1/2 Shirt Day!

I was able to pick up about half of the shirts today...and was able to deliver a few. Very exciting and they definitely are cool. I will deliver as many as I can tomorrow, which won't be many as we have the Bello Christmas tomorrow. Then, the following morning we are travelling to Cobourg for the Casey Christmas and won't be home until sometime around the 28th. I will do my best to deliver the rest then and if I have to mail your shirt(s) to you, you likely won't get it until the new year...sorry about this, but you should have it in time for my 5th chemo....holy crap...5th.

I had nausea pretty much all day but was out and about doing last minute mailing and shopping. It is difficult to have a conversation with someone when you are concentrating on not barfing! hahahaha....it really is funny. The other thing that is still bothering me is my fingers...they are getting a bit worse, which is odd because Dr. Hamm reduced the amount of Vincristine in the chemo cocktail...hmmmm.

I made an appointment with the Social Worker, Joanne, just before the new year and I also made one with Dr. Ling (the ENT that did the surgery) for mid January.

I likely won't write as regularly over the holidays because I will be busy. But I wish you all the best Christmas and Holiday Season!

I'd like to say that I want 2009 to be better than 2008 - but what is better than a baby girl?

....another?

ciao!

Some self reminding....

Again - not a bad day.

I took all my drugs as prescribed and got Big John to give me my neupogen shot (thanks). I had to take ativan 2 times today for nausea...nausea sucks. My finger tips are still numb, I'm tired, minor headache...nothing too major.

I heard one of my best friends give a eulogy today that was very impressive. Such a strong character this guy has. He is one of the best. He demonstrated to me how to be strong in a difficult situation.

Now that Hammy has given me permission to be active I feel like a new person. I went to the gym today and hit the squash ball around for 20min and exhausted myself. I then went and walked on the treadmill for 12min - and was finished. Holy crap am I out of shape. On the squash court I worked on testing my mobility - slow lunges and making sure I had my hand eye co-ordination. I got dizzy a few times on the court and the treadmill. But all in all, I am glad I went. I really can't push myself with this. Too bad...but at least I can get out there.

I have been thinking a lot about my head and what the social worker talked to me about and the spiritual healer told me. They were both a bit overwhelming, but both have a lot to offer. I am going to follow through with both. However, I am going to be sure that I am in charge of what positions I put myself and will be sure to fully understand what I am about to put myself through, if anything.

I have read about some cancer patients going through hell and they will likely not survive. I hate reading that, and will stop it.

I have talked to patients who have nooooo clue what cancer they have, nor any info about the drugs they are on. That is not me.

I have read about people who are alone. That is definitely not me.

I have read caregivers posting questions that should be coming from the patients (and maybe some are) but that is not me.

I have read stupid stupid stupid questions from patients where it is evident that they do not have a good doctor. That is not me. Soooo not me.

I have heard from hundreds of people, over 200 people read my blog everyday, over 1,500 different people have been to my blog, over 16,000 hits on my blog, I have the best family in the world, the most beautiful wife and daughter in the world (yes I do), the best friends in the world, I am in charge of my cancer and I know what I am doing.

I have to remember this.

Man this thing is a roller coaster!!!!!

The shirts should come in tomorrow....I sure damn hope so!

2 days post chemo...

Again - not a bad day!

A few bouts of nausea. One pretty bad this morning where I thought I was actually going to barf (I haven't done that since the first night). Then one bout again tonight around 9pm. I quickly took a Ativan and was fine.

I received a few emails confirming my thought from yesterday - I have to take and maintain control over how I deal with my diagnosis and treatment.

I'm very much looking forward to Christmas, but I just hope that everyone is healthy. Isabella has changed so much from when was last seen by a lot of my family..they are going to be soooo excited to see her look at them and smile. There are going to be many melted hearts! Awesome!

I got a very cool shirt from Dana in the mail yesterday that I forgot to write about yesterday....

This will be the shirt I wear when this is done...but when is it done? The doc said that I am likely in remission right now...but will continue to receive treatment. Also, that I will go on maintenance rituximab for 2 years....or should I wear it at the 5 year point when being clear for that long is a great sign....hmmmmm

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Jeff

6 days to Christmas!

