Chemo 9

The side effects from the latest round of chemo have really been taking their toll. My decline started even earlier this time around. I started going downhill Thursday evening and began vomiting that night. Nausea continued off and on throughout the weekend, which up to this point hadn’t been much of a problem at all. I took a ginger pill before each meal and that helped quite a bit to relive the nausea. During my previous treatments I was able to stay up for a good part of the day in my chair at home. However, this time I found myself crawling into bed more often and feeling very, very drained. I’ve also been experiencing terrible constipation followed by diarrhea. I feel like I’ve been through the wringer this time around and I’m really glad there are only two more treatments remaining.

The falling leaves

The family headed to Estes Park this afternoon to see the fall colors in Rocky Mountain national park. I didn’t know how well I would do at the increased altitude, but I was far enough along in recovery that I made it just fine. It felt great driving through the mountains and gazing at the wonderful scenery. Definitely the best medicine I’ve had in a long time.

Chemo 8

My decline from treatment started even earlier this time on Friday morning before the portable IV was disconnected. I felt so bad afterward that I wasn’t able to return to work and was homebound until mid morning the following Wednesday.

Numb

I met with my oncologist this morning and we talked about the numbness in my feet.

I mostly noticed it when my feet were cold and it started to fade during the recovery period. He said that he would continue to monitor the problem, but that treatment would remain unchanged for the time being.

Chemo 7

The cumulative effects of treatment are starting to kick in. Recovery appears to be taking a little longer than usual. In the past I would have treatment on Wednesday morning and wouldn’t start to decline until Friday evening. This time I started feeling bad Friday morning shortly after the nurse removed my portable IV pump. I had to come home and rest for a while before returning to work that day. Typically, I would be down for the weekend and Monday, but would start to rebound on Tuesday. This time I didn’t rebound until Wednesday morning. I also noticed a numbness in both of my feet extending from the ball of the foot to the toes. I was wondering if this could be the beginning of neuropathy.

Hair today, gone tomorrow

My hair had been thinning quite a bit during the course of treatment. I got it cut the week before, but it just wouldn’t lay right and I didn’t want to be one of those guys with the dreaded comb-over. I mentioned to my wife a few days before that I was think about shaving it all off. I went to Supercuts on Friday and got it high and tight. I got home that evening and my wife was in shock. I wasn’t real happy with the remaining stubble on top so I decided to shave the rest of it off. My wife kept staring at my bald head the entire evening, but the new look eventually grew on her. All I needed now was a lollipop…”who loves ya baby”?

Chemo 6

I saw the oncologist on Monday and he said that I’m doing great and that we could probably reduce the number of treatments from 12 down to 11 and I should be finished up around the 18th of November. He also informed me that the genetic testing for mutations in DNA mismatch repair genes came back negative, so good news for the family.