Saturday 11-11-2006

The last week and a half has been really fun and really busy. Sorry about the blog hiatus but I have just been out and about and have not had too much time to myself. The little time I did get to myself, I spent vegging and recovering.

Everything is still going very well with my health. I still feel extremely lucky to be going through this relatively easily so far. I almost wish that there were more side effects because it would seem like the chemo might be doing more. Then I think about it and am glad that it is this way. The chemo is going to be as effective as it is going to be and if it does not matter if I suffer through it, I would prefer not to suffer. At my last infusion, I met a man who threw-up 15 times in the 24 hours after his first infusion of Gemzar and basically he has realized that he just cannot eat on infusion days. Again, I feel very lucky.

I have not had a pulmonary embolism so I can only assume that my DVT (blood clot) is resolving itself. I am still injecting myself with Lovenox twice a day. It is more of an annoyance at this point than anything else. I have resumed light activity as I was approved for slow bike rides and walks. Somehow people think I am trying to project an athletic look when I am wearing the jobst stocking. One guy thought I was some pro soccer player trying to keep my leg in tip top shape. If they only knew how far I am from my peak physical condition.

Otherwise, everything is pretty good. My weight has leveled off at a "healthy" 180 and I have been eating much more good food than junk recently (though there is really no need to totally eliminate the junk-you have to keep life worth living). I have shaved my head and, with the extra weight, can do a pretty decent Dr. Evil, "Would you like a hot pocket Mr. Bigglesworth?" Continuing the overview, my appetite has been good, I can digest food, stools good, not too much gas, no vomiting, the rash is going strong, small infrequent and insignificant pain, decent energy, and I have been sleeping well.

As far as my activities for the last couple weeks... Eva and I went to San Francisco for a couple days and I got to sail in the Pro-am race of the Alliance Cup. I was basically rail meat but it was pretty awesome to get out onto the bay with a few guys from the Oracle BMW team and Larry Ellison actually skippered one of the three little races we did. As soon as we got back from SF, Eva's brother, George, and his girlfriend, Susy, came into town and have stayed with us for a couple weeks. They were treated to an infusion but as that was not all that exciting, Eva took them on a hike for infusion day number 2. We did quite a bit but the purpose of the trip was really to spend time with Eva and catch up on everything that has gone on recently. We all went to the PANCAN pancreatic cancer symposium which was a really wonderful and informative experience (Willye White gave her survivor story). After a day of pancreatic cancer we all needed something to lighten things up a bit so we went to see Borat (very enjoyable). The next evening was the PANCAN Evening with the Stars Gala - a formal dinner/ affair to raise money for pancreatic cancer. Jay Mohr hosted it and one of my father's dreams was fulfilled as Dr. Isacoff introduced him to Richard Riordan. Pretty incredible dinner but, then again, how could you go wrong when you pile shrimp on top of fillet mignon.


Eva had to work during the second week they were here, so they decided to head out to Joshua Tree for a few days to do some climbing and ended up having an incredible time. At the same time a couple of my friends from college (Bubba and Elizabeth) came into town and we all headed out to Catalina for a couple days. It was a great trip as the Santa Ana's kept the seas super mellow and it was just warm and beautiful over there. We got a good look at some dolphins on the way back - I love dolphins.



Throw a few nice dinners, a King's game, and an infusion into the mix and you can see that I have certainly been able to fill the days. I think things will settle down a bit now and I still would like to get away for a few days and just spend some time with Eva doing nothing. We will see. Somehow, whenever I think things will settle down, something always comes up (usually it ends up being pretty fun, so I can't complain).

-TN