Today was great.

I woke up to my regular drug cocktail (emend, zofran, pariet, prednisone) then around noon I took another prednisone. At 4 i gave myself the neupogen shot, I figure I am better off getting 1 instead of Diletta's 5 pricks. Somewhere around 11 and 4 I took some Ativan to help calm the nausea. I took a nap around 2 - 4, then finally, I took a zofran at 9pm.

This is what the day comes down to...drugs drugs and more drugs.

I was able to go out with Diletta shopping for Isabella for xmas - that was kinda fun. But there aren't a lot of toys to buy for a 3 month old. Plus, she has everything. And I bet everything X 10 has been bought for her for xmas. It will be an exciting Christmas! And also, I went out for a few hours to a Christmas party. I was very careful not to shake anybodies hand and I must have washed my hands 50 times with Purell. The party was just a few guys playing cards and drinking beer in a garage...It is way better than it sounds...I of course wasn't able to have any beer, as it doesn't mix well with Ativan - so I'm told@!

Sometime this afternoon I spoke on the phone for about an hour with a person that is a type of spiritual healer. I was quite skeptical when I heard about this type of thing. But in speaking with her, she has a lot of insight to a persons sole and is also a cancer survivor - so she can relate in that sense. She did agree with me not wanting to become a patient (the discussion I posted 2 days ago). I still feel as though I have to keep a barrier between myself and the worst case scenario - I'll deal with my shit when I have to. In the meantime, I'm gonna kick the shit out of my cancer my way. Got it. She did get the sense that I tend to take on other peoples emotions and this may be why I feel the need to stay away from other cancer patients. I am already helping the cancer center with the resource room, president of the Lancer Volleyball Club and Chairman of The Clay Elliott Scholarship Foundation...Right now I need put myself first. Especially when it comes to cancer. This make sense? It does to me....

I hope everyone else is prepared for Christmas and doesn't have to weather the weather and the crazy crowds that tend to be out this time of year! Mind you, there seem to be a lot more sales on than in the past...

I am reallllly tired.

Ciao.

Post chemo #4

Today went well.

I started at home by taking my Emend at around 8:10am. I got in a bit earlier than usual...about 8:50. They started me on my saline and gave me my pills (zofran, prednisone, tylenol, pariet, benadryl). Tally = 5 drugs pre chemo. Then they started me on a drop of saline and then into the rituxan (6th drug). I am on the same slower pace for infusion as they are still concerned about how I would react if they went full speed. If they did it at full speed it would take 90min and they way I go it takes about 3 hours. Somewhere around the 2nd hour I started to get nauseated, so they gave me a stamatil (7th), this wasn't really working but I forced down some food my mom had brought me and a bit of strawberry ice cream. The nausea wasn't going away and they couldn't give me another stematil so Terri (my nurse) went and got the head nurse to ... she came over to try and find out why I was experiencing this...Rituxan does not cause nausea...so she was a little perplexed. I told her that it was likely anxiety. I kind of think that I have created this crap in my head. nutz.

So they decided to give me an Ativan (8th)...from there I started to feel a bit better. Then I was able to take the Doxi, Cyto and Vincristine (9-10-11). I ended up getting out of there around 3pm. The other patients in the other two beds around me were great. But what continues to boggle my mind is how people would rather live in the dark about what they have and they put FULL trust in their doctors.

I got home around 4pm and went to bed at 5pm and slept til 8pm. I am now exhausted and ready to hit the sack.

picture...

My aunt and uncle Paul and Cathy!

Speaking of shirts...monday!

Ciao!

Chemo #4

Today was a bit of a roller coaster...

I went to get my blood work around 10am this morning ... not bad, only a few people in front of me. After that I went to talk to a social worker (Joanne - who may actually be reading this). This is a difficult thing to summarize without writing a lot...so I'll do a really short version. Essentially, there are 3 things to work on...anxiety, sleep and guilt - all of which go together when you think about it. She gave me a few options which I will think about, many of which are provided by hospice, these included:

• speaking with her on a continuous basis - I really like this idea.


