Woe is me

I am going to stop talking about my woes until I have something positive to say. I have had six sessions of chemo and 24 radiation sessions. My esophagus feels like it is burned to a crisp and eating is getting problematic at best. When I do eat it feels like it sits right at the junction of my stomach and esophagus and keeps constant pressure on the ulcer. Even drinking a glass of water is no fun. 
I have lost about 15 lbs. and about 50% percent of my hair and everyone tells me I will lose the rest of the hair. So be it.
I am scheduled to have two more chemo sessions and four  more radiations but Dr. Reddy is hinting that they might do just one more chemo. I have to go in tomorrow for a fluid infusion and another neupogen shot to raise my blood count and maybe I will find out something then.
There is a real positive to report though, Granddaughter Melissa came down Sunday night by train arriving at 7am Monday and as a surprise, brought Grandson Matthew as well. They will stay until Thursday evening then take the train back overnight. It has been a real treat to spend this time with them.
That's all for now until I have finished the treatments and in recovery mode. Then maybe I can talk about the possible surgery that is expected to be needed this fall.
 I must comment on one other thing though, Teri has been a real trooper during this whole scenario, keeping me fed and medicated as appropriate.

I admit it, the chemo is winning.

It has been a long weekend. I played golf on Thursday but couldn't on Friday, just too tired.
Now my hair is falling out and radiation has just about burned up my esophagus, woe is me.
Seriously, this fighting cancer is not for the timid. I am halfway through chemo and have eleven
radiation sessions to go so it might get even more uncomfortable but I will hang in there whatever
comes.

Wednesday musings.

Stomach cramps caused by eating ice cream according to Dr. Reddy. I guess  I will have to get more tramadol.
When tested Monday, white cell count is getting quite low so I am taking injections of neupogen for three days  which stimulates the bone marrow to increase production of white cells. Approval must be obtained from Medicare before use, so I am having to go to the hospital for the shots.
Things are still going well. It seems that the low point of the week will be Friday and Saturday, but I am past the half way point in my treatments so I can live with it.
I will play golf tomorrow and maybe Friday if I still feel up to it, we'll see.

A quick update

Stomach cramps. Started this afternoon and back tonight. Hard and painful. I took a tramadol this
afternoon and the  pain eased quickly so when they hit again tonight, I popped another pill. The pain
eased quickly but I can't take a lot of the tramadol so I will have to discuss with Dr. Reddy on
Monday to see if there is something else I can do about this problem. 
Teri checked the write-up of the two chemo concoctions that I am taking and it specifically 
mentions the abdominal pain possibility and that while it is not considered an emergency, it should be addressed by the Dr. within 24 hours. Carboplatin  seems to be the culprit. Taxol doesn't seem to cause the problem. To be continued.....

Catch up time

I have settled into a routine of chemo on Monday morning and radiation at 3:30 five days a week so
nothing new to report. Well, except that my "port" didn't work on Monday so I had an IV in my
wrist for the session and had to go to the hospital after radiation to have a "port study" performed.
The result of that was that the needle was improperly installed and the port is working properly. I really
didn't need another procedure to endure but whatever.
I played golf today and it turned into an ordeal for some reason. I really started feeling down and could
barely finish the round. I guess the 81 that I shot was pretty good considering my condition. I think the
chemo really hit me for the first time and it wasn't a lot of fun.
Brother James and Rikki called and came over for a visit this evening. It was really good to see them and
catch up on things.
Sleeping is becoming a challenge also. While I have been cruising for the first couple of weeks of
treatments, perhaps I am now going to pay the piper. We'll see I guess.
My spirits are high and I am determined to beat this thing no matter what it takes so a day at a time will
have to do.