Cancer Journal - Monday November 11th-22nd - Chemotherapy Round Two
Day
1 – Once again, the infusion treatment went well. I’m starting the new protocol
with this one where I have an infusion on Monday and take a pump home for the
next two days. I’m scheduled to go back on Wednesday morning to have the pump
disconnected. The pump hangs in a bag over my shoulder that is about the size
of a large fanny pack. The pump is quieter than I anticipated. I probably had
in mind those noisier oxygen pumps that people carry around. This one is
practically silent except for an occasional sound of the pump that is like a
very soft squeak about every minute and a half.
I have been doing something called a mimicking fast that has two functions. One is that it has been researched to show that it mitigates the side effects of chemo. So, between the gentler protocol with no chemo pills to take and this diet, I’m hopeful that I will not have the up and down nausea that I had the first go round and that I wont have the severe GI distress, vomiting and diarrhea, after the treatment ends.
The second function is related to the first. The way that it mitigates the symptoms is that, when the body goes into fasting mode, the healthy cells go into a protective mode that protects them from the chemo. On the other hand, the cancer cells have been shown to become MORE vulnerable in fasting mode. In my layman’s understanding, it is as if the healthy cells say, “Hey, we’re not getting fed. Let’s hunker down and protect ourselves for a while,” while the cancer cells say, “Hey, we’re not getting fed. Let’s open ourselves to gather anything we can if it happens to pass by.” In addition, I found out today from my infusion nurse that this formulation of chemotherapy is different from the pills in that the pills go in and just blast away at anything in its path whereas the IV infusion medicine is more selective in seeking out the cancer cells. This seems to bode well with the combination of the fasting effects. I am hopeful.
I am experiencing a mild form of the neuropathy symptoms that I experienced last time. It is colder today, snowing, than it was on October 7th so I would have expected to experience more severe symptoms. No nausea today but I didn’t have any last time until late afternoon Tuesday and then I couldn’t get out of bed. So, I’m going to make sure to take anti-nausea pills in the morning like I did last time and see how it goes.
Day 2 – Today went mostly well. I’m experiencing some of the neuropathy side effects, tingling fingers when I touch something cold, that sharp pain in the back of my jaw when I start to eat something that goes away after a bite or two, and that odd thick swallowing sensation if my drink is cool. Any nausea I experienced today was mild although I didn’t feel particularly hungry today even though this was the fifth day of the modified fast I have been doing.
The pump seems to be mostly not intrusive. I had a very busy day with errands and appointments and I simply carried it over my shoulder when I needed to keep my hands free or set it down beside me when I was stationary. I didn’t have any problems sleeping with it because I’m not a big restless sleeper. I pretty much stay in one place.
I was really exhausted at the end of the day, possibly the result of the fifth day of fasting, possibly the chemotherapy. I went to bed around 6pm and didn’t wake up until about 1:30am. I stayed awake until about 3:30 or so and then fell back to sleep until 6:30am.
Day 3 – I had the pump disconnected this morning and broke my fast earlier in the day. I had a banana and some orange juice and then some chicken noodle soup later. The pump operated perfectly the whole time and was done just as I arrived at the infusion center to have it disconnected.
The rest of the day went smoothly. I picked up the kids and brought them home, made dinner, and had dinner with them before they went to a church function. I hope I didn’t overdo it on my dinner but I was clearly comfortable with eating, no nausea, and feeling hungry.
Day 4 – Today has gone very well. I woke up in the morning, had some oatmeal and orange juice, and then took the kids to the school. After that, I went to the gym and swam a half a mile. It feels like I’m swimming slowly but I’m swimming. I ran several errands and even met my friend, Dani, for lunch and to discuss matters around the programs for children and youth at our church.
After I picked the kids up from school, I made dinner for everyone before meeting my friend, Dustin, for dinner and to watch the Browns game. Came home and went to bed by about 11pm with no signs of nausea. I took anti-nausea pills this morning and again in the late afternoon and before bedtime.
Day 5 – Well, I guess I’m starting to experience some symptoms but they are the exact opposite from last time. Instead of diarrhea and vomiting, I am constipated. I had one bowel movement yesterday but it was very solid and not easy to pass. Today, I’m just not feeling anything moving around, not even gas. Eating produces significant discomfort as it feels like nothing is moving and so the food is staying high in my esophagus producing a different kind of nausea and discomfort. It doesn’t feel like I’m GOING to throw up as much as it feels like throwing up would provide some relief. In fact, around 10pm, I prostrated myself in the bathroom with my hips in the air and my head down. I think this brought more of my dinner higher in my esophagus and so I did throw up and found enough relief that I was finally able to lay down and feel comfortable so that I fell asleep.
