet are still healing but there's no pain involved. I've been able to return to all my activities like exercise classes, golf and shopping.

I'm off now to spend some time with my grandson.

They're Back!

I woke up with pain in my big toes early Friday a.m. and knew at once that the feet side effect was back. I felt discouraged when I turned on the lights and saw the swollen toes. At least the timing was good. The Oncologist's RN was due to call me for an assessment that day. The assessment calls save me from having to drive to Scottsdale but yet keep them apprised of any changes that happened during the two weeks since they saw me.

When she called I told her about the toes and everything else she needed to know. She said she would call the Oncologist who was in clinic not at the Scottsdale office and would call me back with his instructions. She called later in the afternoon and said that he wanted me to stop taking the drug and I should call when my feet are healed.

I had already taken the Friday dose not knowing he would want me off the drug so I started no drug on Saturday. Today is Sunday and my entire foot is red and swollen so I don't think I'll be healing quite as fast as I hoped. Again I would have to give up golf which I played the day before the bad news. The exercise classes will also have to end and they were helping me feel strong.

I didn't give up any of the plans I had made: lunch with the Yoga ladies, a movie with the grand kids and lunch with the Sun City gals. Sitting at home doesn't make any sense. Laughing and trading stories with grand kids and friends keep me happy and hopeful.

October 5 I'll have my next CT Scan and I hope starting and stopping the meds will not affect the good news I had from the last CT at the end of August. Please remember I won't get the results till I meet with the Oncologist at the end of the week.

Another Trip to Scottsdale

I saw my Oncologist yesterday. He checked my feet and decided they were healed enough to go back on the mystery drug at a lower dose. This time I received only one bottle of 25 pills which should last me until I see him after my CT Scan next month. He also checked over my newest blood test and all is good there too.

It still amazes me that the drive to Scottsdale and waiting at the Oncologist's office wear me out. I came home from there and had to fight to keep myself from falling asleep.

Tomorrow I'll get back to my exercise classes and hopefully sign up to play golf next week. The temperature is back above 100 after a week of 90 plus and some cooler mornings. It was just a teaser because the cooler temperatures usually make their debut in October.

I need to be home today because the gardener will arrive at noon and that's a good reason to clean some closets. I usually put it off until we have a rainy day but we don't have enough of those to get all the closets cleaned.

The Feet Got Worse

Just before September rolled in I couldn't walk or sleep because of the excruciating foot pain and could hardly swallow water so I called the Oncologist and he took me off the mystery drug till my feet and thoat heal. The next day Gary made it possible for me to have a wheel chair which helped me a lot getting from one room to another. Right now which is a week later I still have the sores on the bottom of my feet but there's just a spot of pain near one of my heels. I'll call the Oncologist when my feet are healed and he may lower the dosage of the mystery pill I'm taking.

At first I was kind of housebound but for the last few days I've been able to attend Sophie's family birthday celebration, a couple of movies, and some meals at restaurants. At my worst it took forever to get from one room to another and there was quite a lot of pain involved. I would wake up in the night from having my feet touch the mattress.

What I really would like to add to that list is play golf. I am so eager to get on that golf course and hit some balls.

I'm so happy about how well this drug is doing in other ways. Now they just have to find the dosage that shrinks the tumors but doesn't cause the side effects.

CT Results

I went to the Oncologist yesterday and received some good results. Most of my cancer sites are shrinking a little after only six weeks on the mystery drug. The testing must be going well. I do have some side effects (what drug doesn't have those). For instance the "blisters" on the bottom of my feet are not from wearing the wrong shoes, they are from the drug as well as the constant sore throat. I'm certainly willing to put up with that as long as my results are so good. Most of the staff that work with me at the Oncologist's office congratulated me on my wonderful results.

Later that day, when I was back home, my childhood friend who lives in Tucson came to visit me with her wonderful cousin and his wife. She and her cousin by marriage had a fantastic trip to Africa and would go back in a heartbeat they loved it that much. It was so wonderful to see them and catch up on everything.

