Week one, cycle three

I had my first infusion of the third cycle of chemo today. The folks at St. Mary's were all smiles, and they told me the results from my first scans last week showed "vigorous" response to the chemotherapy. It is clear they are excited, and so am I. They tell me a strong response at the first scans is a positive sign and their most successful patients on this protocol tend to all have good early response.

My Aunt Andy came up to the City with me and Noah today. We are having a really nice, though brief, visit with her this week.

Now back to the election results... :-)

First Scan - Good News!

Just a quick good news update: I had my first scans today since beginning chemo treatments. The doctor called back early this afternoon and told me the tumors are smaller than in the baseline scan from August. For those who are consumed with curiosity, the scans are CT scans of my body, and an MRI of my head.

I am feeling pretty good about this news, needless to say. I had a pretty down week with sad family events on top of being in week three in the chemo cycle, which I find noticeably harder and more depleting than weeks one and two. The coming week is my "break" week since I had no infusion today. TTFN.

Another week...

My infusion yesterday was pretty typical. The only downer was it took them three tries to get the IV in a vein. Shannon, who is frequently my nurse at the infusion center, is under pressure to get better at IVs. I think it's messing with her head, like when a basketball team all lose confidence in their free throw shooting. The more she worries about it, the worse it gets.

Here's a picture of me and Margaret that Laura H. took at Nina's birthday party last week:

Start of the 2nd Cycle

I had an infusion yesterday. It was the first treatment of the second cycle. Nothing much new happened, but they did tell me they believe I will lose the rest of my hair. I'd say I feel fine, except I have a pretty bad cold. I'm hoping it runs its course quickly and I feel better within the next couple of days. My main plan for dealing with it is to switch to the tissues with lotion.

Rebecca has a stomach flu and is currently not keeping down fluids or attempting to eat. With any luck hers will also pass quickly. I'll keep my fingers crossed (and well washed) and hope I don't get her flu next.

More fallout

A couple of quick snapshots of how I look now. Most of the time I wear a hat or bandana...




And in a parental solidarity move, Joseph also shaved his head. Photo courtesy of Alexander:

Buzz Cut!

I've been obsessing about my rapidly thinning hair all week. Eve's haircut was a relief (and looked really good), but the rate of thinning has been increasing daily. I lost so much hair in the shower yesterday that it was visibly different afterward.

This afternoon I was obsessing some more and trying to convince myself to just buzz it off and be done with it. I tried my logic on Noah and Margaret (it's a difference of a few days either way, this gives me some control over it, it's visibly thin anyway), but they thought it still looked like hair and I should stick it out a bit longer. I was feeling out of sorts, tired, and a little "fluey" anyway, so I settled on the fence (again).

Then Joseph came over between a Rebecca drop-off and an Alex pick-up. I told him what I really wanted was to take control of the situation and make it fun to shave my head, but I was too tired and icky feeling to pull it off. Always up for an adventure or novel experience, Joe leaped into action. He bought me three energy drinks at 7-11 to taste test to get me past my low-energy buzz-kill (Monster was the winner). Then he made sure the clippers were adjusted properly and told me I had to get moving so he could be home in time for dinner. Margaret was our videographer, Noah provided help, plus love and affirmation, and the rest is history...

My Haircut at Apple

When my hair started falling out this week, my coworker, Eve, was kind enough to cut it short. Here is a video of my hair being cut in the ladies bathroom at Apple!





Here are the pictures Eve took when she was finished.