That’s right, yesterday was my last dose of chemo!

I am very happy to be all done and am actually feeling pretty well, actually I feel the best I ever have after a dose.

From here I have a couple of follow up appointments for the side effects from this last dose and then I have a CAT scan in about 3 weeks. After that I won’t have a CAT scan for another 6 months and I don’t see my oncologist until then as well. Basically they don’t want to see me any more, which I don’t mind .

I really am looking to get my energy back and trying to get back to work to keep myself busy.

Thank you for everyone’s prayers and support during this time. I could not have done it without you!

My GI doctor has successfully removed the stent from my throat. He said he had to tug on it a little to get it out but other then that the procedure went smooth. My throat is a little scratchy but that is to be expected.

The hope is that my throat will remain open to where I won’t need any more dilations or another stent. We will just have to monitor it and see how things work out. I am expecting that everything will be just fine .

After discussing it with my wife I have decided to postpone my next dose of chemo.

The reason for this is that the cumulative effects of the last 4 doses of chemo are really beginning to take their toll on me. Tomorrow will be 3 weeks since my last dose yet I feel like I am at the 3-4th day since my last dose. I am nauseated more then I have ever been and I have neuropathy (numbness and sensitivity to cold) in my body, especially in my figer tips to where I freezing cold most of the time. Last night I had to sit on my hands for almost 45 minutes to get them to warm up.

The neuropathy is of concern because I am told that once it shows up that it does not go away for a long while.

There was already talk of reducing my dose of chemo that I was supposed to get tomorrow but after the week that I have had I cannot imagine taking another dose and making myself feel worse. My hope is that I can take the next 3 weeks off from chemo, get back on my feet, and then finish up my last two doses from there if appropriate. I don’t want to drag it out any longer but I really need to give my body a chance to catch up.

I would appreciate everyone’s happy thoughts and prayers over the next couple of weeks so my body can recover to the point that I can get this finished up.

I had my 3rd round of chemo today. I am doing very well so far. I hope the next few days are the same. That means that I am half way done and only have 3 more to go.

The other good news is that this is the first week that I GAINED weight instead of loosing it since I started chemo. I only gained 2 1/2lbs but I’ll take what I can get, I’m too skinny now!

Thank you for everyone’s prayers. I can feel them and they do make a difference .

It has been 4 weeks ago today that I had the stent put in my throat. As of today I am doing great and actually had Chipotle for lunch. Yah! Unfortunately the weeks leading to this week weren’t all that great. I am thankful to have them behind me.

I had the stent put in 4 weeks ago today which was exactly one day after my first dose of chemo – which was not a good idea. Unfortunately the stent did not initially go where they wanted it to and I spent a couple of days in the hospital on a heavy dose of morphine and anti nausea medication. Eventually the stent did work it’s way to the right place and I was sent home.

At home I had to deal with the side effects of the chemo and the stent. With the chemo it was a lot of nausea and fatigue. With the stent it was the sensation of something always being stuck in your throat and the gag reflexes that come with that. By the time I started to get over the side effects of both of those it was time to have another dose of chemo. Bah! … Continue Reading