Charlie is at my mother's house. He's keeping her so active that she sleeps through the night, a first for her. He'll soon have to travel home to start his new teaching jobs. Beau, his partner, is in Phoenix right now and we're having breakfast with him before his flight back to DC. It'll be so great to see him since it's been some months since he traveled here.

Don is still enjoying the good life on the island and starting to feel the first signs of fall coming to the island. We in AZ are just hoping for a temperature below 100 degrees but we have another month to wait for that.

I'm Back...

Since I started the cancer drug trial I've had some (what I call) severe side effects. I even considered dropping out of the panel but then my sons made me realize that I shouldn't be too hasty. It's not like there's another cancer drug available to fit my needs. And I'm having a CT Scan on Tuesday which should tell us if the drug is working on me. They said then I could make a better decision. It's always easier to come up with all that logic when you aren't the ones having those severe side effects. Gary just mentioned yesterday that it's up to me to find a solution to the side effect symptoms and the Oncologist's job to do the cancer.

Back to a week before this conversation I was at the new gym excited about doing my first two cycle (spinning) classes in 6 years. I did one class on Tuesday and one on Thursday. By the weekend by feet had large dollar size blisters on the bottom although not with any liquid I could see. The thing is I could hardly walk and when I did walk it was like a snail. What had I done? I spoke to one of the cycle intructors who told me you have to wear stiff soles to do cycling or cross trainers. I had worn a running shoe which can fold itself in half. I was heartbroken because I knew my trip to Colorado was coming up and the importance of feet in the golf swing.

Dennis arrived in Colorado first from Minnesota and met me at the Denver airport. Since we arrived at the motel in Lakewood (very nice) at late afternoon we spent the rest of the evening just getting settled. The next day we met Bert & Karen (who have a home here in AZ and also in Colorado) at one of the golf courses they enjoy. It was so beautiful that we were ohhhing and ahhing throughout the round. Then we followed them to their beautiful home and they prepared a delicious lunch with lots of conversation and laughter. It was a wonderful day and it was so heartwarming for me to see our friends. We stayed in Colorado Springs that night at the Doubletree.

On Monday we had a morning tee time at the Broadmoor of which I had great memories. We golfed the East course that day, the Mountain course the next day and had an upgraded room for 2 nights loving every minute. It was exactly the getaway I needed and even though I was only able to golf some holes it did its magic and revived my spirit.

We met some lovely people who we were lucky to have in our foursome. It's easy to see how you can start a lifetime friendship with a few things in common and some great conversation. Dennis and I were both thinking that it would be great to do this once a year, and he said it out loud first. We'll spend the year researching where to go next.

Now we're back home feeling much better about staying in the cancer drug trial and having resolved a few of those awful side effects but also resolved to take myself out of town when the 4 walls start closing in. The mini vacation just picked me up and helped me see things differently.

Our son, Charlie, and his partner, Beau, are visiting Don on Washington Island for a week and have some unusual good weather suitable for swimming in Lake Michigan. They've been hiking and having their vacation fun. I guess we're all getting a pick me up after some unusual hot weather all over the country.

Two Week Checkup

Dennis arrived Thursday in the wee hours of the night. He was scheduled to be in Phoenix by 10:30 p.m. but with a 2 hour delay it became 12:30 a.m. I had asked Gary to ride to the airport with me and it's a good thing because I wouldn't have been comfortable driving that late. I'm sure it wasn't a picnic for Dennis either.

Thursday we treated the grand kids to a G movie called Ramona and Beezus but except for Sophie we didn't enjoy it. Ben was very good because he didn't fuss about being bored. He wriggled a lot in his seat trying to find a spot to nap I think. After the movie we went to P.F.Chang for dinner and the kids were very good and ate their dinners.