Day 6 – This is getting to be a real hassle. Still constipated, Still feeling the discomfort of constipation and anything I eat not moving properly through my GI system. I never threw up tonight even though I wish I could but the symptoms were a little less severe.
Day 7 – Finally, some relief today. Too much relief, in fact. My GI system finally started moving today with the help of laxatives and stool softener. And I’ve been in the bathroom today probably more often than I’ve been out of the bathroom. It is a relief and I’m feeling much better today but it’s also not much fun at the same time.
Day 8 – Today almost felt like a normal day. I took the kids to school, went to the gym, and then worked out in the front yard bundling up branches that Christine cut from an apple tree that was hanging over our roof while she was cleaning the gutters yesterday. I still felt good as the day progressed so I was able to go to a meeting at the church for our children and youth programs and our programs council. I had dinner after I got home from the meetings with some trepidation but it seems to have set well with me and I went to bed easily.
Day 9 – Well, the constipation is back but it feels different. It feels mostly like normal constipation where a stool softener would help. But otherwise, food feels like it is moving normally through my system and, at least, producing gas normally. We will see what tomorrow brings.
Day 10 – Today has been a good day in general. I’m generally feeling normal physically, although a mild sense of discomfort and bloating that seems to be the subtle reminder that there is nothing normal about me right now. I’m suspecting more and more that this is the long residual effect of surgery rather than chemo related. Aside from the physical stuff, today I’ve dealt with a general undefined sense of lethargy and malaise – a kind of mild depression. I decided to watch two movies that I enjoy, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and Stranger than Fiction.
Day 11 – Another good day today. I continue to feel that sense of almost normal but not quite. Just enough “not quite” to be reminded that nothing is normal about what I am going through right now. That mild sense of discomfort and bloating was less significant today but still there. Whatever the mild depression was yesterday feels mostly lifted. Although, I found out that my father went in for an unexpected surgery this morning so maybe there was something going on in my subconscious yesterday that was generating that malaise.
Day 12 – Today has been another relatively good day, particularly compared to what I was going through during the first cycle. We are flying to Mt. Hood, Oregon tomorrow to spend Thanksgiving week with Christine’s parents. When I return from that trip, I will start the next chemo cycle on the Monday following Thanksgiving.
I have been doing something called a mimicking fast that has two functions. One is that it has been researched to show that it mitigates the side effects of chemo. So, between the gentler protocol with no chemo pills to take and this diet, I’m hopeful that I will not have the up and down nausea that I had the first go round and that I wont have the severe GI distress, vomiting and diarrhea, after the treatment ends.
The second function is related to the first. The way that it mitigates the symptoms is that, when the body goes into fasting mode, the healthy cells go into a protective mode that protects them from the chemo. On the other hand, the cancer cells have been shown to become MORE vulnerable in fasting mode. In my layman’s understanding, it is as if the healthy cells say, “Hey, we’re not getting fed. Let’s hunker down and protect ourselves for a while,” while the cancer cells say, “Hey, we’re not getting fed. Let’s open ourselves to gather anything we can if it happens to pass by.” In addition, I found out today from my infusion nurse that this formulation of chemotherapy is different from the pills in that the pills go in and just blast away at anything in its path whereas the IV infusion medicine is more selective in seeking out the cancer cells. This seems to bode well with the combination of the fasting effects. I am hopeful.
I am experiencing a mild form of the neuropathy symptoms that I experienced last time. It is colder today, snowing, than it was on October 7th so I would have expected to experience more severe symptoms. No nausea today but I didn’t have any last time until late afternoon Tuesday and then I couldn’t get out of bed. So, I’m going to make sure to take anti-nausea pills in the morning like I did last time and see how it goes.
Day 2 – Today went mostly well. I’m experiencing some of the neuropathy side effects, tingling fingers when I touch something cold, that sharp pain in the back of my jaw when I start to eat something that goes away after a bite or two, and that odd thick swallowing sensation if my drink is cool. Any nausea I experienced today was mild although I didn’t feel particularly hungry today even though this was the fifth day of the modified fast I have been doing.
