I started my treatments (simultaneous chemotherapy and
radiation) in mid-October; I get chemo every Monday (it takes about 3 hours) and
radiation five mornings a week (each session is about ten minutes long). The
standard protocol for this kind of cancer is seven weeks’ therapy, which brings
us to early/mid December.
Weeks One and Two were easy. I was able to work almost a
full schedule, and felt almost no side effects at all. (I did notice that Thursdays
were bad days for tiredness, malaise, etc.).
Week Three began to get interesting. One evening I
discovered that my beard hairs were falling out by the dozens, so I shaved the whole
thing off. My sense of taste went wonky –
almost everything tasted awful, like cigarette ashes and cardboard. Acidic and
spicy foods were literally painful. Ice cream was okay for a while, and
marshmallows, but I was eating less and less because the flavors and sensations
were so unpleasant.
Week Four: now I was feeling it. I got very dehydrated (my
own fault for not getting enough water). My old friend the kidney stone decided
he wanted some attention too, so now I was taking pain medication both for my
throat and my kidney. Swallowing was now becoming very painful too; I was
reduced to eating soup and crackers, and I knew I was losing weight. Still
going to work most days, but seldom for more than a few hours; I was generally
very tired most of the time.
Weeks Five and Six: finally decided to stay home full-time
and rest. Using my feeding tube now – frankly, much easier and efficient than I
thought it would be. My daily menu is six cans of Ensure Plus, two each for
breakfast, lunch, and dinner, plus lots of water.
On Friday of Week Five, I got very listless and warm; Partner
took me to Miriam Hospital, where they determined that my white blood cell
count had crashed over a period of a few days, and I had an opportunistic infection
(probably thrush). I spent seven days there, absorbing intravenous antibiotics
and waiting for my blood count to get back to normal. (The number in question,
my Absolute Neutrophil Count, was around 300 when they checked me in; 1500+ is
normal, and anything under 500 is dangerous.)
Anyway, so seven days in the hospital. I was perfectly
comfortable, and all of the nurses and doctors were wonderful. Partner spent time with me mornings and
evenings. My voice is terrible – sometimes I can’t speak at all – which made
communication with the nurses and nurses’ aides and doctors very interesting
sometimes. (I ended up using a “conversation book” – if I wanted to say
something more profound than “yes” or “no,” I wrote in my little red notebook
and handed it to the person I was talking to.)
I was released on Friday, Nov 29 (ANC count 1000+), and am
glad to be home. I’ve already resumed treatments; I have only eight radiation
sessions to go, and one (or possibly two) chemo sessions. The completion date
is still around December 11.
Good news: everyone agrees that the tumor and the
accompanying lymph nodes are shrinking very rapidly. My neck is reddish and looks
sunburnt, but everyone thinks the area looks very good. My throat’s painful, of
course, and I generate mucus like an opened fire hydrant, but things could be
worse. (The header picture was taken this morning a little after 3am. Notice
that I have ditched the hospital pajamas. I think I look like Gale Gordon as
Mister Mooney, getting ready to reprimand Mrs. Carmichael for something.)
Thanks to all for your kind thoughts and comments.
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