Friday, October 1, 2010

Only 25 Times? Sure!

Happy Friday everyone!  I can imagine everyone is excited about getting home for the weekend, though I will say I am hopeful that I will continue to feel good this weekend so I can get out of the house and enjoy the nice weather for the first time in a while.

I was pretty sick on Wednesday with similar symptoms to those I felt at the low point of the first cycle.  I bounced back a bit on Thursday, and by this afternoon I feel 100%.  I hope being sick on the 2nd day of recovery isn't a sign that I will struggle as I reach my valley (Monday - Wednesday), but at this point all I can do is take it one day at a time.  The key is to recognize a good day and maximize what you get out of it, because trust me, you ain't doing much on the bad days.

I had my first Radiology consult yesterday and it was interesting to learn more about what that process entails.  Basically I will receive 25 treatments that last about 20 minutes (5 days a week for 5 week) each.  The goal of radiation is to shrink the tumor even further through local treatment before surgery.  Some of the side effects she mentioned were short term:  fatigue & irritated skin, and long term:  local discoloring, local hair loss, sterility, and 2nd cancer (remote).  She said that it is a good thing that I stored my sons and daughters, because with the location of my tumor, there will definitely be some rays that hit the testicles (which are very sensitive to radiation apparently).  2nd Cancer is cancer that is caused down the line by old cancer treatments, isn't that great?  I can cure this cancer by doing something that could cause it further down the line.  I feel like the U.S. Gov't constantly refinancing debt, just to put off the inevitable a few more years.  The chances of this are very low (1-2% tops), which normally are good odds unless you somehow developed a .001% chance cancer recently.   Speaking of odds, did anybody hear about the Maryland guy who just won his 2nd lottery jackpot this year?  I mean what is going on here!?

In the mean time I'm focused on  getting through this recovery period and hopefully receiving some good news after my MRI that is scheduled for next week.  I am hoping for the type of shrinkage that you only find amongst polar bear club members, so please cross your fingers! 

Good luck to all the college football fans this weekend, I am not going to predict a UGA victory anymore this season, so perhaps that will put us over the top.

Michael

6 comments:

  1. You're so brave.. don't know how you do it! Looking forward to next weekend :)

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  2. Hey Michael

    I am still looking for my magic wand to make it all better, in the mean time, thanks for keeping up with your chemo and scheduling your radiation.

    I was happy to see that your Mom is practicing her Zumba so we can film a little get well jiggy for you! I can't wait to see the sexy little outfits with what did she say? Hip Bells?? Oh no, did I just make you nauseous? I will try to do better next post.

    Still sending healing prayers your way.....

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  3. Son,

    The Dawgs are horrible, the Braves can't seem to win that one last game, and now the USA team almost gets shutout in the Ryder Cup.

    That's it. I am giving up sports, and becoming an intelleckual!!!

    Max

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  4. Mickey! Hope the weekend was good- let me know about catching up later this week. Kate and I would love to se you and can promise a meal that will make up for all the lousy hospital food..

    Have a great week and hope to see you soon, PD

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  5. Hi Michael
    Glad to hear that your spirit are staying up. I have a few thoughts for you on hair. My wife Cynthia has been doing chemotherapy this last year and I have become quite the hair guy. When Cynthia's hair began to fall out as she scratched her head, I gave her a buzz cut therefore avoiding the issue. She is the prettiest bald girl I have ever known. We are now six months into new growth, I miss giving that bald head a kiss before bed every night. The new hair has come back all curly when it was straight before. You can look forward to a full head of CURLY HAIR!!!

    God Bless

    Joe Forgey

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  6. Oyler,

    Keeping a close eye on your posts and hoping for a swift recovery. Best of luck with the treatments and everything else in Atlanta in the meantime.

    Johnny Shoaf

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