Todd's Journey

Here is my 10th video update!

Talked with my medical oncologist today. He said I was good to go for Cycle 3 of Chemo tomorrow, but have to have a blood transfusion on Friday morning to bring my hemoglobin up a bit. He also put me on a five day program (shots every evening) to help me with my neutraphils and white blood cell numbers.

He has ordered a new CT scan in four weeks to take a final look at how the Chemo has affected my cancer (shrunk it, stopped it from growing, etc.) He suggested I may even be a candidate for a clinical trial of new cancer therapies.

I may be able to have at least of my nephrostomy tubes removed soon. He is going to talk to my urological oncologist. That would be an awesome step forward, so am keeping my fingers crossed for that word.

That's it for now. Making good progress.

Here is the latest video update - Todd's Journey Chapter 9

Here is Monday's update on my Journey so far. Enjoy.

Well, just completed Chemotherapy Cycle 2. Seems as though this session was a wee bit easier on me than Cycle 1. That could mean the adjustments they made to my chemo meds helped, or it could mean that the chemo is working which is slowing or stopping the cancer growth.

I have a little less fatigue this time, but a bit more nausea than before. The fatigue seems to be shorter lived and I get my energy back a bit quicker. The only other, annoying, side effect I am getting is the occassional shaking of my hands, making it a bit tricky to use my hands or lift things.

They say over time, if the Chemo is working, the cancer should stop growing or even shrink in size, which will result in my feeling better as the symptoms from the cancer reduce.

So fingers crossed that the meds are working. :o)

For those of you old enough, you may remember the great prime time soap called "Dallas". I remember watching it as a kid, with my mother on Friday nights. Jamie had never seen it, so a few years back we ordered the entire 12 seasons on DVD. As predicted, we got hooked on the show again. Jamie loved it.

Our most favorite character on that show was the "drunk lush that came from the gutter" Sue Ellen. She was always fiesty with J.R., battled when necessary and drunk when she wasn't battling. The actress who played Sue Ellen was Linda Gray.

You can imagine how excited I was to receive a 6 minute video pep talk from Linda. I just received it today. She talks about my fight with cancer, about Dallas and our favorite lines and scenes, she tells me all about her new house move, and tells me how to go forward in fighting my cancer. She even calls me sweatheart!

It really was a pick me up. To hear from the original Sue Ellen and have her talk to me so personally was so uplififting. I just had to share that news with all of you.

Chapter 7 of my Journey update.

Just a quick update between naps. Chemo Cycle 2 round one went well today. I slept through it completely, and when I woke up they were done. So far, other than fatigue all seems ok. But the side effects from chemo increase over the next 4 to 7 days. All is not quite good though. My bladder infection has seemingly returned, meaning it may have become resistant to the CIPRO I have been taking. The Doctor asked for another urine sample for culture, but the problem with that is, I don't have much urine in my bladder, so will have to collect what I can over the next day or so in order to be able to submit enough for a culture test. That's the update.