change in plans

I had my pre chemo appointment with Dr. Rayson today and he has recommended that I keep going with the drug treatment I am currently on instead of changing to a newer treatment for doses 4, 5 and 6 like he originally planned. The steroids I take with the chemo have been giving me heart palpitations and with the new drug I would have to take six times the dose I am on now and he is concerned about what will happen to my heart. I am disappointed as the new drug can reduce the risk of the cancer coming back by an additional 4%, and I'll take every percent I can get, but I plan on living a long time and need my heart, so it is what it is.

Anywho, I turned 37 last weekend and Dave took me to Hamachi Steakhouse for dinner, the one where they cook the food in front of you. It was so much fun and the food was delicious. I had to watch out for Dolly though because she melts in high heat so when the flames were flaring I was leaning back to keep her safe. Gotta protect Dolly!

doing some math

The doctor said that I am allowed to have one drink from time to time. My drink of choice is a vodka tonic which is 35% alcohol. Does that mean if I just have Corona that I can have 7.6 of them? May be worth the experiment...

1/2 - an even bigger fraction

I had round three of chemo this week and to be frank, it sucked. It was the worse yet and the extra nausea drug they added didn't seem to help. But, it is turning around now so brighter days ahead! Plus I am at the halfway mark…50% complete...over the hump…all downhill from here…hitting the home stretch...seeing the light (not the bright one) at the end of the tunnel. Now THAT feels good.

for kicks

Paula called the other day to check in and told me she used the lint roller on her head too! This was just too good...the makers of this product really should know how great it is, beyond what they make it for. I certainly always appreciated receiving positive messages from the public on something I worked on, so I figured why wouldn't they? So I emailed 3M the other day and checked off "no reply required" but to my surprise I received a message back today thanking me for sharing my experience and indicating that they would share my story with the marketers and technical engineers of the lint roller product. Hopefully they get a smile out of the story...and if you see the lint rollers repackaged as a hair removal kit, you'll know who gave them the idea!

introducing Dolly

When the wig is sitting on the stand it seems alive somehow...so really she needs a name. Thus in homage to Dolly Parton who has been a pioneer in mainstream wig wearing, I have named her Dolly. I donned Dolly the other night for dinner with friends, so here I am in all my glory with Dolly and Suzanne.

achieved freak status

My hair is almost gone, just patches of wispies left here and there, so I have taken to wearing hats everywhere and have a favourite - adidas cadet hat. It is comfortable and I was thinking that I looked fairly normal...apparently not so much. I was at the school yesterday for student led conferences and was waiting outside Jonathan's classroom when a young girl walked by and she was looking at me so I smiled and she smiled. When she got past me a little ways, she turned and walked by again...looking...then again...looking...and yes again...looking. Staring and straining her eyes into her periphery to absorb as much as possible. It wasn't until the third pass that I actually realised what she was doing. Surprisingly it didn't really bother me, but clearly I'm not fooling the people like I thought!

a third is a big fraction

I had my second treatment this week (which Sue Bulmer pointed out is a third of the way through my chemos) and it went much better than the first, with less nausea and heart palpitations. I have battled an ongoing queasy feeling so just chilled for the week, but overall a big improvement - it is still chemo after all. Another patient of my doctor coined the phrase "quesea" which I think is a very accurate description!! So with another full week almost behind me I am looking forward to some good days ahead. My girlfriend Trina, who lives in Ohio, is coming to town this week and she's all mine! I can't wait to see her!!

Last night was actually a big night for me...I went to a party at Suzanne's for her birthday. I slept three hours in the afternoon so I could give it my all and it was my first big night with the wig. It was a big hit! In fact, a couple friends actually said that they like the wig hair better than my actual hair!?! I was kind of attached to my hair so I would rather just have it back, but I’ll take the compliments :-).