• a lifestyle changes class starting January that runs for 4 Wednesdays for 4 weeks - this is a class about transitioning from a person to a patient. Frankly - this scares me. Based on what Joanne said, she and another social worker act as facilitators to what becomes a patient driven discussion. What I am afraid of is hearing a bunch of people talk about how bad their situation is...i know that I have a good prognosis and I don't think I want to hear how bad other peoples are. Ug. However, maybe this is some reality I need to be exposed to. Surely they created this class for a reason (to fill a need???). What might be good about this is to hear other people having similar problems / concerns. Ack - I don't know.
  
• Yoga - maybe.
  
• Radiant touch - Apparently this is like reiki. She offered to come do this during my chemo - but I said no. I don't like being touched or massages so doing that does not appeal to me.


• I also got a schedule of all the other things going on with hospice that I have yet to look at...

So I have some decision to make...If you have experience with any of this...let me know.

Diletta and I then met with Dr. Hamm, my Oncologist. She is pretty cool - a great doctor that really takes the time. I am lucky to have her. Anyways, we asked all the questions I wrote about yesterday and got the following info (btw - it's late and I have chemo tomorrow...so this will be brief - maybe...):

• cure vs remission vs Overall survival vs etc...what's the deal? This is not straight forward. Basically I have a 60-80% chance of being in remission at the 5 year point. There is not scientific consensus as to whether or not getting to the 5 year point means cure. Some believe it does and others do not. Dr. Hamm noted that this is a very difficult cancer because it is so rare, which leads to very little research. If it does relapse, it will likely come back as the same cancer. She believes that I am likely in remission right now (it is not growing any more) and is confident that my CT scan in January will be all clear.


• One of the problems with follicular, is that it is a mix of large and small cells. The large cells are fast growing/replicating and will react well (die) with the chemo. However, they don't know if the small cells are cancerous and if they are, they are likely a lower grade and slow growing. This means that the chemo may not work on them because it can take much longer for them to grow/reproduce. So, if it does come back, it can be in 5 or 20 years as a low grade cancer.


• Clear as mud.


• Regarding the types of testing that can be done post treatment II listed them before) some of them were already done and some might get done post treatment...we'll wait and see.


• Blood Counts - all good. My counts are high enough for chemo Thursday, and are higher than in the past. This is great. Also, regarding my Red Blood Cells other ones that I don't remember, I am good to exercise and be active. This is great and I went to hockey tonight..man it wiped me out. soooo slow.


• Side effects - I still have tingling finger tips...so Dr. Hamm said that we would reduce the Vincristine to 1mg from 2mg. This is part of the CHOP-R and she said that of all the drugs the vincristine is the least effect so she has not problem reducing it.


• We asked about all of the anxiety I have been having and if an anti-anxiety drug would be good for me - namely, the Ativan. She basically said NO. She is hesitant to give such an addictive drug to a young person. She doesn't want to create an addict. I am very much ok with this - I think I can find other ways to reduce my anxiety. Exercise will be one for sure!!

I am sure that I am missing some details, but time to hit the sack and get ready for chemo.

As for the shirts...they won't be ready until Monday - too bad because I really wanted people to have them for Thursday. Oh well, there are 4 more chemo sessions.

Pictures are always great!

Born a Leaf fan - she doesn't have a choice (yet).

...and the best for last!

Ciao!

The day B4 #4

I'm pretty lucky...I've got a great family who is always around supporting me.

So tomorrow I'll go for my blood work in the morning and I am going to try and talk to a social worker there. I have not been feeling my normal self and think that I need to do something. I think this will be considered proactive...I'm not too "not-normal" - I'm afraid to use other words - but talking to a professional should help. I hope. Anyways, then tomorrow afternoon Dil and I go to see Dr. Hamm. We have a few questions...