Friday I had my two week checkup. I was surprised that the only test I had was a blood test and had fasted to be able to take my pill there. My handler gave me my calendar so now I can see what days I'll be tested in the office. It doesn't say what day I'll have a CT scan but it does say when someone from the doctor's office will call to schedule one. In the evening we went to dinner with Gary, Diane, Sophie and Ben.

I have a couple minor side effects from the pills but all in all I feel good. I still have nausea most days but it's unpredictable when I'll wake up with it. I wonder if this is a result of having radiation on my esophagus. The cough is much better and I'm staying off sugar hoping it goes away completely.

This week I'll start working out in the new Fitness Center halfway to Gary's house. They offer cycling and many different classes mornings and evenings so there won't be any reason to miss a day of working out. I'm excited about trying some new classes although I'll stay with the Weight Training classes on Fridays at our fitness center when I don't have a checkup.

Monday after Friday

The first thing I noticed was there was hardly any rush hour traffic. I think I stopped once for 30 seconds but other than that it was pretty smooth all the way to Scottsdale. I arrived 30 minutes early and spent the rest of the day waiting. The handler quizzed me about any things that are wrong with me right now and also reviewed the supplements I'm taking. Then I waited 45 minutes in that examination room for the doctor. There was no reading material there except a big book of cancers. I read it three or four times and can answer any questions you may have.

The doctor finally came and did my physical and asked me to go to the infusion room. I thought he was coming with me but when I turned around I was alone. I stood there for a half hour constantly reassuring the nurses that work in that room that I wasn't waiting for them to do medical things to me. The handler came later to say that the reason I was waiting was the company who's drug is on trial had asked her to fax my CT test because they hadn't agreed to my being in the drug trial.

Two hours later I had another EKG (I'm surprised I passed because I was agitated) and a blood test. Then it was noon and they finally got the okay from the company and gave me my first dose of the medication. The rules on taking this pill is: take on empty stomach and wait 1 hour to eat.

I had been up since 5 a.m. so I was a little hungry. On the way back to home I passed many restaurants where I could have had a great meal but I couldn't eat till I was home because of the one hour wait.

Now I've taken the dose every day and keep a diary showing when I take the drug and what time I eat after I take it and if there are any side effects.

I worked out on Saturday with a cardio class and today I did Kickboxing. I'm not used to sweating but with the humidity we were all sweating in class. Rather than just humidity it would be nice to have some rain.

It's A GO

Monday I had my Brain MRI and CT scans at one facility and my blood, urine, and EKG at the Oncologist's office. They called a little after 5 p.m. to tell me that I'll be starting the cancer drug trial on Friday morning. I'll get more information once I meet with my handler. I hope so because I would like to make plans with friends and family for the days that I'm not testing.

Today I'm going to try to play 9 holes of golf with 2 friends. We're teeing off about noon so it'll also be testing how I withstand the heat. I haven't played in 9 weeks. I wonder if I still have a swing.

I'll be able to tell you more after Friday.

The New Oncologist's Office Called

They called but it wasn't on Tuesday when I almost stayed home all day waiting for their call. I had a chance to have lunch with 2 friends I haven't seen for a while. So I called the Oncologist's office and left a message on the phone of my "handler" or my "scheduler" that I would be away from home from 11:30 till 1:00 but they could reach me by my cell phone. No call came that day either before, during or after lunch. So then I worried which is something I majored in that maybe I had missed my call window. But in the back of my mind I remembered that nurse telling me a few days before that Tuesday they would have double the appointments because of the Monday holiday. That was also what the caller mentioned at 4:30 p.m. She was calling for my handler who had been too busy with patients to make the appointments. Anyway she called the next day and my appointment for a Brain MRI and CT Scan have a check in time at noon on Monday in Scottsdale. Now I don't know my way in Scottsdale so I am forever grateful to Gary and Diane for giving me a Tom Tom to find my way around. I think they came up with the idea when I went to Tucson a couple of years ago and came close to the Mexican border. Diane has a head for directions so she helped me get back on track to Tucson.

