New Side Effect

Since the last update, it seems that I have developed a new side effect of the chemotherapy.  I refer to it as chemo-induced diabetes.  I have been urinating and drinking like crazy since the infusion on Sept 19th.  When they took the bloodwork the blood glucose was off the chart -- in dangerous range.  They asked us to come to Acute Care at the Huntsman Cancer Center.  Worked all afternoon on getting the readings down and told to come back again before infusion scheduled for the 26th.  It did come down quite a bit, but still very high and needs to come down more if we can.  

Turns out that one of the anti-nausea meds they give me is a steroid and causes high blood sugar.  Without it I will most likely start vomiting and cause all kinds of electrolyte imbalances that will really be hard to get back under control.  So we continue with the steroid and now take some pills to control blood sugar. Based on the still high readings, we will start insulin injections based upon a sliding scale.  We don't want long term problems in kidneys and eye-sight.  I am really tired from all this and don't want to do much of anything.

We still did the chemo infusion on the 26th.  It went as usual, so I won't go into detail about it again.  We met a very nice dietician who explained how to change eating habits when you have diabetes.  We've spent the weekend trying to follow the plans and it will be a pretty big lifestyle change.  The key seems to be portion control -- especially for carbohydrates.

My hope is that once chemo is done, things will again get into the standard range and I can get off the pills and just exercise and eat better.  Trying to stay positive and full of hope.

More Infusion

On Friday September 19th, we did the third infusion of chemotherapy.  Same drill: access the port and take blood for testing.  Once the go-ahead is given we start the first 1000 ml of hydration dripping fast, but it still takes an hour. Some anti-nausea med is dripped in.   First bag of chemotherapy med.  Second bag containing a different chemo drug.  Last bag of hydration.  I visit the restroom with the IV pole at least three times during all this dripping. The port is de-accessed and we are free to go.  

Oh, and I should mention that Kath bought me a cinnamon roll from the restaurant at the Huntsman Cancer Institute.  It was yummy, but I've had better.

This time Dr. Gilcrease visited us at the chair.  Had his own questions about how we're doing.  That always throws me, because how do you answer this one when you have cancer?  My answer was pretty well, for someone with cancer.  He listened to my heart and lungs and answered our questions.  He went through the detailed results of the base-line CT scan and allayed fears that it was already showing up elsewhere.  Kath asked him about a new therapy stimulating the immune system to fight cancer cells.  That will be the emphasis of a clinical trial that will start within two months and we will be invited to participate.  It is promising -- but is still unproven for my type of cancer. We're excited and I keep reminding myself that even with bad statistics, there has to be some who make up those low percentages of survivors.

The ward brings a meal on the day before chemo and on chemo day.  We have lots of kind neighbors providing this food that is too much to eat all at once, so there are leftovers.  Thanks, neighbors and friends for being part of our support team.

Today we participated in the re-dedication of the Ogden Temple.  It was a nice spiritual experience and we had the extra blessing of being with Julie, Dee and Aaron in the temple (an extension of the temple in our own stake center).

I also got the first interview accomplished with our bishop to renew my temple recommend that expires at the end of the month.  He's a really great man and I like him a lot. The renewal should be complete Tuesday evening.

I'm staying positive, but feeling tired.  I am doing all I can to stay active and so far have been successful.  We take walks around the block, sometimes in the dark, but it all counts.  It is great to have so many people who are part of a large team supporting me and my family in this hard time.  Thanks so much for that support.  I cannot adequately express how much it is appreciated.

Normal Life, Kind Of

This update is not very much about my health, but is about our attempt to lead a normal life.  The oncology doctor and nurse urged us to live as normally as possible while going through this chemo.  Stay as active as you can. Keep as upbeat as possible and don't obsess about the longer term negatives that come with a cancer diagnosis.

With that in mind, Kath and I decided to honor our commitment made a year ago to work the CPSE (Center for Public Safety Excellence) vendor booth at the ICMA Annual Conference in Charlotte,  North Carolina. We have done this the prior three years with Paul Brooks, the CPSE Executive Director, and Cliff Jones, former CPSE Board Member and retired Fire Chief from Tempe, Arizona.

Basically we work together to provide City and County Managers and Assistants with information about how the non-profit CPSE programs can help make their Fire Department better by detecting issues before they show up in a real event. They also improve accountability to the citizens they serve. The accountability and transparency issues for local governments are current hot topics. And with Fire Department's significant budgets, a City Manager needs to be paying attention.

Anyway, we flew East on Saturday and met up with Paul the next day to set up the booth before the start of refreshments for attendees at 5:00 pm. By the start time, Cliff joined us and we were ready to go.

We talked to quite a few people, got some promising contacts, and visited during the breaks.  We did this pretty much all day on Monday and Tuesday and closed the booth on Tuesday at 2:00 pm when the exhibit hall closed.  the other guys were able to leave for home later that day, but our flight was not until the following day (Wednesday).

Some other highlights:  

We went to a Sacrament and Testimony meeting with the BYU Alumni group on Sunday morning  It is always a highlight to hear for lots of successful people.  Not a one of them talked about their accomplishments, but nearly everyone talked about how they used the gospel in their workplace.  Several talked about how they served missions in North Carolina (wonder if any knew my niece Meredith!).

We went to dinner as a group on Sunday and Monday evening.  One was to the Black Finn and the other was to 5 Church.  Both had lots of selection, good wait staff, and good food.

On Wednesday morning, Kath and I went to the NASCAR Hall of Fame.  North Carolina is NASCAR country full of fans.  We are not followers and don't have favorite drivers but it was interesting to see the history over the 70 years since the bootleggers drove the country roads evading the law.

Came home late on Wednesday.  A good trip and I'm glad it worked out so we could go.