Friday, April 29, 2011

Week #1 coming to a close

Just got home from my last radiation treatment for this week. No radiation treatments on Saturday and Sunday also means no chemotherapy for those days too. The radiation treatments weren't that bad but the chemo treatments have not been very fun. Wednesday was probably my worse day. The medicine had me feeling rotten. I spoke to the docs that morning and they phoned in a prescription for me to help with the nausea. The new meds did the trick and now I'm able to eat and sleep a little better. I still have nausea but nowhere as bad as before... One week down...five more to go...


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Monday, April 25, 2011

Beam it out Scotty

Ok. Here we go. First day of treatments today. It went well for the most part. Got to the hospital a little early and the staff were able to squeeze me in. I went in and headed to the treatment room. The radiation warning sign on the one foot thick door meant this tumor was going to have a bad Rene day.

I go in and lay flat on my belly on the machine. Afterwards, the nurses adjust my position carefully lining up the lasers with the marks they made earlier last week on my bum. It was very cool in sort of humiliating way. It wasn't too long before it was all over...

I had started my chemo treatment earlier this morning. Nothing too dramatic. It was a nice relief to know my first series of chemotherapy would consist of a series of pills I would take daily.

...tomorrow, we do it all over again for the next six weeks. I'm just happy to finally get this started.


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Wednesday, April 20, 2011

A simulating experience

Yesterday was a fairly easy day. The nurse was great. I think she could read my expression as i walked into the room after I changed out of my street clothes. She said today would be pain free.

I went in to run what they call a "simulation" and CT scan for the radiation treatments that will start on Monday. My part was easy. I basically had to lay flat on my stomach while they ran though a large machine. Of course, I'm doing this in a hospital gown that is lacking in the back. The nurse explained the process as she went and then made marks on my body to serve as reference points, "targets", for the radiation treatments. Looks like we are all set to start the treatments now. Monday is the big day. Chemotherapy and radiation for six weeks....let's do this!!


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Friday, April 15, 2011

Today wasn't too bad. Some more exams, more paperwork and more consulting with doctors. Nothing much new. Just nailing down the treatment schedule and examination for the most part. I start the Monday after Easter with six weeks of daily radiation and chemotherapy for six weeks. Then after twelve weeks, I'll have surgery followed by more chemotherapy.

Today I met the final doctor on my team and overall, I'm really impressed with them all. Comments from hospital staff further confirm the quality of the doctors so that makes me rest easier knowing I have best guys on my side. My next appointment is on Tuesday so that gives me some time to relax for a bit. Looking forward to this weekend. Miss being on the bike so maybe I'll get a chance to get out for at least a few miles... See you next week.


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Location:More gowns

Some good news with a touch of drama...

Thursday I met the doc that would be managing my chemotherapy treatments. Dr. Hsu was very nice and had already looked at the X-rays taken on Wednesday. He said everything looked good and there appeared to be no sign of the cancer spreading to my chest. He gave me a brief exam and left the exam room for a moment while a nurse took some blood. Both my mom and sister were in the exam room with me and soon the nurse was finished. After she left the room, I started to feel a little dizzy. It was then when I heard my sister, who is a nurse, say they had taken too much blood. That was the last thing I remembered... The next thing I remember was waking up flat on my back on the examination table with the doctor and nurse quickly checking my vital signs. It was a scary moment for mom, but my sister and I were giggling about the whole scene on our way out... It was still a good day...


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Wednesday, April 13, 2011

A day of gowns and lead skirts...

Today started at 4am prepping for the tests that would be run today. My first procedure today would be an ultrasound of the tumor to determine it's extent. I'll spare the details other than it wasn't very fun. The results basically confirmed what we already knew- it seems the cancer is fairly localized at this point.

After that, it was time for a series of x-rays to be taken to be positive the cancer hasn't spread into my chest. Won't know the results of the x-rays for a few days but I'm believing that these will show no trace of additional cancer.

Tomorrow I meet with the doctor that will administer my chemotherapy treatments and with the radiation doctor on Friday. I'm expecting treatments to begin soon after so we start punishing this tumor nonstop...


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Tuesday, April 12, 2011

It all started on a Tuesday...

This is my first effort in creating a blog so bear with me as I go along with this... For those who don't know, I have been diagnosed with colon cancer. I thought creating this blog would be a good way to keep family and friends up to date and to document the experience...
 I have felt progressively ill for quite some time now, but when my weight started to fall, it was time to get checked out. To make a long story short, a tumor was found and a biopsy of the mass confirmed it was cancer. It's been a week now, and after several doctors visits we are still not sure if the cancer has spread to the rest of my body. Tomorrow's tests should tell more and we should also have a better understanding as to what sort of treatments I will pursue... but I'm ready...


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