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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

As long as I have a task to do, I feel like I can power through the cabin fever. Today we made egg bites. I changed the recipe a bit. I added some egg whites and hot sauce. Staying busy kept my mind active. My wife said she could see in my face that I was better today. I felt better doing this task.

I think we will go for a drive in a bit. Maybe take the roof off the Jeep. We haven’t done that yet. It is hot out, though, so maybe not. I’m not too sure yet. It depends on how I feel when I go outside. I know my wife has done so much this weekend, and I don’t want to overwork her or give her too much to do. Driving me around may not be fun for her. It will get me out of the house, though.

Chip wanted to help with the egg bites at the end of preparation. He was on the counter sniffing everything I had out. He was my inspector royale. He made sure the bags were closed and the bacon crumbles were sealed. He’s a good sous chef. If only he could prep for me all the things. Then he’d be my sous hero.

We have developed a system with the egg bites. They make fast, and we prep fast. My wife helps with the cleanup at the end. I get pretty dizzy by the end of it. My job is to prep, season, and blend. I then pour into the molds and get them in the steamer baskets. They take about 12 minutes to fully cook. Not too bad. We made six trays of seven bites each tray. This will be good for a couple of weeks for us for breakfast.

I feel like the chemo messes with my head. I feel a buzzing sensation about an hour after I take the chemo. I get brain fog from it daily, more so lately. There’s an all-encompassing feeling of angst throughout my body after I take the TMZ. It lasts a few hours. It’s gone now, but I feel weird all day from it. I’m down to 6mg of the steroid total per day. I was on 8mg per day. I don’t like the taper, but I need to follow the doctor’s orders. It’s been 3 days since I’ve tapered them down. I think I have leveled out with it. Time will tell. I’m still wobbly. It takes me a moment to get up and start walking. Funny story, every time I get up, I fart. Maybe it’s the meds. I’ve never been gassy like this. I apologize to my wife each time, as I have never farted this much in my life. Farts are funny. They’ll never not be funny. These meds are making my body do weird things.

So today was better with the cabin fever. Today didn’t suck.

Thank you for stopping by!
~Bruce

This isn’t a positive, uplifting blog. This just sucks. Sometimes you just get wrapped up in your own world that you feel the walls closing in. Today is one of those days. I have cabin fever today and I can’t do anything about it. I sit in a room with a TV. My cats ignore me. The world around me continues. I would love to go out for a drive, a walk, a run. I can’t. My body won’t let me. The fatigue is killing me. It’s all I can do just to make it to the bathroom to pee. How can I do normal things? I feel like a burden at times. I try to do things on my own. It’s f’n hard. Some days I don’t let it affect me. Today is not one of those days. It is difficult today.

Tonight I made a cassoulet. It was good. It felt good to cook. I was somewhat creative with the dish.
Low points on WW. No carbs. We enjoyed it.

Cabin fever isn’t just boredom; it’s this weird agitated restlessness that can feed anxiety, sadness, and physical fatigue—which I am feeling hard today.

So how can I combat it? Any suggestions? I’m open to anything. I have some adult coloring books and colored pencils. I could do this tonight. I’ve watched movies, shows, news. There’s no Formula 1 this week. Maybe that’s part of it.

I am in my head today. Where else can I be? I take my meds. Sometimes the routine is just boring af. I feel it.

I just saw a commercial for a Peroni. I’d love one. It’s the only beer I used to enjoy. Well, I did like Guinness back in the day. I haven’t had a drink since well before the diagnosis. I was never really a drinker before, but I do enjoy a frosty Peroni.

Tomorrow I will have some tasks to combat the fever. I gotta make egg bites for the week. I’m gonna mix in some egg whites into it to see about a more healthy version.

Chip came in to sit and hang. It’s nice seeing your cat every once in a while. Thanks for hanging with me, Chippy. He can be such a fart face at times.

Thanks for stopping by
~Bruce

I feel accomplished completing the 2nd week of radiation.
My body is adjusting to the routine. The fatigue is the worst side effect so far.

Chemo continues daily. Meds continue. Life continues. I’m happy for Friday. No appointments tomorrow. No radiation. Just meds and routine.

I wish I was in a better state physically. Metallica is playing at Raymond James tonight and tomorrow. First show in Tampa in 15 years. I would love to go to this show. Concerts are a happy place for me. The last one before my diagnosis was Gary Clark Jr. That was one of my favorite shows I’ve ever attended. Music and comedy are my go-tos.

My double vision is much better. I can see down the road more as we are traveling to the treatment center for radiation. No longer am I squinting one eye to watch TV or see normally. Distance vision isn’t 100% yet, but it’s getting there. My vertigo is present. That really has not changed much.

I got my steroid refilled yesterday. I tapered down to 6mg, 2mg 3x daily. I was on 8mg/day. I tapered yesterday to ration out my last few doses; I felt good with it.

I made a TikTok dinner last night. It was easy: Million Dollar Tortellini. The recipe calls for ground beef, but I had some rotisserie chicken breast, cut that up, half a bag of spinach, a small pack of Buitoni tortellini, a jar of Alfredo, a can of pizza sauce as it was pre-seasoned, some pepperoni, and two slices of mozzarella torn into pieces and scattered over the top. I baked it for an hour, covered with foil, at 350 degrees. It was delicious, and surprisingly it was only 5 points on WW. We had a salad with it. I will have a small portion for lunch today.

Tonight is Friday, so we are going to have some Chick-fil-A. My fave.

Thank you for stopping by for an early blog.
~Bruce

Today was a better day. No delays like yesterday. Pretty straightforward. Got up like normal, got ready, ate, took my meds, and read some news. Took my chemo meds and made our way to the appointment. Parked valet, and the attendant kept my Jeep close. I told her that only Tuesdays and Wednesdays we would need it parked. She is very nice and keeps it close on the short days. Thank you.

We arrived at the treatment center desk, and I got checked in. They placed my arm band and a yellow band on me. I got a couple of small waters from the desk person. I like those for my nectar drinks–I need to drink another one after this.

The tech got notified and brought me back. Apparently, they had to replace a couple of parts yesterday. Some poor prostate cancer patient had to reschedule because of the part swap. My appointment yesterday should have been only 15 minutes. It was closer to an hour with the delay. Today was on the shorter side as well: 10 to 12 minutes. I got strapped in and started treatment. All done. On our way back to the valet to collect the Jeep.

We requested and noticed the Jeep was parked right up front. Thank you again, attendant. Driving home was a breeze. Nice conversation and music with my wife. I am waiting on my steroid to be filled. I had to taper down today to make sure I have enough for tomorrow. I think I will try the 6 mg/day dose this week to see how it affects me. We will see. I hope my pharmacy fills it soon so we can get it today.

My wife made me a sandwich last night for today. She’s been writing a little note on the sandwich box, which puts a smile on my face when I see it the next day.

I fell asleep waiting on a Walmart grocery order, and it arrived. It was only outside for about 15 minutes. Not to worry, no perishables in this order. I am tired from the radiation and chemo. The fatigue is hard to deal with. I’m not used to being so tired all the time.

Tomorrow is Friday! Chemo/Radiation and then off for the weekend. Then that’s week 2 complete!

Thank you for stopping by!
~Bruce