Author: Bruce McLarty

Today marks my halfway point with radiation therapy. I have 15 left to go. My nurse today said the fatigue could increase being this far along. I hope not. I am already so tired each day. I couldn’t imagine being any more tired.

The doctor’s appointment today was a breeze. I asked about taking supplements and the doctor said to wait until at least 4 weeks after the last treatment. He was in and out. Quick visit with him. The nurse visit was longer.

Kind of uneventful today. The egg bite updated recipe was delicious. Very cheesy, and I could taste the hot sauce.

Thank you for stopping by!
~Bruce

The time tech was there today. She made no mention of me or time at all. Nor should she have. My mom came up. She comes Tuesday and Wednesday. I asked the manager at the treatment center to move my blood work appointments closer to my treatment appointment. I’ve had no luck calling scheduling myself to move it closer. I figured since I had an in with the manager now, due to last week’s debacle, it would be fine. All future blood work appointments are now closer to my radiation therapy appointment, not at 12:45 as previously scheduled. Since I’m ride dependent still, it makes no sense to go and come back hours apart. I explained this multiple times to the scheduler, and they didn’t give two you-know-whats.

So I did my radiation with no problem. The time tech assisted my regular tech. The zapping was easy and fast. I saw my favorite phlebotomist today. She brought me right up for the blood draw. She’s so nice. I enjoy seeing most of the staff there, not the time tech. I’m a nice guy; I treat people how I’d like to be treated. It’s just something that was instilled in me at a young age. It takes you much farther than gruffness and rudeness.

We got done and went to the pharmacy. Last night, I was filling my medication organizer and noticed I was low on my anti-nausea meds. I requested the refill for today, and it was done. I asked Mom to take me, and she did. I had to order some Senokot from Amazon. It was delivered today. Then we came home and watched a movie on Netflix. It was good, Havoc. I know my wife would not enjoy it, so I watched it with Mom today. Then we watched American Primeval, also on Netflix. Very good series.

Tomorrow is more radiation and a doctor appointment to track progress and answer questions. I need to ask about supplements I can take during radiation, if I’m allowed to, and if it will interact with treatment, etc. I’ve heard conflicting answers online, so it’s better to go straight to the source for the answers.

The boys stayed away all day today. Sometimes they like checking on me when my mom is here. Today was not one of those days. They got kisses from their Gammie (my mom), but then they stayed in the front of the house all day.

I forgot to mention, the time tech sounded terrible today. Maybe she got me sick with this sinus infection. Shouldn’t she be home away from immunocompromised patients? Hmm. I wonder.

Stay safe everyone! Thank you for stopping by!
~Bruce

4 weeks of zapping. I am happy to say the side effects I have read about have been minimal for me. I have not had any loss of appetite, no hair loss, and no nausea. I am stoked.

My alarm didn’t go off today, not sure why. I set it for 5 am. I got up around 3 to go to the bathroom. I went back to bed and checked my phone. I drifted off, and my wife was waking me up around 5:10 am. I thought it was still around 3.
Not to worry, I got up with plenty of time to get ready. Bathed and shaved, got dressed, and made breakfast. I took my meds around 5:30 am. I like to eat a banana before my egg bite breakfast. Then I take my meds, then I eat the rest of my breakfast and watch a bit of local news.

We leave early to appease the mean tech who told me in so many words to be there early. We left at 7:50 or so. We got there early as requested. Since the fire, there have been changes to protocols at the treatment center. I no longer check in at the check-in desk. We walk right through and go to a secondary waiting area. I check in and get my ID bracelet and fall risk bracelet. The mean tech was nowhere in sight. I wanted to point her out to my wife and be like, “Look, that’s the meany.” No such luck. My normal tech comes out and gets a guy ahead of me. Guess what? They are running behind a few minutes. We were on time and early! Tech says, “Mr. McLarty, we will be with you after this patient.” Ok guy, see you soon. Zapping takes about 5-7 minutes. My view of the ceiling is below. It’s pretty cool. It’s just a light cover, but it gives a nice picture to look at while you’re getting the radiation zapping.

Thank you for stopping by!
~Bruce

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there.
The boys let us sleep till 6:40 am. Thank you, my furry fellas. 7 am would have been much nicer to sleep in, especially since I didn’t get to bed until after 1 am. We were up late watching a great movie, Echo Valley, and a great show, The Better Sister. Both had great writing. I wish Echo Valley had done more with the ending. It kind of dropped off, but it was fantastic. So far, The Better Sister has been great.

We got up and had breakfast. Took my meds. My normal start to the day. We made egg bites today, as is Sunday tradition now. I doubled up the egg whites along with 18 eggs. I need more hot sauce next time; I prefer Cholula. Very cheesy. This made 46 egg bites. We tried one that broke apart when it was in the cooldown tray, so 45 left. We have 2 bites a day each. I wanted a bagel, so for lunch, I toasted an Asiago bagel from Walmart and had some cream cheese on it. Not super healthy, but I didn’t feel like a sandwich today. It was tasty. I got a nice little steam burn on my wrist from making the egg bites.

