Making the most of an inoperable situation.

I had another MRI yesterday at a different location than we are used to. The MRI was easy and only took about 45 minutes. My patient portal showed the appointment was at 12:30. I checked the time again yesterday for the address to load into my Google Maps, and the time changed to 12 noon. They didn’t inform me of any change, so we just had to put a little more pep in our step to get there on time.

Now the meat of it. I had an appointment with my medical oncologist 90 minutes after the MRI. We went to the cafeteria and had lunch while we waited. We finished and made our way to the doctor’s appointment. All was good. The staff was so kind, coming in to check on us. It makes for an easy appointment having such caring staff. The doctor comes in and gives us the news. There has been 1 cm of shrinkage! This is major. 1 cm may not seem too big in the scope of things, but it is massive in regard to the size of my tumor. In March, it was measured at 6.1 cm. Yesterday it was 5.1 cm. Huge difference. I’ll post the pic of the scans since the beginning. Top left is the current, and bottom right is the initial. Amazing news.

I am also scheduled to start my 4th round of chemo. There is an increase in the dosage with the steroid weight gain. I won’t forget my Zofran anti-nausea pills this time. That was a nauseous nightmare not having the anti-nausea meds in my system.

Every morning and night before I get up and before I go to bed, I pray for stability/shrinkage of the tumor, aka Rudy. We would like to see him dissolve more. I feel like it is working. Please keep your positive vibes and prayers coming my way.

Scanxiety got me for a week prior to yesterday’s MRI. I was so nervous to hear the results. My wife asked me the night before if everything was okay. She could read my face like a book. I told her I was nervous about the scan, and she understood. I feel like I am on a good path with the recent scan. I am hopeful to continue down this positive path.

Another one down, on to the next. Chemo meds are ordered and will arrive Friday for my next round. I’m due to start that on the 12th.

Thank you for stopping by!
~Bruce

This week has been okay. The chemo really got me exhausted Thursday. I slept a lot. I didn’t realize it was knocking me out until I woke up. Today, Friday, would be my last day on this round of 5/23. No nausea this round. I’ve been taking the Zofran as directed. It really does help. I had blood work Tuesday like every week. We stopped for a breakfast sandwich afterward. The coffee was so good. A cold brew with cold foam and toffee bits atop. Delicious.

We have a new kitty coming Sunday. His name is Leo. We’re calling him Uncle Leo as he will be the boys’ uncle. The person who had him before us is moving into a place where she can’t keep him. It’s a sad situation, but we are happy to be able to help out. I hope the transition and introductions go smoothly. It’s not the first time we’ve introduced a new member to the family. But it can be stressful for the kitties and the humans. I asked the previous owner to sleep with or keep a towel or washcloth with their scent to allow for soothing familiarity for Leo. I’m not too worried about the introductions. Our boy Pancake is very open to new members of the family. Chip can be a brat at times. Leo comes from a house where he is the only cat. This only slightly worries me because he hasn’t had cat friends before. He should be fine though; from what I hear, he is a pretty calm and chill boy. He is a chunky slow boy, so we will have to get that weight down. He’s going to be my in-laws’ cat. They are familiar with him, and he with them.

So that’s my week. It’s been good except for the fatigue yesterday. Hope y’all are doing well.

Thanks for stopping by!
~Bruce

Getting to the lab was a breeze today. Not too much traffic. I noticed there was a fast food restaurant with a new iced coffee drink. It piqued my interest, so we stopped on the way back. It was delicious. Salted caramel toffee iced coffee. Yum. It really hit the spot. It went down so quick and smooth.

Today I receive my 2nd round of 5/23 chemo via UPS. It will be my third round of chemo. I start that next Monday. I won’t be forgetting the Zofran this round. I hated being nauseous last time. I only vomited once, but that was enough to ensure I take my meds.

The lab techs love me. They all know my name. They’re all happy to see me and my wife. They love her hair. Every outing, we have someone who compliments her hair color. I’m not jealous lol. I have a Pac-Man tattoo. That gets me compliments a lot. Not as much as her hair, though. I think it’s cute that many people say something about it.

