Only Two Radiation Days Left

I have completed 21 of 23 radiation treatments and will be done Friday, December 1. It becomes more unpleasant with each trip to the UCD Cancer Center, but I'm determined to complete all 23.

I received my last dose of chemo for 2006 this afternoon and once the radiation is complete, I will have the entire month of December free of both radiation and chemo. A very early Merry Christmas!

I still have a round of full chemo left and will have that done in January. Also in January will be the baseline blood tests and baseline CT Scan. As long as the test results remain positive, Kaye and I could not ask for more.

I was scheduled to have a drug induced stress echo test tomorrow, but have cancelled that one until January. With the radiation and chemo, I didn't think I could handle anything else at this point. My stomach is constantly hurting (not nausea, but like an across the stomach bruise right below the skin). I had to get an injection of procrit today while getting the chemo because my anemia has reappeared....thankyou radiation.

Overall, we're expecting December to be a great month. I have put on just enough weight and should feel good by the 24th to play Santa for all the grandkids.

Kaye had her left elbow given the GPS treatment. Both elbows are a little sore, but we're hoping all is improved as we're trying to make plans to re-visit Hawaii again in February. Since before surgery in March, the farthest we've traveled is Grass Valley to the north and Vacaville to the west. It hasn't been fun, but we're almost through a very trying period.

Again, an early wish for a wonderful Christmas to all our family and friends. I'm feeling well enough that Kaye and I will do the cookie/candy thing this year as there are many people expecting goodies. :-)))

Double Your Pleasure

Radiation treatments were started three days ago. I'm lucky I'm the first patient of the day (7am) as I do not have to wait for anyone. This morning I was putting my shirt back on at 7:15. By having the first treatment of the day, I also get to work pretty early.....not as early as normal, but still pretty early.

The radiation treatments consist of 4 'laser' shots each day. The first is from by back, the second from my left side, the third from my right side (I seem to feel that one), and the last is almost directly over my stomach.

So far, no nausea, but my skin is sore as it feels like I have a giant bruise just under the skin. I'm also constantly tired and we'll just have to see how things go as the treatments (a total of 21-25) start to accumulate effects.

Also today, I had my first 'lower' dosage of chemo. The chemo dosage will be lowered as long as the radiation treatments are done. We had an appointment with the oncologist this morning and she said things still appear to be okay. I have one full-3-week chemo treatment left and she said I would not have to do that until after the first of the year. If I can recover from the combination of radiation and chemo, Christmas should be a fun time. I'm not sure I weigh enough to play Santa again for the grandkids, but we'll see.

Kaye also has some medical news (two tennis elbows). She had the right one worked on yesterday and had what's called GPS (Gravitational Platelet Separation) done. The docs draw blood, spin it in a centrifuge for a period of time, and inject 'the good stuff' into the affected area. This technique has more of a success rate that surgery and the recovery time is much shorter. She's a little sore today, but not bad.

Some non-medical news.....last Saturday I played golf with Jeff, Brad, and Gregg. I wanted to get the boys together due to the upcoming time change, the change in the weather, and the fact I wouldn't know how I would feel getting radiation and chemo together. We had a lot of fun.

As I seem to write with every blog.....I'll try and keep everyone updated a little more often. Also, keep the thoughts and prayers coming.