• We want to fully understand the difference between cure/remission/survival. I'm pretty sure that there is not 'cure' for follicular, by my overall survival rate is fairly high (90% +++). But, the scary part is the chance for transformation (and what does 'it' transform to?)
• We are going to ask about all types of post treatment testing...I'll likely get a PET scan, but what about 1) polymerace chain reaction 2) flow cytometry and 3) DNA microarray. I think all of these are very specific and accurate...but I have no idea (yet).
• Get some feedback on my blood counts and the use of neupogen - can I take for longer to decrease my risk of getting sick?
• Side effects - my fingers are still tingling, I had nausea up to day 10 and then on day 18 (yesterday)...
• I'm going to ask about an anti-anxiety drug (that should be the ativan - but I stop taking it on day 10 - should I take longer?); and review the use of the current drugs that I am on.
• I'll also get my scrips ordered for Thursday...

Half way through and I am sick of this. I hate it.

I hope the shirts come in tomorrow!

Ciao!

Almost at the 4th ...

Just a few more days until my 4th chemo. I am surprised by how anxious I'm getting. I got nausiated a few times today and I don't think it can be anything but stress. This is not good. I am supposed to be relaxed and thinking positive. I am still confident in my outcome, but dreading the side effects of the drugs. From what I've read, the 4th can be the most difficult. I'm not sure if this is in terms of side effects or mentally. The last chemo round took the hardest toll on me mentally...and I'm getting sick of being 'stuck' indoors. yuck.

Anyways, the shirts should come in soon...I hope tomorrow or Wednesday. So, if you haven't mailed me money or dropped it off...can you please do so. I'll send them out as soon as I can after I get them.

ciao

Just a picture....

If you click the picture it gets ALOT bigger...

Ciao.

Have a good weekend!

Another uneventful day...I did get my Christmas shopping done though. I bet most of you haven't ... hehehe

I'm going to take the next few days off from the blog...I'll be back for Monday.

Have a good weekend!

Ciao.

Spinner Wednesday

Thanks to everyone who sent some feedback about the resource center...If anyone else has some ideas, please send them to me.

Regarding the shirt sales...i received another 11 orders today...so we're up to 121! I can't wait to see them...

I picked up a bike trainer today so that I can get some exercise. That is one big thing that has been missing and man do I miss it. I don't plan on training per se, but at least getting my legs moving. I hope I use it.

P.S> One thing I always wonder is who actually reads this blog...If you do read it, send me a message. If you get it via email - I know you read it...but if you visit the actual blog, I have no idea...

That's all I got...

Ciao

T-Shirt Update...

It is a lot more difficult to write when things are good...But this is a good thing.

T-Shirt Update - 111 shirts have been ordered! Holy Crap. This means that we have raised about $3000. Holy Crap. Thanks to all of you for this! I am going to be personally involved with the development of the Resource Rooms at the Cancer Center and they are definitely going to make a significant change - and all the people that have purchased a shirt have helped me help them. Thank you Thank you Thank you. I will continue to update everyone regarding these rooms.

By The Way - Never too late to order a shirt - but you won't get it until after Christmas.

I met with a few people from the Cancer Center and Shannon from Working Environments today regarding the Resource Rooms. It went very well and the rooms should work out great. I was most impressed with the amount of research that they have put into determining what the rooms should have. They did a tour at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto to see their resource rooms. PMH has a resource room for each disease site, which means that they have 23 resource rooms. WOW. 23. Some of the rooms have fire places and leather couches - sounds really nice. Windsor's won't be the same...but hopefully we can get them 'close'.

They are going to put in a computer, desk, chairs, phone, book shelves, pamphlet holder and a display board. Also part of the project is designing a website, which is actually the bulk of the cost - surprisingly very expensive. The overall budget is not very big so they are looking for any and all help. I told them about the T-shirts that I have been selling and that I would like to put the money towards these rooms.

Surprisingly, the one thing they are not putting in (for now) are printers. This boggles me. They have identified it as a need but are not able to. Apparently, there are problems with controlling what people print, keeping the paper stocked and IT issues. I see this as an absolute necessity. If you go to a good website to read about your specific cancer...there is not just a few pages...but dozens of pages. I think that they should be able to print and take the information home. They can't sit and read for hours and take notes...this seems ridiculous to me. They were happy to hear me say this as I am the first cancer patient to give them any feedback. One of the things that I have offered to do is write an opinion email regarding what I thought the perfect resource room would have.

If anyone has any ideas of how to help with the resource room, please let me know.

Now for some pictures...

Ciao

Finally - Cycle 3 DONE!