The last couple of days, I developed a cough with some phlegm. Mainly just in the morning when I wake up. Hopefully, it’s just a side effect from the chemo, etc. I noticed some sinus drainage Friday night at dinner. My nose was a bit runny. Saturday I woke up with the cough. Today wasn’t as bad. My wife has had some symptoms as well—sneezing and sinus issues. I gave her a Nectar pack to try last night. It seemed to help her with hydration and made her feel somewhat better. She found a bag of Liquid IV and had one today. I can’t have my caretaker taken down by sickness. I’m already immune compromised.

Got done with the egg bites and lunch just in time for the pre-race show today. Montreal GP was decent. Finally got to see the two McLarens come together, and Lando was taken out. I’d much prefer Oscar retire from the race to close up the gap in the championship. Max finished P2. Not a bad result. Mercedes 1, 3.

Tomorrow, Monday, back at it again. More radiation zapping. We have to leave at 7:55 am to get there early so the tech doesn’t come down on me too hard. She was feisty telling me about being late. Not really late, but they want us there 15 minutes prior. We got this. I told my mother about it as well. She brings me Tuesday and Wednesday, so she will have to leave her house a few minutes earlier.

Thank you for stopping by!
~Bruce

Pushed hard to get there early today. Yesterday the tech mentioned to get in early as instructed. We did. It was an easy drive over, just a bit of Saturday shopping traffic. I got signed in, and they wheeled me right back. Radiation was quick today.

We went to Walgreens after to pick up some birthday cards and Father’s Day cards. I sat in the Jeep jamming out to some music while my wife went in to shop. I forgot how good the speakers are in my Jeep. Put on some Shaboozey and some Colter Wall. Nice mood music for after radiation therapy.

Got finished and headed back home. My wife made me a sandwich and some chips. I had a nice juicy peach and a plum afterward. It wasn’t a Mackinac peach; those are only in season two weeks a year according to Newman. Want the pit?

I watched Formula 1 FP3 and am currently waiting for Quali to come on. Another hour or so. I like the early time for F1. When it’s in this hemisphere, the schedule puts it late like this. I’d rather watch in the morning and be done than wait around all day for quali/race.

I took a bit of a nap after FP3, maybe 45 minutes. I needed it. I was a bit tired today after therapy. I also woke up with a bit of a cough today. Hoping it doesn’t progress. I told my radiation tech, and she said to message the patient portal, which I did. They don’t really respond on the weekend. I do take an antibiotic daily during chemo.

All in all, a good day so far. Just tired and weak. Not much fatigue like before. My head sweats are here post-zapping. It happens.

My boys have abandoned me once again. Pancake hung out for a bit, but Chip is not around. He must be in a sun patch in the front of the house. I want a snuggle from him.

Thank you for stopping by!
~Bruce

Time is a funny thing. It keeps ticking and never stops.
We try to manage our time, but sometimes time gets away from us. I’m usually always on time. Sometimes there’s traffic and other circumstances that put you behind. Today, the tech asked me in so many words to ask my wife to get me there 15 minutes prior to each appointment. No problem. We will leave a bit earlier. She said it just messes with their flow when we are late. We were 5 minutes late today. My normal tech wouldn’t say anything. At least, I don’t believe he would.

So tomorrow, we will be there early. Just gotta allow for traffic, etc. Tomorrow is Saturday. Normally, I don’t have Saturday appointments; this is a makeup day from the fire at the hospital on Monday. I get up early, so that is not the issue. Driving and leaving is the issue. Traffic sucks.

This morning, Chip was extra cute. He climbed on me. He was very talkative today. I love when he tells me things. He walks in and pauses. I say, “Hi Baby,” and his tail pops up straight as an arrow. He loves being called Baby. He loves all his nicknames. He won’t come in until I greet him and say, “Hi Baby.” Pancake just sits in the hall looking in. He doesn’t really respond to me that often. He just likes to swarm me when I go in the kitchen. They both like to knock over my cane when I am in the kitchen. They rub their faces on it, or they like to smack it to knock it over. Silly boys.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Thank you for stopping by!
~Bruce

Today was a good day. Got up, made breakfast, ate, watched the news, and took my meds. I started the day without a hitch. When it was time for my chemo meds, I took them. You have to take them an hour before radiation treatment. I got ready and headed to the treatment center. It is nice being able to ride in my Jeep. I miss driving, as you know. I am hopeful to drive soon. My vision is much better these days. I need to start wearing my glasses again. I can see great with my sunglasses going to radiation.

We arrived; it’s only a 12-15 minute drive from the house to the hospital where the radiation center is. Upon arrival, the receptionist explained what happened yesterday with me being passed over in the hall. Apparently, someone instructed us to wait on the first floor, and the medical assistant would call us up for blood work. This did not happen. We were told to head up to the second floor and wait there, and someone would come get us. Okay, no big deal—a communication breakdown. Yesterday, a floor manager and an assistant came to speak to me regarding the long wait. They were adamant about us being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I don’t think so. They told us to head up to the second floor. I understand the confusion. It was a madhouse. They were just doing their jobs, and there was a breakdown. I mean, there was a fire, and they were just trying to work through the madness.

