This day will always be special to me. It was Friday 13th of December, 2019 when the doctor confirmed that I had cancer. And that it was treatable and beatable.
Then on Friday the 13th of March, 2020 I had a PET scan that found my body cancer-free. I greet this day with joy and celebration.
Yesterday I went back to Florida Cancer Treatment Center for a blood test. The routine is to get a blood test every 6 months after the last chemotherapy for three years. Dr. Esper said “perfect”. All the markers are good and I remain cured.
I almost checked into the hospital this week. On Monday I could feel my blood pressure rising. There was no apparent stress then. I didn’t eat a handful of salt. No smoke, no drink but before noon it climbed over 165. I sat down, took it easy, drank some water and within two hours it was down to 135/80.
The next day it did it again. I had places to go and things to do. It rose again over 160 and I resorted to taking a nitroglycerine tablet (prescribed over a year ago). It dropped 20 points in four minutes, as it should. I called my primary care physician and set up an appointment to see him the next morning. But that afternoon it rose to 171/90. Again, I just sat back and drank some water. Then took a shower, packed the overnight bag and prepared to go the emergency room if it continued. Within two hours it was back down to 137/87. Stroke averted.
After a thorough examination and many questions my doctor gave me a simple diagnosis: I am overweight! Apparently during and after chemotherapy I was unable to do all the activities I used to. No strength, no energy, so just sit back in that recliner and chill. But I have not resumed the previous pace of gardening and woodworking. This spare tire is not the “covid 19 (pounds)” but the chemo 20. He ordered me to lose 6 pounds in 6 weeks, also tweaked my BP meds.
Coincidentally I went to the Florida Cancer Specialist this week and they re-confirmed that I am still cancer-free. Now I need to be fat-free.
So now, back to work. I enjoy my job but it is not consistently physically demanding. I’ll make a few deliveries here and there but the real sweat takes place after work and on weekends. Tonight I spent two hours in the back yard pruning some shrubs HARD. Then bundled the branches and dragged them to the street for pick up. My blood pressure is now 119/80. I’m built for work, not leisure.
2020 was the best year of my life… Because it was not my last.
Exactly one year ago the first dose of chemotherapy was coursing through my veins. My hair was predictably falling out and there were five more doses to go. Although it was debilitating, it worked. The lump in my neck and all the other cancerous lymph nodes vanished. Within four months the threat was gone. I survived.
Now the “ifs”. If I did not discover this lump until later, if the medicine did not work, if it was stage four inoperative, I could have died. But thanks to God’s grace, the love of my wife, family, friends, excellent care by all people on the medical team, the cancer is behind me and health is here and ahead.
We never ran out of faith, friends, funds or toilet paper.
“So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.
Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped… But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve… But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:13
Praise the Lord.
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
how pleasant and fitting to praise him!
The Lord builds up Jerusalem;
he gathers the exiles of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars
and calls them each by name.
Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
his understanding has no limit.
The Lord sustains the humble
but casts the wicked to the ground.
Sing to the Lord with grateful praise;
make music to our God on the harp.
He covers the sky with clouds;
he supplies the earth with rain
and makes grass grow on the hills.
He provides food for the cattle
and for the young ravens when they call.
His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his delight in the legs of the warrior;
the Lord delights in those who fear him,
who put their hope in his unfailing love…
Psalm 147
2020-2021 can be like this amaryllis bulb. It is dirty, scarred and it smells bad. But it is packed with potential. But bury it, nurture it and it will give you something beautiful, wonderful.
It’s been about a year since I was diagnosed with cancer. At that time the only symptom might have been a lower immune system that put me in the hospital for three days with pneumonia. Afterward I felt fine, except for that little lump in my neck.
Starting last Christmas week they clobbered me with chemotherapy for three months. That tore me up and sapped my strength, to be expected. Now, seven months after the last dose, I feel much better.
All my hair has grown back and most of my energy has returned. But, after being somewhat sedentary for half a year, it’s taking a while to get strength back. My blood pressure is stabilized (with medication) and I no longer get dizzy rising up after tying my shoes. At this rate I hope to be 100% functioning by the end of the year.
May, 2020 during an FNGLA Floriculture webinar
Today, October 25, 2020
I am very grateful to my employer and fellow salespeople and delivery drivers who picked up the slack and helped to shoulder the burden of business. And to our customers who continued doing business with us during my spotty visits. (Then again, Coronavirus made us all scatter like roaches to shelter.) I continue to be humbled by the number of people who sent good thoughts and prayers for my situation. And to my loving wife for being by my side as we drudged through the medicinal swamp.
In my last couple of blog entries I used the hash tag “recovery”, meaning I am recovering from the treatment. Apparently a few people searched for that phrase and shared their blog stories, mostly about recovering from addictions and abuse. My situation was nothing compared to so many other people.