Today was good.

I went and got my blood work this morning and did not hear anything from the Cancer Center - so I assume my blood counts are good. They should be fine considering the shots that I have been taking.

I didn't have any nausea today...I started to feel something come on, but it didn't develop like it normally does. So, I consider myself done with symptoms. Until next time.

I meet with the people at the cancer center tomorrow to see about the resource rooms, so I should have a pretty good update about that...

Also today we did some Christmas photos ... they aren't ready for posting though...but here's a small taste....

This is our house...I took this picture at night using a long exposure. Surprising how much light there is from across the street and the spot lights I have put up on our two front trees.

Our Christmas Tree...again, a long exposure to make the lights glow.

We ended up changing outfits to a more Christmasy one.

Ciao.

Sunday Sunday Sunday

I sure hope that today is the last day of symptoms for this crap.

I had some nausea and headache symptoms on Thursday and then nothing Friday...so I thought that I was golden! The past two chemo sessions caused symptoms for 10 days ... and I was hoping that these new drugs were the answer. But no. I was hit with a bit of nausea Saturday and then kicked in the face with it today. CRAP!!! The nausea today was to the point that I was bent over the toilet gagging. Today better be the last day. I can't portray enough how frustrated I am. I think I would be fine if I was able to go out and be social while feeling crappy...I can handle that. But, I have to sit at home relaxing - soooo annoying. $%^&$##%%$

This session has been the most frustrating. The emotional ups and downs really took their toll on me and my family. Coming down off the steroids seems to have really kicked me in the ass. It made me feel grumpy, angry, sad, depressed - some for short periods of time or all day. So frustrating. Especially yesterday and today when I thought everything was finally OK.

OK enough complaining....

Last week also had a highlight...the pictures from the Cancer Survivor Park. Freaking amazing. If you missed it, go check it here ( CLICK THIS LINK ). I can't fully explain what these pictures mean to me (even though I have not been there) - but man it affected me. And you can see from the comments on that blog post that it affected others as well. There were confirmations and reminders that are extremely important. But I think that you have to experience cancer survivorship to fully understand all of it. I don't fully get it all...but I will be a bit more prepared for it. More specifically, the fact that for the rest of my life I may be doubting my body and worried that every cough or ailment is the cancer coming back...Ug. I have to prepare for this.

So tomorrow I'll go for my blood work. Dr. Hamm told me that I don't have to go as often as before...but I want to go to ensure that my counts are up and so that I can compare to last session (last session I took 10 neupogen shots and this session was only 5, one every other day - finished yesterday).

On Tuesday, I'm meeting with the people at the cancer center regarding the resource / computer rooms. I am excited for this and looking forward to helping them as much as I can.

Finally, here are some pictures from the past couple days...enjoy:

This has become her favorite toy ... even though she probably doesn't know what a toy is. But she is playing with the best she can. As far as I can see she has excellent hand eye coordination and will likely be an excellent hand baller, in her spare time.

We attempted to put her in her new snow suit (thanks Dante), but it might be a bit early...

I definitely missed this a lot this week. With chemo I can't hold onto her for 2 days and then with the cold, I tried to avoid holding on to her. We didn't want to start a vicious cycle of colds in the house...ug.

Wow...she won't have me wrapped around her finger for the rest of her life. OK...so she already does!

Cutie Patootie.

The first time she discovered this bear with wings (we can't figure out what it is...except that it looks like a bear with wings) she stared at it for at least 20min. It was hilarious.

She loves the Bumble Bear.

Thanks for Reading!

Ciao

Drug Rollercoaster Continues

The shirt sale continues...

Please email me at: caseylibero@yahoo.ca if you would like one. You can check this post to see what you will get. For $40 I will mail you a shirt of your size.

I am pretty wiped today. Again, the lack of drugs, or combination of drugs, is messing with me. I had nausea on and off today combined with fairly minor cold symptoms.

Today, there was an article in the paper of a man that died of cancer. While I was getting chemo 4 weeks ago this man was beside me getting a blood transfusion. I remember how unhappy he was and he was pretty sure that he was going to die soon. I thought at the time that I didn't want to be exposed to that because I needed positive thoughts. I wish I had spoken with him more. I wish his family the best.

ciao.

