Monthly Archives: November 2010

Run Scared 5K

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Yesterday was Halloween and the Run Scared 5K to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. There were over 600 participants and the event raised over $14,000. Our team had quite the crew. We were 37 strong with 2 babies, and 5 dogs!

Fortunately I’ve been feeling great this weekend (much better than after my first round of chemo) so I was able to fully participate. Though in the interest of full disclosure I should say that a few of us walkers took the shortcut and probably did closer to 2 or 2.5 miles rather than the full 3.1. What can I say?  It was a big hill, and it felt pretty optional for those of us just there for a casual walk.

Many pics from the morning courtesy of my father-in-law Don:

Why am I including this picture?

I like that Pepper is mid-shake

Denny had the best pet costume in our group

Just about to start

The exciting start!

The

The exciting photo finish

Not just walkers, Delene (in white) probably placed 2nd

Tanya

The Fam

The Firefighter

It was great to see so many people from all aspects of my life coming together to join my family on this little walk/run to support cancer research.

Thanks also to Tanya who coordinated everything. A strong showing indeed everyone!

We returned home and my dad helped Christine scrape up what was left of the pumpkins decorating our stoop. They’ve served us well for the last 2 weeks, but sadly they were just a little too past their prime and have taken to collapsing, rotting, leaking and attracting flies for the last few days. So sadly they had to go so as to not scare children away or cause them to slip on rotting pumpkin juices.

Christine cranked out a few replacement Jack-a-lanterns before Tanya joined us for the evening to watch some Beetlejuice and greet Trick-or-Treaters alongside our traditional Halloween dinner of tacos.

Shots… but not in the good Las Vegas way

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I mentioned yesterday that this round of chemo has been nothing compared to the first one that we experienced. I’ve had energy and didn’t spend the first two days just sleeping like I did before. I don’t know what the difference has been, but we have a few theories.

Before my first round of chemo I was really sick. My cancer symptoms (cough, fever, fatigue, etc.) were pretty acute and so I was in tough shape both going in and coming out of chemo. So it’s pretty understandable that it was such a rough transition. The other thing that may be contributing to my better health this week is the extra “bonus” third week of recovery that I had due to my low white blood cell count which delayed my next chemo session by one week.

Working theories also include the fact that I was sucking on ice chips during the chemo treatment, the fact that I ate a special smoothie with mouth sore preventing amazing things in it, and/or the manuka honey spoonfulls I ate every few hours in the days after chemo. The mouth sores have definitely been much better after this chemo session than last. (Thanks everyone for their suggestions of these remedies)

Because my white blood cell count was so slow to recover after my initial treatment, my doctor has put me on a new prescription. As Christine mentioned in a previous post, the new medicine comes in the form of an injection that I have to receive daily for the first 5 days after chemo. It’s a sub-cutaneous injection which means that it needs to go in under the skin but not into veins or muscles. That leaves fat, of which I don’t have much. Or at least I don’t have much of it in places that I can reach myself. So it’s Nurse Stine to the rescue!

The pharmacist gave us a quick overview of our supplies (the viles, the syringes, the antiseptic wipes, and the “sharps box” for used needles) but she recommended that we head over to Injections to see if they could give us some further teaching, and indeed they could. One brave technician even let Stine inject her with a saline solution while she talked her through it the first time. I couldn’t believe it!

That just happened.

After injecting saline into a complete stranger (with permission), Stine injected me my with first dose.

I was very brave, so I got stickers afterward:

Superman Stickers

It’s been a few days now of receiving daily injections from Nurse Stine, and I must say that she is doing an amazing job. It’s not something I would want to do have to do to her everyday.

The side effect of these injections? Sore bones. It’s kind of hard to describe what this feels like, but it’s almost like my bones are brittle. There is general discomfort, but when I touch myself anywhere or brush up against something it feels like I have a deep bruise. It’s weird. This side effect is combined with the general muscle pain and soreness from the chemo treatment, so I see lots of Tylenol and many a warm bath in my future this week. Christine has used this an opportunity to reinstate her never-ending campaign for a hot tub.

Chest Port Installation

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When the nurse called last week to tell me about my new prescription she also let me know that the doctor had finally cleared me for my chest port. I’m not sure what, if anything, has changed, but for some reason they’ve decided to move forward with it at this time. If you don’t remember, I was originally supposed to have it put in before my first chemo treatment, but an initial blood test indicated that my blood doesn’t clot normally and that I might be a bit of a hemophiliac. Apparently that was enough to cause them to think twice about sticking a semi-permanent tube into the largest vein in my body. But I guess that they’ve decided to move forward with it before the chemo treatments damage the smaller veins in my hands and forearms.

Like most new things, I’m pretty nervous about having it put in. Mostly just because I’ll have this extra little bump sticking out of my chest for 6 months, but I’ve been told that I’ll quickly get used to it and that in the long run I’ll appreciate having it.The unit is about the size of a quarter and is maybe 3/4 of an inch thick. It’s installed just under the skin and connects to a catheter which will run into one of the larger pulmonary (I think) veins in my chest. Then, when it’s time for chemo they simply plug-in and go!

That part will be a welcome change as there have been difficulties starting an IV both times that I’ve had chemo so far. Both times they tried to start it in my hands, and both times the first person had to call in for backup. This last round they wound up going into a vein near my wrist.

