Three Weeks Down

My posts seem to be getting more and more spread out. Not sure why that is.

As I said in my last post, the Chemo drugs kicked in last Wednesday afternoon right on schedule. Thursday was a rough day but, without the infections and other stuff I had going on the previous cycle, not quite as bad as the previous cycle. Friday was pretty bad, period, though. Just flat out sick as a dog. I did my best to sleep away the second half of the week, sleeping about 18 hours a day -- literally -- but Friday didn't work out as well.

I pretty much just sat in my recliner and stared at the ceiling, hoping to avoid vomiting. That worked most of the day but not all.

Saturday morning brought new hope because I got to get my 5FU pump off. Not sure if it's in my head or what, but I start feeling better on Saturday morning even before I got the pump off. And once it's off and I'm suddenly free of that Damn thing, I really feel better like right away. It's crazy.

So, overall body-wise, Saturday afternoon, Sunday and, so far today, have been non-bad days. Jenny and I went with Ed and Julie yesterday to scout out some alternative living facilities for my parents and one facility tour was more than I could handle. I wound up sitting in their reception area while the other finished the tour and fell asleep. So yes, I didn't feel horrible but I'm certainly still in the pretty low energy category.

Saturday and Sunday nights didn't bring much sleep. Looks like it's feast or famine on the sleep front. So I'm tired today to go along with my mild wierd-feeling stomach. My mouth/throat continue to be sore and my neck just keeps getting redder and redder and, along with it, more and more sore. Of course, the parts that have already dried up and are peeling -- like a bad sunburn -- itch like crazy so Jenny has a full-time job trying to keep me from scratching.

And last for my whining today, my hands have decided to experience the "less likely" side effect from the chemo drugs. The skin on my hands is getting red, sore, cracking and peeling. I think I had mentioned this a week or so ago but it's gotten much worse. It's getting difficult to button a shirt, take the lid off a prescription bottle, etc. It FEELS like I should be able to put lotion on and that would solve the problem, but this is an inside-out problem and the lotion does little to help.

So, with all my downer info out of the way, we can enjoy a few upbeat stats. I just completed my third of five weeks of treatment. 60% done as far as the treatments themselves go. Today -- Monday -- marks the 37th calendar day from the start of my treatment back on Oct 6th. I get my 5FU Pump off for the last time on Saturday, December 6th -- 63 days after the start of treatment. So I'm 59% of the way through the calendar days from start to finish, but that number keeps going up each day.

Point is, I'm over the hump and I'm on the downhill side now.

Can anyone tell I'm an Anal-Retentive Engineer?