Best Pictures Ever!

Today sucked...But today will be the most important post to date.

I woke up with a head cold...not too severe, but considering the circumstances, I wasn't very happy about it. In addition, I had some nausea - those two don't mix well. I was able to take some Advil cold and sinus and some ativan. A few hours later I took a 2 hour nap and woke up with the nausea and head cold symptoms again. Diletta was able to get a hold of Pam (Dr. Hamm's Nurse at the cancer center) and she sent in a prescription for Azythromycin. Great, more drugs.

This all set off a weird feeling for me, which is likely a combination of drugs (or lack thereof), sickness and bad timing. Then to boot, my cousin Erin had been scheming to come up with a unique way to take a picture of herself wearing the "My Cousin Kicks Ass" shirt...and she finally sent me the pictures today. Amazing. Which leads me to the basis for this post.

Erin, Paul and Kathy took some pictures at the Cancer Survivors Park in Ottawa. What a great idea. I know that I will soon be a survivor, but this certainly hit an emotional cord for me.

This one looks like it could be me, Isabella and Diletta!

The 3 pictures above depict the sculpture "Cancer: There is hope" and shows 8 figures at different stages in dealing with cancer. At the beginning are people beginning to deal with it, in the middle is a woman in the midst of moving through the treatment maze and finally, a family of 3 who have survived. Man this hits home.

The next set of pictures cover two other sections of the park. The "positive mental attitude walk" and the "Road to Recovery".

The statements here mean A LOT - I cannot express to those reading that have not dealt with cancer how much these mean. I have heard them many times and DO realize that they are essential to mental and physical health.

I can't get my head around this one. When will that be? if ever? If I get told that I am in remission at the end of CHOP-R, I will still be going through maintenance Rituximab - so is it after that? Or, at the 5-year remission mark, which seems to be so important to so many people.

I am constantly working on this and it helps! I think the overall concept regarding cancer should be to leave the place better than how you found it. In terms of your own goals to accomplish, take your time and ensure that what you are doing will make you happy in the end. You don't have to put up with the bull shit.

I have done this very well. I don't think everyone agrees with it...but I have certainly put myself out there. As a result, I have a physician helping me in BC, a friend helping me find my slides, a contact at Rituximab, constant emails and messages providing support. Putting yourself out there is hard but rewarding.

...and a 3rd if you can. A doctor should not make you feel guilty about getting a second opinion. I did not run into this.

HHHHAAAAMMMMMMMYYYYYY (Dr. Hamm!)

This sounds like a no brainer - but you have to overcome some mental barriers to push yourself to keep seeking information, from the right place, to get the right answers. Then you have to question them. Sometimes twice. I've met people that don't even know what they have and they have been getting treatment for months.

Although these two can go hand in hand - but they should be separate. Having a positive attitude is paramount to everything. Treating your cancer promptly, properly and thoroughly is obviously important.

This speaks to having a positive attitude - you truly have to believe that you will survive.

I learn about new stuff all the time. People are working working working on finding causes and cures. It is important to stay on top of these things. Cancer can change at a moments notice and you have to be prepared to deal with it.

I did not know this.

Commitment, Knowledge, Treatments, Physical Welfare and Mental Welfare

We have to get the people the RIGHT information. There is a lot of bad info out there that can easily be mis-interpreted.

A lot to read - and all of it summarizes in a basic way what I have been dealing with in some form. I hope you are able to read this and take a more broad understanding of what dealing with Cancer entails.

This has been the most important thing I have written so far.

Thanks for reading!

Jeff

Tired Tuesday

The cold symptoms kind of turned into a cold today...which sucks. Diletta called the cancer center to see what I can take, or what I should do, but they didn't call back. I did pretty much nothing all day and I am exhausted. I think this is a combination of the cold symptoms and the lack of prednisone in my system. As per Dr. Hamm, I am not going to get my blood work done tomorrow, but will get it done first thing Monday morning.

On another note, I am surprised that I have yet to hear back from the cancer center regarding the computer kiosks and/or chairs. AND, I have yet to hear from the Lymphoma Research Foundation. I have contacted both several times offering to help and donate. Odd.

