I am very sorry if my posts are being depressing or shocking or overly informative. I am trying my best to ensure that those that mean something to me hear the news of what is happening as it is occurring. I do not want them to suddenly be shocked and horrified at being left out and suddenly hearing of my condition or, even worse, only hearing after I have passed beyond the veil.
Alrighty now. So.. here is the latest update on my condition as of today:
1) stage 4 bladder cancer has been confirmed.
2) CT scans show it within my lymph nodes pretty much from my base to my neck.
3) Doc clearly has stated that chemotherapy is NOT a curative for me but may buy me additional time.
4) How long do I have? we don't know yet. That will depend on the effects of the chemotherapy upon my body and upon the cancer.
5) Chemotherapy starts this coming week. The chemotherapy determined by the doctor is GC which is actually sort of two different therapies that tend to get rolled into one. In my case, at least short term, they are going to both be used but at different times.
Basically here is what my week is going to look like:
Tuesday - see doc, get bloodwork to determine current levels of red and white blood cells
Wednesday - go in, get hydrated and get the 'easy' drug. This should take about an hour and is unlikely to have any side effects. Other than what would be expected of using a port in my chest to feed fluids into my jugular and down into my heart.
Thursday - go in really early, get antinauseau IV followed by the 'hard' drug. This should take about 5-7 hours depending on the flow rates they can achieve through my port. This is slated to start at really lame ass early and go through lunch time basically. This will have chance of resulting in nausea, vomitting, other side effects.
Friday - go in and get rehydrated since the 'hard drug' tends to dehydrate. This should only take 30-60 minutes
At the end of that, then additional appointments will be made. Depending on how I do with the easy drug, I may end up with multiple treatments of that one per hard drug treatment.. or I may end up with a longer dosage of the easy drug.
A lot of it is in the air depending on how my body responds and reacts.. and if the cancer 'works' with us.. or if it continues grabbing me by the throat and moves to the next target.. my heart and lungs.
Thank you of keeping us informed Betty.
ReplyDeleteSorry to see how much crap you have to go through, that is not even going to fix the problem. Hope it works as well as it possibly can.
Understood boss. Scum forever :) If I can survive in our bilges.. well.. it takes a lot to take me out... unfortunately, it seems a lot has, indeed, be lined up against me.
Delete*kitty wiping tears with tiny paws reading the news* Thanks for the update Aly, and please continue doing so. Although there's not much I can do to help your situation, but u are being thought of every day. Thank u for not abandoning us although there's so much u have to go through. It is still a joy to see u logging in scumland & seeing u being active & achieving lvl 400. I wished the treatment buys u infinite times and I want to see u got all your pets, I want to see u kill all dungeons & beat all Easteros & have all your Fortress maxed. (and don't forget about the new kitty toys :)) So, continue to be strong & lets hope chemotherapy brings some improvements. You have our supports & prayers.
ReplyDelete*hugs* *nibble* *scratch* *purrs* ~ Scumkitty ~
*tenderly scoops up the kitty for some pettings* thanks kitty. Achieving 400 was a goal for me for a looooong time and I was terribly happy to achieve it but it is not the last of my goals hereabouts. I may not be saying much in channel but I try to be here 'working' each day. Oftentimes many naps ensue or other interruptions occur, but I try hard :) You know me "can't let the bastid win" ;)
DeleteGod I hate cancer. I'm so sick of it hurting anyone I know and love. My heart and hopeful thoughts are always with you Robert. I'm going to send you all my keep fighting and be a hardass winner mojo I can muster and then even more.
ReplyDeleteI'm always always here for you.
Its appreciated, truly. I will update again on Monday probably after I have had all of these sessions of chemo and my body has had time to initially react as well as for the drug reactions to start effecting.. which is generally 5-7 days before full impact on some of them. Don't worry, I will keep plugging away as only a green menace can :)
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