Treatment #5 and The Steal

waiting for chemo treatment #5

Today was Chemo Treatment #5. It is 7:30 PM, a few hours after treatment ended. It was another long day at the Cancer Center, but no immediate fatigue and no nausea during the day. The battle of me vs. side effects resumes tomorrow and will last for about a week or so. Nausea, fatigue, heartburn, among others. Thankfully, last week’s news make it a little more palatable, but I am quickly reminded that I still have to get through 4 more months of this.

Now, my new-found connection with Dave Roberts, former Red Sox.

I already loved this guy for his clutch steal of second base in Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS against those Yankees. Somehow I missed the fact that Dave Roberts last year was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in March 2010.

Dave  just had a PET scan at Dana Farber in Boston to take a look at where things are with the lymphoma and I heard a radio interview with him. When he said ‘I gotta clean bill of health from his doctors’, you could feel his smile through the radio. The smile on my face was larger than it was on October 27, 2004 when the Sox won the World Series and larger than last Wednesday when the Bruins won the Stanley Cup.

Congrats Dave on the great news! Be strong!

Red Sox Journal: Roberts returns to Fenway cancer-free | Boston Red Sox | projo.com | The Providence Journal.

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Finally, Some Good News

The Bruins Win the Stanley Cup on our 9th wedding anniversary and then we find out that I am really beating cancer. Pretty great 24 hours for me! Hey guys, can I drink from the Cup too? (no, I am not related to Tyler Seguin, but I am awfully proud to have the same surname as him)

Yesterday, I had a PET Scan to see how effective the chemo treatments have been against the Hodgkins Lymphoma that has invaded my body.

Today, we got the results.

And the results are good.

Very good!

After a few months of receiving mostly bad news at each turn in our life, the relief of this news being positive is, to say the least, overwhelming.

I told Michele this afternoon that I feel like the Bruins just won the Stanley Cup (which they did, HOORAY!), the Patriots just won the Super Bowl, the Red Sox just won the World Series, and the Celtics just won the NBA Finals. All on the same day.

Yes, I know that is not possible. But that is my level of happiness. I forgot to add – the USA wins the FIFA World Cup and I ride the PMC. Again, all on the same day!

I felt so good that I actually had my first beer since early April. And it was oncologist approved (if you are curious, it was Harpoon 100 Barrel Series Island Creek Oyster Stout on tap at our favorite local restaurant/bar/lounge/coffee shop).

By now you must realized that this news is really really good (so was my beer).

Here is the news:

[add your own drumroll for added affect]

The enlarged and malignant lymph nodes that were in my abdomen are no longer enlarged AND are no longer showing signs of malignancy.

Basically, these results mean that the chemo is working. I will continue with the course of treatment (8 more to go), with the goal of reducing my risk of recurrence down the road.

That is the nice way of me shouting from the mountaintop: HEY CANCER – I’M BEATING YOU AGAIN! AND THERE IS NOTHING, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING THAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT!

So, dear friends, your thoughts and prayers have worked. I am so blessed and fortunate to have so many people who care about me. Please don’t stop, the next 4 months are still filled with rides on the chemotherapy roller coaster, which continues to come up with new twists and turns each time. My recovery from Treatment #4 has been much longer and more riddled than the previous three. And there is still a long way in this battle left to go. I am not cured yet, but this was a major step along the way to getting there.

Love to you,

Andy

Treatment #4 Update

I am now 1/3 of the way through my treatments. The last two weeks have again been a roller coaster ride of side effects and live events. The life events will be a topic for another blog post at some point, but not today.

I have now figured out the neutrophil cycle. Hooray! The result is that the weekend before my treatment, my neutrophils crash. I typically feel fine and have good energy, I just can’t go out in public. Sorry adoring fans and paparazzi. You will just have to get me as I sneak in and out for acupuncture, blood work, and cancer center appointments.

Waiting for Treatment #4

The next big stop on this cancer journey comes next week. Our ninth wedding anniversary will begin with me getting a PET scan. We will get the results the next day when I meet with the oncologist. These results will tell us how effective the treatments are and if we stay the course or if we need to change the course of treatment in some fashion.

Basically, with this scan they will be able to tell how many cancer cells I have in my body. That number will be compared to the starting point, calculated by a scan done the day prior to my first treatment. Then, and you thought there would be no math on this blog, they will be able to calculate whether or not I will have zero cells at the end of my 12th treatment. If the calculation says “cancer cells = 0 after 12 treatments”, full speed ahead as we are. If it says “cancer cells more than 0 after 12 treatments”, changes will be made. I figured some of you would like to know how this works.

About Treatment #4. Each treatment day is a long day. Blood work. Wait. Chemo gets ordered from pharmacy. Wait. Need to get IV fixed. Wait. Three drugs get pushed from syringe into IV by my amazing nurse Jodi. Final drug gets dripped over 90 minutes from a bag into my IV. Wait! Then more fluids via the IV. Then home. All total, it takes about 7 hours. I was very tired when I got home yesterday from treatment. I took a nap, had a great dinner, watched some soccer (US v. Canada) and baseball (Red Sox v. some other team), then hit the mattress for the night. Today, not a lot of activity, did some work, basically laid around all day. There is a solid chance I watch some Stanley Cup action tonight. The next couple of days are the tough ones. The energy level really drops. The side effects from the medications that combat the side effects of the chemo start to kick in. I have a headache most of the day and generally don’t feel good. I do have acupuncture tomorrow morning, which helps all of this. I am getting better at managing all the side effects, so hopefully the dip won’t be so low and the rise will start quickly.

Again, to all of you reading, thank you for your kind notes, cards, messages, emails, texts with your support. Each and every one empowers me, gives me strength, and truly help me get through the days. Please keep them coming.

I will post an update next week after the PET Scan results. Until then, pray for tumor reduction!!!!!!

Love and best wishes,
Andy

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