July 31st -- Fall is in the hair

I think that football practice has already started for most teams. But there's an even more telling sign of fall for me.

The first follicles of autumn float to the ground. As I rub my head, hair magically separates from my scalp and wisps to the ground -- brown hair, gray hair, fine hair. My hair was an old friend, leaving me now for the first time.

I have a follicular lymphoma, so having my follicles fall seems fitting. I was hoping to put off this development one more week. Just another sign of the effects of old Mr. Tumor and his chemotherapy pursuers.

I am ahead of this development. I bought two baseball caps at Wal-mart yesterday. No one will notice I'm bald if I wear a ball cap!

If I get ear rings, I might look like Mr. Clean.

Thursday

The antidote for a sore leg is a sitting position and Mozart. Today I got to listen to symphonies 28, 29, 36, and 38 during my round trip to Knoxville. Pure joy in all four of these gems. I was not familiar with #28, and 29 is now one of my favorites.

The tumor hates Mozart.

Wednesday was even better....

Much more comfortable today. I was able to concentrate much better, and I think I moved about twice as fast as I did yesterday (that's not saying much!). I think the clot must be getting smaller already.

Yesterday afternoon, I found a wonderful card on my desk. It was from all the folks in our Knoxville office. It was great! Cards may seem like a little thing, but this one meant a lot to me. I have a lot of wonderful, new friends, and I need to get to know all of them better.

And, I had lunch today at Schlotsky's with very dear friends that I have not seen in over a month. Thanks for making this a very good week for me!

In other news, my next doctor visit is August 5th, and my next treatment is the 6th. Time flies when you are trying to forget about your next chemotherapy....

Tuesday was OK

The swelling in the right leg went down. The pain level stayed the same. Not a bad trade. I'm worn out from dragging the right leg around all day. ;-(

Otherwise I feel fine. I'm eating well and drinking lots of fluids. Giving myself anti-coagulant injections has turned out to be very easy.

Tomorrow, I'm hoping the pain subsides. I have lots of walking to do this week and I'm anxious to get started!

Oops. Blood clot.

Pain and swelling in my lower right leg (calf) led to a diagnosis of a blood clot in my right thigh. I am giving myself injections to thin the blood and dissolve the clot. I understand that the chemotherapy is the likely cause of the clotting.

So, I have both legs elevated above my heart as I lay in bed updating my blog with my laptop. Not too bad of a situation. I can live like this.

For a while. Tomorrow I want to be back at work. I'm hoping that the swelling will have subsided by then. I have lots to do.

By the way -- do any of you know what a wonderful wife I have???

Tumor Times, Volume 3

Volume 3 is all good news this week!

I had my routine blood work on Thursday and everything is normal. In addition, the results of a CT scan that I had last week came back. It found no additional cancer anywhere else in my body. I have one tumor, and it is all in one place. I think that is about the best news I can ask for.

My energy level is fine. I have a good appetite, and no nausea. I do have some pain in my right leg when I walk.

God bless all of you for the wonderful love and support you have shown me in the last two weeks. I cannot express how much it means to me. Be sure that I have savored each wonderful call, card, and comment from all of you!

Good News

Good news from last week's CT scan: no evidence of any cancer anywhere else except the right pelvis. Nothing has spread. It's one tumor, in one place.

I think that is very Good News!

Leg Pain

My right leg hurts today. It has a dull ache, and I am walking slowly and tenderly. I think this is my first negative development since the first chemotherapy treatment last Friday. So, Praise God! If I didn't have some pain I would not know that I am sick.

Still walking with a lymph.... ;-)

Cancer Survival Rates

This item from First Things shows that our health care system in the US delivers better results for cancer patients than the systems of other countries. Why? Because we can get immediate help. Others have to wait.

President Obama's health care proposals will eliminate speed and efficiency of treatment. They should be opposed by everyone who values effective medical outcomes.

The Whole Tree Down

From Larry Duncan via Facebook:

Christ says, ‘Give me all. I don’t want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want you. I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it. No half-measures are any good. I don’t want to cut off a branch here and a branch there. I want to have the whole tree down.
-C. S. Lewis in Mere Christianity.

Chemotherapy works in the same way: to kill that which should not be there in order to renew the man.

Questions and Answers

Here are some thoughtful answers to some never-asked-questions:

Q. What exactly is wrong with you?
A. I have follicular lymphoma. You can read about that here.

Q. How are you feeling?
A. Very good. My appetite is good, my energy level is adequate, and I am walking better each day.

Q. How was your first round of Chemotherapy?
A. Uneventful. The first round took 10 hours, and I only had one difficult half-hour during that time. I walked out tired, but was able to drive home OK and rested fine that evening.

Q. Isn't it interesting that tumor and humor rhyme?
A. Yes. I just wish I knew how to exploit that.

Q. Is your walking impaired?
A. Somewhat. My tumor is in my lower back and right pelvis, and it does cause pain on the sciatic nerve, which sometimes makes it difficult to walk. I call it walking with a lymph.

Tumor Times Moves to Blogspot

Just to make it easier on me and everyone else, I'm going to move the emails to this blog page. That will make it easier for me to update, and easier for you to catch up. Look for updates every couple of days, and you can read them at your leisure. Remember to contact me via email, or just click one of the comment buttons on the page.

Tumor Times, Volume 2

Time for the second missive in a continuing series of exciting cancer updates.

I had my first chemotherapy on Friday. It took almost 12 hours. I was comfortable for most of the treatment, except for one difficult half hour of nausea, light-headedness, and back pain. I got through that and everything else was uneventful for the rest of the day.

I also had lab tests earlier in the week. As far as I know, nothing new or negative has been discovered through those tests. The prognosis is still good.

At the moment I am feeling fine and I have plenty of energy. I’m taking a break from cutting grass. My lawn mower doesn’t want to run. It keeps stalling. I think it has cancer also.

Next week, I’m going to have an injection on Monday, and more blood work after that. I am told my hair will start to fall out in about a week. I am also told that the first doldrums will start in a week or so. I’m trying to find things to do that will boost my energy levels though all of this. I’m thinking about eating lots of ice cream. That should cure me of everything!

That’s all for now. Please keep Susan and me in your prayers. We need them.

-Kevin

Tumor Times, Volume 1

(Written 7/14/2009)


I had my first visit with the oncologist today and the news is good: the cancer in my lower back and pelvis can be treated successfully with drugs (chemotherapy) and probably not require radiation or surgery.

It is a slow growing tumor, and is very treatable. However, it’s not curable in that a doctor would never be sure that it is complete eradicated from my body. That means watching for a return of cancer in the future. This cancer is called a follicular lymphoma.

I might begin treatments as early as Friday. Except for some lower back pain, the tumor does not affect my health or stamina. I feel fine.

The doctor also plans to do some tests to see if there is more cancer elsewhere, although at this time there is no evidence of it spreading.

I think my prognosis is good, and I thank all of you for your prayers and wonderful notes of encouragement. If you are just hearing about this for the first time don’t worry – the tumor was unknown until one week ago today. The pathologist officially pronounced it cancerous on Friday, July 10th. Things have been moving rapidly.

All in all, I think that today’s news is about the best that I could have expected. I will endeavor to keep you updated.