A Visit with The Pulmo

My morning appointment with my pulmonologist, Dr. S, went very well.  He says despite my severe lung disease, they are holding up well through the chemo and the past radiation.  All's stable on the lung front, and thank the gods for that!

Dr. S says every time he sees me he is amazed at how well I seem to be tolerating the chemo.  I told him about the two new chemos and the clinical trial.  It's too early to tell but I did mention that the referral pains were gone, now.  I hope that's a good sign.

Left there, and decided that since I was up and dressed, and now hungry, I should stop and get some breakfast.  So, my sister Nancy and I went to Crackers and Co.  I had the California Eggs Benedict.  Oh, yes, some of my favorite things:  Avocado, eggs, bacon, and spinach!  While I can still eat, I relish things like this.  It was a great morning!

While I was there, Dr. S asked me how I was doing emotionally.  Boy, my doctors all seem very concerned about my emotional state!  I told him I was fine; that I had discussed hospice with Dr. F and my oncologist had said we still had options, so Dr. S was happy with my answer. :)  And, I don't see him again for six months, unless something comes up.

I will admit, though, that between the visit to the pulmonologist and the breakfast, I am exhausted.  I took the walker today; didn't use the scooter.  You know I want to stay on my own two feet for as long as I can.  And while it's certainly good for my psyche, and good for my physical well-being, walking does take its toll on me.

And on that note, I think I'll go see if I can't take a nap.  I didn't sleep well last night, so I can probably use a good forty winks or so.

Live long and prosper!

Only 8 More Xeloda for this Round

I made myself a grilled pepper jack cheese on sourdough with sliced, fresh tomato.  Gotta have something hearty in your tummy before you start taking your Xeloda.  I did my four morning Xeloda along with a B6 and two Turmeric caps.  I have to take four more Xeloda with dinner tonight, then four more with breakfast tomorrow and then I get a week off!  It's not a complete week off; I need to visit my pulmonary doc on Friday.  :)


Last night the Valley of the Sun fell asleep to the sounds of a good summer monsoon.  Lots of wind, rain and thunder and lightning.  It was noisy and yet comforting in the familiarity of nature doing its summer thing.  And gods know we needed the rain.


I finished reading "A Dance with Dragons" by George RR Martin.  It was more of the same, which isn't a bad thing.  But, listen dude, some of us don't have EIGHT YEARS to wait for your next installment, so I respectfully request that you get cracking and get "The Winds of Winter" published.


Jane's scheduled for her colonoscopy tomorrow.  When you have a strong genetic link to that cancer, colonoscopies are something you do with alarming frequency.  My great grandfather, grandfather, father, and oldest brother all died from colon cancer.  My cousin Diane told me that her mom, my Aunt Annie, also had it, although she survived it.  But no one in my family ever had breast cancer, nor esophageal, nor adrenal gland cancer.  I always did have to be different. :D


Now, I'm off to brush my teeth and play a little World of Warcraft then maybe take a nap.  I feel a bit tired today.  Love to all, and be happy today!

Saw Pulmonary Doc Yesterday

... and was he ever happy with my progress.  I think of all the doctors, he was the most taken aback by the esophageal cancer diagnosis.  He kept telling me how amazed he was that I was doing so well, considering how debilitating my treatment regimen can be.

It had been three months since I had seen him, and I had lost 10 lbs, but he said my lungs really sounded great for me. :)  Now I don't have to return to him for four months. 

I had radiation number TWENTY-FIVE yesterday!  Some days, it's hard to drag yourself out there every single week day, but hey, it keeps you alive, so you do it.  And it's not like I have to drive to Peoria or someplace on the west side.  The only problem is surviving the commute through the snowbirds.  Sometimes, they do ... odd things... with their vehicles.

Jane just got up and decided we needed to have pancakes for breakfast.  Ok, that gets my vote.  Better check my glucose first.  My poor glucose numbers get all out of whack after chemo.  Usually by Saturday we're back in my normal range.  And hooray, we are indeed. :D

I have a little One Touch Ultra Mini glucose meter... in pink.  It's fast and very accurate.  They were using it for pre-pet scan testing at East Valley Diagnostic Imaging, and I thought it was ... cute.. and FAST!  So, I went to their website and got a free one.  Oh yes, they can give you a free meter because believe me, they make up their costs in the profits from the test strips.

Well, I hear pancake production has begun in the kitchen, so I must go investigate. ;)

Be happy, all... and keep warm!

Record Breaking WEEK!

Whoa, tomorrow I have to go see my pulmonologist.  That means, I've seen more doctors this week than I normally do all year. Ai carumba!

My PC likes to be kept in the loop, since after all, that P *does* stand for PRIMARY, and he's a hell of a good guy to have in that role.  So, I brought him up to speed with the Oncologist visit and the Surgeon visit, and he said, "You really need to go see Dr. S (pulmo) before that port surgery."  Oh, and that has finally been scheduled for the 14th, next Thursday.

Oh, fine, then... let me make another call.  Well, the Pulmonary practice is pretty busy and I got put on hold, but.. how can one complain when they are playing Barry White?  Oh the memories!  When we were kids, my sister, Sam, ADORED Barry White and she had all his albums, and they were well-played.  That voice.  Like velvet sliding over soft, sun-kissed shoulders... *cough*.. but I digress.

When the quite polite, yet personable woman answered the phone, I told her I needed to see Dr. S and played both my tumor AND my PC-name-dropping cards.  And thus, I see him tomorrow.

If there is one thing that cancer DOES do, it gets you results.  Like the day I called to make my first appointment with the oncologist, the lady said something about two weeks, to which I replied, "well, I have this 4cm tumor in the middle of my chest."  "Hold please."... a moment later, "We'll see you Tuesday."  Yeah, it sucks to have this card to play, but I may as well make use of it.

My sister, Jane, is making me a salmon burger for dinner.  I'm having a hard time eating, so she's spoling me with some of my favorite things, and Nancy is already designing me hats to wear once my hair deserts my head.  I posted on my facebook account that I wondered if, after losing my hair, I would look like Wo Fat.  Then I thought, oh lordy, how many people amongst my FB friends would actually know who the heck Wo Fat WAS?  And how in the world did I even think about him?  I have a very strange mind.