I had a series of doctor appointments in August / September -- one with each of the three primary oncologists (Surgery, Radiation, Hematology). All declared that things still looked good. All indicated that I should continue to get better. The lingering issues continue to be: - very low white blood cell count - less than optimal saliva production - general weakness - brownish-white coating on my tongue preventing full recovery of taste I've begun reading everything I can about cancer recovery -- specifically as it relates to any dietary or lifestyle changes that could impact my immune system and "kick in" the production of white blood cells. About a month ago, I made the decision to take as much sugar and simple carbohydrate out of my diet as possible. This had a couple of effects: 1. I lost about 8 pounds in the first two weeks after doing this, 2. The coating on my tongue went away, my tongue is pink now, and I can taste pretty much everything! So....I probably had a lingering yeast infection that was destroyed when the source of yeast nutrition - sugar - was removed from my diet. I'll have another set of blood work done at the end of next week and I'm really hoping that 5+ weeks on this diet regime will have positively impacted some of these blood numbers. If not, at least I hope my blood sugar dips a bit, I've always been near the top end of "normal" ....also known as pre-diabetic. I am getting stronger -- but it is a joke how little strength / stamina I have. I've tried "jogging" -- not running, just jogging - I can get maybe a quarter mile before having to walk about a mailbox or two, then I can alternate jogging a few mailboxes before walking one or two. It takes about 15 minutes or so to make the 1.25 mile circuit that is our "block". The other thing that's a real hassle is related to the dry throat. Since my throat dries out easily, I drink a ton of water. That leads to a ridiculous amount of time spent going to the bathroom. In an effort to ease this problem, I've basically cut out caffeine and alcohol, but this is still an issue and it really controls my social life in insidious ways. (For example, I won't get into someone else's car for a drive longer than 15 minutes so I don't get trapped without the ability to control being able to pull over to use a bathroom.) Great stuff, huh?

Medi-Port Removal

Was very pleasantly surprised that both the Radiation and Chemo docs agreed that my medi-port should be removed. When it went in, I was told to expect to keep it at least a year and maybe up to 3 years. both docs said it could do more harm than good at this point and to get it out, so they "ordered" the surgery. Got my call yesterday to schedule and was very, very surprised to learn this is an "office" procedure with only local anesthesia. I can drive myself there and back and should not expect to even need pain killers beyond Tylenol or Advil. So, I'm getting it done tomorrow -- Thursday -- at 9:00. Same doc who put in the port will be doing the removal. I can't wait to have this thing out of my chest -- it doesn't hurt, it doesn't even hardly bother me....it is just freaky! Good riddance.

PET Scan - ALL CLEAR!!!

Just returned from meeting with my Radiation Oncologist to review last Friday's PET Scan.... The result was "all clear"..."a perfectly normal PET scan". The doc moved the conversation to the removal of my "medi-port". This was installed by the Chemo team - who I see next week -- but the Radiation guy says that he will push them to remove this "sooner, rather than later". So, definitely a good visit and good result. He didn't even need to stick the camera down my nose today! Awesome. Gotta find a way to celebrate tonight!

Waiting for Thursday to Review PET Scan Results

Visited my dentist this past Thursday for the first time since my cancer. Great news!!! There was no new decay! I had been very worried about this as the dry mouth creates a bacteria-friendly environment where tooth decay can prevail over rigorous dental hygeine practices. Both my hygenist (the same person has been my hygenist for over 10 years) and my dentist said that my dry mouth was "mild to moderate, at worst" and that things looked very good. My thinking that my "teeth moved" during treatment was put down to weight loss by both -- so I didn't have some sort of tooth-to-bone ligament failure during my treatment, either. Both stressed the need for continued vigilance around brushing, flossing and keeping my mouth hydrated -- but they seem to believe that my mouth came through the worst of this without any major issues. Awesome. Friday morning I had my 2nd PET scan at Kettering Medical Center. I had a 7am appointment and was completely done before 9am -- including having the test results on a CD that I will take with me to UC Health Center this Thursday at 10am. I expect the radiologist at Kettering will write up a report that will be faxed to UC and the Oncologist at UC will use the radiologist report along with looking at the detailed results to report back to me...and adjust/amend treatment plans, as necessary. Other than small stress related to this big milestone, most other things are going well. I can hear out of both ears now...that's a huge bit of recovery. I can taste most things and can pretty much eat anything -- although there's lots of things I choose not to eat just because they don't taste particularly good anymore. (Oh, Pizza, how I miss you....) I've been cutting the grass with my self-propelled push mower and even running the weed whacker to edge and clean up the sidewalks -- although that leaves me sore and drained. This weekend, we had hot, sunny weather for the first time since my treatment and I noticed that the sun absolutely affects my skin (all of it, not just the treated skin) much faster than ever before. This is definitely a new thing for me and will take some adjusting. Will post again after this Thursday's meeting -- which is with my Radiation Oncologist. I also see my Hematology Oncologist next Wednesday (this is the "chemo guy""). Hopefully I will get an "all clear" from both of them and then I'll be partying. (with water!)

