LandV - phpBB2

Brett Bellmore · Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2010 8:18 am Post subject:

Well, presumable thanks to getting the full dose of chemo in one day this time, instead of two, I'm getting a taste of chemotherapy nausea. Hence being up at this hour, waiting for my emergency anti-nausea pill to kick in.

Aside from that, all went very well.
_________________
Sic Semper Tyrannis!

Brett Bellmore · Posted: Thu Feb 18, 2010 11:31 am Post subject:

Well, I'm feeling good, aside from my fingertips starting to go numb, so it's time to be poisoned again. Wheee! Rolling Eyes

Honestly, about the third time, deliberately going out of my way to feel like crap for a couple of weeks starts to wear on me.
_________________
Sic Semper Tyrannis!

plaasjaapie · Joined: 19 Sep 2006 Posts: 9182

Brett Bellmore · Posted: Fri Feb 19, 2010 1:28 am Post subject:

Yup. Fortunately, I probably only have 1-3 more cycles of chemo left. They said they'd run me through 4 cycles, and then do some tests to see where things stood with the tumor. At that point they'll either call it good, or, if there's some of it left, run me though a couple more cycles, or resort to radiation. Largely depending on how well I'm tolerating the chemo. Which, I'm told, is quite well.

They told me to start taking B-6 and Alpha-linolic acid to counter the peripheral nerve damage; Said it usually is effective, and the actual drugs they might prescribe for that purpose have some side effects of their own. Won't know if it's working for weeks, of course. Also prescribed some antibiotics for what might be a respiratory infection.
_________________
Sic Semper Tyrannis!

Brett Bellmore · Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2010 11:25 pm Post subject:

Had what my oncologist says is probably my last dose of chemo today. Next week I get a PET scan to confirm the tumor is gone. Sure hope it is!

Also got the 3 month PSA test results on the prostate cancer. 0.01, five hundred times lower than before the surgery. The urologist says that's close enough to zero for him, it just has to stay there.
_________________
Sic Semper Tyrannis!

CharlesWT · Joined: 24 Mar 2006 Posts: 1743 Location: Plano, Texas

Here's hoping the news keeps getting better. Very Happy

academie · Posted: Fri Mar 12, 2010 3:29 am Post subject:

May it all be so. Whew!
_________________
You cannot tell a man that saving him and his family from torture, humiliation and death was a mistake and it should've not been done because it's illegal. -- Omar (Iraq the Model blog)

plaasjaapie · Joined: 19 Sep 2006 Posts: 9182

0.01 is really, really good!
_________________
Treason doth never prosper: what's the reason? Why if it prosper, none dare call it treason.
— Sir John Harrington

Larry_Home · Posted: Fri Mar 12, 2010 5:30 am Post subject:

Good luck on the PET scan, Brett. Here's hoping the damned chemo is over with.
_________________
The future ain't what it used to be. (Yogi Berra)

Brett Bellmore · Posted: Fri Mar 12, 2010 9:10 am Post subject:

Yup, good news all around, though this being the last chemo cycle is contingent on the results of that PET scan.

The urologist did confirm what I'd figured out myself: My recovery from the effects of the prostate surgery was essentially put on hold for the duration of the chemo: You just don't do much recovering while you're killing off fast reproducing cells, and one of your drugs causes peripheral nerve damage.

Oh, and 1 year after the surgery, I can finally get that testosterone supplementation. Normal male testosterone levels are at least 300 nanograms per deciliter, I test at something like 40. That's low for a woman, the urologist was rather surprised I actually still had a sex life. Though it was considered a fortunate thing considering the prostate cancer, I spent months doing intensive exercise, and all I got from it was a pulled muscle. I'm even weaker now, after the chemo.
_________________
Sic Semper Tyrannis!

Larry_Home · Posted: Fri Mar 12, 2010 8:19 pm Post subject:

These things never seem to end. A couple of years ago my testosterone level plummeted for no apparent reason, virtually killing off any sex life. So I began taking supplements in gel form, which brought the levels up to "low normal," a considerable improvement.

But now I'm getting blood that is too thick, caused by the testosterone supplement. This greatly increases the risk of strokes and heart attacks - of which my family has an ample history.

So now I have to reduce the testosterone supplements, which is driving the levels back down!

How do you choose sex vs. a stroke/heart attack?
_________________
The future ain't what it used to be. (Yogi Berra)

Brett Bellmore · Posted: Fri Mar 12, 2010 8:52 pm Post subject:

Larry_Home · Posted: Fri Mar 12, 2010 9:06 pm Post subject:

Brett Bellmore · Posted: Fri Mar 12, 2010 9:51 pm Post subject:

As far as the weakness goes, I'm going to check into whether I can get into a myostatin trial. It would seem an obvious option for anybody suffering from muscle wasting due to inadequate testosterone, who can't for one reason or another take testosterone supplements.
_________________
Sic Semper Tyrannis!

Brett Bellmore · Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 11:08 am Post subject:

Well, I'm off to get my PET/CT scan this morning, to see if the cancer is gone. At the "Carolina PET center"; What a name! Laughing

At least once that's past I can have breakfast. Nothing to interfere with absorption of the labeled glucose, until it's over. Won't get the results until next Wednesday, though.
_________________
Sic Semper Tyrannis!