This was originally an email written to my family and friends on the date above. I decided to make these public in the event they may be helpful to someone in the future who is embarking on a similar journey to mine.
Hi Everyone–
So far so good with the 4th treatment. I’m doing a good bit of resting, but the nausea has been controlled so far and the other side effects aren’t any worse than before. I’ve also been able to be on my laptop for a few hours this morning with a pretty good concentration level. I’m quite hopeful that continues.
Last week (my “off” week) was excellent. I got a ton of stuff done at work, including releasing a product we’ve been building for the last year:
I’ve also been tinkering around with creating a Status Board for our team. I will show various company metrics as well as other salient details. Some friends have recently released an iPad app to create a nice looking Status Board, so I’ve been making modules for it. I added support to it for my GameTonight app as our office is mere blocks from the Pepsi Center (NBA and Hockey) and Coors Field (Baseball) in downtown Denver:
http://gametonight.in/
The plan is to put a big TV in the office and have it up there where everyone can see it. So yay for a good work week, I love building and shipping things!
Last weekend I went to the driving range for the first time since my surgery. This past weekend I played 9 holes both days. I’m pleased to report I’m back to griping about (and working on) my poor swing mechanics again and not concerning myself with physical limitations. I rode in a cart both times instead of walking (Heather and Caitlin joined me on Sunday to make it a family event). I wasn’t too worn out afterward, so I think I’ll probably ready to play 18 (with a cart) – at least the second weekend after treatment, I’ll be seeing how I do on the first week after treatment weekend this coming weekend.
I met with my surgeon last week to let him review my ostomy wound and discuss concerns about Avastin. He felt strongly that this was just normal surgery stuff (can be managed as it evolves) and not related to the Avastin, so I’m back on the Avastin for this cycle. The wound did manage to spit out what appears to be the “tails” from a stitch and has felt better since then, so maybe that’s what it was trying to do. Heather warned me about including too much information about this particular topic, but I did want to follow up and say it’s doing OK.
This is the 4th of 12 scheduled treatments in this regimen, so I’m 1/3 of the way there. I have a PET scan scheduled for May 22 (after the 5th treatment) and that will be our first chance to see what sort of effects the treatments are having.
The side effects are lasting longer with each treatment, as predicted, so I’ll continue to keep notes and see how things go this time. Hopefully I’ll continue to find ways to do the things I want to do and be somewhat productive as I deal with them.
And my defending champion fantasy baseball team has managed to come back from a 0-2 start to the season to even up their record at 2-2 – so I’ve got that going for me, which is nice.
This post is part of the thread: Cancer – an ongoing story on this site. View the thread timeline for more context on this post.