Chemo and Teddy

Side affects, side effects.  I’ve never really figured out what the difference.  If anyone understands the difference let me know – in 5 letter words or less.

A side effect of living is death.  I do believe in an afterlife and that makes all this easier.

I went for chemo today.  My nurse told me of another woman who is taking Ixempra and is doing well. 

The doctor says we will do this for twelve weeks.  It took me a little while to figure out that is the usual three months between PET scans.  That makes it the end of June.

The doctor said my liver function is normal and my blood marker is 341 which is fairly stable.  I looked up what the liver does – it does about 500 things for us, like filtering out poisons.  So being given poison should put the chemo right into the liver.

This chemo takes a long time.  I was there from 8:30 to 1:30.  I took tuna salad and crackers and chocolate.  I took a nap (the nurse woke me up because I was snoring) then ate my snack. 

I took a bunch of books to their book exchange.  I have more but couldn’t carry them all.  I took one from their stack.  I have a book on my Nook that I have been waiting for so it has priority since it has a time limit. 

I couldn’t bear to put Teddy in his little cage for as long as I thought I would be gone.  I left him in the kitchen where his water is and I gave him a hard rubber toy (a Kong) with peanut butter on and in it.

I came home to one pee puddle and one poop dump.  If he had done that in his cage I would have had to give him a bath.   This happens only every three weeks so it can be dealt with.  The Kong was clean.

It rained some this morning and a thunder storm just went a bit south of us.  Teddy didn’t get upset about the thunder.  YEAH! 

I used to try to comfort Shadow about storms, the Great Dane.  HA!  I found the only thing that worked was beer or wine.  I wish I had known about not comforting and reinforcing their fear then.

We live and learn.

Later….

 

Bad News

My ever thoughtful oncologist called yesterday afternoon to tell me the results of the PET scan from last week.  She likes to give me the news before my appointment so I can think about it.

Also, maybe it’s easier to give bad news over the phone.   I think it is easier to get the news that way also.

It isn’t good.  This kind of chemo isn’t working on the cancer spots in my liver.  It seems to work on my bones, some of those spots were even smaller.

She had several suggestions.  One was to think about it for a week, one was to start Ixempra <—link, one was to stop chemo. 

We talked again this morning and I have decided to try the Ixempra.  This will make the fifth kind of chemo that has been tried.

I have decided this will be the last kind of chemo I will take.  Five is a nice round number.

I looked it up on the internet (see link above) and found it is fairly new, approved in 2007.  I only need to get it every three weeks.

Since it takes four hours to get Ixempra and my appointment is too late to do it today, my appointment was changed to Friday at 8:30 a.m.

I will take some snacks as I will get hungry.  They have snacks there but nothing very substantial.  Maybe some cheese and crackers and olives.  Maybe I should also bring a bottle of wine and a candle?  I guess probably not.

I was all ready to go to the appointment when I talked to the nurse today so I went ahead and went to the grocery store.  I intended to go to Walmart but they had no handicapped spaces available so I went down the road to Kroger. 

I stocked up on food.   I have been getting a lot of microwavable foods.

Yesterday Lory and John, Andrea and Chris came over, I kept thinking it was Sunday.  They mowed my lawn and used the weed eater.  They also chipped the frost out of my freezer.  My frost free is suddenly frosty.

Today was nice and warm but very windy.  Everything is getting green.  If I could stop sneezing long enough I would love spring.

later….

 

 

PET Scan & Blooming Trees

Had a PET scan Wed. morning and then went down the street to get blood drawn.   It will be next week before I hear anything about the scan results.

My blood count was low so they gave me a booster shot (Neupogen I think).  Had a headache all evening and most of today.  Don’t remember that side effect before. 

I am to stay away from crowds and call them if I get a temperature of 100.  There seems to be a lot of flu around so I am staying home. 

I snapped a picture of trees in bloom from the floor where the doctor’s office is. 

Don’t know what kind of trees they are but they sure are in bloom.

I even had to turn the air conditioning on when the temperatures reached record highs for this time of year.  Mid 80’s – that’s 20 degrees above normal.

Everyone is wondering what that means about the summer. 

