I wrote a couple of weeks ago (day 191) about the rather surprising change in my body, post-surgery: the abrupt loss of the ability to feel touch, while still feeling pressure, around the scar area […]
Yesterday, one day shy of 2 weeks post-operation, I had my second drain pulled, and as my surgeon’s PA said as she was pulling it out, that marks the end of surgery. Compared to chemo, […]
If chemo is a journey, then surgery is day out: chemo takes a long time, has many twists, turns and delays, and at times seems never to end; in contrast, surgery is for sure a […]
Today is a momentous day – my last chemo, certainly for now and hopefully for ever. It is only my fourth FAC, the drug combo that is the second phase of my treatment, following the 11 cycles of taxol. It is the last step in a 142 day, 15 treatment…
As promised on day 110, today I am writing about the drugs in the second phase of chemo that I am doing. FAC is a combination chemotherapy, made up of three different drugs, that can be thought of as variations on a single theme: inhibiting the co…
Happy New Year! I celebrate the start of 2013 as the year in which I will push my cancer into remission, as I complete the arc of my treatment. There is still a ways to go, but I’ll get there well before mid-year, all things being equal. The much …
I didn’t grow up with Thanksgiving, being German and spending much of my youth in England. There were harvest festivals of course although my family did not observe these ancient celebrations of thanks for bringing in the food for the year. I have…
Today, just a personal update. I met with my oncologist yesterday, for the regular monthly checkup to see how things are going. Then I did my taxol #5, which was uneventful. I even managed a brief nap between the blood pressure cuff automatically …
On day 38 I wrote about side effects and how they tell you things are working. Well, there are some that overshoot that mark a little, and can cause real harm. While no side effects are great, many are temporary and can be managed, such as hair lo…
This Wednesday was only my fourth taxol, but I am beginning to feel the side effects. It’s a little earlier than anticipated, and its nothing major. And of course, everyone’s experience is a little different. Mostly I have the feeling of cold feet…