Recovery Proceeding Well -- Big Day Friday (PET Scan)

May 10. I've been back to full time work for a few weeks. I'm eating well now -- able to eat almost everything. In fact, taste is not driving any eating decisions anymore. I also am no longer experiencing any pain in swallowing or due to high acid foods. I can also tolerate moderately spicy foods -- but don't really have any appetite for very spicy foods. Breads, nuts, chips are all "challenging" -- I can eat them, but they mostly stick to my teeth and require frequent sips of water to get down. In other words, they're not really worth the effort. But, I am doing fine with sandwiches -- especially if there's something moist inside, like a juicy hamburger or corned beef and sauerkraut! One other fantastic improvement is that the hearing in my left ear has returned. In my follow-up on April 23 with the Surgical Oncologist, he presecribed a steroid nose spray and recommended that I take Claritin daily. Don't know if these two things helped or not, but I can hear now. Probably not at pre-treatment levels, but compared to how its been the past 3 months, this is fantastic! I will see my dentist this coming Thursday. I last saw him in early November -- when I knew about the lump but thought it was just a swollen gland. I visited the office in January to have the "fluoride trays" made, but I did not see my Dentist then. I am a little nervous about the visit as I feel that my teeth "moved" during treatment and it was a big possibility that I'd have a lot of tooth decay due to the dryness of my mouth. This remains a big issue and something I'll have to manage the rest of my life...unless I get them all pulled like my father did. So, a little bit nervous about Thursday's dentist visit. Friday, I have another PET scan. Like the first time, I will wait around after to carry a CD of the Scan from Kettering Medical Center to the UC Health Center where my Oncologists are. I meet with the Radiation Oncologist a week from Thursday to review the PET Scan results. I honestly do not know what to expect. I can only hope (and pray) that the scan is clear. If it is not, I've not had any discussions about what that might mean in terms of follow-on treatment...How urgent it would be, for example. All I know is the Radiation Oncologist told me at the start that they cannot use radiation again on the same area...ever. So, if it is not gone in the neck area, I'll have only Chemo and Surgery as treatment options. If it had spread to other areas then, I suppose, radiation, chemo, and surgery would be options -- but, as I say, I don't know if it would be urgent to go after it right away or if they'd want me to recover more strength (and body weight) prior to treating again. I'll post again after the dentist and after the follow-up a week from Thursday.

