It’s Wednesday, 48 days ATN (After The News) and 8 days after infusion #1. I feel pretty much normal again. Well, as in “normal” before the first infusion. I woke up a little before 8 AM, which is Not Normal. You know you’ve been going to the dentist far too frequently when the receptionist recognizes… Continue reading That not usual jaw pain; Does blood count?
Category: chemo
Posts covering the systemic chemotherapy period
Ice cream shopping when you have cancer; Medi-port bruising; Another Day, Another Anti-Cancer Food
It’s Saturday, 44 days after The News. The medical oncologist had indicated that the FOLFOX chemotherapy regimen is generally well-tolerated. So yesterday I was at a loss as to why I still had some residual nausea, three days after the infusion. After carefully checking the medication list, I found I’d missed one: the weekly prescription… Continue reading Ice cream shopping when you have cancer; Medi-port bruising; Another Day, Another Anti-Cancer Food
Infusion #1 +2 Days
It’s Thursday, 42 days after The News and 2 days after the first infusion. Apparently the infusion nurses are the one set of medical professionals who are sensitive to the needs of the nocturnal. (Which is a bit odd since they’re also the only ones I’ve met who don’t hide in windowless basement offices all… Continue reading Infusion #1 +2 Days
Infusion Day!
It’s Tuesday, 40 days after The News and the day of the first infusion! I crawled out of bed at 6:30 this morning to make the 8:00 infusion session. This is even worse than the surgeon’s 9:00 appointment in Burlingame, when I needed to wake at 7. I wonder if they’re running some sort of… Continue reading Infusion Day!
Your life is experiencing technical difficulties…please stand by…
It’s Sunday, 38 days after The News. And T-2 Days to Treatment. Learning I had cancer was yet another excuse to get in touch with people. I’m not exactly a social butterfly, but after spending more than a year avoiding potential COVID-carriers (i.e. everyone) I’ve been looking forward to meeting in person now that we’re… Continue reading Your life is experiencing technical difficulties…please stand by…
Porting Day; The Guinea Pig
It’s Wednesday, 34 days after The News. zombie zom-bie | \zäm-bē\ a will-less and speechless human held to have died and been supernaturally reanimated. a person held to resemble the so-called walking dead, generally as a result of fasting, early morning appointments and sunrise phone calls associated with long-term exposure to medical personnel. I had… Continue reading Porting Day; The Guinea Pig
To Test or Rapid Test; To Drink or Not To Drink
It’s Monday, 32 days after The News. Today was supposed to be dominated by a nerve-wracking visit to the dentist. But there was no time to get nervous over that – the Universe in its own arcane way kept me suitably distracted right up to the dental appointment. And I’m beginning to understand that odd… Continue reading To Test or Rapid Test; To Drink or Not To Drink
Reflections at one month…
It’s Sunday, one month since The News. Two nights ago, after losing all hope that the treatment regimen would at least temporarily relieve me of the need to cut my hair, I finally got the trimmer out. It had taken two months since the last “trim” for my hair to grow back to a length… Continue reading Reflections at one month…
Trying To Get Ported (or Blue Cross Blues)
It’s Thursday, 28 days after The News. Over the last couple days I’ve learned that Palo Alto Dental (PADF) Foundation and Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF) are conspiring to cure me of nyctophilia. Just compare these two calls… PADF: Hi Michael, this is Jane from Palo Alto Dental Foundation.M&M: Hi Jane.PADF: We have a cancellation… Continue reading Trying To Get Ported (or Blue Cross Blues)
Back to School – Infusion teaching Session
It’s Tuesday, 26 days since The News. The people at PAMF have apparently realized that calling me at 7:30 in the morning is causing significant harm. They have instead switched to calling me while I’m taking a shower. Exactly how they know when I’m taking a shower I’m not entirely sure…but maybe there was a… Continue reading Back to School – Infusion teaching Session