I have a tree growing between my garage and the neighbors fence.  I have called a tree company to see about getting it taken down. 

Lory and John had offered to take it down for me but I’d rather get a pro.  Hope I didn’t hurt anyone’s feelings.  

I tried leaving Teddy out of his cage yesterday while I was gone.  He managed to move a door stop and get the bedroom door open, poop on my bed, his bed, and the floor.  BRAT!

later….

Beautiful Weather

Nothing new around here except maybe the weather which has been beautiful.  Enjoy it while we have it. 

One place I lived I had a young sycamore tree.  We had a spring like this and it put out it’s leaves early.  Then there was a very hard freeze and most of the leaves fell off.  It had a very bare summer and I didn’t think it would survive. 

My Father visited and said it would be okay but it would wait to put out its leaves after this.

A sycamore tree can learn?  It did.  It never leafed out until after the last frost after that.  Now if we could just transplant that gene into the fruit trees.

I was early for my chemo appointment last week so I drove around the house where that tree was.  It has been cut down.  The willow and catalpa trees were also cut down.

Those trees were on the west side of the house and kept the afternoon sun off the house and the air conditioner.  People do the dumbest things.

  Maybe you read the comment on the blog (<- link) about the fish picture.  It’s a puffer fish.   I was telling my tricky child about the comment when she started grinning.  She put it there. 

It rained and thundered some last night.  I like to hear the rain – especially when I’m not in a flood zone. 

Teddy got a little upset with the thunder but I didn’t comfort him.  I have been told that if you comfort a dog during a storm he thinks you approve of that behavior.  I did relent and let him sleep at the foot of the bed. 

Visited the antique shop/barn yesterday.  They have been busy and have sold a lot of stuff.  Advertising will do that.  Once a month they have a “barn buster” sale and are open on Thursday as well as Friday and Sat. 

Maybe people are getting cabin fever and the garage sales haven’t started up yet. 

later….

Signs of Spring

Not the bowling ball, the crocus on the left of it.  Doesn’t everyone have a few bowling balls in their yard?

More crocus.

A tulip starting, it’s in the shade so it will be late.

Frogs.

Working frog holding up a drain spout.

Place to burn old mail or have a party.

My beautiful neighbor dog who stops and listens when I tell her how beautiful she is. 

Today it is 70 degrees outside.  I have propped the storm door open to the back yard.  If Luna, the neighbor dog, is out Teddy stays inside and barks at her. 

When I was out taking pictures of flowers and concrete frogs Teddy was barking at me. 

I think he really enjoyed his day at the groomers.  He needs more activity than I can offer him.  Yeah, I’d like to get another dog but I am resisting the temptation. 

I’ve been watching Animal Planet today.  They have a whole bunch of shows about Bigfoot on.  I now believe in Bigfoot.

later….

Teddy’s Day at the Groomers

Teddy’s appointment was at 11:00 and he didn’t get home until 4:00.  I think they forgot about him for a while.  As you can see, he needed to be there.

The first order of business when he got home was the backyard.

How could anyone not love that face.

Now we have to hope it gets warmer since he is no longer fluffy.

Had a nice phone call from my sister today and a nice nap on the couch.  Can’t say I got anything done really.

later….

Chemo Decisions

Got chemo yesterday and talked to the oncologist.  My blood markers are down by about fifty so that is good news.  A PET will be scheduled the end of March and that will tell the tale.

I am slowly and thoughtfully trying to make my own markers as to when I will stop chemo.  One criteria I have decided on is: if the cancer has spread to another internal organ I will stop.  Bones and liver are enough.

The goal has always been stability.  If that can’t happen and it keeps spreading I see no reason to keep doing chemo.

Certainly if the doctor tells me it’s time to stop that would make the decision.  Anyway, I do not find it depressing to try to make these limits.  It’s just planning for the future.

I got a pretty good picture of my favorite fish in the doctor’s aquarium.  He has turned blue from grey so he is prettier now.  You can click on it the make him bigger.  He shows in person on the left and in the mirror glass on the right.  He has teeth and can look around by moving his eyes.

