Later on in Cycle 6 Day 4

The run went great, just under 12K at just over 6min/K with a relaxed heart rate and some good conversation with friends along the way.  After having some coffee and hot-crossed buns with the running group I came home then met Lori at the track with her recovery drinks and a nutrition bar for her post recovery snack.  I have just finished taking off the winter tires and putting on the summer tires and am about to make some lunch then enjoy a sunny afternoon of relaxing...

Have a good Easter and type at you tomorrow (the last day of Prednisone).

Happy Easter Cycle 6 Day 4

Sorry for leaving you hanging for a few days.  Thursday (Day 1) was a rough one, it hit me hard and I could not do much of anything other than lay there saying I was OK.  No nausea just drained with no energy.

Friday (Day 2) I was feeling really good and back to my normal self, I went out to the yard and prepped the patio for the upcoming spring/summer season.  Spent most of the day outside in the sun and it felt great.  We went to a friends' place for dinner and had a very nice meal, came home and could not sleep!  I mean nothing... no sleep, I worked on the computer for a bit watched a few movies and got to bed a little after 6:15 in the morning and woke up about 7:30 to start my Day 3.

Day 3 was spent finishing up the patio work and shopping, I felt good for the day and managed to stay awake throughout; although, it was an early to bed night.  We have a couple of house guests for the day as they are in the process of packing up their place and getting ready to travel across North America for 6 months in their 5th wheel, fortunately they were tired from moving and did not mind the early night.

Day 4 (today) I slept well  last night and am feeling very good this morning.  I am planning on heading out for a run with a few friends who will keep the pace slow enough for me to stay with them.  I hope to run around 10K with them before heading back to put the coffee on for their return.
Lori is out for her last long run prior to Boston and will be out there for just under 4 hours today so I'll need to be home to support her on her return.  You know the usual things like having some food and drinks ready for when she gets back, drawing the bath so she can soak and putting out her favourite magazine on the patio table under the umbrella so that she can read/nap for a bit with the birds chirping around her.

Almost done this last cycle of CVP+R and then I am on a maintenance program...

Post drip...

I have been home for a few hours now but have been wiped out so laid down for a while after lunch; I have survived the day but have also felt better after a treatment so am keeping this short.

Just tired and a bit sore, nothing to worry about.  I'll catch you up tomorrow.

Cycle 6 Day 1

I have to report form yesterday's test results and onc appointment; first my blood work came out as expected, white cell and platelets a tad low but acceptable.  then the results of the x-ray were a bit surprising, the result came back that the nodule seen on the CT was gone, the radiologist had to refer to the CT to even know where to look.  This means that my immune system took care of the lung infection, good news!

I am getting ready for my final go at the big drip and will let you all know when I am safely at home tucked in on the couch for the final time; a very happy day for Lori and I.  It seems like only a short while ago when we were talking about what to expect from the treatments and this has gone far better than we ever imagined.

More later on...

only two days before the last...

Up early today, decided I was feeling like going for a run this morning.  I strapped on my runners and headed out for a 30 minute run with Lori.  She took it easy on me and we did a familiar 5KM out and back along the water.  It was good to be out there and although it has been a while for me my legs seemed like they knew what to do, even though they did complain a bit.

I am heading in to the office to work for the day as it is fiscal year end and I have reports to complete and present, plus some goal setting for the upcoming year and this will be my last opportunity for a few weeks so I will take full advantage of it.

Tomorrow is a day of appointments and testing, I'll let you know what they say but I am expecting to hear that everything is fine and we are good to go for Thursday's final drip.

Later

Getting ready for the final big drip

I am anxiously awaiting this week, the final big drip!  I saw the GP late last week and they are happy with how I am progressing and how healthy I look after five cycles.  The 6th and final cycle starts this Thursday and I have a long Easter weekend to recover from it, prior to turning my attention to our trip to Boston.

This weekend was spent "up island" in the Comox valley where Lori ran a half-marathon and came in 6/23 for her age group in tough chilly/windy conditions; her time was better than last year and just off of a PB (personal best) for the distance.  She has one more long run before the trip and then she has the long awaited taper and recovery period prior to the trip.

This coming week I have the usual blood tests, a chest X-ray to check the progress of my lung infection followed by an appointment with the Onc and then the final big drip on Thursday.  I'll keep you posted as I learn the results of the tests and such.

Thanks

Cycle 5 Day 8

The meds have been done for a few days now and I am feeling my normal self, helped a friend move their mother (in-law) and did a few things around the house, then an afternoon nap.  A normal Saturday...

It is very nice to think that only one more treatment and they will all be normal Saturday's.  We are both looking forward to having this well behind us!

Thanks to all for their support it has made the difference.

