Chemo treatment 2.3 down and moving along...

Quite a busy end to the week, eh? Three consecutive days with three consecutive postings. If you haven't read in a while, besure to scroll down after this one to get caught back up.

Well we got back from San Diego to a cold and dry Seattle. The sun has been out but the temps haven't been getting out of the 30's. I woke up this morning to a low of 20! Brrr. I have to keep hats on when I step out. I am still not used to having no hair.

I got to the clinic on time Thursday and while the parking lot was full, forcing me to park on the street which is tough on Capitol Hill, the lobby was pretty empty. Again, I barely sat down when George called me in to run vitals. BP was looking good at 127/74, pulse was 91 bpm, due to the walk after parking on the street a few blocks down, blood O2 was 98% and weight was again stable at 200 lbs. There were no chairs available in the chemo lounge so I took a private booth. Jessica came in shortly to jack me in and get some blood samples. It was Avastin week so she got me started on it shortly after. Blood cell counts came back but slightly lower than last week. I am getting a little closer to the lower limits for red blood cells so we talked about the eventual use of procrit or a similar drug. Besides excercise, there is little much one can do to bring up the red blood cells naturally. I will continue getting some more walks in with Sushil. So Jessica gave me my shot of benadryl and started the pre-meds and on que, in walks Dr. Chen. So wiping my eyes clear of sleep, Dr. Chen and I got started talking. There wasn't much to update. I told him about the trip to Mexico and pulled out the more extensive blood workup they preformed. Dr. Chen revealed the results and was delighted to see my cholesterol score of 128 and tryglyceride score of 72, all real low and very reflective of my diet. I used to have an average score of 175 cholesterol and 110 tryglycerides. Dr. Sodhi would get onto me about the tryglycerides, he always wants to see that below 90 to avoid diabetes. A bit of shock came to Dr. Chen concerning my bilirubin score of 1.4, which is slightly elevated. We will be checking that again next week. Dr. Chen thought it was high and possibly due to the analysis equipment used in Mexico. Dr. Palacios said that score was a result of the chemo. Dr. Chen the preformed his exam and things sounded much better in the lungs then the past few weeks. He could hear better air transfer in the right lung so the lung capacity is improving. I told him about the walks I have been doing with Sushil. Other than that, Dr. Chen decided it was time to do another ultra-sound on my heart to check the fluid, we both think its been coming down naturally. And after the 6th treatment, he wants to do another progress scan to see if we need to switch up chemo agents to prevent resistance development. I have been getting a bit more aches and pains in my back, which feels like the spinal column and back ribs. We will be looking to see if there has been any increase in lesion growths on the bones. Between the chemo and the zometa, I shouldn't be having any problems, I am being optimistic that what lesions I have back there is taking a pounding from the treatments and it flares up and gets inflamed as a result. In the meantime, Dr. Chen gave me another prescription to a higher dose vicodin (10-325) to help with the aches and get better sleep. The Lunesta gets me to sleep but I wake up anywere from 2 AM to 5AM and can't back to sleep, same deal this morning.

One thing I didnt't mention about my return trip to the Bio-Medical Clinic in TJ was a conversation about the wellness clinic with Dr. Palacios. As I said in that post, she was blown away with how many herbs and supplements I was doing. She said I had a very aggressive naturalpath. I told her I actually have 2, Dr. Sodhi my regular doctor and Dr. Gignac at the clinic. She asked why 2 and I said I have always gone to Dr. Sodhi and since the clinic is both a cancer treatment center as well as a wellness center, its geared to do chemo and also treat the whole body. Dr. Palacios was impressed with such a place and wanted more info that she can pass on to her collegues and patients. She says she see's a lot of Americans and would like to present this clinc to them for options. I gave her the social workers, Robin, card with the clinic details and gave her my account about going there. She was left pretty impressed and said she never had heard of such a place. Its this kind of interection that I appreciate about coming to the Bio-Medical Clinic. They are not just about the hoxsey tonic and just their treatments, they are open to conventional treatments using the hoxsey tonic as support. The Bio-Medical clinic does have their own chemo lounge, a bunch of lazy boy recliners sitting in a large room with a large window overlooking TJ below. It really is a beautiful place to have to do chemo. However, I have never seen anyone jacked in and sipping a frosty chemo cocktail while there.

A question that caught me by surprise that Dr. Chen asked was how the wedding plans were coming along. I got him caught up and later thought about it. I don't think he has ever asked my a non-medical question before besides the passing, how are you doing. I felt surprised because I took it as a personal detail question that I wouldn't expect him to remember of follow. With all the patients he see's here at the clinic, how could he remember such details that aren't listed in my file. Krystina and Jessica are always asking, but they are married women and they get engaged with the discussion with Beth. For Dr. Chen to ask, it tells me he has taken more interest in me than being just his patient. Quite honestly, when I first walked into this clinic back in early October 2005, I felt like you could have had an executioner walk me in hollering, "dead man walking, make room, dead man walking." Once I got started with treatments, either I and Beth weren't reading Dr. Chen right but we felt he was a little impersonal and a bit dry. Darin the accupuncturist and Dr. Gignac won us over originally, but it took a while to get warmed up to Dr. Chen. My impression from his wedding question was that I am worth getting personal with because I am a good candidate to beat these long odds and be a survivor. My blood chemistry tells the whole story about how serious I am with the diet, how dedicated I am to the 100's of daily herbs, and sticking hard to my healing path. Combine this with the recent PET/CT scan results and we can cleary see good progress. Add to it that we both feel the fluid around the heart seems to be draining off naturally now lends to the healing. Again, I am far from getting out of the woods yet, but the trail is clearly marked and the forest is stocked with plenty of food and water for the journey. I can make it. Dr. Chen's question gives me renewed optimism and determination.

Finally, I apologize if my post the previous night was a bit over the top. My frustrations clearly came out and I might have over vented. I spent the last couple nights pondering if I should go in and do some editting. I have tried to be neutral about politics and religion while working on this blog. The last thing I want to do is alienate any of you over personal views and especially heated opinions. You come here to read about how I am doing on my road to recovery and maybe the things I learn on the way as well as the better changes I am making in my life. I certainly didn't have it an mind that I would use this forum to lecture you on the way things should work in this country and whom or whom are not good and bad politicians with bad policies. I think we are entitled to our opinions but this is probably not the best forum for the heated political ones. So if I offended you in anyway, please know it wasn't my initial intention and nor is it now. I have decided not to edit it since I prefer to move forward and allow that one window inside of me to remain open for you. Not only did I develop this blog to keep you updated on my health, I created it for you to get to know me better in case my time on this planet is limited. Before getting diagnosed, I was a pretty closed off and a private person who didn't wear his emotions on his sleave. While some of this may still be true, I have been opening myself up much better and that's where the therapy of doing this blog has come in. By being more open, I have been learning more about myself as well as opening myself up to your love and support. I still struggle with being on the receiving end of help when I much prefer to help others, but it's a give and take. The more I take now, the better I can give later. That is what's important. It just takes a while to learn it and live it.

So here's to all of us and much better times ahead. I have my 34th birthday at the end of this month and spring is just right around the corner. Also, I am closing in on the 5th month since being diagnosed, I see the 6th month being the first mile stone....