The picture below is a bit fuzzy as he was moving and maybe I was, too.  It’s just to show the back of him.  I’ve looked at a lot of saltwater fish pictures on the internet and not found him so if anyone knows what he is, let me know.

It is raining steadily today, its in the 50’s but the thermometer is going steadily down.  Teddy won’t go outside and if I boot him out he just stands at the back door and barks.  Small black dogs melt in rain.

Teddy has an appointment at the groomers tomorrow.  I will try to get before and after pictures. That place is such a zoo – literally – that you can’t hear yourself talk.

Looking forward to a trimmed Teddy.

later….

 

March Snow

It snowed in the night last night.  The sun will soon have it gone.  I got a picture of the August Lily leaves, as well as the flower pot that the wind broke.  Sure hope the lilies survive.

This is the backyard after the wind.  The small green blob beyond the tiles is a watering can that was on the deck before the wind moved it.  Also all of my fake grass is blown around.  I put it on top of weeds that try to grow between the tiles.  The fake grass kills the weeds.  Vinegar also kills the weeds.  I tried a weed killer once and it made the dogs sick.  They walk on it and then lick their feet so I use vinegar now.

I also use vinegar in the toilet tank to fight the lime buildup.  It depends on what is in your water.  We have LIME here. 

All the tornadoes are so sad.  Think maybe I would move after a second tornado hit my area.  It depends on the lay of the land and that doesn’t change.

A few years back a tornado did some minor damage several blocks from here.  About midnight that night two men came to my door. 

I got out of bed, peeked out at them and they looked grim to me.  I got out my 38 caliber revolver, put on my robe, and went to the door, holding the gun in front of me but pointed to the left. 

They backed up and quickly explained that they were firemen and were checking for tornado damage.  Then one of them looked at his wrist watch.  I told them I was fine and they left.

I think they probably quit knocking on doors after that.  Maybe they even told the story to their buddies.  Maybe I have a reputation now.  Good.

I’m doing laundry today and I may get to the post office today.  Tomorrow is voting day here in Ohio and I am still pondering over who to vote for.  Maybe we know too much about the candidates.

I’ll have to decide….

later….

Bad Weather–March Lion?

Worst weather is missing us today.  The Cincinnati Ohio Airport (which happens to be in Kentucky) has evacuated everyone to their lowest level.

There are several tornado warnings south of us.  We are getting wind and rain and some lightening and thunder.

Luckily Teddy doesn’t get terribly upset.  He just comes and lays beside wherever I am.  I tell him I also heard the thunder and he seems to accept it.

If I still had Bandit he would be in the bathtub by now.

That list I made has had a few things marked off.  Not as many as I would like.  Maybe I’ll start putting things like “get out of bed” and “eat breakfast” on it so I can feel I have accomplished something.

Lory brought me some rutabaga <-link, all cooked and buttered and seasoned.  I looked it up on the internet since I don’t remember ever seeing it or eating it before.  It is just another name for a fancy turnip.  Actually it tasted pretty good – but then my taster is a bit off.

Now they are reporting power outages.  I have a good flashlight setting on the counter so I’m good.  I also have several candles and an oil lamp or two around here somewhere.  My power is usually very dependable.

I went outside yesterday and marked where the August lily bulbs are planted.  They are around the corner from the back door in an area that isn’t often seen. 

The leaves are up about six inches, they will die down soon and then in August stems come up very fast with a beautiful lily.  It is hard to move them as you have to remember where they are after they bloom. 

So I’ll have to mark a calendar for the end of August to remember to tell someone to dig them up and move them where they will be seen more.

later….

 

 

Politics!!!!!

In the last 20 days I have received 15 political phone calls.  They are usually made in the early afternoon when I am trying to take a nap.  I have hung up on Santorum, Romney, and Gingrich as well as my representative.

At least Santorum puts his name on who is calling which none of the others do.

Enough is enough.  I have found the best solution is to hit the answer button and then immediately hit the hang up button.  Meanwhile I am awake and angry.

We have had rain and clouds and some sun.  So far no tornado watches or warnings. 

I looked at the calendar wrong, I thought I got two weeks off chemo but I only get the usual one.  This week is it.  I am eating everything that doesn’t bite back. 

later….