im very sorry to barely hearing about your condition. i guess when you read a person's posts a certain degree of respect and a feel for that person. what im trying to say is that i have really respected your posts.
i may not know you personally, a larger respect has grown for you.
your recent activism towards colorectal cancer and cancer itself, shines a brighter light on you.

i hope everything turns out for you.
you are in our thoughts and prayers......
joe

Thank you, Joe! I really appreciate that.

Also thanks once again to all of the Fender.com community for your support during this whole 'journey' that I've been on.

I start my 9th cycle (of 12) tomorrow. This is a HUGE milestone for me and if at the beginning anyone had told me that I'd be feeling this good after 4 months of chemo, I never would have believed them!!!

Yeah, there are days that are not very comfortable, but all in all, you learn how to deal with it and get over it.

I'm just now starting to see that light at the end of the tunnel and can't wait to have this mediport implant taken out of me and not having to drag a portable infusion pump around.

But, I won't get ahead of myself, I still just think positive and go one step at a time and deal with whatever issues I'm facing and keep movin' on.

So with 2/3 of my treatment down, I begin the final 1/3 and last 4 cycles tomorrow and I thank all of you for your support and I sincerely hope that this thread will help anyone else who finds themselves with a similiar diagnosis. It is treatable and beatable.

_________________
Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

Nice day today in our neck of the woods, Mike. Take time to smell the Fall air.

More later.

Doc

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"Another day in paradise!"

Today was the coldest morning yet that I had to drive to get my chemo treatments. About 35 degrees with a windchill that made it feel like 25 degrees.

I wore gloves and glad that I did because when I left this afternoon I was still cold. Something about that platinum based oxaliplatin that does it. Hopefully in years to come they will find a new med that only kills the bad (cancer) cells and not the good ones also.

It's siesta time now (naps are your friend during chemo ). I'm hooked up to my portable infusion pump of 5-FU and need some rest before going back tomorrow.

Due to the numbness in my fingers (neuropathy), this is taking me much longer to type than usual, so I'll keep it short for now.

Thanks again to all for the positive support.

_________________
Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

After recent diversions, it's good to be back on the real medical thread round here.

Mike, from what I've seen this hill goes on getting steeper right to the last step - but that final summit is only weeks away now. Also, in the cases I've been close to (which may not be the same as yours) it was tacitly reckoned that the bulk of the vital work has been done by this stage. What you're into in these last cycles is, so to speak, final fret polishing. Absolutely vital, and a question of turning a good job into a great one - but you have already achieved the lion's share of the work, which is a fabulous accomplishment.

I notice that a day or two ago you said you hadn't expected to feel this good this far in. Now, you may not be able to remember saying that at the lowest bit of your cycle - but it is pretty good news if you can say something like that at all! Brilliant: good for you.

I do hope nobody expects this thread to end on the last day of the final cycle - it ain't quite like that, and everyone needs to hear how things go after that, when life starts getting good again.

But you are nearly there! Fantastic work: very best wishes to you for the last stages of this journey.

Maximum mojo - C

[quote="Miami Mike"]

It's always good to hear from you, however, my suggestion is that you type when your sensory input improves. Less likely to damage tissue that way, and stay off the guitars and keyboards as well.

Doc

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"Another day in paradise!"

I scheduled my appt later today (11:15am-EST) and have to get ready soon, but today is a short infusion of LX (leucorvorin)sp? then a reconnect to the pump for another 24 hrs of 5-FU.

Ceri, yes I remember saying how much better I felt. I guess it really changed from day to day and that chemofog syndrome is always a possiblity too. I don't think that this thread will end until after my follow-up colonoscopy in the Spring, but the posts will be less frequent when the chemo ends and I just post regarding followup scans and blood tests as they occur.

Good advice, as usual, Doc, just a little bit as I feel fit, per my oncologist's advice. The piano keys are much less taxing than bending guitar strings.

Thanks again for your continued support...got to get things in motion now.

_________________
Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

[quote="Miami Mike"] Another nice day today. Take it slow. Rain tomorrow.

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"Another day in paradise!"

I made it for an early appt today and the rain is coming but not here yet, although it looks threatening out there.

After tomorrow I'll be 3/4 through my treatments!!!

I asked my doctor what the next steps would be when I finished my treatments at the end of this year and when could I have the surgery to remove the implanted mediport with catheter.

He said that upon completing treatments that I would need to come in to have the port flushed every 6-8 weeks, have some CEA blood tests and that he would be ordering scans and we'd take it from there.

I asked if the mediport could come out if the scans looked okay and he said he likes to keep them in until after the followup colonoscopy which would be in May of 2009 for me.

A friend of mine is renting a place in Cocoa Beach from Jan to April and I'd love to be able to get down there, if even for a week or a few days if I can arrange it with whatever schedules I have going on post chemotherapy.

_________________
Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

[quote="Miami Mike"]........have some CEA blood tests

FYI to the Forum: CEA-124; CA-125; are examples of proteins produced by tumor cells which can be assayed. Their levels can be used as an index of tumor activity.

Doc.

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"Another day in paradise!"

You know how I feel Mike !! Please do as your doctor tells you.

PS. It's good to have your input on this type of info Doc!

3/4 there Mike!! Hang in there

J

I went in this morning at 7:30am (EST) and they flushed the port and disconnected the pump...what a GREAT feeling.

I'm booked to start the next cycle on November 24th. I might have to carry the pump (in shutoff mode) on Thanksgiving (that Thursday), but with only 3 cycles left, I'm starting to feel the end of the treatments coming very soon.

Side effects now are just a little bit of tingling sensation in fingertips and some mild cold sensitivity to food and beverages along with general fatigue.

Thanks again for your continued positive support!

_________________
Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

[quote="Miami Mike"]: Nice to hear that you are feeling upbeat. Enjoy the weekend and to hell with the weather.

_________________
"Another day in paradise!"

Mike - I'm glad you're feeling upbeat - positive thinking and a good mood can really help with getting through these treatments.

I'm once again wishing you all the best, and I'm thinking of you buddy, and sending you some mojo, no, make that major mojo.

Have a good weekend.

Gil

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Where ever you go, there you are

1998 Ovation 1861 Standard Balladeer Natural
Taka - 2005 Squier '51 Black
Yume - 2006 Squier Strat Cherryburst
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