Yet another confusing Monday

Monday is the day I go to the Cancer Center to get my 5FU pump installed then go to the Radiation Center for a Radiation Treatment. I then return to the Cancer Center to receive a different Chemo drug via I.V. drip and from there I'm ready to do whatever I want until my 3:45 Radiation treatment. Sometimes we go home, sometimes we go to the Plaza, whatever. It depends on how I'm feeling and what the weather looks like.

But EVERY Monday -- and this was my fifth and final Monday -- there's be some kind of screw-up. On nurse thought I was supposed to receive the Pump AND the chemo I.V. drop before going to my 1st radiation treatment of the day. Another time they were running a little behind so they thought we should just head on down for Radiation then come back and they'd do the pump and the I.V. Chemo then. Stuff like that. But this Monday took the cake.

We arrived at our usual 7:30 only to find they didn't have me on the schedule at all. I was nowhere to be found. But to do anything that morning they needed two things -- an open bed and orders from the doctor. They weren't awash in optimism on either front but I waited. About 8:45 they instructed us to go on over the Radiation for my first treatment then come back and we'd get all the chemo drugs going between Radiation treatments. Dr. Williamson said we'd ignore, for one treatment, that the 5FU pump is SUPPOSED to be installed before any radiation treatments because it tends to enhance the effectiveness.

When we returned from Radiation -- which was a half-hour late themselves -- and our weekly Monday Morning chat with Dr. Wang from Radiation -- it was about 11:15. We go into a room after a few minutes, the Nurse Assistant came in and took Vital Signs. Finally, about noon, a nurse came in to take some blood to send down to the lab. This is something they COULD have done and certainly should have done in the morning before my first treatment. Because they have to analyze the labwork before they can do anything with the I.V. drugs. They need to make sure that, chemically, my body is able to handle the "invasion" of the chemo drugs.

About 1:30 they had the lab report. Lots of stuff is lower than the "normal" range but the decision is that it's OK so off we go. 30-minutes of pre-meds to get me ready, an injection of Benadryl to help with Nausea -- and to zonk me out -- then, finally, the 30-minute I.V. drip of the Chemo Drugs themselves. All the Normal Routine, just on a way different schedule.

You can run the numbers, that would, on paper finish us up about 2:30. With the normal starts and stops and the time to switch and re-hook the backs, we were actually done about 2:45. With no time to go home and my still feeling pretty groggy from the Benedryl, they told we could just stay for and extra 45-minutes and I can crash in their recliner while Pat reads her steamy romance novel then just get up and go straight to radiation for my 3:45 appointment.

So that was the plan. We went to radiation, they were relatively on schedule, and by 4:10 we finally ended to day and headed home.

We did talk to the folks in Dr. Williamson's office to see what could have happened. Apparently they schedule all these appointments at the very beginning of treatment. Infact, in her book, she showed Pat (Pat went to talk while I was getting treatments) where the appoint for this morning was booked back on October 6th, my first day of treatment. However, to keep those appointments, they must confirm the the week before.

Well, the week before, when I was supposed to have my appointment with Dr. Williamson's office, I was in the Hospital. Since I was getting lab-work done there, I was getting a thorough examination, even saw Dr. Williamson himself for a brief period, no one saw a need to have an additional appointment with Dr. Williamson in the next day or two before Thanksgiving. That was A.O.K. with me. The only thing no one thought about, apparently, is that visit is normally when they go through my upcoming schedule and confirm any pending appointments that need it. So I was out of sight and out of mind and no one confirmed to appointments so they were dropped.

What a pain. In general, we've be EXTREMELY pleased with the whole treatment process. The facilities, the people, the competent people, etc., etc. all the way down the line. But Monday's are a consistent problem and I think we're go need to have a heart to heart with them.

But, this is the LAST TIME we'll need to deal with a Monday!! From here forward, I get to sleep in -- to the extent I can -- do some work from home as capable then, before too long, go back to work as a productive member of society. I certainly WON'T be farting around with who's going where, when are they going and what's gonna happen when they get there like I have been the last several weeks.

Pill swallowing is getting more and more difficult. I physically can't swallow my Chemo pill. It's a pretty good sized capsule but gets stuck at top of my throat. I can still breath but I can feel it there and it just won't go down. Eventually I'll cough it back up and have to spit it out. A similar thing happens with a couple of other pills. Both are smaller than the Hydrea and are, apparently, right on the border of pill sizes I can/can't swallow. Everything else is small than these two and they all go down well while these two pills are a crap shoot. Sometimes they go down, about half the time they get stuck like the hydrea.

So, for the Hydrea capsules they told us we can break open the capsule, disolve the contents in warm water then take it via the feeding tube. So, I've been doing that with the Hydrea. Unfortunately the other two have time-release features that won't allow that so I'm just continuing to take those by mouth and doing my best. Fortunately neither are crisis if I can't get full two pills down every morning and evening. So I just do what I can.

This being my last week of treatment means, also, that it's December already. Where has time gone? We borrowed a small Christmas tree from my Brother. My little nest with my recliner, TV Tray with all my easily accessible books, puzzle books, bills to review, iPod, electronic yatzee, etc., etc. is right by my recliner. And there's no other logical place to move all this without excluding me to some remote corner of the basement or something like that. Unfortunately my nest location is the normal Christmas Tree location. So, we pondered the situation and Jenny decided I should keep my nest and we'll look for alternatives for the tree. Low and behold Ed and Julie came through with a pretty decent looking, just smaller tree that will work quit well. So one crisis solved. Remaining Christmas Decorating is going to be a challenge. Long story on that and we won't get into it here.

I hope everyone had a great and safe Thanksgiving break last week and I'll talk to you soon.

P.S. - Wow, that wound up much longer than expected. Sorry.