After my two tests I'll be going to the new Oncologist's office for blood work and other tests. Hopefully I'll get my calendar of when I have to be in their office on a weekly basis. Right now my life is in limbo because I don't know what days will be open and what days I'll be in Scottsdale.

Now it's for sure my cough is no better since they drained my lung. This is 5 months of hacking. I'm surprised I haven't been barred from most restaurants and other public places. I think hacking coughs are annoying for everyone in the room and lately I understand if you cough around some people they pull out a mask and put it on their faces. It also affects my sleeping because I can only sleep on my back not on the sides or my stomach. Those positions cause more coughing.

I wasn't able to get to two of my workout classes: one because the class was canceled because of the holiday and the other because the nausea came back for a day. I did get to David's weight training class and Julie's cardio class.

This week I may be able to go to Kickboxing on Monday before I go to Scottsdale. I'll definitely try because the more classes I do the better I feel.

New Oncologist Appointment Results

I don't post for months and then I post nearly every other day. Well, I guess it's cause it's easier when you have some news to relate.

Gary and I saw my new Oncologist yesterday afternoon. He spent a long time reading, explaining, and answering questions on the 29 page consent form. It also explains how often I'll be driving to Scottsdale to be checked or tested. I signed and initialed the pages and now I'm in. Tuesday they'll call me and set up all the testing I need to have done before the drug trial starts which is very soon.

I thought my cough would get better now that the liter of fluid is out of my lung space. Things still are not what they were 5 months ago. I don't know how long it's supposed to take for that lung to go back into place. The coughing is as annoying for everyone around me as it is for me. Well maybe more annoying and painful for me.

This morning I went to the Weight Training class and I wouldn't miss that. It's so great and even though I enjoy it more when it's over than while I'm doing it, I'm hoping it'll strengthen those muscles that have been sitting around for over a month.

During the testing I won't be seeing my first Oncologist or my Radiation Doctor. Hopefully this testing will bring about a drug that will help a lot of cancer patients. I like to think that.

Lung Drained

I just arrived home from the hospital. Gary was kind enough to spend the entire time at the hospital with me. We arrived a little early so had the registration and blood work done before it was busy. The procedure was done in outpatient and I went in on time. It didn't take very long. At first they did an ultra sound on both lungs and the doctor then did an ultra sound on the right lung and I imagine marked where he wanted to put the needle. The needle went in with a little pinch and was there till all the fluid was drained. They put a bandaid on the little hole and took me to X-ray to make sure no damage was done to the lung. I went from there back to the outpatient area where I was served lunch and had to stay for an hour and a half with a machine checking my vitals. Right now I have no pain and don't expect any unless something is wrong.

No showering till tomorrow afternoon and taking it easy for the rest of the day. I'm still coughing but I think it'll take a while for my lung to fall back into place. I have to correct that the fluid was between the lining and the lung.

I'm going to lie down and do what I really do best...take it easy.

Oncologist Appointment

Thursday I saw my original Oncologist and for the 3rd month in a row I complained about my cough. Later in the meeting I mentioned about the fluid in my right lung and that when I bend over or try to lie on either side my cough increases and that's when my doctor said he didn't think my cough was from allergies which is what I was told since March. He thinks the fluid is causing my cough. He called my second Oncologist and my radiation doctor and they all agree that the fluid needs to be drained. They can also use it to get cancer DNA so now there's two reasons to do it.

I'll be seeing my second Oncologist on Thursday and may find out when, where, how, etc this draining will be done. The sooner the better because this cough has driven me crazy and keeps me from my activities.

Let's hope I'll know more in a few days.

After the Radiation

It's a week since the end of my radiation treatments and I haven't made much headway in getting my energy back. Part of the problem could be because I have no appetite at all and in order to swallow without pain I need to eat soft foods which don't seem to be building me back up. Since even swallowing water is painful I have to take little sips. I don't know how long it will be till my esophagus heals but I hope it's soon.

