Weapons of Mass Destruction -- The Brown Note

Howdy folks, and happy new year!

I thought the first post of the new year would be a good time to say thank you to all the folks who've been following my progress and sending so many wonderful comments, thoughts, prayers, positive packets of cosmic energy and the like.  Over the holidays, I got a fair bit of positive feedback about the blog, and even some gentle nudging to get the next entry posted.  Each blog entry is like cooking a new recipe: you start out with a particular end in mind, but sometimes it comes out a bit different than you intended.  They almost always satisfy your hunger, and occasionally turn out to be a delight;  rarely do they turn out to be completely inedible, but sometimes they turn out to be just a sandwich, fit only for hasty consumption while standing in the kitchen.  Again, thank you all so much for your encouragement and comments about my writings and progress -- trust me, it does me a lot of good to get thoughts on paper, even when they are barely "edible."

Weapons of Mass Destruction -- The Brown Note:

Yesterday was my checkup with the doctor after the second chemo treatment of round 2.  As many of you know, the latter half of December has left me feeling not so hot: the pain in my back hasn't really lessened as the doctor had hoped, and has increased to some extent.  In addition to that, I've mostly just lazed about, generally not feeling too good nor having much in the way of energy.  Yesterday's visit with the doctor confirmed what we'd been worrying about: the doctor doesn't think the chemo regimen that had worked so well during the summer is having the good effects that we'd hoped for this time around.  Most patients, he said, have good luck when they return to the previous, successful regimen; however, in some folks with over-achieving cells (like mine) the cells get smarter and eventually develop resistance to that particular combination.  Hence, we scrapped that cocktail, and went with a completely new recipe (Irinotecan/Carboplatin/Avastatin).  We'll try this for a couple of rounds, then see how things are going again.

The Irinotecan is an interesting drug.  At least 10 people from the doctor, to the doctor's PA and nurse, to the chemo nurses, assistants, and pharmacist all started describing it with "now, this one is known for giving you diarrhea.  I wouldn't go home without stopping by the store for some Imodium, just in case."  Ok, great -- but we can handle it.  The real amusement came when the nurse showed up with the IV bag containing the drug.  Unlike all the other drugs and pre-meds that come in clear bags, it was enshrouded in a brown plastic bag.  This made me giggle uncontrollably.  I asked the nurse if it was color coded, but she either didn't think it was funny, or didn't get the joke.  Gotta keep your sense of humor where you can! (The real reason for the brown bag -- or so she said -- is because the drug is light sensitive.)

So the infusion got about half way done, and the nurse kept checking on me to see if I'd had any uncontrollable episodes -- I hadn't, but I sure had the corresponding cramps.  So they stopped the infusion mid-way, and administered another drug: atropine, to combat the cramping.  Now, I've watched enough Gulf War/spy movies to remember that soldiers who are likely to be exposed to chemical weapons carry an atropine auto-injector.  So I looked it up on my handy iPhone, and by the time I finished reading about it, I didn't know which was worse, the chemo or the atropine.  Both are pretty wicked.  Nonetheless, it got me through the chemo session, and I'm happy to report that my digestive constitution is, thus far, in good order.

This concludes my Number Two entry in the Blog Series for the Scatologically Inclined.  I thought it only fitting that I round out my entries after last month's Yellow Snow topic.

Best wishes to all of you for a great new year.  Keep us in your thoughts and prayers -- it helps more than you know.

James