Third Chemo (Regimen 2)

July 21, 2014

Hi all.  Two days away from my next chemo session so I thought I would give you an update.  We are expecting my parents this evening and they will be staying in the area through Saturday. I find that I value each visit from them more and more, not only for the impact they have on my kids but also for the conversations and discussions we have as a family.  It's a tall order to ask them to come down every month but they are up to the task.  Also hoping to catch up with Michelle Biggs who is in town next weekend. I can't believe we all graduated from McGill 22 years ago now...

So lets talk about the chemo first and then same family updates to follow.  Day 1 (July 9) started at the clinic.  We see a great nurse, Heather, who has been able to manage to cold sweats at the hospital.  Unfortunately, they do not go away until the morning of Day 2 so it's pretty miserable that first night.  This time, I slept on towels on the couch and changed clothes frequently. I will say that Day 2 and Day 3, on this new regimen, once the sweats are over, is quite manageable.  So much so that I was confident that I could handle visitors on the weekend, so Mike Wulfkuhle and Jayne Yelich flew out from Denver and Scott and Pam Hastings drove up from New Jersey.  It was a great visit and we even got to eat out at Strega Prime Italian Steakhouse on Saturday night, which was an amazing dinner. And we got to see photos of the owner with pretty much every famous Italian American of whom you could think.

Monday was an OK day but Tuesday (Day 7) was a disaster.  I could hardly move, I was so fatigued. I also had this weird feeling in my upper chest that I'd been hit by a puck or a punch. I lay in bed for most of the day and was unable to work.  Karla booked a checkup appointment for the next day at the clinic. I was feeling better on Wednesday when I woke up, but maybe 75% of where I should be so we decided to go in. It turned into a long day at the clinic where I was infused with potassium and saline (my levels were extremely low - not sure why).  I was also given a prescription for potassium pills that are so big, a horse would have trouble getting them down.  I also went for a CT scan (but not one that would look at my cancer levels).  Instead the scan focused on my upper chest, as my doctor was worried about blood clots.  The tests came back negative but nothing to indicate why I had such a bad Tuesday.

Since then, I've felt pretty good for the most part.  I'm a bit slow to start in the morning but after taking my medication, I seem to respond quite positively.  A bit of a boost in the afternoon has also paid some dividends. Seriously, if my Day 10 - Day 13 feeling becomes more consistent, then I can start thinking about doing additional things (walking, running errands, appearing on American Ninja Warrior, that kind of stuff).

Still dealing with the neuropathy.  It makes me feel like a bit of a dork sometimes.  I can't open certain containers, I randomly drop things, I can't really "feel" Graeme and Isla when I touch them. I also got my hair cut short.  I don't know if chemo is thinning my hair of 48 years on this planet.  However, chemo has definitely changed the texture and consistency of my hair.  We got some passport photos taken this weekend, so it should give you an idea of what to expect.

As you can see, the family is all well.  Graeme is smiling more, and he usually starts with a wry smile to the left, and then a full on smile.  I love getting that feedback from him. I even got him to laugh with me the other night, although his laughs right now consist of coos, exclamations and other noises, and not necessarily what you would call a full-onlaugh.

Isla is awesome. She and our au pair Amarilis spend a lot of time at the pool, and we are now at the point where she gets lessons on Monday at the local YMCA. She has entered a new phase where sometimes she wants to accompany Mommy or Daddy no matter what they are up to.  Daddy is learning a lot more patience! She's still into Frozen, but now with a smattering of Brave. I also read her Tintin books some nights, but oh my God, some of the language, violence and treatment of others of different races has to be very carefully edited...

Congrats to Rory McIlroy on his British Open win. Maybe Tiger is not the person we should be focusing on to break Jack's records.

Love to all of you.

Andrew

Thoughts on the World Cup

June 12

Just wanted to write down some thoughts on the 2014 edition of the World Cup:

1. Location in Brazil.  I think it has been quite a success in Brazil so far.  The naysayers were out in force before the tournament, but it appears that thinks are working out nicely (knock on wood) as I write this before the last game.  Sure, there are some negatives, I mean who builds a 50,000 seat stadium in the middle of the jungle for a city that doesn't have a major airport, nor a major soccer team.  I don't see the stadium in Manaus turning out to be anything but the white elephant that it is.  On the flip side, it has been wonderful to see the celebrations on the beach at Copacabana.  Karla and I spend wonderful bookends to our South American vacation in Rio and loved the place.  We are glad the rest of the world is seeing it in all its glory.  Whether it will be able to host the Olympics on its own in a few years remains to be seen, but as a soccer host, it's been great and we can't wait to see the final at Maracana (where Karla and I got to see Flamengo vs Fluminense).  Should be great.

