 The chief grabbers of all things cold (I can't do that!) and nap facilitators (Go lie down Mom. We'll take care of it.). Joe & the girls have really taken care of me! | My apologies, my friends. It has been since JUNE that I've updated you. I really have no excuses. A lot of you have asked (with some degree of trepidation), "How have you been?" And this is definitely a case of "No news is good news." I have been so busy living my everyday life, that I've had little time to think about cancer. That is a very good thing indeed. To catch you up, I started on a course of 12 chemotherapy treatments about 6 weeks after my surgery in April to remove TLB along with my rectum, a good deal of my colon and a whole herd of lymph nodes. 12 chemo treatments every 2 weeks means almost 6 months have elapsed. It absolutely flew by. I generally have had my infusions on every other Monday for about 4 hours, then I come home with a pump that infuses more 5-FU over the course of the ensuing 2 days. I feel fine on Mondays (they give me lots of steroids!) then drag a bit on Tuesday-Thursday. But that is it. The nausea has not been a problem since the first couple of treatments, and while my hair has thinned, it's certainly not fallen out. In other words, looking at me, you'd never know anything was wrong. What a blessing; I truly feel very fortunate. |
Getting my chemo infusion at the clinic. The one effect you can't see is the neuropathy. That fancy word means nerve damage. I have numb fingers and toes, along with gums, teeth and some other random sites. My fingers for example feel like they've fallen asleep, which is annoying but not painful. One day, we were on concrete all day long while working cattle in the barn.That night, my feet did bother me, but mostly like I said, it's more annoying than anything. Again, very fortunate. As a result of the developing neuropathy, they took me off of the causative drug (Oxaliplatin) after only 9 of 12 treatments. The docs had told me when we started that if they could get me through 8 treatments of that particular drug, they'd be happy. We're continuing on with the other drugs and currently, I've made it through treatment #11. Whoo, hoo! One more, baby. One more.
In other news, I've given up running for now, mostly because of the ostomy device. But I continue to walk quite a bit when I can and so while not in marathon shape, I'm still very active. Recently I have been really missing running, so I've resolved to start back up right after our sale on 11/6 and get back into serious aerobic shape. I MISS being a runner. The bad part is while I weigh about what I did pre-diagnosis, the weight has shifted considerably and I don't have near the muscle mass I did. But that will change. I've done it before and I'll do it again.
In other news, I've given up running for now, mostly because of the ostomy device. But I continue to walk quite a bit when I can and so while not in marathon shape, I'm still very active. Recently I have been really missing running, so I've resolved to start back up right after our sale on 11/6 and get back into serious aerobic shape. I MISS being a runner. The bad part is while I weigh about what I did pre-diagnosis, the weight has shifted considerably and I don't have near the muscle mass I did. But that will change. I've done it before and I'll do it again.
October found me "Back in the Saddle Again!" With friend Whitney who's been an all-around volunteer hand at the ranch. One of many who've lent a hand. Thanks my friends! So, life goes on. Ordinary, everyday, WONDERFUL life. Like I said above, we've been getting ready for the bull sale, which is all consuming. Both our family and the Kniebel family (our dear friends and sale partners) have had challenging years and we're ready to put this one to bed. On the Monday after the sale (11/9), I start my last round of chemotherapy. Then on Saturday, Nov. 13, I fly down to Houston to see the team at MD Anderson for my first round of post-treatment CTs, MRIs, blood work and Lord knows what other tests. Thus starts the "watch & wait" phase. I'll do this every 6 months for 2 years. Included in the November trip is a visit with my surgeon for a pre-surgery consult. More surgery? Yes! Dr. Rodriguez-Bigas has scheduled me to return to Houston a month later on 12/16 when we will reverse the ostomy and replumb my system to it's new normal, whatever that may be. Dealing with this new plumbing could prove to be very "interesting" and may necessitate another Fork-in-the-Road post, you lucky devils. You may or may not remember that 12/16/14 is when I arrived at MD Anderson for the first time as a brand-new cancer patient. In a pleasing & very fitting coincidence, exactly 1 year later marks the start of an entirely new chapter.
In a strange & wondrous way, it's been a very good year. Thank you for helping me write this chapter of my life. The next chapter promises to be even better.
In a strange & wondrous way, it's been a very good year. Thank you for helping me write this chapter of my life. The next chapter promises to be even better.
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