The cats have been good lately; the big one had an upset tummy yesterday and vomited a couple of times. Today he seems good. Sometimes I think he overeats and forgets he just ate, and then barfs. Chip has been wanting to roam each night. Usually, he goes in his room and has a calm evening. The last few nights he hasn’t wanted this. Last night was a calm, structured night for him. I got up around 4:45 to go pee, and he heard me. He puts out a baby cry to get his way. We let him out then. Prior to this week, he would get up around 1-3 am and ask to come out early. No problem; he’s a good boy most days. It was nice to not hear it at 1 am.

That’s about it for this week’s update.
Thanks for stopping by!
~Bruce

Today I treated myself to a much overdue haircut. High and tight was the answer. The question, how long will this mop get? I feel so much better having a nice fade again. It’s been months. My wife drove me down for the appointment. She got to meet my stylist. Instant friends, love that. I had a huge bald spot in the back from the radiation. My hair was long in all the other areas. It looked worse than a bad toupee. The hair was hanging over the bald area. Awful. Skin fade and longer on top. She really hit the nail on the head.

After the cut, we went to the job and I signed some checks and rolled around the shop to see what all I couldn’t see on reorder reports. I have an idea of fill-in orders to plump up some inventory. We need it. It was a nice adventure out for a few hours. Nice time spent with my main squeeze. It was nice riding somewhere other than a blood work appointment. That’s tomorrow morning anyway. More blood work, but that can wait till the morrow. I’m done for the day. It took a lot out of me and I’m pretty tired. Tonight we are just going to have a quick meal I can throw in the oven.

Thanks for stopping by!
~Bruce

This week has been a normal week. Wake up, get ready, blood work on Tuesday, rinse and repeat. It’s nice being off the chemo meds again. The first night I had some nausea and vomiting with the higher dose. I also forgot to take the Zofran. That I won’t forget again. After that, it sailed by. This week without the chemo has been wonderful. Chemo constipation is a real thing. I’ve gone so much this week lol.

I may have mentioned in a previous post, but I can’t recall. My docs started me on Ativan to help with the vertigo. I’m not too sure it is helping relieve it or not. I do know it makes me drowsy about an hour after I take it. I figured I’ll just take it with my morning pills, so if I fall asleep, it’s an early nap instead of a midday or afternoon nap. Not that that matters anyway. I can nap at the drop of a hat lately. I have noticed when stepping down my steroid, my symptoms worsen. More vertigo and unsteadiness. It’s a constant back and forth between messaging my nurse and getting orders to go back up. It seems I can’t get below 5mg without the dizziness just taking over. Why do they keep urging me to taper down my steroid? It helps keep me level.

My boys haven’t been abandoning me as much these past couple of weeks. They have been with me most afternoons and hanging out to nap with daddy. I love having them here with me even though it’s at arm’s distance. My wife has been such a rock. She has been doing so much to help me out. She is truly my caregiver. She won’t let me do too much, but I also don’t want to burn her out. I am very appreciative of all she does for me. She has a lot on her plate with the boys and me.

I scheduled a haircut for Monday. It’ll be my first one in 4 or more months. I’m well overdue. I’ve been using a walker to help get around the house and it has been much easier on me physically to move around. Even getting out the door to go to my blood work appointment is easier with the walker. I am much more steady and can move faster. I shouldn’t rush and move fast, but it helps me get by. It’s just cumbersome at times. I ordered a walker bag that attaches on the front so I can get things and carry them with the use of the walker. The cats have been kind of bratty with the walker. They like to “kiss” it and plop down in front of me as I’m walking. Not too safe, and as you know, cats don’t listen, period. Brats!

Thank you for stopping by!
~Bruce

Quick entry. Yesterday was my last day of the 5/23 chemo dose. So glad to be done with it. My balance has still been off this week. We didn’t have to meal prep any egg bites this weekend. We have a couple of bags in the freezer still and some in the fridge. I got to sleep in until 8 today, which was really nice. Chip wanted to get up at 2 a.m. It’s been a pretty rainy morning today. I like it. Very calming. This weekend and last weekend I switched up lunch for a protein shake. They have kept me satiated.
Thank you for stopping by!
~Bruce

Yesterday was my second dose of the higher chemo meds. I did not forget to take my Zofran. It helped immensely. Zero nausea and vomiting. I was a bit nervous to eat last night. I almost just wanted to have a protein shake, but I thought to myself, no, that lasagna is worth it. So I powered through and ate.