The pump seems to be mostly not intrusive. I had a very busy day with errands and appointments and I simply carried it over my shoulder when I needed to keep my hands free or set it down beside me when I was stationary. I didn’t have any problems sleeping with it because I’m not a big restless sleeper. I pretty much stay in one place.
I was really exhausted at the end of the day, possibly the result of the fifth day of fasting, possibly the chemotherapy. I went to bed around 6pm and didn’t wake up until about 1:30am. I stayed awake until about 3:30 or so and then fell back to sleep until 6:30am.
Day 3 – I had the pump disconnected this morning and broke my fast earlier in the day. I had a banana and some orange juice and then some chicken noodle soup later. The pump operated perfectly the whole time and was done just as I arrived at the infusion center to have it disconnected.
The rest of the day went smoothly. I picked up the kids and brought them home, made dinner, and had dinner with them before they went to a church function. I hope I didn’t overdo it on my dinner but I was clearly comfortable with eating, no nausea, and feeling hungry.
Day 4 – Today has gone very well. I woke up in the morning, had some oatmeal and orange juice, and then took the kids to the school. After that, I went to the gym and swam a half a mile. It feels like I’m swimming slowly but I’m swimming. I ran several errands and even met my friend, Dani, for lunch and to discuss matters around the programs for children and youth at our church.
After I picked the kids up from school, I made dinner for everyone before meeting my friend, Dustin, for dinner and to watch the Browns game. Came home and went to bed by about 11pm with no signs of nausea. I took anti-nausea pills this morning and again in the late afternoon and before bedtime.
Day 5 – Well, I guess I’m starting to experience some symptoms but they are the exact opposite from last time. Instead of diarrhea and vomiting, I am constipated. I had one bowel movement yesterday but it was very solid and not easy to pass. Today, I’m just not feeling anything moving around, not even gas. Eating produces significant discomfort as it feels like nothing is moving and so the food is staying high in my esophagus producing a different kind of nausea and discomfort. It doesn’t feel like I’m GOING to throw up as much as it feels like throwing up would provide some relief. In fact, around 10pm, I prostrated myself in the bathroom with my hips in the air and my head down. I think this brought more of my dinner higher in my esophagus and so I did throw up and found enough relief that I was finally able to lay down and feel comfortable so that I fell asleep.
Day 6 – This is getting to be a real hassle. Still constipated, Still feeling the discomfort of constipation and anything I eat not moving properly through my GI system. I never threw up tonight even though I wish I could but the symptoms were a little less severe.
Day 7 – Finally, some relief today. Too much relief, in fact. My GI system finally started moving today with the help of laxatives and stool softener. And I’ve been in the bathroom today probably more often than I’ve been out of the bathroom. It is a relief and I’m feeling much better today but it’s also not much fun at the same time.
Day 8 – Today almost felt like a normal day. I took the kids to school, went to the gym, and then worked out in the front yard bundling up branches that Christine cut from an apple tree that was hanging over our roof while she was cleaning the gutters yesterday. I still felt good as the day progressed so I was able to go to a meeting at the church for our children and youth programs and our programs council. I had dinner after I got home from the meetings with some trepidation but it seems to have set well with me and I went to bed easily.
Day 9 – Well, the constipation is back but it feels different. It feels mostly like normal constipation where a stool softener would help. But otherwise, food feels like it is moving normally through my system and, at least, producing gas normally. We will see what tomorrow brings.
Day 10 – Today has been a good day in general. I’m generally feeling normal physically, although a mild sense of discomfort and bloating that seems to be the subtle reminder that there is nothing normal about me right now. I’m suspecting more and more that this is the long residual effect of surgery rather than chemo related. Aside from the physical stuff, today I’ve dealt with a general undefined sense of lethargy and malaise – a kind of mild depression. I decided to watch two movies that I enjoy, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and Stranger than Fiction.
Day 11 – Another good day today. I continue to feel that sense of almost normal but not quite. Just enough “not quite” to be reminded that nothing is normal about what I am going through right now. That mild sense of discomfort and bloating was less significant today but still there. Whatever the mild depression was yesterday feels mostly lifted. Although, I found out that my father went in for an unexpected surgery this morning so maybe there was something going on in my subconscious yesterday that was generating that malaise.
Day 12 – Today has been another relatively good day, particularly compared to what I was going through during the first cycle. We are flying to Mt. Hood, Oregon tomorrow to spend Thanksgiving week with Christine’s parents. When I return from that trip, I will start the next chemo cycle on the Monday following Thanksgiving.
Comments
Post a Comment