Just an update for all on my recovery from 7 months / 12 cycles of FOLFOX chemotherapy treatments on Day 8 of Treatment 12 and a Baby Brown update...
Quite frankly I feel very much like someone who has just completed seven long months of chemo, three cycles of Neupogen injections to stimulate bone marrow production of neutrophils and three treatment delays due to bottoming out of white blood cells or platelets. I think I am now on the other side of the immediate side effects of Treatment 12 such as nausea, GI issues, extreme fatigue etc. and yesterday was a turning point for my appetite...it may just be coming back now. I still have compromised sense of taste and feel / taste my teeth 24 hour hours a day so it really cuts into my enjoyment of food. But, I am meeting up with good friends for lunch today and I am soooooo excited....I cannot wait for the Medium-hot chicken sandwich with mushrooms, cut and sauce on the side from California Sandwiches. I haven't enjoyed a Cali sandwich for months....actually I have had very little junk food, fast food, since March and I think I have earned it. A shout-out to Laura and Dom Cianflone for helping me "celebrate" the end of my treatments today with some well-deserved fast food ;-)
It's the other more impactful side effects to the treatment that have proven to be cumulative just as pretty much all the healthcare professionals that have been a part of my treatment team and fellow cancer patients said they would be. And these side-effects are simply brutal and vary in terms of how long my recovery will be from them. As an example, my fingers right now are just messed up - they hurt, the nails are bubbling and showing these weird growth rings, are super-sensitive to cold, and just a bundle of nerves. I drop everything. I cannot write legibly - even filling out a cheque is a chore. Typing on my keyboard for this post is slow and I am constantly backspacing out the numerous typos I make. Texting on the BlackBerry is brutal. My feet are not as bad as my fingers but the nerve damage in my toes and feet is driving me crazy. They feel like they are in a constant state of nerve firing. My hips, legs, calves, quads, spine, lower back all ache and have 0 strength. In discussions with my Oncologist it is not entirely a certainty that these side effects will resolve themselves any time soon. In fact, the neuropathy and nerve damage in the fingers and feet could very be permanent. They may get somewhat better but may never fully resolve themselves. And I am ok with that...after all it was my decision to NOT reduce the dosage of the chemo as per my Oncologist's warnings. I knew the risks of long-term permanent damage but was determined to go at the treatments with full dose...kill the b#$%rds. Don't give them any leverage.
I feel like an old man - hence the title of this post....
This old man, he played eight,
He played knick-knack on my gate;
Knick-knack paddywhack,
Give a dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.
My overall fatigue level is improving but it only takes a walk around the neighbourhood with Parker to wipe me out for a few hours and necessitate rest and numerous naps. My taste buds are shot, my appetite is not yet back to normal, my GI tract is all messed up. Ironically, although my lack of strength and the way I walk makes me feel like "this old man", from the neck down I look and feel much like an adolescent teenage boy - you see my hair continues to thin out and fall out in some areas. I have said "Good-bye" to my armpit hair, my chest hair, leg hair and lower extremity hair and even the hair on my toe knuckles. Yesterday I tried to move our winter tires out of the storage locker and believe it or not I had to muster every ounce of strength in my body just to lift the tires up waist high...I just don't have any muscular strength. None. Nada.
But it's all good. They are done. I now have nothing but focus for Victoria and our baby that is soon to arrive. She is 37.5 weeks now - officially full term and Baby Boy Brown has started to drop - his head is now resting "uncomfortably" on Victoria's bladder and pelvis. But soon....so soon.
Until next time...good health and good spirits to all of you. Thanks for taking the time to stop and read awhile.
Quite frankly I feel very much like someone who has just completed seven long months of chemo, three cycles of Neupogen injections to stimulate bone marrow production of neutrophils and three treatment delays due to bottoming out of white blood cells or platelets. I think I am now on the other side of the immediate side effects of Treatment 12 such as nausea, GI issues, extreme fatigue etc. and yesterday was a turning point for my appetite...it may just be coming back now. I still have compromised sense of taste and feel / taste my teeth 24 hour hours a day so it really cuts into my enjoyment of food. But, I am meeting up with good friends for lunch today and I am soooooo excited....I cannot wait for the Medium-hot chicken sandwich with mushrooms, cut and sauce on the side from California Sandwiches. I haven't enjoyed a Cali sandwich for months....actually I have had very little junk food, fast food, since March and I think I have earned it. A shout-out to Laura and Dom Cianflone for helping me "celebrate" the end of my treatments today with some well-deserved fast food ;-)
It's the other more impactful side effects to the treatment that have proven to be cumulative just as pretty much all the healthcare professionals that have been a part of my treatment team and fellow cancer patients said they would be. And these side-effects are simply brutal and vary in terms of how long my recovery will be from them. As an example, my fingers right now are just messed up - they hurt, the nails are bubbling and showing these weird growth rings, are super-sensitive to cold, and just a bundle of nerves. I drop everything. I cannot write legibly - even filling out a cheque is a chore. Typing on my keyboard for this post is slow and I am constantly backspacing out the numerous typos I make. Texting on the BlackBerry is brutal. My feet are not as bad as my fingers but the nerve damage in my toes and feet is driving me crazy. They feel like they are in a constant state of nerve firing. My hips, legs, calves, quads, spine, lower back all ache and have 0 strength. In discussions with my Oncologist it is not entirely a certainty that these side effects will resolve themselves any time soon. In fact, the neuropathy and nerve damage in the fingers and feet could very be permanent. They may get somewhat better but may never fully resolve themselves. And I am ok with that...after all it was my decision to NOT reduce the dosage of the chemo as per my Oncologist's warnings. I knew the risks of long-term permanent damage but was determined to go at the treatments with full dose...kill the b#$%rds. Don't give them any leverage.
I feel like an old man - hence the title of this post....
This old man, he played eight,
He played knick-knack on my gate;
Knick-knack paddywhack,
Give a dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.
My overall fatigue level is improving but it only takes a walk around the neighbourhood with Parker to wipe me out for a few hours and necessitate rest and numerous naps. My taste buds are shot, my appetite is not yet back to normal, my GI tract is all messed up. Ironically, although my lack of strength and the way I walk makes me feel like "this old man", from the neck down I look and feel much like an adolescent teenage boy - you see my hair continues to thin out and fall out in some areas. I have said "Good-bye" to my armpit hair, my chest hair, leg hair and lower extremity hair and even the hair on my toe knuckles. Yesterday I tried to move our winter tires out of the storage locker and believe it or not I had to muster every ounce of strength in my body just to lift the tires up waist high...I just don't have any muscular strength. None. Nada.
But it's all good. They are done. I now have nothing but focus for Victoria and our baby that is soon to arrive. She is 37.5 weeks now - officially full term and Baby Boy Brown has started to drop - his head is now resting "uncomfortably" on Victoria's bladder and pelvis. But soon....so soon.
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| A pregnant and sexy Cat in the Hat! |
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| A very spoiled Parker....he and I have spent A LOT of time together these past several months |
