For all my belly-aching on Wednesday night, I'm doing pretty well this morning. Dr. Nichols determined that I was trying to be too much of a tough guy in avoiding my anti-nausea medication. Combating the nausea (and the anticipatory nausea) is far more important than avoiding constipation. So, I'm taking the more of the anti-nausea drugs this time and I have to confess that things aren't so bad.
I can now say that I've only got 1 round left. No matter how much I might not be looking forward to it, it does give me something to excited about. For those of you are relatively new in following our blog, my cancer (primary mediastinal B cell lymphoma) should be "cured" after the 6 rounds of chemo. I'll have to go back for regular check-ups for the next several years, but for all practical purposes, I'll be completely back to normal, ready to live a long, normal, and cancer-free life.
I met a young tough football player in the treatment room on Thursday. He was obviously a new cancer patient. Dr. Nichols asked him how he was doing with the chemo. His response: "I'm kicking a**!!" Sounded just like a tough guy football player. I felt kind of like that at the beginning too. I'm going to try to summon up my inner tough guy for another couple of weeks and blast through the finish line and claim my victory.
And then cancer will be in my rear-view mirror and as Dr. Nichols said, "just a bad memory."
Saturday, October 06, 2007
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10 comments:
Anti-nausea meds = good. You sound much more chipper.
And hooray for heading into the last lap!!!
Next time I ask you how you're doing, I want you to respond with a lawyer cliche!
Yeah! Congrats! I'm so glad you have such a good prognosis!
Jared.....that's flippin sweet news. I understand the desire to avoid constipation. I have been on so much pain medication that I am suffering from the same problem. I stopped taking the pills to save my bowels but now laxatives have become my friend. Sorry if that is TMI.
Tough guy or not, you're still a rock star. You'll pull through this!
Can you see the finish line yet? Or do you just know that it's "somewhere out there"? I think both options can feel rewarding and daunting.
Jared, thanks for sharing all of this with us. I wonder if it seems as if we're all just being nosey and you wish we'd mind our own business sometimes. I'm just grateful that you're well and will be even better in just a few short weeks.
Tamara - no, I don't think you're being nosey at all. I haven't said it often enough, but the comments of encouragement have had their intended effect - they're encouraging to me.
To answer your question, yes, I can see the finish line. The problem is that I can't control how quickly it comes. Though I've never run a marathon, I can imagine having some sense of control - if I run faster, I'll get done sooner. But then again, if you're running a marathon you actually have to do something. With cancer, I can sit on my butt and do nothing...
what fun stories will you write about when you're cancer free? Or... will you stop writing? I mean, come on, you've built your audience here! You're on many people's list of blogs to check daily!
Yay!! I'm so glad this stuff is almost over! I love you bro!
Good Luck with the final round! We're think'n of ya and cheer'n for ya!
Love,
Dave and Tiff
It's almost over. I totally admire your strength and courage. I am so glad that you're near the end. You're in my thoughts and prayers. Hang in there. T minus one day :)
~Lori Arbuckle
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