Fu**ing Cancer

I've been feeling great the past couple of weeks. Yesterday I went in for a PET scan and blood work. The PET showed a number of lymph nodes with little or no cancer activity and the ones in my upper abdomen lower chest showed about a 50% reduction. The blood work was looking good. Dr. Kamdar was hoping for a 70% reduction, but Sharon and I are thinking a 50% reduction halfway through looks good. Dr. Kamdar talked with us about an Autologous Stem Cell Transplant and it sucks.

An Autologous Stem Cell Transplant means they collect my bone marrow stem cells, then kill my bone marrow stem cells with heavy duty chemo, then put my stem cells back in. The whole process sucks and has me in the transplant area of the hospital for almost three weeks. None if the process is easy and I don't look forward to it. Look here for info on the procedure. It involves heavy duty chemo for six days in a row that will wipe me out.  

Today's chemo took 6 1/2 hours including five attempts to start an IV. My veins did not cooperate and it took two nurses five tries. I came home with an IV still in me, hopefully it will flow tomorrow for no more pokes. The temperature in the infusion area was way cold today and it took heated blankets, heat packs, and hot tea to get me warm. It does not help that the chemo drugs are cold going in.

 

Photo descriptions - a hot air balloon as seen from our shower, a turkey smoking on the Traeger, first rosé of the season, Shelby blocking the stairs, garage project