All apologies. The entire staff I encountered today was apologetic regarding the long wait. I’m an easy-going type of guy. Little things like this don’t bother me. I was just tired of waiting in the hall for such a long time. My mother was with me. She took a couple of pictures of me sleeping in the hall waiting for the phlebotomist to bring me back.

Today’s treatment was easy. They took me right back and got the zapping started. About 9 minutes of radiation, and I was on my way back home. They were supposed to have me on a Zoom call with my Radiation Oncologist, Dr. PG, but that email for the Zoom never came through. As I was climbing up in the Gladiator, Rooster (my Jeep’s name), the receptionist came out to talk to us. She said to watch for an email today regarding the Zoom call. That never came. I checked most of the morning until a nurse called a few hours later and asked if I had any questions for the doctor. I did not have any, and she said she would tell the doctor no questions. I have another appointment regularly scheduled for tomorrow. Saturday will be the makeup day for the missed appointment on Monday due to the fire at the hospital.

Thank you for stopping by!
~Bruce

They sent me back to the fire location today, our normal radiation center. They had it pretty much covered for the patients getting back to normal for the radiation zaps. The delay was when they sent me for bloodwork. I had my radiation no problems.

After radiation I ask about bloodwork because I’m scheduled at the other location at 10:55am. It’s 9:15am at the moment. The receptionist says I am getting your scheduled here hold on a sec. So I do. She then says go on up to the second floor. We proceed up and a security guard stops us to tell us we weren’t permitted to go up yet. Ok, we head back in. She then says go on up as we are getting it finalized. Ok we do that. We head up and the blood center is not open to the public. We ask another person there and they tell us to sit in the hallway with some other patients. We do that. Mind you the blood draw is only like 5 minutes. Fast forward 90 minutes and I’m literally falling asleep in the hall from waiting so long. I signal to a coodinator and she comes over and asks what we are waiting for. About 90 minutes lol. I ask what’s going on and she goes to find out. Apparently the blood lab did not know we were there and there was some kind of drop of the ball (I’m the ball) So they wheel me back, take my blood and want to send a manager over for a CYA moment I suppose. I’m not a complainer. I didn’t even want to speak to the manager.

That’s it. I got left in a hallway for 90 minutes for a 5 minute blood draw. Not a big deal. Not like I have anything to do today. Just sat there and fell asleep. It is what it is. It was exciting, lol jk not really.

Thank you for stopping by!
~Bruce

If you can please consider donating/purchasing from this for me.

https://registry.wegotthis.org/registries/bruce-mclarty

Today I went for radiation treatment at a college campus due to the closure of the normal center from the fire. Tomorrow they said to come back to the normal one at the appointed time per my patient portal. We tried to go for bloodwork today but were way too early for the draw. They have me scheduled at one place for my radiation and another for bloodwork. Fingers crossed I don’t have to go to two separate facilities.

I couldn’t sleep too well overnight. I got up at 4:30 AM. I quietly got ready so as not to disturb the cats or my wife. I had some breakfast early and took my meds. I ordered a pill organizer on Amazon, and it made it much simpler and easier to just take a handful at a time rather than open each bottle one by one. I don’t know why I didn’t do it sooner. This one has 3 snap pouches for them: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I don’t know what it’s called. Brain fog and whatnot.

Not much else to report today. Mom came up and took me to my appointment. We tried to make an Amazon return, but the parking lot was taped off, and they were resurfacing it.

Thank you for stopping by!
~Bruce

This weekend was filled with cabin fever. Saturday was brutal for it. I really felt the fever. Yesterday we made egg bites for a couple of weeks. It gave me purpose. We had leftover cassoulet. Easy dinner. Dump and bake basically. Last night we ventured out for some ice cream. I had a small sundae with hot fudge and marshmallow topping. It was so yummy—whipped cream, nuts, and a cherry on top.

This morning I got up at 5:30 a.m. I had my alarm set for 5:00 a.m., but I didn’t hear it. I got up, got ready, took my meds, and had breakfast; the egg bites hit! I watched some news.

As we were heading for radiation, I received a phone call but could not answer it fast enough. I saw it was a local number, so I called back immediately. It’s a floor supervisor from the treatment center. He asked if we were at the center yet. We were not; we had just left the house and were about 15 minutes away. He then informed me there was a fire on the second floor, and he was calling all patients to tell them not to come. We made a U-turn and headed back to the house. Radiation-free day today. Yippee! I don’t mind the radiation, but it’s nice not to have to go.

I’m making a meatloaf tonight. I love homemade meatloaf. This is a combination of my Granny’s and my mom’s recipe. I don’t have an egg, so I will substitute some mayo in it. It’s an easy recipe and doesn’t take long. I like squishing the raw meat between my fingers to mix it.

Thank you for stopping by!
~Bruce