Entry September 04, 2004

One of the tricky things of chemotherapy is that some of the side effects don't manifest until a week or more after treatment. The drugs effect and kill growing cells, cancer is a growing cell mass, or tumor.

Other kinds of cells that are constantly growing include hair, digestive (mouth to butt), blood and skin. There are others too. Blood levels can take a week to drop to levels that cause weakness and low immunity. Another delayed reaction seems to be, for me, the digestive system.

I'm eating ok, still have a good appetite, but I'm not feeling all that great in the gut.
This occurred after the last cycle of chemo, so I know it doesn't last very long, but it makes for a very uncomfortable couple of days.

And as always, each day gets better.

If Penn State wins today, that'll make me feel a lot better.

Entry September 03, 2004

I'm feeling pretty good today. My strength is continuing to return, but more slowly than I would like. I'm looking forward to the day when I can perform a normal, routine activity without making sure that there's a chair nearby. Luckily, we have more chairs in this house than we reasonably should.

We've added a new pill to my daily mix to help clear up a mild case of thrush in my mouth. Chemo can cause mouth sores and other mouth/throat problems, so it's good to stop anything before it gets to the point of a problem. So far, so good.

One of my favorite things to do recently has been to sit on the porch and watch the hummingbirds at our feeder. We've had 5 or more hummingbirds visiting the feeder throughout the summer. They usually fight when they see each other, they are such little jerks. Sadly, the cool nights this week must have triggered their brains to migrate. There is now only one that comes by. She's an immature female that squeaks a lot when approaching the porch. She also comes over to check me out whenever I make a small movement. She's a cutie.

Today's menu:
Breakfast: Bagel w/ cream cheese. Lots of cream cheese. Coffee.

Predicted lunch: Baba ganougj wraps with cheese. Boy, they are good. (The food cart at 16th and JFK Blvd has excellent Baba ganougj. The King of Falafel is their name. Hail to the King, Baby.)

Snack: Carrot and apple juice from the Juiceman Juicer. Still working up the courage to run spinach through the juice machine.
Also maybe sour cream and onion dip with Sun Chips. I'm all about dip.

Dinner: Cheese fondue, with bread and apple slices. I can't wait for 6:00.

Also, since I had several requests to add "frills" to the site, I give you this picture that I found when I put "frills" into the Google Image Search. Enjoy.

Entry September 02, 2004

Today is almost a week since my last dose of Chemo, and I'm feeling pretty well. My mantra is "Each Day Gets Better", and it is true. There is a noticeable difference from day to day.

Today I shaved for the second time since the beginning of July. It was a big deal to me. The chemo did rob me of a lot of my hair, but not all of it. Chemo affects different people different ways, and I'm lucky that I have a fairly decent head of short hair still. Lyn swears that it's growing. I dunno. My facial hair mostly fell out, except for a few stubborn hairs that actually grew since my last shave.. They got shaved today.

Let's talk more about my hair. Body hair.
Other people have gone completely bald, from head to toes. I have not.
I tell you this because I have been asked about it more than once.

Since I've lost about 30 pounds since July, they want me to eat high calorie foods and gain as much weight as I can. During chemo, I have NOOOO desire to eat and am usually a little nauseous. So when I feel good, I have doctor's orders to eat badly.

Today's Meals so far:
Breakfast: Bagel heaped high with cream cheese and a cuppa coffee.
Lunch: 2 Baba Ganouhj tortilla wraps with feta cheese, cheddar cheese and some hot sauce.
Snacks: iced tea and cashews

Dinner as planned: Red potatoes with butter, Catfish, and most likely some sort of cheese thing.
Dessert: Waffles and ice cream.

See y'all tomorrow.