As for my shirt sales...I sold 7 more today...so I only need to sell 6 more - 6 more!

If you don't know what I am talking about...please refer to yesterdays post by clicking here.

Ciao.

Jeff

Shirt Sale!

Today was another good day! These drugs seem to be working great. However, I seem to be getting a bit of a cold. Not sure why...but hopefully it does not amount to anything serious. I also think that tomorrow will be an important day to see what effect the drugs really have on me as today was the last day for Prednisone (steroid). Tomorrow I only take the Pariet (which I will now take for the next few weeks to get a hold of my heart burn) and the Neupogen shots every other day for 5 days.

Now, back to the shirts...I would like to sell a few more before I go place an order. My goal is 20 and I have currently sold 6.

The Front will look like this:

...and then you can get whatever you want on the back...as long as it ends in: Kicks Ass!

You can message me directly at: caseylibero@yahoo.ca

Thanks Everyone!

Ciao,

Jeff

Happy Monday

I got about 5 orders for shirts (Example Shirts are Below) and am throwing this message out there to see if anyone else is interested. The front will remain that same, but you can put whatever you want on the back. I was thinking of charging $40 for the shirts and using the money to put towards what I end doing with the cancer center in terms of chairs and computer kiosks. So, if you are interested, message me your size, what message you want on the back and where I can mail it.

So today was not as good as yesterday...but still not too bad. I got hit with nausea a few times and had to take it a lot easier than yesterday. But all in all, the post-chemo session is going great! The Adivan really seems to be working well combined with the rest of the drugs. I hope it lasts.

Isabella, Diletta and I put up the Christmas tree today, so you should be seeing some Christmas type photos coming soon!

Ciao

Nice Little Saturday!

I love to say that there isn't a whole lot to report on...Today was great. I think we have found a great drug combination. I had a high level of energy today and was able to do some things around the house. I sure hope that when I go off the zofran I keep this energy. I am very tired now, but I was fairly active today.

Isabella is changing fairly dramatically these days...she is discovering her hands and feet and is starting to be able to handle things. I haven't been able to handle her for 2 days because of chemo so I am really looking forward to tomorrow.


Isabella haning onto a rattle and shaking it...seems like a small thing...but it isn't!

Perfect light....

Had to get another....

Very happy in Great Grandma's arms!

My cousin Graham trying to hide behind Isabella!

Ciao!

Post Chemo #3

Today went well.

I really started to feel like crap last night around 7pm, but was able to take some Adivan and Gravol and get to sleep for about 11pm. I was awaken at 9am by Diletta with my morning cocktail of drugs! Pariet, Prednisone, Emend and Zofran. I then took an Adivan at 11 because I was starting to feel nauseated, than a Prednisone at lunch. I took a hard nap at 2 and woke up at 4 to get my neupogen shot (did it myself), another Adivan at 6 and finally, my zofran at 9pm.

All in all I feel pretty good, just tired.

Short and Sweet - Ciao!

Chemo #3

Today went very well. I had not problems with any of the drugs, which is great...now for the detailed version:



I started this morning by taking the Emend (anti-nausea medication) at 8am. My grandma and I got to the hospital for about 8:20 and headed up to the waiting area outside the chemo room. We didn't get in until about 9:30 and started the drips at about 9:45. While the first saline drip was going I took my pills (Prednisone, tylenol, zofran and benadryl). At around 10 they started with the Rituximab.



With the Rituxan, the normal course of action is to take the first dose slow (like during my first chemo) to see how the reactions go. My firstchemo session, during the Rituxan, I got an itchy throat and hives. During the second chemo, I reacted just slightly, so they slowed it down. So I thought that for today the would speed it up and it would only take 90min - but they didn't, so this adds about 2hours to the treatment. This is fine by me as I would rather be cautious.



Around noon I took more tylenol and benadryl. So far today I have taken 9 drugs and will take 1 more tonight (either gravol or Ativan).

So i thought all was going well..until about 6:30 - now i feel like crap. headache, nausea and more. I'm off to take drugs and go to bed.

Awesome pics!

Ciao