Believe it or not but I still have that blasted cough day and night. I've even started taking allergy pills and they help a little but not with the cough. I would love to find a place where nothing is in bloom and see if my cough is gone then.

Don left for Washington Island yesterday and called when he arrived at the island house. All is well he says as far as the house but he doesn't know about the vehicles. He had rain on his way from Green Bay which was a nice change after all the sun in Arizona.

I'll be seeing my first Oncologist next week and the new Oncologist in two weeks so hopefully I'll have some news--good or bad by then. And just maybe I'll be back to working out and playing a little golf by then. I really miss my activities.

Radiation Done

I'm so glad my last radiation treatment was yesterday. It's been quite an experience with the problem of keeping awake during treatment and always being so very tired. Lately I've been having trouble swallowing and have nausea every day. My radiation doctor tells me that's because the lymph node they were treating was right in front of my esophagus so it was hit too. It made sense because I felt the pain in mid upper back. About 10% of the esophagus is burned but he assures me it'll heal. I also have some fluid in my right lung which is not a concern.

During my last Oncology appointment I asked my Oncologist to contact my second opinion doctor in Tucson who runs drug trials for lung cancer to see if she had a drug that would work for me. He asked me if I would prefer to work with an Oncologist in Scottsdale who runs drug trials. It would be difficult to drive to Tucson every week or whenever I needed to be seen so I chose the Scottsdale doctor.

Gary and I went to the appointment to meet the Scottsdale Oncologist and were not only impressed but excited and hopeful that he would find the right medication for me. In short he's having my biopsy tissue which was done 3 years ago examined for DNA to know which drug or combination of drugs would work the best.

Gary also found a site online where lung cancer survivors share information on their drugs: what worked what didn't and what they're on now that's working. All of the names of the new medications they talked about came up with our meeting in Scottsdale as well as others.

I'm off Tarceva which was attacking my eyes every night making it painful to touch them and in the morning I woke up with crust on my eyes. There were a lot of other side effects which I won't miss at all. Most of the survivors had been on Tarceva also and found that it stopped working.

My job now is to build my energy level back up so I can exercise and play golf. Hope to see you soon.

Radiation Number 8

I'm off to my 8th Radiation treatment this morning. Changing my appointment to early mornings helped although I do eat lots of dark chocolate on my ride in to the appointment. After this session I'll have one more and hopefully be done.

My Oncologist recommended an Oncologist in Scottsdale who runs cancer drug trials. The Tarceva is not working like it should and it does have some annoying side effects. I asked Gary to go with me because that's a great way to get all the information...4 ears are better than 2. I'll be seeing him today also.

I'm still suffering with the allergies. When does it stop?

Oops it's time to go.

A Problem Already?

There is a problem at radiation. Even though I can't make myself sleep at night it seems when I'm supposed to be still as a cadaver my eyes close and my muscles spasm which is a very bad thing. I pulled myself off my marks for the machine. It happened Friday and the machine had to be reset, my CT test was scrapped for a new one and I lengthened my stay in the now torture room for another hour. No one was happy with me that day especially the patients with appointments after me and probably the staff too.

All weekend I've been worried about my radiation room narcolepsy. My arms are above my head and I can't bring anything in the room to stay awake although what would work. Maybe if I had pajamas on because I'm wide awake in bed.

I was going to call this morning to see if I could change my appointment to the mornings but realized the people I need to make those arrangements with are not available by phone. I'll have to do it today when I go for my appointment (wince, wince). I'm not looking forward to that. I considered drinking a big cup of coffee but I gave up coffee a long time ago--so I could sleep!
I guess I'll be eating a big chunk of my 90% cocoa dark chocolate and probably my next post will be typed tonight when I can't get to sleep.

Another lesson learned although at this moment I can't think what that would be.

