Saturday - 9/25 - College Football + Couch = Nap

Today is just a day of college football and rest. I'm feeling a little more tired than normal today. I had two cups of coffee yesterday and one cup today. Maybe that's thrown off my system.

A nice nap on the couch may clear things up.

Any ideas for dinner?

Eric's Recipe for Humus

Eric's simple and ever-changing recipe for Humus
If you ask me for my humus recipe again in two months, it will have no doubt changed as I experiment with new ingredients and techniques. Recipes are living things.

You'll need a food processor for this recipe, unless you have an exceptional blender.

Ingredients:
Two 16 ounce cans of Progresso Chick Peas (I like this brand best)
Three or four cloves of garlic (not bulbs, cloves)
One lemon
Eight to twelve sprigs fresh parsley
Two tablespoons of tahini (sesame paste, most grocery stores have it in the "ethnic" isle)
Half teaspoon salt
Half teaspoon ground black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil

Optional ingredients:
One medium shallot (this is a new variation to my recipe. Yummy!)
Half teaspoon ground cumin
Half teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
Teaspoon Chili powder

In the food processor add the garlic, parsley and the juice of the lemon. Remove any seeds from the lemon and remove the fibrous stalks of the parsley. Add the shallot if you are including it. Pulse the processor until any large pieces of garlic are gone.

Open and rinse well the two cans of chick peas. Add them to the processor along with the tahini, salt, black pepper and the other spices. Add about 1/4 cup of olive oil.

Turn on processor and let the blades begin to puree the mixture. As it thickens, very slowly add more oil so that the consistency is smooth and creamy. This way you can control the amount of oil in the recipe. The more oil you add, the creamier and richer the final product will be.

Occasionally stop and taste. Adjust the spices to your liking, if necessary.

Serve the humus in a bowl with pita bread wedges for dipping. Garnish with chopped scallions or parsley.

OR

Serve in a sandwich wrap: If I had a hollow leg, I could eat this all day.
Tortilla wrap
Several tablespoons of humus
Sliced tomato
Sliced cucumbers
Crumbled feta cheese
Onion slices
Sprigs of lettuce or spring mix
A few dashes of a hot sauce of your choice

Friday, 9/24 - Nothing better than humus

Still tired, but improving.

It's a fantastic feeling to regain yourself from a fog. For the past 12 weeks I haven't been myself, I wish I could have slept through the entire process. Where's a good coma when you need one?

I guess I don't have much to say today, it's just another day of me sitting around practicing my breathing exercises, eating humus and reading alternative medicine books. I've turned into a hippie.

Ich bin ein Hippie.

Thursday, 9/23 - RIP

Today is a somber day. I hadn't mentioned this before, but today is the funeral for a member of my support group at the Wellness Community. We found out on Tuesday night that she passed away on Sunday from advanced breast cancer. She had been fighting it for 6 years.

Noreen was only 37 years old. Doing the math, she was 31 when she was diagnosed. Her youngest child (9) never knew her mother without cancer.

I had only met her once at a group meeting. She spoke about being at peace with her fate and would accept whatever happened to her. She had been very ill as her latest treatment wasn't working as well as they hoped. Despite that, she was very positive about getting better.

Obviously the other members of the group knew her much better than I, so it was very voyeuristic sitting there as they shared their grief and memories. I imagine that the meetings will continue to be tough in the next few weeks.

I urge every woman that is reading this blog to go and get your regularly scheduled mammogram. I've met several women in the past year with various kinds and stages of breast cancer, and I've come to know it as an ugly monster. Early detection is your best defense.

I hate to sound like a Public Service Announcement, but it is important.

Today's TV rant: Extreme Home Makeover
What are the criteria for determining what makes a "deserving family". Sure, crappy things may have happened to these people, but do they really "deserve" it? Makeover a Camden row home and then I'll buy into the concept.

Wednesday the 22nd, Where did my Summer go?

Yesterday's doctor's appointment was long, but good. My blood work is at good levels, and will hopefully improve as time carries on.

I have my follow-up scans next week.
Monday: CT Scan and Bone Scan
Wednesday: PET Scan

We have tentatively scheduled an appointment with the doctor for Oct 1st, Friday, to talk about the results. Not much else to do until then except get stronger and healthier.

There's so many things I want to do, I'm again frustrated by my lack of strength and energy. I know it will get better, but after 12 weeks of this nonsense, I'm impatient.

And is it just me, or are the writers for CSI and Law & Order getting lazy? I used to enjoy those shows because of the clever and compelling story lines. Now the plot twists are as logical and plausible as the script to Battlefield Earth. (That's really bad.)

Tuesday, 9/21

Today I have a follow up appointment with the doctor to check my blood levels and general health. Pretty standard stuff. The appointment is for 1:45, so that means we may not get out of there until tonight (they get backed up).

Since I'm feeling fairly good today, as the trend goes, I suspect that my blood counts should be at expected levels. The roller coaster ride of changing blood counts should be done. As I get over the last dip, my blood should start to recover to levels I had when I was "healthy."

At least that's the way I understand it.

What's next? I don't know. I think it all depends on the level of ass-kicking the chemo did. I continue to be positive since I've seen nothing to make me think otherwise.

On a different topic, we are now in Week Two of the Tony Danza Show. This atrocity must end. I caught about 15 minutes of the show today, and wow, it was like watching a cat lick a sore.

Any thoughts? Leave a comment on the blog.

Monday, September 20

I'm coming out of my temporary fog. This last round of chemo seemed to do throw me for a pretty harsh tumble. I'm very tired, as usual, but the last few days I was feeling very beaten.

It's like when you have a bad headache, you can't seem to remember what it feels like to NOT have a headache. As your headache fades away, you look back and marvel at just how bad you felt. It's hard to believe that you tolerated feeling that badly.

That's how I feel coming out of chemo. Know what I mean?

If anyone ever offers you cancer, just say "NO!"

Last night I was up until 2:30 with the overwhelming urge to listen to Pearl Jam CDs and sip single malt scotch. I stayed in bed, of course.

Today is a day of listening to music and sipping Gatorade. It would be more romantic to say that I was listening to old records in the dark, sipping my single malt, but alas. I haven't had a sip of alcohol since the beginning of July. I really have no desire for it. I don't think it would hurt anything. Some of the Whole Foods texts I've been reading have recommended some moderate consumption. All in due time.

Surprisingly, unfiltered beer is recommended in the macrobiotic diet. Wine is forbidden. Go figure.

Thank you to all who e-mailed while I was away from my blog. I figured that I would have been able to at least make small entries, but I was wrong.