Hopefully, a thing of the past

When I asked why they don’t just go into the vein in the arm (where they take blood draws from and where you normally see IV’s put in) they said it was because they like to “preserve” those veins whenever they can. Like I said, the reason they do chest ports is because these drugs are powerful, and for the lack of a better term, they are corrosive and can damage these smaller veins. So when possible they like to put chemo into a large vein in the chest where it won’t do as much damage.

So, the tentative plan is to have the procedure done next Wednesday a few hours before my next chemo treatment. I’m still waiting for the follow-up call to schedule the appointment, but I’m pretty sure that this will be happening. We are also meeting with the oncologist again on that day, so next Wednesday is shaping up to be a pretty big day!

In happy news, I’m done with my injections for this round! We’ll find out after my next blood test on Tuesday whether or not my white blood cell count was indeed boosted and if it was worth it!

I miss it already… and I have a long wait ahead of me

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My friend Andy is a High School Drama teacher and for the last several years I’ve always been invited into his process during the final weeks of his shows leading up to opening. I’ve always enjoyed its something that I look forward to  every fall and spring. It’s been amazing to get to know the kids and watch them grow and learn throughout their High School Drama Careers (I still can’t over the fact that it’s been 10 years since I’ve had mine!) This year has been particularly special as he has now been at the same school for 4 years, so I’ve been watching and working with many of the seniors  since they were freshmen.

Their production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream opens next weekend and I sat through my third run through last night. After the run I got the chance to give notes while Andy was working elsewhere and afterward spent 20 minutes or so working a scene with a couple of the actors. Working with young actors I often find myself surprised at their sometimes enthusiastic and eager reactions to what are (to me) rather obvious and mundane suggestions. I guess there must be something to be said for that college education I went and got, and these years of experience that I have now, because some of these kids seem to think I’m a genius! At any rate, I had a blast last night and look forward to returning to their rehearsals for the next couple of days. Although it’s only been a little over a month, before today it felt like it had been FOREVER since I’d had my hands on a piece of theater.

I miss it. I miss working. I miss my co-workers in the theater community. I miss going to work every night. I just miss surrounding myself with a creative and collaborative process. The Theater is a unique and interesting “place” to work and I just simply miss being around it all of the time.

But yeah, I can’t tell you enough how great it feels to be useful again, even if it’s only for a few more days. This is what I do, I make theater. But unfortunately a career in the theater lends itself to being an all or nothing sort of thing. Unlike many other people out there battle cancer, I can’t take a few days off of work every other week for treatment. That’s not how my industry and chosen profession work. If you can’t commit to the 90+ show run then you’re not going to work. And unfortunately the advanced nature of auditioning and booking gigs a few months ahead of time means that I really can’t start audition again until I know for sure I’m done with chemo and I get my first test results back that indicate “No Evidence of Disease.”  I had to drop out of the show that I was supposed to be working on right now and I’m now basically on the Disabled List. Even worse, I’ve been declared “Out For the Season.” I may only be  slated for another 6 or so months of chemo, but I don’t anticipate working again until next fall at the earliest. It’s hard not to dote on that thought.*

We are seeing the first preview of the show I was supposed to be in right now on Sunday and I’m really curious as what it will be like watching a show that I was originally slated to be in. I’m expecting a pretty mixed bag of emotions. But above all, I think I’ll just be glad that I’m be back sitting in the office again for a few hours. It’s just a for a brief visit, but I’ll be back work full-time just as soon as I can.

I just miss it, that’s all.

*Please forgive me the use of the word “dote.” Like I said, I spent all afternoon in a  Shakespeare rehearsal. Earlier I used the word “churl” in a sentence. It was awkward.

Balding

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It’s been 2 weeks now since I cut my hair and my hair continues to thin dramatically.  However, I  am still holding out hope that it isn’t going to fall out entirely and that enough hairs can hold on so that I won’t have to shave the rest off. I don’t know though, it’s starting to get pretty precarious up there:

Definitely some clear bald spots forming here in the back:

And a before and after for comparison.

Before (2 Weeks ago):

2 Weeks Ago

And After (Today):

Today

I don’t know if the pictures do it justice or not, but I do know that more than once this week I’ve caught myself in the mirror and thought, “Damn, I’m really starting to lose my hair!”

On the positive side, today when I dried my hair after getting out the shower my towel wasn’t covered in hair. This is first time in weeks that haven’t seen any hair at all. Come to think of it, I don’t know even why I am drying my hair with towel anymore, it pretty much dries instantly on its own since its so short. I guess it’s just a matter of habit at this point. Habit, and that I’m always check to see how much hair is going to have come out.

On the other hand the hair loss really started taking off at the 3 week mark after the first chemo treatment, so there is still time for it pickup again. Especially since I should be back on the 2 week schedule now, assuming no further interruptions.

It really doesn’t bother me too much though. I don’t think I would I mind too much if I did wind up completely bald, or close enough that I had to shave my head all the way. It will grow back when I’m done, and I don’t think I’d look too terrible with no hair at all. Unlike most people my face doesn’t have any complexion so my perfectly white bald head would blend with my perfectly white face.

PLUS this hair loss stuff isn’t too bad, I don’t have to shave my face anymore these days. It’s been two weeks and  I only have a few little bits of stubble just starting to peak out.

Going in for another blood draw today in advance of Chest Port Placement tomorrow and chemo again on Wednesday. Like I said, I don’t know what, if anything has changed, regarding my blood clotting issues, so I’m hoping that they won’t cancel the chest port placement again after the blood test as they did last time. Additionally, I am eager to see how the daily injections that I took after my last chemo treatment have effected my white blood cell counts. I’ll be sure to let you know the results as soon as  they come back.