The Plan Changed

When I arrived at the radiation office I was told there was a change. Instead of getting treatments daily I'll be getting them every other day. It doesn't make much difference except instead of two weeks total it'll be three weeks out of the sun. There's a Monday holiday in there and I don't know if they'll be open or not. I suspect not.

Anyway I had my first treatment and will have another today so we're on our way. I'll see the radiation doctor after treatment today and we'll talk.

What's Next?

I saw the radiation doctor at the end of April and it was decided that I would get radiation for the cancerous lymph node. That meant that I had to go to the Scottsdale office to get a fitting for the new "pillow" that would allow me to lie in the exact same position in the Tomograph Machine and 3 new tattoos.

It was nearly two weeks before they called me with my Plan. I'll be having 9 treatments for 15 minutes each starting Monday. I choose afternoons this time just for a change. There are no treatments on Saturday and Sunday.

The treatments can cause a skin burn and they caution patients not to go in the sun while we're receiving them. So I've cancelled my golf dates.

I golfed Friday with 3 ladies who always bring me good luck and shot a 90. It's been over a year since I broke 100 so I'm on cloud nine about my golf. I'll be eager to get back to it once my treatments are over. Wish me luck.

Boring but true

I haven't been going to all my workout classes because of the COUGH. I know it seems like such a small thing when compared to the "C" word, but it is driving me crazy. My son tells me that if I closed up the house and stayed inside with the A/C on my cough wouldn't be as bad. I'm sure that's true since it's driven by allergies. But really stay in the house? I need to see my friends at golf and I'm willing to suffer the consequences but not without complaint.

Saturday I went to Julie's class and worked out without too much jumping and that went fine. I didn't go to Kickboxing because it is a harder workout. I'll try Buns & Abbs and maybe that will be fine too.

Don and I hosted a Wisconsin party the last Sunday in April and enjoyed meeting new friends and seeing old friends. Some of them will be leaving for the summer and a few of them will be staying through the heat. We had wonderful weather so we were able to be outside the entire afternoon. It was a perfect day.

We'll be starting our summer session of Ladies golf tomorrow. I'm looking forward to seeing if I have my swing or if I'll be looking for it on every hole. Wish me luck.

I know, I know

Everyone has been reminding me that I haven't posted on my blog since March. This is the reason why. In the beginning of March I thought I had an upper respiratory infection because I was sneezing, blowing my nose and had a cough that sounded like a seal and seemed to come up from my feet. It's still going on and it's more than 2 months. Lately I have been getting worried that maybe it's pneumonia or full blown cancer. I was more tired than usual and was perfectly happy to sit in my lazyboy after working out or playing golf. I was accomplishing nothing during that time. I think all the coughing, sneezing, and nose blowing was sapping all my energy. I tried to keep hydrating with Smart Water (it has electrolytes), but it didn't seem to help. Some friends told me it was allergies and others asked me if I had seen a doctor about that cough.

My PET Scan was due in April and I just had it on the 14th. In the October scan I had 3 lymph nodes that were lighting up on the PET Scan, but this time I have one. I honestly had a meltdown in the doctor's office and it was caused by a number of things the biggest one being THE COUGH! Second thing was I had an 11 o'clock appointment with the Oncologist for the results. Knowing I would be kept waiting for a long time, I decided to do my workout class and leave a half hour late for my appointment. While I was near their office I received a call asking me if I remembered I had an appointment. I told the lady I was on my way and would be there in a few minutes. It was 11:05 at that time and I arrived 10 minutes later. As soon as I arrived they put me in an examination room and kept me in there long enough so I had to use the rest room twice, so more than one hour. I was getting more upset by the minute. Why do I have to come in more than 2 hours before I see the doctor? It's getting to be like the airport.

At first I was upset that I had a suspicious lymph node. I feel that I've been doing all I can to get a better result. But basically I just ran out of good attitude. The doctor spent a great deal of time with me and I appreciate that.

