skfornh
Member
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2014
- Messages
- 296
01/14/16: I had my first chemotherapy treatment yesterday.
Before starting the chemo today we had a consultation with the oncologist. He said that Dana Farber pathology is still finalizing their interpretation of the biopsies to determine where the cancer started. He mentioned the possibility of pancreatic cancer again.
Most of the chemo meds were dosed over 2.5 hours while I was sitting in a recliner. No pain. The doctors sent me home with a pump to administer the last of the meds over a period of 40-something hours. Apparently dosing this way is gentler on the patient and/or tougher on the tumor. My girlfriend has to unhook the pump when it beeps in 40 hours.
I ate more yesterday than I have in weeks, which is good since I lost weight from a 2-night hospitalization related to the stent replacement mentioned below. My girlfriend made tomato salad with quinoa shells. It was her first time cooking them and our first time eating them. They were a little too al dente. I'm eating with plastic silverware because many foods have a metallic taste. When I was preparing for seconds I accidentally let the soup boil for a while and the dish tasted a little bit like Sphegetti O's (that's a good thing).
I'm oddly hopefully about experiencing diarrhea with this blend of chemo after being constipated for a month from the opiates, the anti-nausea meds, and the of course a giant tumor in my colon. Carla treated us to a Squatty Potty in anticipation of the change.
The bellyband holster for the chemo pump was a pain in the ass and my girlfriend kindly replaced it with a purse. I'd like to say it's a shoulder rig of sorts but it's a legit purse.
Unfortunately pain intensified later into the night and I had to dose quite a bit of pain meds.
They gave me steroids right before the chemo and warned me that I might feel like the Incredible Hulk today. I took a walk today but don't feel like superhero yet.
01/07/16: I was trying to hold off on updating you guys until I at least knew my diagnosis. But since we're proceeding with treatment anyway I thought I should let you know what's going on. I have colon cancer stage three or four, depending on the results of a biopsy that was apparently lost in the mail.
Tomorrow I am having endoscopic surgery in Boston to have the plastic stent in my gallbladder replaced with a metal one. This stent will prevent a tumor from choking off my gallbladder bile duct.
Wednesday is my first chemotherapy treatment. I am preliminarily scheduled to have three treatments in Boston, once every other week. They are starting me on FOLFOX then then FOLFOX-Avistan. Sorry, I don't have dosages for the meds at this point.
During / immediately following these chemo appoinments we will have consultations with a Dana Farber nutritionist, surgeon, and a genetics counselor.
My short term disability claim appears to have been approved so I am not working and devoting my full attention to my health. I am generally avoiding sugars and grains (which has been no real challenge for a paleo eater) and trying to alkalize my body. I appear to have raised my pH to 7 over a couple days. I am following a couple of other folk medicine protocols, some have which were suggested in this group. Yoga on YouTube has been fun but I need to step up my meditation game. Acquiring a medical marijuana card seems like it will be a challenge. NH law requires your physician to be licensed in NH and I'm recieving chemo care from experts in Boston. My interpretation of that law is that I need to find a doc in NH who is willing to be primarily responsible for some other aspect of my treatment.
Talk to you on Wednesday.
Before starting the chemo today we had a consultation with the oncologist. He said that Dana Farber pathology is still finalizing their interpretation of the biopsies to determine where the cancer started. He mentioned the possibility of pancreatic cancer again.
Most of the chemo meds were dosed over 2.5 hours while I was sitting in a recliner. No pain. The doctors sent me home with a pump to administer the last of the meds over a period of 40-something hours. Apparently dosing this way is gentler on the patient and/or tougher on the tumor. My girlfriend has to unhook the pump when it beeps in 40 hours.
I ate more yesterday than I have in weeks, which is good since I lost weight from a 2-night hospitalization related to the stent replacement mentioned below. My girlfriend made tomato salad with quinoa shells. It was her first time cooking them and our first time eating them. They were a little too al dente. I'm eating with plastic silverware because many foods have a metallic taste. When I was preparing for seconds I accidentally let the soup boil for a while and the dish tasted a little bit like Sphegetti O's (that's a good thing).
I'm oddly hopefully about experiencing diarrhea with this blend of chemo after being constipated for a month from the opiates, the anti-nausea meds, and the of course a giant tumor in my colon. Carla treated us to a Squatty Potty in anticipation of the change.
The bellyband holster for the chemo pump was a pain in the ass and my girlfriend kindly replaced it with a purse. I'd like to say it's a shoulder rig of sorts but it's a legit purse.
Unfortunately pain intensified later into the night and I had to dose quite a bit of pain meds.
They gave me steroids right before the chemo and warned me that I might feel like the Incredible Hulk today. I took a walk today but don't feel like superhero yet.
01/07/16: I was trying to hold off on updating you guys until I at least knew my diagnosis. But since we're proceeding with treatment anyway I thought I should let you know what's going on. I have colon cancer stage three or four, depending on the results of a biopsy that was apparently lost in the mail.
Tomorrow I am having endoscopic surgery in Boston to have the plastic stent in my gallbladder replaced with a metal one. This stent will prevent a tumor from choking off my gallbladder bile duct.
Wednesday is my first chemotherapy treatment. I am preliminarily scheduled to have three treatments in Boston, once every other week. They are starting me on FOLFOX then then FOLFOX-Avistan. Sorry, I don't have dosages for the meds at this point.
During / immediately following these chemo appoinments we will have consultations with a Dana Farber nutritionist, surgeon, and a genetics counselor.
My short term disability claim appears to have been approved so I am not working and devoting my full attention to my health. I am generally avoiding sugars and grains (which has been no real challenge for a paleo eater) and trying to alkalize my body. I appear to have raised my pH to 7 over a couple days. I am following a couple of other folk medicine protocols, some have which were suggested in this group. Yoga on YouTube has been fun but I need to step up my meditation game. Acquiring a medical marijuana card seems like it will be a challenge. NH law requires your physician to be licensed in NH and I'm recieving chemo care from experts in Boston. My interpretation of that law is that I need to find a doc in NH who is willing to be primarily responsible for some other aspect of my treatment.
Talk to you on Wednesday.
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