Cycle 5 Day 7

Feeling much better today, I had a good sleep last night and no sign of the edginess or jitters... very happy.  My hands and feet are a little bit more numb than they have been but still tolerable and not impacting my dexterity so I can live with it. 

Lori received her Boston marathon starting information yesterday and she is now officially excited about running the event, wave 3 corral 3.  Look out Cheesecake Factory here she comes.

Cycle 5 Day 6

Today was the usual jittery day 6 as I start the down swing from the Prednisone and the immune systems starts to gradually decline before climbing back up to normal levels.

I did not sleep all that well last night and it had an effect on my day but I managed a good day of work and don't feel too worse the ware for it; as I said a normal day 6 and tomorrow should be similar but a little better and then I should be recovered from the worse of this cycle and ready for the home stretch and the final cycle!

Cycle 5 Day 5

Today is the last day of meds for cycle 5!  I am very happy for this, I slept great last night and am feeling good today; which is good as I have a busy day of work ahead of me.

Cycle 5 Day 4

I made it through the day, hardly grumpy at all.  I am pretty worn-out from th ehard work and lack of sleep but made it.  an evening of relaxing is in my future...

Only one more day of meds this cycle and then only one more cycle to go!!!

Cycle 5 Day 3

A busy day in the yard and in the house... the steroids hit me pretty hard today and I was not able to focus all that well and had a short fuse today.  The littlest things seem to throw me off; I drank lots of water and gave Lori the heads up when she returned from her 5 K race this afternoon.

It was still a productive day and nobody got hurt so it was successful!

Cycle 5 later on in Day 2

I had a good day today in the garden and spending some time with our neighbour's daughter, she is 5 years old and enjoys "helping" with the yard work.  I felt good throughout the day and had a bit of a relax afterwards.

I received a neat little gift from some friends who have been reading the blog and decided to use a play on words so gave me an Ankh (symbol of life) because I mention going to the Onc's all the time in the blog; thank you very much guy's it gave me a reason to pull out the silver chain I have had in the box for the past few years.

Lori has her 5K race in Sidney tomorrow so wish her speed and good weather...

Cycle 5 Day 2

The rest of yesterday was OK I relaxed until Lori came home then we ate and I relaxed a bit more before going to bed and having a broken sleep.  I feel pretty well rested this morning and plan on hydrating and doing some yard-work for the day with rest periods as desired.

Oh, and did I mention only 1 cycle left now!!!

Cycle 5 Day 1

Well the big drip is done and behind me...

All went as expected and I am now at home and about to hit the couch for the afternoon, I am feeling fine with no issues at all from today's treatment other than the usual stuff of course.

'til tomorrow

Good news, bad news update

I have just come back from my visit with my oncologist; their review of the CT scan report is as follows.

I am responding very well to the treatments and the lymphoma is as well (well for me not the lymphoma).  All areas of involvement show dramatic improvement with most showing a lack of presence in the latest scan, this means the lymphoma is disappearing.

The rogue node I referred to is not a node at all, it is a nodule in my lung tissue, the onc. said that it is extremely unlikely to be cancer as it was not there prior to starting chemo and cancer does not grow well during chemo, it could be a small benign growth which we would keep an eye on or it could be an infection.  I am being referred to a respirologist to determine what is is and the next course of action, if any.

Bottom line is things are going very well cycle 5 starts tomorrow and the referral will be made, it will likely be about a month before I can see the respirologist.

I'll write when I am home tomorrow...

Update on those tests my GP sent me for...

The swab came back negative, this is good.  The blood-work showed all was well, with the usual slightly lower platelets and white blood cells counts due to the chemo but these were all high enough that I do not need to worry too much about an infection. 

Of course since the tests were done I have pretty much shaken the cold and am ready to start Cycle 5 on Friday.  Yes, Friday there has been a slight schedule change as my regular Onc is back from sabbatical and was not available until tomorrow which means the big drip is Friday.

I'll let you know how it goes with him when I get back from my appointment.

Bad news is getting better

I think I am past the worst of my cold, I had a bit of fever on Friday and felt awful.  Since my fever got up past the magic 38'C (sign of an infection) I called the agency and spoke with the nurse; I mentioned that I had a cold and a high fever as well as my GP sending me in for blood work on Thursday.   She was able to see the results of the test and determined that I was strong enough to fight it off but if my temperature went any higher to call the on-call oncologist; it didn't so I didn't.  I went back to bed and completed my 36+ hours of rest.  I woke up on Saturday feeling better and today I am better than yesterday with only a few sniffles and a bit of coughing, no fever and no aches.  I should be well enough to start cycle 5 on time this week as scheduled.

That's the update for now, I'll post again when something changes or after I visit the oncologist.