My "Off" Week

This Monday was the last day of my third week in cycle 3 of the Clinical Trial. I will not have to take any pills till next Tuesday. While I have this time without Stivarga in my system I hope to be able to enjoy some different foods and maybe even a Cigar and a Whiskey.

It takes a few days for me to bounce back and each time I bounce back it's a little slower than the time  before. I held off on taking Marinol today  because it makes me tired and I am tired of being tired. There were a couple of errands that only I could do that needed to be done(just one really, getting propane for the grill) and I gassed up the car as well while I was out. That was a major event for me.

We had some sad news this week. My wife's uncle Clint passed away earlier this week. They have a big family and it will take some time to get the whole family together. His service will be on Saturday the 23rd. Vicki has just one surviving Uncle now who lives in South Dakota.

As I said in last weeks post about my new normal, I have some writing from 10 years ago that I am adding to my posts.

Here's this weeks' contribution,   

Life & Death

Love is such a powerful 

force for good 

or bad

I blush to think of what I’ve had

and wasted, trashed and thrown away

thinking there’s always another day

Friendship is so

wonderful and

rare

Simple pleasures you can share

when someone fits into your life

is there in pain and bitter strife

Breath in the

Delights of

existence Grand

Rejoice in those who take a stand

to live as fully as they will

take the cup and drink their fill

For pain and suffering 

will surely 

come

It’s up to you to add the sum

of life’s sweet blessings into the mix

Knowing that fate will play its tricks

And stand and fight for all you can

Make the best of your maker’s plan

Live with Passion to your last breath

Your story’s told between life and death

There it is, 

Hang in there,

RT

The New Normal

I am well into the third month of the Stivarga Clinical Trial at Mayo. My strength and stamina are slowly getting better on most days. If I am to continue to take this drug for the foreseeable future it will take some adjustment on my part.

I must be willing to get up off my ass regardless of side effects and do something, anything really, other than laying around in my easy chair and wishing I felt better.

While I may not be up to great physical exertion quite yet, I am going to attempt some intellectual muscle building at least.

I have held off commenting on our current political status and hope to continue in that mode. Instead, I dug up some writing I did in another time and place. At one point my wife and I moved to a small town in North Carolina and bought a fixer upper in a semi-countrified community just north of the town on a lake.

During the almost 2 years we spent there working on the house I had a few months of inspiration and found myself awake at 2 in the morning writing poems. I am going to add one of those to each of my blogs till I run out of them.

Here's this weeks contribution.


ANYBODY CAN

Anybody can write anything these days
And post it on the Internet
Not really dependent on older ways
Of finding audiences with interests met

I know this factually to be true
of course the deed I've surely done
not willing or able to wait on you
just writing like I'm the only one

who has got the magic words
to tell the world it's troubled state
and not giving the reason why 
it's coming from this old reprobate

Fortunately or unfortunately for my reader this is but one of 50 or so I penned during my period of inspiration a decade ago. Be warned, more will come. This is my new normal.

Till next time,
Hang in there,

RT

The Results Are In

We had a full day yesterday going from my early morning appointments at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale to my afternoon appointments with my Clinical Trial Coordinator and my Oncologist at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix.

The results of the lab blood work were good with a couple of exceptions. My platelet count is still at 81,000. I would like to get it higher to control some minor bleeding problems the low platelets cause. The rest of the numbers were either just a little low or good. 

The scans of my head, chest and abdomen were mostly good. There was no evidence of any neurological reason for my headaches, so that was very good. We had to check because my father died of an aneurysm in his brain at 67.

The chest scan showed that the 7 small tumors in my lungs had not increased in size and no new tumors were discovered. That's very good news. The Oncologist and I discussed what to look for in the next scan which will be in 2 months. At that time it could be possible to see some change in the tumors.

The not so good news is that I must continue to take the maximum dose which can be quite debilitating.

It's a small price to pay for continued survival, it's just that I want to be more active. I need to get to work on the RV and help Vicki around the house.

So that's it from here. 

Hang in there,

RT

Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered

I got my dates mixed up on the 2nd cycle. I actually finished taking the pills on Monday the 14th, but won't get my scan till the 22nd at Scottsdale Mayo. I am easily confused these days.

Went to my cardiologist today for another 6 month check and all was well. I have been running on my bypass for 4 years now. I see him every six months so things don't get out of hand with blood pressure and other heart stuff.