Be sure to follow your doctors’ and nurses’ orders. Don’t forget a medication that is prescribed. They help. My wife told her best friend about my situation and the nausea, and her response was, “Oh no. Zofran was a Godsend. It kept the nausea and sickness away.” I also had a bunch of water with the Nectar Hydration packs. I think I had 3 yesterday. Today, I had 4.

My day today was light and easy. Not much to do. I did some sitting exercises and standing exercises. I prepared my breakfast with no difficulty. The higher dose of steroids has helped me regain some balance that I had lost with the lower dose.

Last night, I was frustrated with a local Jeep dealership. I went on a social media blast campaign to light a fire, as I have been trying to resolve a Gap insurance refund since May. I lemon-lawed my Grand Cherokee earlier this year, and they all but ignored my correspondence. Let’s take it to social media. Finally, someone reached out, and I got some headway with them. They’re finally returning my Gap insurance. Annoying, but these are the hurdles I had to jump through. Thankfully, getting the ball rolling via a social media blast was easier than trying to just get it done normally and nicely. I guess nice guys finish last.

Only a few more days of Chemo doses left. I can’t wait to be off it. The nerves of not knowing whether I will be sick are getting to me. I keep some Emesis bags nearby. Haven’t had to use them today or yesterday. Just the first day.

Thank you for stopping by!
~Bruce

Yesterday was the start of my second round of chemo, 5/23, not May 23rd. It was suggested that with a stronger dose, 350mg, I should take it at night to combat the nausea. Ok, good. I did that. However, I forgot to take the Zofran 3x a day yesterday. This was not good for me. It is an anti-nausea med. I sure could have used it last night. I’ll let your imagination tell you what happened. I’ll just say it wasn’t pleasant, and I won’t be forgetting those meds again.

Tonight I was hesitant to eat and almost just wanted to have a protein shake for dinner, but I did take my meds as directed. I’m hopeful that I won’t have the nausea tonight. We had some leftover lasagna and a salad, same as last night. Let’s see how I fare. I was nervous at breakfast and lunch, but remembered the nausea came after the meds last night. So I ate my breakfast and lunch as I normally would. No issues in sight. I’m sitting here after dinner typing this up, waiting with bated breath to see if it comes again. I sure hope not. It started last night with some sneezing and extreme salivation. I bought some Emesis bags (barf bags) before I started all this madness months ago. Last night was the first time I had to use them. My wife came in to check on me last night after dinner, and I said, “Perfect timing, hand me that box of bags.” With my slowness, there would have been no way I would have made it to the bathroom on time. It would have been a mess to clean. I’m so happy I had the forethought to get all these things prior to my treatment cycles.

Tonight, so far so good. If it happens, it happens. What more can I do? I’ll just deal with it if and when it happens. I have the supplies at the ready. I won’t get upset like I did last night. Sometimes it just gets to be too much to handle. I’ve maintained a positive attitude throughout this change, but a person can only handle so much.

Side note: I like to go to bed with a glass of milk each night. I’ve done this ever since I was a kid. I love a nice cold glass of milk before bed. Last night I was nervous to have some, but I couldn’t resist my normal bedtime routine. I had a half glass. I was fine. The nausea had subsided by then, and I was okay. Please don’t let it happen tonight.

I think I told you about the Liquid IV being too sweet for me. It’s brutally sweet. I wish it were sugar-free. I have more than half still. I did, however, order some Nectar hydration instead. That, I can tolerate more than the Liquid IV.

On a lighter subject, my boys stayed with me all afternoon. It was nice to spend the afternoon with them, even though they slept through the day. Just having them near is comforting to me.

I started watching The Knick on HBO Max. What a show! I was hooked straight away. I also watched another BritBox show today called Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? Very good. I like that these series are straight to the point and only have a few episodes. I believe this was an Agatha Christie story. Very enjoyable.

Thank you for stopping by!
~Bruce

So last night, I increased my steroid dose to combat the vertigo. I messaged the patient portal on my app and let my nurse know the trouble I’ve had with vertigo since last week. She said to increase the steroid again, and I am so glad she said that. I was on a lower dose of steroid. I tried Meclizine to help with it, and it made the vertigo much worse. I took more steroid last night, and this morning I was so much better. I prepared my breakfast. I could walk a further distance without the boozy woozies.

