Hello wonderful people!
Update on the last treatment. I was stuck on a stretcher bed, which you would think is comfortable, but it is not. I was surrounded by fun people though, so it was great. Lovely chats about the weather and treatments. With the stretcher it was easier to do work on. The session day went through without much issues. I think that the cumulative impact is something that is starting to occur more now. The day was fine, and the doctor recommended that since I was having fatigue on Saturday and Sunday that I might want to take steroids for 4 days from Tuesday to Friday instead of Tuesday to Thursday. Obviously, it was a wise idea, so I clearly decided I was tough enough to handle it. Spoiler alert. Yeah, I am going to take steroids for an extra day next time. The weekend was a bit tough because I had trouble sleeping. We have a heated mattress that I use all the time and always turn on. Melanie does not. She tried pushing me off the bed repeatedly trying to steal warmth. I had to stay up all night guarding my sleep and prevent take over of the bed. I am sure that is the cause of fatigue and not the chemo. Things were warmer the last couple of nights, so she has stayed on her side of the bed and I have been able to sleep. That is my story and I am sticking to it. Remember I am a cancer patient. No disagreeing.
I have a meeting with the doctor on Friday to go over the more specialized results from my blood work. I can not see it being that serious as it is on Friday and did not need immediate attention. I am sure there will be more tests in the future because they fluctuate so much. I think it makes things more fun. Looking forward to seeing what other blood related things I might have.
I got a new drug to take to increase my white blood cell count, because normally they are between 4 and 11, and mine was 30 on the day of chemotherapy. Clearly, we want to skyrocket it even higher. One of the side effects of it however is bone pain. Specifically, in my legs. I am more confident than ever that I am going to be getting some superpowers as I see similarities to Professor Charles Xavier. If I ever lose ability to walk I am going to follow up on the work I did as a PhD student and make a mind controlled wheel chair.
I have no sense of taste right now, so Melanie has been cooking a lot of the meals. We have had McDonald’s for breakfast and some random other things. I season the food in the kitchen and do most of the cooking still, but she has to taste everything since I have no sense of taste. She says it all tastes good, but can I believe someone that kept me up for 3 to 4 nights stealing my warmth and preventing sleep.
The one good side effect is my sense of smell has diminished greatly so it is reducing triggering of migraines. That alone is an awesome perk. No more fatigue on Monday now, because Melanie told me on Sunday that Fatigue is for suckers. I am sure that I have told her that many times, so it must be true. One more treatment next week before I wait 4 weeks for exploratory surgery and then real surgery. I am sure I am going to get lots of fun tests in the next 5 weeks. I have been reading a lot about positive psychology and the impact it has. I started a blog last week and will post something positive every day. It is not too difficult seeing as how I am surrounded by so many caring people that I am grateful for. I will not use any names but highlight one work related, one personal and one random thing for gratitude.
Quoc Hao