Catching up.....

Well, I'm on day 4 of my clinical trial treatment. First day was okay, second night I couldn't sleep, which made for a very long next day....I was just out of it, neausea, tired and just weird feeling. I was at work and called it a day around 4:30pm. Today, I took the meds around 3pm, and tomorrow I'll take it in the evening, so that the crummy feeling will be while I'm asleep, instead of while I'm trying to function. I feel quite good today, my head is a bit fuzzy, but not too bad and I seem to have a lot of energy...that's a good thing.

That sciatic nerve problem....I was pretty uncomfortable just before Eagle Camp; my sister-in-law suggested a chiropractor, so I saw one the day before I left. He said that my sacriliac joint was inflamed and turned a bit, possibly from the surgery, and it was wreaking havoc on my sciatic nerve. He did a bunch of pulls and exercises and massages, told me to continue them at EC. He also said that driving long distances was the worst thing I could do, so he gave me some ice packs for the ride. He was a super guy....he has been diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. We chatted for quite awhile, and he invited me to go with him to Chinatown to see a man called Tom Tam, who is working with cancer patients, using Chinese techniques. It is on Saturdays, and I may go at some point, but not this week. My back felt much better the next morning and continued to feel good at EC. By the time I drove to CN and back to MA, it was totally acting up again and I was very uncomfortable on the day of my infusion at MGH. But I have been doing the exercises, and it seems to be better again.

I had my appointment with the MD/holistic oncologist just this past weekend. I drove to Litchfield, CN directly from South Hero, VT (Eagle Camp); Keith, Kristeen and Maia went home first (they are just 20 miles South of EC), unpacked, packed again and met me in Litchfield that evening. We stayed at a Bed & Breakfast in Litchfield...when I was able to get online for the first time in a week, I went the the NPR/MyCancer blog. Leroy Sievers had passed away the night before. I knew he was near the end...I was saddened. He is the one who has been writing a blog being published on NPR. He had colon cancer, had surgery and was clear for 4 1/2 years, when the scans showed that it had gone to his brain and lungs...they told him 3-6 months and he lived a full life for 33 months, writing a post in his blog every day. He was great. I didn't even know him, but I miss him.

We met with Malynn on Sunday morning for about 2 1/2 hours. She listened and took notes, made suggestions, answered many questions; in general kind of put all the pieces together for us. Later, we went to their home for dinner, where she made it a learning experience for us, using some unusual spices for an Indian stir-fry, and making a dessert that she actually has for breakfast, but she adapted it to have as dessert. Keith, Kristeen and Maia went back to the B&B and I stayed there for awhile and did some Imaging with Malynn. Then Ryan drove me back to the B&B. On Monday morning, we went back to their house and had our last session, where she had her conclusions and suggestions all written up for us. A lot of the food issues were similar to Chris Brown's, but I feel that I have a better understanding now, and she added to what I'm doing. She feels that I should have 2-3 eggs a week, which is fine by me--I love eggs, also that I can have ghee (Indian butter, where the butter is boiled and the most harmful part of the butter is taken off), that these would be good while on chemo. Our visit was very worthwhile. Malynn and Ryan are two of the most outstanding people I've ever met and I think that K&K felt the same way....just really unusually warm, friendly, smart, unassuming, confident but humble, just a unique combination. The time spent with them was truly amazing.

All right, I'm off to bed. It's Friday night, Brenda and Carole came down tonight and we walked the Harbor and stopped at the local Tavern, the Olympics are ending--they were so enjoyable, I got a lot done today at work and at my house, and I'm feeling good......I'll take it! One day at a time......