So breakfast came and went. I watched a couple of episodes of Frasier and some news. I then made my way out to my wife’s car to head to my blood work appointment. That was no problem, in and out. Back home, the cats greeted us at the door. My wife made sure I had everything I needed, and she made her way to work. I had my lunch and drank 3 nectar hydration packs today.

I had my wife take out a frozen lasagna for dinner. From frozen, it said it could take up to 2 hours. No thanks, I asked my wife to just put it in the microwave to thaw for the day. This should now only take 30-45 minutes. It’s in the air fryer oven combo now cooking, and it smells amazing.

I took my first dose of my second round of chemo about 5:30 PM. I will only be on this for 5 days and then 23 days off. I tried to get as many kisses as I could before going back on these meds. Kisses from my wife and kisses from my kitty cats. They are a few of my favorite things in life. I hope this higher dose of chemo meds won’t have too many effects on me. Time will tell.

I watched YouTube cooking shows and off-road recovery videos (my new obsession). These off-roaders give me such anxiety seeing the aftermath of them getting stuck. The recovery crew also gives me great anxiety watching them get unstuck. My goodness, the mess it is. I’m glad my rooster is a pavement prince. I’d never put him in that situation. Say what you will, but no way.

My nurse put me on Ativan to help with the vertigo. I’m not sure how it will affect me, seeing how the Meclizine messed me up. Unless it was all from the lower steroid dose. I’m not going to play around trying to figure out which caused what. I will say though, I haven’t felt better stability with walking than being back on a higher dose of Dexamethasone (steroid). Ativan is the generic Lorazepam. This cracks me up. Did you watch the most recent White Lotus season? Parker Posey was on Lorazepam, and the way she would say the name was hilarious to me. Imagine a thick Carolina accent: Luhrazuhpahm.

Anyway, thank you for stopping by!
~Bruce

This week has been hell on Earth with my vertigo. The docs started me on Meclizine. This was supposed to combat the vertigo, but it made it worse. Just my luck. I stopped taking it on Wednesday, I think. I just wish it would get out of my system and give me back the little stability I had. It wasn’t much, but it was more than I have now.

I start my next round of chemo on Tuesday: 5 days on and 23 days off. The dose is much higher than before, being that it is only a week a month. I am hopeful I won’t have too many, if any, symptoms. The meds should arrive Monday from the specialty pharmacy. I have blood work Tuesday.

We’ve been wanting to get me out of the house for dinner for a while. As Dexter says, tonight’s the night. I made my way to the front, but my knees were weak. I was a bit slow moving, but I made it. I get nervous when I’m like that: shaky and wobbly. I was afraid it would rain while we were out. I didn’t want my hand to slip off the cane handle. Luckily, no rain came. I made my way out the door and to my Jeep. Slowly but surely, I got there, climbed in, and we were on our way. We went to our local pub we love so much, Fat Rabbit. I had some wings, buffalo garlic ranch, and some tots. My wife enjoyed her Cuban sandwich and some tots. If I wasn’t on so many meds, I would have enjoyed a nice peanut butter old fashioned. They even put a peanut butter cup in it. It’s a yummy drink. I swiped a sip of my wife’s. Very tasty and chocolatey. The wings were amazing, super crispy as I requested. They make their own sauces, so my fave is the buffalo garlic ranch. So yummy.

So we made it there and enjoyed our dinner. Back home and had to floss…wings, you know? lol We were going to stop for ice cream after, but it was too soon after dinner and we both didn’t feel up to it. Chunk Doggins. Once home, I had to give my Chippy a pill. He has his monthly injection at the vet tomorrow. We have to give him an anxiety pill, gabapentin, to calm him down. The last time at the vet, they didn’t want to inject him without it. They said he was spicy with them last time. Well, I would be too if I got poked 5 times and didn’t get the meds injected. So I popped the pill down his throat. Tomorrow will be another pill a couple of hours before the shot. Wish us luck. He’s usually a good boy, but I get his spicy outlook. That’s about it.

Thank you for stopping by!
~Bruce