Cancer Update – Part 51

22 August 2023

I had a great night’s sleep. That could partly be due to the Xanax but any port in a storm. I seem to weathered the first chemotherapy session. Strangely, after they hooked me up to the Herceptin yesterday, I had a lot of restless leg syndrome. I couldn’t keep them still nor from stretching out. I was worried it would follow me home but after they finished the Taxol infusion, the legs calmed down. I normally get restless leg at night when in bed, so maybe the Xanax helped with that also.

The next 3 or 4 days will tell how well I’ve adjusted to the new regimen. When I went to the first session in June with 4 drugs, the nurse told me day 3 would be my worse day. It turned out to be day 2 -4 and then the hospital stay.

Again, I’m impressed with Dr. Velez. He reread my blood work and was concerned my glucose level was 190. He texted me yesterday afternoon about that and I explained that was an anomaly for that morning. I sent him a photo of my glucose levels for the past week which were in the normal range and he seemed mollified. Again, Dr. Burgers and Dr. Velez go the extra mile and call or text you at home. Today, my glucose hit 219 but I knew it would be high since one of the premeds they gave me before the infusion yesterday was a steroid. That always sends my glucose out of wack.

I’m scheduled tomorrow to go in at 3:30 for a hydration infusion. I’ve been given the option of canceling if I don’t feel it necessary but I think I’ll do it anyway. I drink plenty of water during the day, but I also did with the first infusion in June and still ended up in the hospital. Better safe than sorry. I was told it would take about 2 hours for the hydration. It’s not like I have a lot to do anyway.

I was feeling well enough to day to do one of my longer morning walks, 1.8 miles along Riverland Road. My cousin Jimmie gifted me a portable neck fan and I wore that for the second time today. I got a late start (9 am) and I knew the temperature and humidity was rapidly climbing. It seemed to work pretty well in keeping the sweat down on my head and neck.

This week I’ve been busy putting together my 2024 calendars that feature photos from my trips. I also received all the note cards I ordered and managed to put them together in sets of 10 and presented five of them to the nurses and staff of the cancer surgical group as a thank you. I don’t know when I’ve been treated so well or with so much empathy by the medical profession. I also think I’m a little bit of an anomaly being a male cancer patient. Dr. Burgers told me I was her fourth in all the years she’s been practicing. I’ve got a follow up with her on the 31st and I plan to ask if I can get back to my yoga stretches and swimming.

I’ve started using the cocoa butter/shea butter solution on the mastectomy scar. I don’t think it’s doing anything to mitigate the scaring but it seems to be loosening up the skin in the area that gives the pulling sensation. The insertion for the drain seems to have closed up and I haven’t leaked on the sheets or the tee shirts once. Again, I was able to sleep a while on my left side again. There does seem to be some light at the end of the tunnel and I haven’t heard a train whistle yet.

I was going to go to Costco today, renew my membership and do a little shopping but after thinking about it, I have everything I need and if I bought something, I have no place to store it in the house. I need to do a purge of stuff around that I haven’t used in a while. For example, I seldom wear long-sleeved shirts these days since I’m not teaching and I can throw out a bunch and keep a few for cooler days.

Mother and Dad moved so much when I was a kid, I learned not to accumulate stuff. However, I’ve lived in this house starting my 28th year and things tend to accumulate whether you want them to or not. I did get rid of a lot of stuff when the house flooded but it could do with some more purging.

Thank goodness I won’t have to worry about that when I pass on. My lawyer is in charge of my estate and his son is an estate salesman. They will take care of everything (for a price, of course) but at least I won’t have to worry friends and family with going through years of junk. Not that I plan on kicking the bucket any time soon.

My next infusion of Herceptin and Taxol is Monday, the 28th, again at 9:30 am. I was so early this last time, I may try to sleep a little later than 5:30 am.

Stay tuned!