My First Doc Visit

Today I get to go see my Doc.

This will be the first post-procedure visit.

I hardly know what to expect. Oh, I know I'll be poked and prodded - that's a given - but beyond that what will transpire will be a mystery.

There will be a lot of talking, of that I'm sure.

I'm doing better than I was last week. And certainly better than the week before, so there is progress. Just not fast enough for me. :)

And I probably won't mention all of the stupid stuff I did at my daughter's wedding last week. I'll just skirt that issue thank you.

But for some reason I'm a little nervous.

I'll let you know what happens.

I Loves Me A Good Joke

So, I've lost a little weight.

It's the nausea and fatigue.

I haven't lost a tremendous amount, but enough that people are noticing. And they tell me, repeatedly how good I'm looking.

To which I reply, "It's that new cancer diet. It's effective, but I wouldn't recommend it."


LOL. I crack me up.

A Little Over A Month In

Been a busy couple of weeks around the old homefront.

My oldest daughter was married to a wonderful man, and the wedding came off without a hitch. We couldn't be happier.

With the wedding came two-weeks of frantic preparation, family in town, new family in town, dinners and airports and a general level of chaos that's pretty rare around the empty nest these days.

I did pretty well, although the fatigue and nausea are my constant companions. Add the arthritis and it makes for some difficult times.

They keep telling me that only two more months and the side-effects should subside. Can't happen soon enough for me.

I had someone come up to me after the wedding and ask me if I was having a good day or putting on a 'stiff upper lip'.

Well, a little of both. I danced with my daughter sans cane, was on my feet more in one day than I usually am in a week, and never stopped moving for hours. But it was worth it.

Sometimes you just have to push on and pay for it later.

Damn Cancer. Always with the problems.

Well, the nausea and fatigue didn't really go away - it just changed patterns.

That should not be allowed by the rules.

I like my life like I likes me womenz: Strong, dark, and bitter.

No wait, that's not right. That's coffee. OH! I know! I like my life to be somewhat consistent.

Stop laughing.

Anyway, I'm still experiencing some secondary side-effects. They get worse, then they get a little better giving me some hope that I'm on the downhill side, and then they get worse again.

I can handle the discomfort. I can handle the pain. I can handle the nausea and fatigue.

What I can't handle is every time I go to the bathroom wondering if the next time I'll have to be cathed. Interesting, because I've become a tad phobic about being cathed. (You can't see me right now, but I gots me a case of the 'willy-shivers' going on.) And it's so stupid, because I've been cathed quite a few times and while uncomfortable, it really isn't that big of a deal.

So, this will be the pattern for the next few months to a year. Although, if I can make it a couple more weeks, the odds that I'll have to have 'the tube' drop significantly.

I think it's more the idea than the physical actuality.

But, that's a hell of a lot of life, isn't it? The reality is often much more benign than thoughts that precede. Stupid humans.

There have been a couple of times over the last few days when I wondered if I'd selected the right treatment. With surgery it would have been done. Over. On to recovery.

Now it's like pulling a splinter out of your finger ever so slowly.

Of course with surgery it would have been like amputating the finger to get the splinter.

Damn cancer. Always with the problems.

Healing

So, I'm at that stage of recovery from the procedure where I'm . . . getting antsy to get back to my life.

I'm really missing the pool. I need to get back in the water for a host of reasons. I have a great community over there, and it would be nice to think about something other than cancer. Plus, my body really needs some exercise.

Don't you hate it when what they tell you is right? Exercise my friends. Exercise hard. It does the mind and body wonders.

They symptoms haven't really eased much, but I'm less tired now, and the nausea is slowly slipping away. Those are good things.

So, back to the pool for me on Monday. I'll be doing light workouts for a bit, but I'm sure I'll be back to my pruney self in no time.

Hey, it's a look.

Two Weeks In

Two weeks ago today I had the procedure.

I suppose it was naive of me to think that I could skate through this unscathed. But that's human. We have to do what we need to do to get through the day.

It's not terrible, but I'm certainly feeling the effects of the radiation. I'm experiencing quite a bit of fatigue, especially in the early afternoon. I'm queasy as hell a good bit of the time. That's always a fun combination. And, unfortunately, I'm also experiencing some urinary problems.

I had a friend ask me what it felt like. I told him imagine sitting on a grapefruit. Now add a pretty good Urinary Tract Infection on top of that and you'll get the idea. Except that when you go to pee, you can't.

The hell of brachytherapy is that I haven't really hit the toxicity mark quite yet. I could have these side effects for the next 18 months, or they could go away tomorrow.

I vote for tomorrow. :)

I'm sure I'll feel better once I can get back in the water. I don't think it will happen this week as I still have a couple open wounds. Pool water and wounds. That's not a good combo.

I also had my first true 'cancer moment' this weekend.

We went to Spokane to see relatives. It probably was a little early for that much traveling, but both Suz and I needed the trip.

So, I'm sitting in Spokane in the parking lot of a supermarket with my brother-in-law, while Suz and her sister ran inside to get some ingredients for dinner when the nausea kicked into high gear. I fought it for as long as I could but the hand writing was on the wall. Had to have my bro (Thank you Jahn!!) drive me over to the edge of the black top. As sick as I was I was still being considerate. No one wants to watch a bald man yak in the middle of a Safeway parking lot.

The whole damn episode was just weird.

I'm crossing my fingers that those days are going to be behind me very soon.

I'm also in the 'whiny' stage of recovery. One of Suzanne's favorites. :)

That's where I am. I'll keep you posted.

And I'm back.

Well, mostly back. :)

Firstly, let me say that if you ever need a medical procedure done, Swedish hospitals in Seattle are excellent facilities. They have their 'act' together so to speak. If you have been fortunate enough not to have experienced this first-hand, you don't know how rare of a quality this is in today's modern medicine.

The procedure went fine. Much like, "Okay Mr. Moore, we are going to give you the anesthetic . . . Wake up! All done!"

That's my kind of procedure.

I've been sore for the last few days, and some of the usual side-effects that one would expect, but nothing too terrible. My chief complaints would be fatigue and nausea. Hopefully that will clear now that I'm off the antibiotics and some other meds.

Now we play the waiting game.

I'll be able to go back to 'light' swimming in the next week or so. No lawn mowing (aw shucks) for the next month or so, along with no motorcycle riding, or any kind of jarring activities. Gotta make sure those 'seeds' don't dislodge until they have time to heal and set properly.

Not that those are issues at the moment. I'm still not feeling quite good enough to ride anyway.

But all-in-all I'm on the mend.

I'll keep you posted.