11-17-2006 through 12-05-2006 Health overview (uneventful)

Well, I have been neglecting the blog recently mostly because everything has been going pretty well and Eva and I have been trying to squeeze it all in as usual. As far as my health, things are still going very smoothly. I did not get anything on Monday the 20th (it would have only been Erbitux) because the rash was still very prevalent. I started Xeloda on Thursday the 23rd and on the 27th and 28th I got a full round of Gemzar, Irrinotecan, Cisplatin, and Erbitux. I had the usual bloating and weight gain and loss but the infusion was pretty mellow. I chatted it up with a couple of nice patients and it really is just like a little social club in some ways. I guess I have been a little tired these days but I think it is more related to our level of activity than the effects of the chemo.

I have noticed that my skin has been as soft as it ever has in my life. Eva has heard about this but it was a bit of a pleasant surprise for me. I think my leg hair is also getting a little thin and it is just a little trippy touching my leg and having it be rather smooth and enticing. Hmmm, I guess the physical effects are not all bad for Eva. Also along the same lines, Eva has noticed that I have considerably less armpit hair than before. It is just a little interesting what stays and what goes. I am wondering what I would look like without eyebrows (something that Eva fears).

Otherwise, I have had some slight nausea but my appetite is still going strong and I certainly have no problem packing it away. I have been trying to eat healthier but am still gaining (luckily I am gaining more slowly than before) and am pretty much over the 185lb mark and knocking on 190's door. The rash has come and gone over the last 2 weeks and was pretty intense at times. At one point I was pretty sure that if I flexed my pecks hard enough, zits would just start popping all over the place (I did not actually carry this out). On the blood clot front, I am still wearing the stocking and injecting myself twice a day. All in all, I feel pretty good. I repeatedly mention to the chemo nurse "If you guys didn't tell me I was sick, I wouldn't know." I guess that if you have to be sick this is probably the best way to be sick.

I went in for my infusion today (just Erbitux) and it went well. Just an hour or so but Eva and I enjoy the office so we end up hanging around a bit. My counts were pretty good - whites were high-normal, reds were just below the normal range, and my platelets were at 450K (just above normal). The infusion days where I only get Erbitux are pretty mellow. I still got my benadryl so Eva had a docile guy on her hands post infusion. I think she prefers me in a semi-doped up state. She says I mouth off a whole lot less. I don't think I ever mouth off, I am just following the example of my father and "being clever."

I will try to get some of the happenings from the last few weeks down with some photos shortly.
-TN