By the time I got in my car and started home my head started to clear. Then I realized that this one lymph node is new and the three I had 6 months ago are gone. I must be doing something right. I'm still taking Tarceva and it's working. By the way all my organs are in good shape.

I'm so sorry that I had the meltdown. The Oncologist didn't deserve that. It was the cough that has been chipping away at my patience. I need to make amends with my doctor and also let him know that waiting in the examination room is no picnic. The room is cold and drab. Just leave me in the waiting room where there are people to watch and talk to. I could bring my Yoga mat and do something healthy.

My energy level hasn't returned because I'm still coughing and the only way that will stop my doctor tells me is to get in a boat and park it in the middle of the sea.

My apologies for not posting sooner. I hope you'll understand now that you know what was going on.

Two Doctors in One Day

Both of my appointments turned out perfectly as if I had planned it and here's why: the Radiation doctor doesn't keep me waiting very long but the Oncologist keeps me waiting 1 or 2 hours. My appointments were an hour apart with the radiation doctor in the lead. I didn't have to do much waiting in both offices. I think I'll always set it up that way if possible. It also saves me a lot of driving.

All is well as far as the Radiation doctor is concerned. He always tests my mental and physical responses. So far I can find my nose with my index finger and my leg pops up when he hits my knee with the mallet.

The Oncologist was disappointed with the two blood tests because whatever numbers he was hoping would go down instead went up slightly. He thinks that I may have some kind of inflammation in my body, maybe even from the fall on my bike because my right leg and right elbow still are not healed. Good news I'll be having a PET Scan in mid April and it will be for the full body.

I'm still feeling great and wear myself out pretty well with all my activities. It's helped me a lot to do Yoga again. What a great stretch and since I can't have massages, it's the next best thing to having one. I was told when I did try to get a massage that there is a fear that working the muscles will make the cancer cells travel to different areas of my body. I don't know if it's true but since the seed was put in my mind I don't want to take a chance.

Don's cousin and his wife will be leaving this weekend. We certainly had a lot of fun with them and also with 2 other couples who all graduated from Don's high school and a couple Don knew from the Danish Club in Detroit. It was a mini reunion with lots of laughs and good stories.

Charlie came for a fast weekend when he was standing up for a wedding in Phoenix. We enjoyed every minute he was able to be with us. I think he misses the weather in Phoenix among other things. I hope the east has had all their snow as well as I hope Phoenix has had all the rain for a while. We need the water but....

Another Month Another Blood Test

At the end of this month or the first day of the next I'll be going for my monthly blood work. I'll see my Oncologist a couple of days later. I think I also have an appointment with my Radiation Doctor. We made the appointment in November of 2009 and I had no 2010 calendar so I'm not certain what the date of that appointment is. I guess on my "to do" list I need to write to call his office and find out. I would hate to miss it because he's a busy guy with lots of information.

Dennis arrived for the weekend. We made the most of it: exercise, golf and eating in and out. I invited Gary and his family for Brunch on the Sunday before he left. I also invited Don's cousin and his wife who are renting in this development. I wasn't sure Dennis or Gary would remember them, but they did. As usual I made Belgian Waffles and that made Ben very happy. Don's cousin made Danish Aebleskiver (pancake balls) for us on the other side of the kitchen and Sophie especially loved the "donut holes" as she called them. Dennis left after lunch the next day.

Charlie has traveled to Phoenix a few times this year. January was the first time when he was here for meetings and social functions. We picked him up at the airport and had a nice early dinner out and drove him to his hotel. The rest of his time was spent on business.

In February we received a call from Charlie and Beau telling us they were in Phoenix at the airport on a one hour layover to Hawaii. Their area was hit hard by the snowstorms so all flights and airports were closed for nearly another week extending their vacation in Hawaii. Luckily they didn't miss any work time because all businesses were closed in the DC area. On the flight back we had time to have dinner out with them while they were staying at Beau's brother's house. They had to stay another two days in Phoenix because of cancelled flights and closed airports as the next snowstorms arrived. So all in all it was an unusual vacation for them.

