A Long Week

It would only be fair for me to admit that this has been a long week. I haven't posted in several days, mostly because I haven't felt well, not because the week has been uneventful. I know all too well that a short post every other day is more entertaining (if I can say it that way) than one long, drawn out post at the end of the week. We in the Internet/Blogging age crave new information continuously and constantly. I know for myself that I'm annoyed when I check out my favorite websites and/or blogs (Celticsblog anyone?) only to find that no new content has been posted in the last several hours. But you know, it is what is - I'm just trying to disseminate information, not entertain (although as readership of this blog grows, I feel some sense of duty to keep things interesting). So anyhow, I'll get off the philosophical soapbox or whatever you want to call it and give you a few updates:

As you know, chemo was last Friday - it's pretty much taken me a full week to get to where I'm feeling half way decent. On Wednesday night, for example, Emily was gracious enough to babysit while Skye and I went to go see the new Harry Potter movie. By about the last 30-40 minutes of the movie, I had to lie down across the seats with my head on Skye's lap - I just couldn't shake that sick feeling. I've since figured out part of the reason I was so sick for so long. I won't offend my mother's sense of public decency by sharing all of the details, but it turns out that all of the medications I'm taking (including the anti-nausea drugs, ironically) have a rather unpleasant binding side effect. About 24 hours after figuring this out (including overcompensating), I believe that I'm now a little more even-keeled. Once again, it is what it is.

I tried going into work for an hour or so earlier in the week and that didn't work out too well. Today, I tried again only because I had some things that had to be filed today. I survived without being too sick, but when I came home at about 4:30, I was as wiped out as I've ever been after a day of work. Fortunately, I don't expect to have to expend that much energy at work again anytime soon. The managing partner in my office, Greg, is about as ideal a "boss" as one can have. He has essentially told me that he doesn't care if I bill a single hour over the next several months - my entire focus should be on my health and my family. The responsible employee in me feels guilty for accepting such an attitude, yet I've already felt firsthand that it's true - I really need all of my energy to focus on getting healthy right now. So, I'm glad that I've got that support from the people at work.

I did also have a couple of doctor's appointments this week. A few interesting bullets:

• The "official" doctor's lingo is to refer to my cancer as "primary mediastinal B cell lymphoma" (for those whose curiosity demands such detail to perform a little more personal research).
• Survival rates for cancer in children and "older" adults has increased steadily over the last 30 years, while survival rates for "young adults" (18-40) have been flat over the same time period. It doesn't mean anything for my particular case, but I thought it was interesting.
• Skye and I are both sporting new LiveStrong bracelets. As some of you may know, my doctor, Dr. Nichols, is on the Board of Directors of the Lance Armstrong Foundation.