I worry that all the drugs I've been given will damage my heart or my one kidney. I was told by my hemo nurse that the current drug I'm taking is processed out of my system by my liver. That's another organ to worry about.

I may get to take a smaller dosage of Stivarga in the next cycle. It depends on the scan results. They think I shouldn't be as tired as I am from the drug. We'll see. I want to be more active.

No more news from here.

Hang in,

RT

Close to Finishing Cycle 2

There are just a few days left in my second month of the Clinical Trial. On Monday I will get lab work and a CT Scan to see if the drug has had any effect on the tumors in my lungs. In addition I may get a full body scan. My Hematology Nurse wants to see if something organic is causing my headaches.

I have days with some energy and days with none. The nausea comes and goes along with the corresponding digestive issues. My weight is staying around 160 pounds, a little low, I continue to try to eat as much as I can.

I have procrastinated on the RV parts. I still need to order a battery disconnect switch and a solar battery charger and solar controller. Just haven't had much energy to do anything lately.

Vicki is still struggling with her right shoulder. In addition she pulled a muscle in her stomach lifting a case of water last week, so she is hurting a bit. We are chilling this weekend. We'll watch some Game of Thrones tonight and maybe a little Saturday Night Live. Other than that we will rest up till Monday.

We have to be a Mayo Scottsdale at 6:45 in the morning on Monday. That means we have to get up around 4 or 4:30 in the morning. That's much too early for us.

I have both labs and a scan at Scottsdale, then afternoon appointments at Phoenix Mayo. It will be a long day. I just hope the scan shows something positive this time.

That's it from here.

Hang in,

RT

Second Cycle

I started the second month of the Clinical Trial last Tuesday. It is referred to as the second cycle in the Trial Diary. I continue to take the maximum dosage each day, though I have changed the time I take the pills to just after dinner. It helps with managing the nausea.

My energy level today is pretty low. I have stayed up tonight to get my stomach more under control before going to bed. I think I'll hit the sack after I finish this post.

Vicki was very tired today. She cleaned the entire house this last week, plus we had  Zero Rez in to clean the carpet on Thursday. We're just getting ourselves  back together this weekend.

We moved most of the furniture from the living room and dining room. That took a while to put back when the carpet dried on Friday. The bad news is we're both beat, but the good news is the house is clean. If only we had the energy to start working on the RV. That would be great.

Speaking of the RV, I have ordered the first set of parts needed to make a battery shut off switch and solar battery recharge system. I still need to order the solar panel and solar controller for the system. There are a bunch of products out there and I am continuing research before ordering these items.

When everything comes in I will get my mobile RV tech to come and install the system. I may need a chassis battery as well. We'll just have to wait and see.

That's it from here.

Have a great weekend,

RT

First Month of Clinical Trial Review

Right now I'm in my off week.  Over the past 21 days I took 84 pills, four a day for 21 days. That's the maximum dosage for Stivarga. Some patients have had a harder time than me and I guess some not as hard a time.

I was hoping to feel better with more energy during this off week. So far it's been about fifty/fifty. I feel better more often than when I take the pills but I am still having trouble sleeping and I am getting headaches that so far have been hard to fix.

I have not a great deal more energy either. Today was the first day that I was able to go out. I needed to get some stuff to work on our bathroom sinks at Home Depot. Vicki needed some prescriptions picked up at Walgreens and we needed a loaf of bread. I wanted to go to the storage yard and check on the RV as well. 

I accomplished all my errands, came back to house and picked up Vicki to join me in looking after our RV. We found the front two Tire covers had blown away in a storm and spent some time looking around the Storage Lot to no avail. Worse than that though was the condition of the RVs batteries. They (all 3, the one under the hood and the two for the RV) were dead as doornails. Pretty discouraging. Now I have to get them recharged if they aren't ruined and set up some kind of solar battery minder for both the chassis battery and the house batteries. This is another project I may not be able to do.

I spent some time tonight researching RV solar battery minders and I still don't know which one to get. I think I will give my mobile RV tech a call on Monday and see what advice he can give me.

It's important that we maintain the RV while renovating it or things will get worse rather than better. During the past month I was unable to get up and go check on it and that's my fault. I should have made arrangements to have it checked at least once a week.

The only good news from all of this with the RV is that we didn't see evidence of any storm damage or water leakage.

I hope I can get my act together on this thing and as the Cable Guy says " Get Er Done."

Of course the biggest issue will be what effect the Stivarga is having on my Cancer. It will be another month before I will know that.

Have a great weekend,

RT