A Pleasant October Update

            It wasn’t all that long ago I thought this cancer road lay long and arduous ahead.   And now, I’m entering week six and have only seven treatment sessions left!  I will conclude these treatments on Wednesday  next!  This is amazing and I’m getting excited to get on with the rest of my life.

            I have to comment though about particular advantage we have in facing these challenges.  All of us at the Hope Lodge enjoy the benefits of staying at this first class facility, but those of us who live close enough to trek home each week for the weekend have an additional benefit.  It’s so nice to be able to hop in the car on Friday morning and be back in the home setting within a couple of hours.  I see the folks who live too far away to make the trip home and my heart goes out to them.  Theirs is a long journey.  We were talking with a couple of the fellows tonight (amidst taunts and trash talk about the Cardinals beating the Pirates tonight!!  GO CARDS!!) and they said that at this point, if they made the trip home, they probably wouldn’t come back.  Honestly, I’m quite sure they would, but the temptation would be there to not return.  Battling cancer is not something one toys with by way of choosing to skip treatments.  We put our trust (and lives) in the hands of the doctors and staff and we pray that they are effectively and permanently ridding our bodies of this foreign threat.

            So, here’s an update on me.  I have now completed 25 of my planned 33 radiation treatments and tomorrow I will complete chemo treatment number six.  Not sure if the doctors will go with six being enough, or move to a seventh chemo treatment. 

The side effects from the radiation are definitely building up.  The left side of my neck and face are quite burned.  From a previous blog input, you may, or may not, know that I’ve lost the whiskers on the left side of my face.  No other hair has been lost yet. Significant mouth sores are abundant, making for difficulty eating and swallowing, but I still have not used the feeding tube.  (I will be REALLY glad when the feeding tube is removed!  I discussed it with Dr. Higgins today and I’m looking forward to it!).   The skin on my neck is very red and angry and is beginning to crack and develop sores.  The docs have given my more prescriptions for care for the skin and Aquaphor and is a new, good friend.  I will administer a pain patch tomorrow. 

The doctors are being preemptive in pain management and I appreciate that.  My weight is down to 200.  I have not been this low in body weight since I quit smoking some 24 years ago.  I will work diligently to not let those pounds return in the months and years to come because, from a weight standpoint, I feel great.

            My mental capacities are intact…I think.  I’m having a slight dilemma these days with the baseball playoffs. 

I became a St. Louis Cardinals fan years ago when we live near St. Louis, but, I’ve always held a special affinity for Pittsburgh sports teams.  I even bought a t-shirt last year that says, “Pittsburgh – So many rings it should be a planet!”  Watching the games between the Cards and the Bucs finds me mostly wanting the Cards to move on, but I’m okay with either of them advancing.

            I continue to receive positive comments about the blog.  I’m blessed that so many enjoy reading it and that they are sharing it with others who may be facing similar challenges.  As we share one another’s burdens, the load is lighter.

            Blessings to everyone this October evening.  I trust that you are enjoying the fall weather and colors wherever you may be!