It seems like the holidays have gotten longer and longer. It used to be just Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year but it seems like we're just as busy and gone for the two following months. I certainly am not complaining because it's been a wonderful time and lots of fun. In the back of my mind I keep thinking when am I going to get the tax papers in order for the CPA?

I'm off to Kickboxing today and later a trip to Cave Creek with Don, his cousin and wife. It's been a while since I had a chance to shop there and always a treasure hunt.

Hope all of you have either shoveled your way out of the mountains of snow or if AZ enjoyed our rainy days.

Starting a New Month and Ending my Disappointment

You may or may not know that I've been down in the dumps for the last few months. I think I'm coming out of my disappointment of not reaching remission at the beginning of November. Things had been going so well. Then I had the bike accident which my Oncologist used as an excuse for the higher numbers in my blood work results where before those numbers had been stable. Two months later the numbers were up again and he thought it was because of my mouth sore which lasted for a month and the cold I had during the last half of December. Now he's having my blood work done every month and I feel like I'm back at square one.

I've actually quit doing anything that had me feel worse about myself. One of them was Mah Jongg. I was only playing once a week and that makes it harder to be a good Mah Jongg player plus it was taxing my stamina. I was playing golf in the morning and would rush home and shower and throw a sandwich in my mouth to make it to Mah Jongg on time. I have to admit it was stressful and I'm trying to eliminate harmful stress. Also my Oncologist asked me to get more Yoga classes in my week. Adding more activities is stressful not restful. We only have two noon time Yoga classes and two 8 a.m. Pi/Yo classes. I can't get to any of them. But now that I'm changing my schedule I will try.

I'm back to rebuilding a schedule that I can live with. I'm hosting Bunco on Thursday and that's always good for lots of laughs and catching up with friends. I have Bunco twice a month, one at the beginning of month and one later in the month. I'm trying to do 3 or 4 exercise classes a week: Kickboxing, Buns & Abs, Cardio Pump and Triple Threat. They're all very challenging and will try some Yoga when I can work it in.

Don's cousin and his wife are staying in a rental house in our development. It's nice to be able to spend some time with them. They're here for 2 months and enjoying the good weather. We did have a 4 or 5 day rain like no native Arizonian has ever experienced. When I came home from a card making evening it was pouring rain in buckets and our garbage can which is normally buried under ground was sitting up on the driveway from all the flood water underneath it. It was a week before we were able to have it fixed.

I am feeling better and enjoyed hosting an evening with our wonderful neighbors. It was great fun. I especially enjoyed the cooking and baking. We've also had some fun evenings out at friends' homes. February is starting and there will be more fun things to enjoy.

I've put it off long enough

So December was a questionable month for me. It was promising in the beginning but then I had a side effect from the Tarceva, a mouth sore. Normally they come and stay for 10 days and don't interfere with life as I know it--just an irritation. This one kept getting worse and worse so finally I stopped taking the Tarceva in the middle of the month hoping it would heal. It did but for 2 weeks I was unable to eat anything much. Finally a week after January started it was healed.

During December just a few days before I quit the Tarceva I came down with the cold that's been going around. It was more annoying than anything. By the time January started the cold was well on it's way out.

I had an Oncologist appointment at the end of December and it was not one of those uplifting events that I've grown to expect. It took an hour to drive to his office and I sat in the waiting room and examining room for 2 hours. Fortunately my sons gave me an iPod for my birthday and I spent a lot of the time trying to amuse myself with my new toy. What I didn't do was write down a list of all the things I needed to talk to him about. We did discuss my latest blood test. Some of the numbers that have been stable for a long time are up and that's probably not a good thing.

I'll be getting blood work done every month to see if the numbers become stable again. Now that my cold is gone and my side effect is healed it may make a difference. I'll still be seeing my Oncologist in 2 months from my last visit and he'll have 2 blood tests to compare by then. Keep your fingers crossed.