I’m missing something…
> Dawn shaved my head today. I don’t know what to think of it yet. I guess it’s not as horrible as I was imagining. To the Victoria folk, I just got the a-ok from Howie and booked my flight out for Head of the Gorge today. Dawn and I will be coming out on the Thursday afternoon and flying back Sunday night. I can’t wait to see you guys!
Just say no to your fears!
>After I was diagnosed I was scared that my PET scan results would come back showing that I had a large spread of cancer. I got the results back and I had a large spread. I’ve been fearing having a low white blood cell count because that would mean I would have to inject myself with Neupogen daily. Today, the doctor told me I have a low white blood cell count and here comes the Neupogen! From now on, I’m going to think happy thoughts…
After Chemo
>I’m feeling pretty much back to normal now. After the first chemo I was nauseous for about 4 days. I felt like I was about to throw up all the time and especially if I tried to eat. I lost about 8 pounds during those 4 days. About Monday my stomach began to return to normal and I have put 4 pounds back on since then. I’ve had a headache pretty much constantly since chemo. It’s not too bad but it’s a constant annoyance. My…
Chemo #1
>It turns out they do all of the chemo through a hand IV, I hate hand IVs! It took a bit to get it in and it never really stopped hurting for the whole 2 hours or so that it was in. Everything else was pretty uneventful. The last drug they gave me made my veins burn all the way up my arm but then they mixed more sugar solution into it and it helped a bit. My Dad, sister and her boyfriend, and my…
Excuse me?
>I have always believed that I caught this early, and I’ve always feared that I hadn’t. It looks like my fears have won. I got the PET scan results today and not only is the cancer on both sides of my lymph node system it’s also spread to my liver. So instead of being Stage 1 (the best) as they originally thought I am now Stage 4 (the worst). I will now have to have at least 6 months of chemotherapy and survival rates drop…
Party!
>I had a great time last night! Most of my Calgary friends showed up at the Bull & Finch and we had some food and drinks. I wanted to have a little get together before chemotherapy started and I think it was a success! Sometimes it amazes me how many great friends I have, I consider myself incredibly lucky to have so much support. Thank you to everybody!
Confirmation
>Just got back from getting my stitches out of my neck. I asked for the results from the biopsy and it’s nodular sclerosing Hodgkins lymphoma. I was pretty sure I had Hodgkins all along, but I’m still feeling kind of crappy. I guess I still kept a little bit of hope that it might not be cancer. Oh well, I’m glad chemo is starting next week so that I can get this going.
A Wild Weekend
I was in the Okanagan with Dawn for the long weekend, visiting my Grandma, touring some wineries and getting some time on the beach. We stayed at a nice bed & breakfast in Peachland. It was all great except that we were going to hit the beach on Sunday but it was cool and rained a bit so we didn’t end up going. We had some excitement the first night when we almost walked right into a black bear on a dirt path by the…
PET Scan
>Yesterday was pretty uneventful. The radioactive glucose was a little bit late from Edmonton. I wasn’t supposed to have surgery for 2 weeks before the scan, and this would have been fine, but since they delayed it I had minor surgery the 2 days prior! They said it was okay though because they were both pretty minor, but I was worried for a bit that they might have to delay it for another 2 weeks! They got me into a small, dark room with a…