2. Overall quality of the soccer. I have one word...brutal.  I had no idea that soccer had come to this point in development where tackles are late, studs are up, full body checks are legal and referees have decided that yellow cards are unnecessary.  Don't get me wrong, I have enjoyed a lot of the play, and watching Neymar, James, Messi and Muller has been a joy to see such skill displayed on the field. But watching Neymar go out on an obvious, and unpenalized, tackle by Zuniga (keep wanting to call him Daphne for some reason...) as well as the excessively late tackles from behind committed by all teams has disgusted me.  I know the refs have been instructed by FiFA to lay off on the cards so the good players aren't suspended, but come on, it was getting ridiculous. 

3. The play of the Brazilian team.  Very disappointing.  You can lump England in there too, but Brazil stands out above the rest.  They are at home, and coming of a major championship last year.  I expected to see offensive flair and finesse from them, and while Neymar provided some of that flair in the opening rounds, where were Fred, Oscar, Jo and others of whom I've heard so much about.  Fred also loses big time in choice of nickname.  "Fred"?  I know that Brazilians have excessively long names and choose nicknames to make thing simpler (did you know that Brazilian great Pele was really Edson Arantes do Nascimento? - quite a name on the back of the shirt! But Fred???  How about Barney, or Nigel (or just Nige for short).  Even Kaka was better at a previous cup.  But enough on the names, their play has been brutal.  Did you see the Colombia game where Neymar got hurt?  The Brazilians were worse.  There were six fouls on James (Colombia's star) alone, something that should have garnered several cards.  But what did Brazil get a card for??  Something as infantile as Thiago Silva knocking the ball out of the goalie's hands as he was about to kick it.  Just dumb.  Instead of being impressed with their playmaking, I was disgusted by their style.  And don't get me started on Hulk...

4. The play of the CONCACAF teams.  Three of our group got to the final 16.  Great accomplishment and hope for Canada down the road.  And the Ticos getting to the quarters.  Awesome stuff.  Sure I would have like to see the US progress, but a fine showing from a young team who will be better in four years in Russia.

5. Finally, can't complain about the final.  Germany Argentina should be a great game (Germany Netherlands would have been great too).  I'm hoping we see an all out match, rather than what we saw in the Argentina Netherlands semi, and I predict a German win.  Not sure what Brazilian team will show up today in the third place match.

Andrew

Second Chemo (Regimen 2)

July 11

I'm at home on Day 3 of being infused with chemo on the Third chemo session of Regimen 2.  So what happened over the past two weeks during the Second session:

So same experiences at the clinic with respect to the cold sweats: they really start coming on near the end of my infusion on site, and then the continue for the remainder of the day and well into the night on that first day. I basically was awake until 1AM until I felt somewhat comfortable enough to lie in bed with towels underneath me.  Several cold changes over the night.  The sweats start to subside by Day 2. As happened during the first session, no jaw pain on Day 2, so perhaps that is a thing of the past.

Over the course of the next two weeks, there were good days and bad days (sometimes good hours and bad hours).  The neuropathy came on really strong, which was surprising to me as I thought it would start going away, and not get worse.  However, I've since heard that the new drug Irinotecan, while not increasing any of the previous side effects, also does not do much for healing of those side effects, so I should expect the neuropathy to hang around a bit.  I have to get Karla to open certain things and cutting fingernails has become a chore, but I'll deal with it.

I think the toughest thing is knowing that I am not going to get a break from chemo, and will continue to be on these two week schedules for the near to long future. I am scheduled out to September now and will just keep plugging away.  I can work, and I can do some chores around the house, but I just have to take it slow and not overdo things.  I am forcing myself to take naps on work days and that seems to be helping.

The family is all well.  Graeme is starting to sleep for longer periods at night, which is giving Karla some breaks.  He really is a great little boy.  His favorite spot is the baby swing, which has a mobile suspended above him.  He laughs and giggles a lot in their, more so than when he is held by Karla, Amarilis or I. It's really cute. Isla is fascinated with Disney's Frozen, and can't stop talking about Anna and Elsa.  She watches the movie frequently and insists on Frozen books before bed.  She and Amarilis are making full use of the complex's pool each day, and she has made many friends there, which is great.





I think I'll write a separate blog over the next few days to express my thoughts on the World Cup.  It has been thoroughly entertaining, to say the least.  And for all of you who send texts and emails, thanks so much.  Sometimes it takes me a while to respond, and I apologize for that, but know that I love to hear from all of you, especially as some of us are so far apart.


Love to all of you.

Andrew