side effects

Chemo: Four for Four

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Joe on 10/13/13

Selfie, taken this morning. Note my Mac Classic on the book shelf!

With round four last week, chemo is two-thirds done, and I’m happily still sailing through!

Side effects continue to be minimal, and I actually felt a little better this round than the last one, when I felt great except for some fatigue. That’s somewhat of a surprise, since chemo has a cumulative effect, with each round having the potential to tax your system a little more. The only new side effect is a slight tingling and numbness in my hands, which is common, but it doesn’t interfere or hurt at all.

Some have been concerned that instead of “no news is good news,” the radio silence (should we update that to internet silence?) has meant that I haven’t been feeling well or up to blogging. In fact, it has been very much the opposite. As the dust has settled and treatment has become more routine, I’ve been able to work steadily and focus on other aspects of life, so my posts here have been less frequent.

I will be going for another PET scan on Thursday, and will find out the results when I start round five the following Monday. As of the last chest X-ray, following round one, the large mass had shrunk from the size of a grapefruit to that of a golf ball. Want to venture a guess how small it will be in the PET scan? Just add a comment!

Thanks and lotsa love to everyone who has reached out to ask how I’m doing, and has continued to keep me in their thoughts and prayers.

Second Round Rundown

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Joe in Cap and Black Tee

My friend, Carmen, snapped this pic of me, today.

I’m happy to report that I’m two for two! My second round of chemo went very well, with minimal side effects.

Dr. R. increased the dosage this cycle because I did so well after the first one, but I felt no differently for the most part, other than being slightly more tired. This gave me license to indulge in one of my favorite guilty pleasures: the afternoon nap.

I’m also happy to report that my reaction to the Neulasta shot was much less severe. This was expected, because I had less disease. This time, on a scale of one to ten, the pain in the bones of my lower back and legs only got up to a strong one at the most, and two Extra Strength Tylenols once a day took care of it. Last time, it topped off at a strong six, and I took the Tylenol every six hours. That time, the medication wore off at the height of the pain, after only about three and a half hours, leaving me to deal with it until I could take another dose. I also tried a preventative remedy that my Mom passed on—many of you know that she’s also an RN—which seems to have worked, and was recommended through an Oncologist in her medical community: one Claritin the evening before, of, and after the shot. I’m a good patient (if I do say so myself) so I first made sure to clear this with Moira, my fantastic RN/Hematology Nurse Practitioner, before taking anything that hadn’t been prescribed by their office.

The only real issue has been low white blood cell counts: 1500 total with 800 neutrophils (the NIH defines normal as 4,500 to 10,000). As a result, I was put on a five-day course of prophylactic antibiotics. The low counts mean that I feel the fatigue more, too, so I decided not to fight the masses of travelers this Labor Day weekend, and instead have been laying low at home in Brooklyn. These results were expected; in fact, if my counts were good like last time (11,000), Dr. R. would have increased the chemo again for round three.

One thing is certain: my appetite hasn’t been affected. I’m eating like a horse. I met friends for a great brunch at Alchemy, yesterday, and lunch at ‘Snice, today. Before lunch, I stopped at the farmers market on 5th Ave and 4th St, and made a nice haul of fresh produce. Wait, did I really spend $10 on arugula?! No matter, I’ve paid that for a cocktail, and this ten spot went towards part of two bags of local, pesticide-free fruits and veggies to feast on this week. On a related note, I’ve been cooking and eating at home a lot more, which has been very therapeutic and fun. Except for doing the dishes. I don’t ever find washing dishes fun. Especially since, like most NYC apartment dwellers, I don’t have a dishwasher.

The last eight weeks have flown by, but the dust is settling a bit and I’m getting back into a routine. This was my first full week of work since being diagnosed, and it was very productive. I published a new online course of my own at Udemy.com, Interactive PDFs with Adobe InDesign: No-Code Digital, and another, Design for Coders, which I did for my new client learntoprogram.tv, was opened for early access and will go live in about two weeks.

At one-third of the way done, I’m feeling great and hoping the pattern continues for the next four treatments. Thanks for keeping those prayers, thoughts, vibes and all forms of positive energy coming; clearly they’re working!

Lotsa love,

Joseph/Joe

PS: There’s still plenty of time to support my Light The Night Walk on September 25!