First Round of Follow-Ups Complete

I saw my Chemo doc on Thursday last week and my Surgeon/Oncologist yesterday - both appointments were positive. On Thursday I had a 6 week follow-up with Hematology/Oncology (the Chemo doc). All they did was bloodwork and a quick oral update. That appointment was "necessitated" by a few bad results on prior bloodwork, otherwise they'd not have had me back for 3 months. When they take blood, they do two vials. One for a CBC (Complete Blood C???) and one for a Comprehensive Metabolic Panel. The results will be uploaded to my web site by the end of this week, however, but the "instant results" (CBC) were good for white blood cells, red blood cells, platelets, etc. The "creatinine" (Kidney) and the liver enzymes come back in the Comp -- which they've seen, and not phoned me, indicating the numbers are OK. I will see this doc again at the end of June. Yesterday, I saw the Surgeon. This is the first doc I saw at UC Health and he "owns" my case. He did the biopsy and represented my case at the "Tumor board" which resulted in the Chemo+Radiation (and no Surgery) treatment plan. Dr Casper asked a few questions about my ability to eat and swallow. He asked if I had any issues and I told him about my loss of hearing on the left side. He walked out and got me a hearing test down the hall which showed a signifcant "Moderate to Severe" loss in the left ear -- but "normal" on the right. This confirmed what I knew, that this was not systematic hearing loss caused by chemo, but rather localized loss on the left where the radiation was stronger. He saw "fluid" in the middle ear but no sign of infection so advised me to give it another 6 weeks to heal on its own. I have noticed occasional "clearing" of what I perceive as a blockage and I mentioned this to him which uncovered that I'd started taking Claritin a few days ago for seasonal allergies. Upon discovering this, he advised, and prescribed, Fluticasone (steroid nose spray) to try to reduce sinus swelling and potentially help get the hearing back faster. Aside from my hearing, Dr Casper used a camera to look down my throat at the tumor site and he reported very positive results there in terms of scarring and inflammation being minimal to non-existant. Likewise his assessment of the area based on feeling for lumps from the outside was also positive. Overall, I have little difficulty eating. I'm even able to eat sandwiches now -- although I do overload condiments a little to add moisture. I can drink Sprite or 7-Up without diluting them -- although I'm mostly just drinking water now since it tastes normal again. I am still avoiding spicy foods although my tolerance there continues to increase. I don't really have any foods left that taste "wrong". Tomatoes and beef were the worst and I ate a grilled hamburger with Ketchup and a slice of fresh tomato last night and it was awesome! Next step....PET Scan on Friday May 17 and follow-up with Radiation Oncologist on Thursday May 23 to review results. I also have follow-ups with the other docs in June. Not sure what kinds of things might be recommended if the scan is not clear -- so hoping and praying for the best outcome there.

Mid-April Update

I have a bunch of follow-up doctor visits coming up: 4/18 - Hematology/Oncology - this is the "chemo doc", who will check my blood work to see how my Kidneys and Liver are doing and also to look for a return to normal range of Red Blood Cells, Platelets, White Blood Cells, Iron and a few other minerals. I've been taking supplements, so hopefully these values will be normal ranges. 4/22 - Otolaryngology/Oncology -- this is the surgeon that I originally met with in December who did the biopsies and took my case to the "tumor board" which then set-up the treatment plan. He is an ENT and I'm planning to discuss my hearing loss with him. Not sure what he'll be doing or looking for in the visit. 5/17 - PET Scan (this is the near full-body scan (head to mid-thigh) that looks for any signs of cancer in/around the lymph system, since at least one lymph node was "involved" in the left side of my neck 5/23 - Radiation / Oncology follow-up. This is the big, post scan follow-up to determine the effectiveness of the treatment I went through in January / February and to hopefully declare me "good to go" for 6 months....or not. In terms of recovery, I'm able to eat just about anything now although the dry mouth makes somethings just not worth it. I have some taste, but I notice that after the first or 2nd bite, I really don't taste anything. I honestly don't know if it used to be like that or if it's like that for everyone or if that will change. I do still have to avoid food that is too hot (temperature) or acidic. I have not tried anything spicy but expect that would be an issue, too. There is something in my throat -- either an open wound still, or sensitive scar tissue, that hurts when I yawn and hurts with certain foods. I seem to be at the stage in my recovery where I'm regaining strength...but not yet gaining weight back. From the absolute low point of mid-Feb through mid-March where I was only consuming about 600 calories a day while sleeping 18 hours and sitting/lying the other six, I am now getting up around 7am and going to bed around 10 or 10:30, no naps. I'm working full days and am generally productive the whole time and I'm out and about after work and weekends, too. I've cut the grass twice in the past week and I went to three soccer matches this past weekend and also got out for "evening walks" in the neighborhood four nights. I'm trying to build my strength back to the point that I can be of use when it comes time to move Abby back home from college in a few weeks. Right now, I don't see me being much help.