Monday 10-9-2006

I got up today and was pretty stiff. My legs had not gotten that much of a workout in a while and I am certainly feeling it today. Looks like a lounge day around the apartment is in order. Things are getting a little intense as Eva and I are still getting everything into order for our parents arrival and also trying to figure out the remaining details for the wedding which is less than two weeks away. I guess, in the end, everything will work out one way or another.

I did make it out of the house to pick up some food for my early lunch (if you have an early lunch and a late lunch you can squeeze that many more calories into the middle of the day) and also did a little shopping. I used to make fun of the people with Camelbacks, but now it really is important for me to stay hydrated, especially on Cisplatin days, so I picked one up. I have become one of those dorky guys with the intense little backpacks, sucking on the straw as they walk around. Eva did get a few laughs as I was wearing it around the apartment that evening and is just waiting for the day that she comes home to find me veging on the couch in my boxers, no shirt, remote in one hand, handful of cheeze-its in the other, wearing my hydration pack, and just sucking away-straw in mouth.

I picked up some Chinese food and met Eva back at the apartment for a nice little lunch. Later in the afternoon I fulfilled my house husband duties by doing the grocery shopping. Then in an effort to try to impress my wife, I laid out the sushi and raspberries I picked up in the most elaborate manner I could think of. She always has wonderful presentation with the food she cooks for me so to maintain the competitiveness between us I thought I would try to take it up a notch. She rewarded me with kisses. We watched the news (the Jim Lehrer Newshour, not the Action 9 bloodbath/"human interest" news) together and discussed politics and had a really pleasant evening.

I am going to post some photos of the rash but I just wanted to warn you that it is a little intense. Also I have my shirt off so if that offends you, you might not want to check them out. It looks a lot worse than it is. My face and scalp actually itch much more than my chest. The rash is actually a really good sign as it means that I have the receptor that Erbitux inhibits. Also, there is supposedly some correlation between the intensity of the rash and responsiveness of the tumor. One last thing to keep in mind is that I am still taking a fairly high dose of steroids daily which is supposed to subdue the rash somewhat. I do not want to imagine what it would be like without the steroids.

Anyways, the photos are under "Rash Photos 10-9-2006" over in the archive, right above September. Check them out if you are so inclined.
-TN