Chemo Begins Again

Sorry for not doing an update for a while.  A few things have happened that may be of interest to you, so I'll share them now.

On November 17th, I had a nice visit from two good friends from Los Alamos.  Chief Doug "Mac" MacDonald was the former Fire Chief of Los Alamos County and Chief Wayne Torpy, the former Police Chief.  Both of these gentlemen were in those positions when I was County Administrator, and was blessed for them to always "have my back" during that time.  They are among the great ones and I am so fortunate to have them as friends.  They flew in on Sunday night and spent a big part of Monday visiting and then flew back to New Mexico on Tuesday morning. It was a good day, they lifted my spirits and I've thought of their visit many times.  Thanks guys.  I appreciate it more than words can say.

A couple days later Kath, Ray and I went to a performance at Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake of the Trans Siberian Orchestra.  They performed most of their classic Christmas songs and a new program.  We had bought the tickets from Groupon so got a good deal and the seats were pretty good as well.  Got us out of the house and following the Doctor's advice to think of myself as a "healthy person" and do those things. 

We rode with Julie and Dee to American Fork and had a nice lunch with Marc and Ruth.  We talked about scheduling a trip to Idaho in a few weeks as long as the weather cooperates.

For Thanksgiving we went to Julie and Dee's home.  A very nice dinner prepared mainly by Julie and assisted by Aaron.  I'm sure Dee was also involved.  It was nice to visit with family.  Steven was there with his wife Danielle; they were expecting a new baby the next day. (He came and is named Connor, happy and healthy).  Sarah and her husband Jordan were also there.

The next day on the 28th, we had chemo again.  The bloodwork still showed kind of low in the ANC reading (a function of white blood cells).  It had recovered some with the longer break, but was below the minimum "ideal" range.  The decision was made again to decrease the chemo dosage to 80% of what I had gotten initially.  It still takes just as long to drip in, so we were there for a lot of the day on Friday.  I've been doing pretty good since then; the anti-nausea medication is also a steroid, so it gives me strength.  We even went on a short walk today around the block.  The steroid is a mixed blessing: it gives me temporary strength, but it also causes blood sugar to go up quite a lot.

As far as diabetes goes, we are just relying on the pills to control the blood sugar.  Readings are taken twice each day, first before breakfast and a second test before bedtime (a couple of hours after eating).  So far things are pretty well controlled with just the pills.  I haven't done any insulin for about three weeks now.

I went to sacrament meeting today, but went home afterward.  It is a pretty humbling experience to have someone giving the opening prayer to mention me and my family by name requesting blessings on our behalf. I know there are lots of others who do that individually each day and I feel strength from those prayers and good thoughts, e-mails, text messages, and phone calls coming our way.  I do appreciate those more than words can adequately describe.  I have an awesome support system, starting with Kath and our kids and extending a long way. Thanks so much.

Diabetes Update, Chemotherapy Update, and Jazz vs. Mavs

During the week, I visited my Primary Care Physician with questions about the diabetes.  He directed me to discontinue the monitoring before every meal and just take the blood glucose test in the morning before breakfast and once more at bedtime, a few hours after eating.  I don't have to take insulin via shot, so we are just relying on the medication via pills to control the excess.

That has been very nice.  If the readings are consistently over the 200 level then I need to start another pill.  They have been lower than that, so things are going better in that department.

We did another infusion of chemotherapy on Friday, November 7th.  Because the ANC reading was still pretty low, the dosage was again reduced.  With that reduction, I don't think I am as wiped out as usual with the chemo.  Bigger break now until the next one, and I am looking forward to that longer break.

The ANC reading is based mainly on white blood cell count, so my bone marrow needs to rejuvenate so the blood count readings can improve.  I asked about what I can do to stimulate this and there are not many answers.  They suggest activity but it is unproven as being related.

That same night, Ray and I went to an NBA game between the Utah Jazz and our favorite team, the Dallas Mavericks.  The Mavs won and we enjoyed doing it.  I was pretty tired after a full day but it was worth it.  I kept hearing my doctor's words: "continue to act like a healthy person."

Harder to do than it is to say.  I am trying my best to work through all the tiredness.  Kath and Ray do their best to encourage me on this stuff.  I appreciate them and all the others who support in any way.  It means a great deal.

CT Scan Results and More Infusions

On Friday, October 31st, we received the results of the CT Scan and blood-work that was taken nearly two weeks ago.  In basic terms, the CT scan showed that the chemotherapy was effective.  The lesions (just think of these as "things") are fewer in numbers and smaller in size.  They started in the baseline tests and from the surgery pathology as all being sub-centimeter so they are pretty small.  He showed us some on the screen and they are just tiny white blips. The CT scan trumps the blood-work which was higher than the baseline, but his comment was that you could take that an hour later and it would be different.  After the doctor appointment we did infusion of chemotherapy, but the chemo drugs were reduced in strength somewhat so my bone marrow can produce more white blood cells.  That reading was getting to be marginal for doing more chemo.

As long as the chemo is working, we will continue on this course but with longer periods between to recover.  I believe it will be two weekly infusions followed by two weeks off then repeat.  The doctor continues to re-iterate that I will be in the immunology clinical trial. 

Generally I feel okay, just tired all the time and not much desire to do much more than the minimum.  I need to break that and make myself get up and walk or something.  They keep saying that will help reduce the fatigue.  That's my goal this week.  I know it will help boost my attitude as well.

I continue to do the blood glucose testing three times each day and taking insulin based on a sliding scale of what the blood glucose reading is.  I feel a great deal of empathy for people who have had to do this a long time.  It is a big nuisance and you have to be constantly thinking of the right things to eat.  Thanks to Kath for working so diligently on this.  I know it's hard.

Thanks to everyone for your support, thoughts and prayers.  They really are appreciated and really do help.  We went to sacrament meeting today and several people there express their well wishes as well -- nice reminder of how big our support system really is.  I do appreciate it.