Damn, baby what’d you do to your hair?
OK, so its pretty obvious that I haven’t been keeping up with this journal like I planned to. Oh well… It’s pretty obvious that the deeper I go into treatment, the less time
I’ve spent updating this journal. Can someone say fatigue and lack of motivation? But anyway, I’m here now and I’m gonna spill the beans. Obviously have a lot to talk about.
Well, first up on the list, we’ll talk about
hair. Hair is your friend. Hair is good. Hair is a commodity. I have lost a lot of my hair. I’d say about the 3rd week of May, it started to come out in clumps. Bald straight through to the scalp is
certain areas. Luckily, this happened the day AFTER my sisters graduation, so I was very happy about the timing. About this time, certain other parts of my body were going bald as well. Let’s just say that the boys are
bare now… Yes, I can dare to wear short-shorts! (Ultra obscure reference!) So, the day of chemo #6 I shaved my hair off. It was a family bonding experience, my dad and sister helped me. An even 1/8 inch all
the way around. Very weird. About a week after that, I shaved off the last of my facial hair. Since then, various parts of my body have been shedding off and on. Yes, ALL my hair is falling out. Even my
eyebrows. This especially makes me look freaky. Kind of like Pink Floyd in The Wall, when he shaves off all his eyebrows. Oh well, at least I’ll be able to shave a few milliseconds off my swimming scores (assuming I went
swimming)! People have told me that I look pretty good with a bald head. I appreciate that. I think that of all the people, it’s hardest for me to take. I look at myself everyday and notice all the subtle
changes. It’s also the fact that cancer has done this to me… But I’m not going to let it get me too down. I’m getting more and more used to it. Sometimes I even forget that I don’t have any hair…
If you’ve been
keeping up with the treatment schedule (which is about the only thing that I’ve updated recently), you’ll notice that I’m staying on schedule now. That is the effects of the wonder drug they call Neupogen. Of course, with all
good things, there are some bad. First bad thing is the cost. Thank god for insurance! A ten day supply of vials costs $1500! Makes me really feel like I’m getting my money’s worth for that $10 co-pay 
Then,
there is the fact that I have to inject myself with the stuff. After a few weeks of practice, this isn’t too difficult. Although, I must say that the day the nurse showed me what to do, I was sweating a ton. I was so
nervous, I closed my eyes and didn’t look. AND I WAS THE ONE GIVING THE INJECTION! I asked her if it was in yet and she kept saying "Keep pushing, you haven’t broken the skin yet!" Kinda funny in hindsight.
That first time, I went in at about a 30 degree angle, which is all wrong (90 degrees would be better). But I survived, and have survived many more injections since. Plus, I get to keep a cool red Biohazard container in the
house (I know you’re all jealous). And finally, the other bad thing is the side effects… night sweats, fever and mild to moderate bone pain!!! Well, the first day I woke up and felt like I had built a house. I
could barely move. I really don’t want to recount the whole story, but it was around this time that i had a revelation. I could either feel sorry for myself, or get up and CHOOSE to have a good day. I sucked it up and went
on with life. That first week of neupogen was very tough, because the pain was pretty bad, but I sucked it up. Besides, I was having a good time up in Vermont for my sisters graduation. The good news is that my body has
since gotten used to the neupogen. The pain is much less now and doesn’t last nearly as long.
Ok, so if you’ve been following along at home, you’ll know that my chemo this thursday is #8 and will be the 2/3 point. So, I should
tell you about my mid-treatment ct scans. Well, this time I had the scan at hospital by my house (a different place than the first time). This place had a really up-to-date machine and took no time at all. I think the
whole thing took 10 – 15 minutes. It was really weird because the machine would talk to you and tell you when to hold your breath and when you could breathe again. Plus, I didn’t have to drink yucky chalky stuff that tasted like
bananas. Nope, this time it was only mildly yucky Tang-like stuff.
So, the results of the CT scan were that I have a nearly normal CT scan. The doc says DRAMATIC IMPROVEMENT! The only thing there is a cloud in my chest
where the big tumor was. This is to be expected and is scar tissue that remains from the chemo killing the cancer. I looked at the pictures and in the before one there is this really big thing that looks like another
organ. In the after picture, I can’t seem to find it anywhere, so that’s good. So at least all the stuff I’m doing is working and we’re killing the cancer! Yeah!
Other than that… Chemo is no fun. We’ve
discovered which of the drugs really makes me sick, so we try everything possible to make it easier going in. The fatigue is starting to build up, but each chemo is seemingly a little different. This past chemo was bad for the
first 2 days, but pretty easy (comparatively) after that. The other unfortunate thing is that the constipation is really becoming a problem. Boy, is that side effect no fun! I now have much sympathy for the fairer sex and
their problems with pregnancy
Well, that about does it for now… Stay tuned for our next episode of "As the lymph node turns", as we witness the further destruction of Mr. Reed-Sternberg by the ABVD alliance.
