Plugging along through chemo

February 11, 2016

Not much has happened to me for me to report.  But dealing with cancer is an on going adventure, so here are a few tidbits.

First my PSA is now down to 11 from 330 in September.  The chemo is working splendidly.  Since my body has responded so well, the Dr. now thinks that I could have 10 sessions rather than 8.  He would like to get the PSA as low as possible before I go off chemo and begin a new stage in the ongoing saga.  More on that when it happens.

My side effects are there, but not too bad.  In the four or five days after a session I have constipation issues that I try to manage with Miralax.  For the first few days the regimen is sit for some time before the experience is completed.  Then it is don't get too far from a toilet because the experience does not wait or respond well to quinching.

My finger nails remain discolored. I might lose some of them.  They tend to hurt in our cold weather.  But most of them have moved into a sort of raised and yellow status and while they look bad, they don't hurt much.

For the first two weeks I am often tired, especially in the legs.  I have to watch how much I exercise during this time period.  Too much and, though it feels good that day, I feel mostly like sitting around the next.  Then the week before the next chemo I feel great and exercise as much as I can. I try to climb at least once at the rock wall and workout at the gym.

Probably the hardest part is the three-week repetition.  That schedule puts a damper on any kind of longer range planning. We end up cramming a lot into that "good" week. The result is a kind of boredom/depressive state that had to be dealt with.  I work with learning German and with my photography and photo group to keep engaged.

The support I get from neighbors and friends both via email and in person is wonderful.  The other night we went to a local jazz group's performance and I must have received 15 hugs.  I am humbled.  I draw so much strength from those expressions.

That is it for now.  I keep on keeping on.

Chemo 2015

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I began  chemo on October 8, 2015. On that day I received a quick overview of chemo which consisted of a discussion of foods, side effects, and possible dangers. We had so much information so quickly that I was glad to have all the handouts. My wife has taken the food changes to heart and our diet has changed to something close to the Mediterranean diet, lots of vegetables and fruits, more fish, less sugar and red meat. I have also ended my wine consumption because of possible liver complications from the chemo drug and my coffee consumption which I began when my stomach was in an uproar and peppermint tea was one drink that helped settle the stomach.

The sessions last about 2 and a half hours. First they take a blood sample to determine whether my white blood count and platelet count are in the normal range so that I can undergo receiving the docetaxel (Taxotere).  I receive a dose of anti-nausea medication, a steroid (dexamethasone) and then the Taxotere which seeps into me for an hour.

The side effects have not been bad.  On the first night after the appointment, due to the dexamethasone, I experience a “wired” effect that often keeps me awake till 1 or 2 in the morning. But that only lasts one or two nights.  For the first 4-6 days after the sessions I have constipation issues.  I tried a number of laxatives with moderate success then hit on Miralax which works the best, but even it can take a few days to become effective. Another immediate effect that quickly recedes is red skin especially on my face.  I look like St. Nick for a few days but it disappears without my having to do anything about it. After the 4th session I had sore fingernails for two weeks. It felt like I had hang nails on each finger.  That appears to be over but several of them especially my thumbs now have mounds along the sides as if a force pushed them up away from the skin. I have wondered whether I will lose some of those nails. I have had dry skin on my hands, arms and face. After trying a number of lotions, I have settled on Bag Balm, a thick paste that works very well. After the first two sessions I had “chemo burn” in the veins where the needles were inserted.  I could distinctly make out the extent of the burn. I applied hot compacts for about 20 minutes several times a day for a week.  I guess the veins have toughed up. The last three sessions have not resulted in those burns. For the first two weeks after I often have tired legs, especially thighs after walking or working out. I also have to be careful of being with sick people. During the Christmas holidays I had to cancel three family engagements because kids either had sore throats or a vomiting sickness.

During this time, as I have for the past three years, I work out as regularly as I can.  We try for three times a week in the weight room though often it is just two. Some days I feel great during and after and others not so great.  I also rock climb once a week at our local college’s climbing wall.  As with the weight room, some days are great and I skim up the wall on routes I have not mastered and other days I can’t make it up easy ones that I have done before. I feel that regular workouts have given my body, and my mind, more strength to deal with the vicissitudes of cancer.

A major effect of chemo is the three-week schedule.  Because of that we don’t plan ahead.  We had a busy Christmas schedule which was lots of fun and that I will return to in my next post, but an impulsive trips or any “well maybe next week” trips are out.  I have gotten caught up on a lot of little projects around the house. We had planned numerous area trips for the fall color season but those all were abandoned. We had a trip planned to New York for January but that has been cancelled because of the closeness of all those people on an airplane.  It is just too much of a chance. However, we will travel to my 50th college reunion in February in Texas.  I really want to attend that and I guess I will wear a mask on the plane.