so, went to the doctor today… my CT scan came back perfect!

even got my PICC line out! i hated that thing!

im still pretty anemic, and it’ll take 3-4mo to get back to normal on that front.. but who cares at this point.. thats small potatoes (dan quayle spelling)

next step is go in for more blood tests in 6weeks.
then in 3mo another CT scan
then in 6mo another CT scan
then CT scans every year for a while.

thats it. now what?

So, no chemo this week!

also, this could be the end of chemo in general.

during the doctors visit this week, we talked about the how much chemo i have already gotten and why i might need this next cycle in relation to dangerous side-effects (such as my hearing loss)

I was scheduled for 3 cycles of bleo.. but only got two.
3 cycles of bleo = 1 cycle of cis+vp-16.
so, i am 1/3 short of the recommended dosage of bleo… and 1/9th of the entire treatment
giving me one more cycle of the cis+vp-16 would be giving me more then enuf…. but risk damaging my hearing even more.

The doc scheduled me for a CT scan and PET scan this week… to make sure the cancer is gone. if its not, or if there are any signs of it, back to the chemo, otherwise, im done.

The PET scan i guess is very expensive. So expensive that he’s trying to get a goverment grant to pay for it.

either way, im gonna feel great for my birthday! im excited to go out to a nice resturant… im thinking a trip to portland would be nice.

im really starting to notice my hearing damange, and because of that, i’ve been doing some reading on the hearing loss from the cisplatin.

here’s a good short article i found:
http://www.kantrowitz.com/cancer/ototoxicity.html

im for sure gonna talk to my doctor about this upcoming “extra” cycle of cisplatin as im not certain anymore if its worth it. the hearing loss has been pretty noticable.

i missed 3 cycles of bleo because of the lung damage, and this is why he wanted one extra cycle of the other two.

So, i go in for a tranfusion tomorrow morning.

my red count is half of normal… no wonder i’ve been feeling so punk.. im working on half a tank! like im on everest.

oh.. EDIT:

just got my hearing testing again too.
looks like i have hearing damage from the chemo too.
im getting all the “rare” side-effects, like lung damage.

on the plus side, i know many musicians who can’t hear worth shit, and still are better then me.

but i still feel like shit.

maybe without the bleo on monday, i’ll feel better by tues or wed. that’d be super.

but right now… my laptop is fixed… im surfing from the living room…. so i dont have to move around so much…

last week chemo wasn’t as bad as the previous cycle, thank god… it wasn’t fun… but i wasn’t completely immobile.

i may have to get a transfusion, as my red counts are hella low, and im a bit anemic. i feel totally exhausted from the low red cells… so, we’ll see what my counts are like next week.
I’ve been taking iron pills, eating red meat, etc… so maybe i can avoid having someone elses blood pumped into me.

So, i have been taken off the Bleomycin. After my last pulminary function test on thursday, it turns out that the bleo has actaually done minor damage to my lungs. BOO

so, no more bleo… BUT i have to take one more week of the cisplatin/VP-16 combo to make up for the lack of bleo. DOUBLE BOO.

Silver Lining:
I get an FULL TWO WEEKS OFF now between treatments, instead of having the bleo mondays. also, this will be just as good as having the bleo.

Brown Lining: chemo now ends Dec 15th, just in time to feel like shit for my birthday.

Silver Lining 2: dont have to have any more über expensive pulminary function tests and dont have to drive to ballard. BOO BALLARD

Ok.. next week is a last big week (hopfully)
3 weeks left!

Mon 9:40a-2ish
Tues 11a-5ish
Wed 11a-5ish
Thurs 9:30a-2ish
Fri 11a-5ish
Mon 1p-3ish No more bleo

also, the pies are hit! we’re doing really great with the sales and donations.
thx everyone.

Hey all..
we’re having a little fund raiser to pay for all this nonsense.

check it out!

Pies Like Us Fund Raiser

OK.. im off to get a bleojob

today, i feel about 85%…
so it takes about a week for me to get “back”

it was like this last cycle… so, seems consistant.

its nice to feel normal(ish).

just an update.

the last cycle really f’d me up.
ive been having pretty severe side-effects (like nausua).

pretty much rendering me useless.

im trying to actually get some work done today.. dont know how far i’ll get.
i still feel pretty f’d.

RE: lung test.
my test was good., so i can continue the normal treatment cycle, thank god.