Over the hump

I did not have a very bad week after my last infusion. I did wake up twice the first night of my infusion with very nasty stomach cramps / pains, but it does not last more than a few minutes. I am sure this will happen every time. My hands and feet have been cold sensitive and tingly, not real bad, but nonetheless bothersome. I sure hope that is doesn’t last forever. I rare cases it does. I am not looking forward to the colder weather since the cold makes my hands and feet hurt. I will be done in the middle of November, so hopefully it will go away soon afterwards.

I have been out biking a few times this week, we have been having nice sunny days, although they are cool fall days.

I will have my 5^th infusion on Monday. I will then be over half-way through!!

A little break

I went in for my infusion on Monday and they drew my blood, as they always do. My white blood cells and red blood cell counts where good. My platelet count was a little bit below their threshold to treat me though. So I did not have my infusion.  It sure is nice to have an extra week off, I have felt great all week, but of course I will be finished with my treatment a week later now.  I will go back on Monday and I should have my 4^th infusion and will be halfway through my chemotherapy treatments.

We had a nice sunny day on Wednesday, so I rode to work. I went for a ride after work and managed to get in 40 miles, which puts me at 1001 miles for the summer on my road bike. I feel pretty good that I was able to get in that many miles considering that I have not been able to ride a lot this summer. Hopefully, next year I can get 2 or 3 thousand.

Blood clot

I had another ultra sound on my neck yesterday and my blood clot is 98% gone! I hope that it stays that way, and should since I am on Coumadin.

I also met with my surgeon for a follow up appointment from my surgery in May. She checked me out and everything was good. It is the kind of appointment I love to have. One in which you wonder why you had the appointment since not much happened, that is what makes it great, no surprises!

Feeling real good this week, rode my bike to work today. My stomach is a little upset, and my hands and feet are tingly and sensitive, but nothing major.  Trying to eat as much as I can while I feel good, since I have lost some weight.

Infusion #3

I had my 3^rd infusion on Monday. I did not have another breathing reaction like I did the 2^nd time. I did have 2 or 3 episodes of very severe stomach cramps. They are nasty, luckily it only lasts for a few minutes, nonetheless it is scary. I am going to ask the doctor what he thinks of it, and if it is something I should be overly concerned about. He did say that if I had another problem breathing after my infusion they will change my treatment plan so that it does not contain the Oxiplatium. It is the chemo drug that causes most of the side effects. My hands have problems for a few days after the infusions. They are cold sensitive, tingle, and cramp up. I was warned about the tingling and cold sensitivity, it is a common side effect of the Oxiplatium. I am also fatigued and nauseated for about a week after the infusions.

Chris, Renee, and Jill were up for a visit from the east coast. It was nice to visit with them. Luckily it was during my ‘good’ week so I was able to enjoy more time with them.

I did manage to get in a good 45 mile bike ride the day before my infusion. It was a beautiful sunny day, and I figured I better go while I felt good, since I would be ‘knocked down’ the next day.

They seem to have my blood clot under control, and I am taking my Coumadin every day. I need to find out when they are going to take another ultrasound to see how my jugular vein looks.

Fundraiser

I would like to thank everyone who attended and contributed to my fundraiser. It was great to visit with everyone and was also financially successful. I was able to recoup all of my out of pocket medical expenses for this year. This will make it much easier to cover my medical expenses for next year. I will not have another $150,000 bill, but my portion will be the same next year.

I would encourage anyone with major medical expenses to consider a fundraiser. I would have never thought of it, but a friend of mine suggested it, and it worked out great. I was very impressed with the generosity of my family, friends, and my employer.