“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. ” Ephesians 6.
Friday, June 10, 2020. I have been declared cancer-free, still.
Back in March they did a PET scan, confirming the absence of cancer cells. Then we did two more doses of chemotherapy. Two weeks ago they did one last PET scan. Today’s meeting with Doctor Esper concluded that I am cured and no more treatment or scans will be needed, ever!
Thank you Florida Cancer Specialist for doing everything in your power to rid me of a life-threatening disease. Thank you God for hearing our prayers and healing me. Thank you Lord for giving us all comfort in difficult times and carrying us through. Let Your will be done.
It’s been two months since ending chemotherapy and my body is showing signs of recovery and regrowth. I just got my first store-bought haircut of the year last week. My hair is definitely filling in and growing. It feels like fur. And facial hair growth is getting back to normal where I need to shave more often.
Chemo trashes skin cells so that’s still looking slightly affected. Then I noticed my nails are regrowing…incrementally. I’m assuming these peculiar horizontal ridges are where they stopped growing and attempted to start again, four times.
Meanwhile, I’m gradually regaining energy and strength. Our son John just bought a chin up bar for his fitness so I’m getting started with some indoor exercise. From January to April I got tired just pulling up my pants. Now I’ve worked up to five chin ups.
Tomorrow I go to my primary care physician for my annual physical. I’m curious about the results of the blood tests because I’ve been on a protein-rich diet for four months. Eggs, cheese, meat, yogurt, milk must have elevated my cholesterol numbers. And he was able to lower my blood pressure that spiked at the beginning of chemo so I’m looking forward to reducing and eliminating that medication.
Recovery from chemotherapy is slow and gradual. Just last week I started working on projects that I have been walking past for five months. I have the desire and the ability to do woodworking and gardening, but my energy level is medium and strength is catching up.
I tore up some old decking boards on a walkway next to our house. I can only work about 20 minutes at a time, then get a drink and catch my breath. Then back at it. Besides, it was 90 degrees out there. Just two weeks ago I got very dizzy just standing up from tying my shoes but not this week.
My hair is slowly growing back, along with facial hair. I’m ready for the third haircut this year. The sores in my mouth are gone and the numbness/tingling in my fingers happens less often.
To boost my immune system I drink a concoction of cider vinegar/herbal extract with V-8 every day. Yum. (Yoder’s Good Health Recipe; Cider vinegar, water, apple juice, grape juice, and tinctures of ginseng, goldenseal, echinacea, valerian, ginger, black cohosh, chamomile, black walnut, licorice root, anise, cinnamon, cloves, chickweed, fenugreek, potassium sorbate.)
This is the first time this year that I have not had chemo in four weeks. My body was getting used to the dose every three weeks. Now that I’m farther away from the debilitation effects I feel slightly better.
I hoped that on day #22 I would suddenly feel normal again. No. Consulting with the case nurse at Florida Cancer Center she confirmed it would take months to recover. I noticed yesterday that I have not had a stomach ache in a few days. That’s new. My facial hair is starting to regrow and I’m letting it, although it’s pretty scruffy. My energy level is about the same: Sleep for 2-3 hours, awake after 5 or 6. Need a nap every afternoon, sometimes two.
I’m patient because I have the rest of my life to recover.
Yesterday I received my last dose of chemotherapy. At our first meeting the doctor proposed four doses, then the PET scan, and he assured me it would be clear. He was right. But they scheduled six doses to assure all the cancerous cells would be gone. One of the nurses told me of one patient who stopped at four and came back a couple years later after her cancer had returned and the chemotherapy was stronger and longer. No thanks. Hit me now, not harder later.
This dose feels about like the rest. I think they remove my blood and replace it with sand.
The side effects of Prednisone are energy, but not ability. Last night I went to bed at 10 and was wide awake at 12:30, time for breakfast. I see a project I want to tackle but I get dizzy just bending over and standing up. Dragging the trash can to the curb is exhausting. I feel like I have a fever but my temperature is 96.3. All along I have looked forward to April, but May should be the time when I recover.
During the first week after chemo my immune system is gone. Especially tomorrow. This weird box attached to my arm will make beeping noises at 7:00 pm and pump more meds into me that will boost the white blood cells. It’s designed to be administered at home to reduce the risk of infection, assuming no one at home is sick.
So, this Stay at Home order is just fine with me. For the next five days I’ll hunker down and if I need to venture out I have a mask and gloves and sanitizer.
Thank God I am cancer-free. But I still feel the profound effects of chemotherapy. Tired, slightly achy, weak, digestive issues, and sleepless. I have one more dose of chemo in a couple of weeks so these feelings will continue for another month. It’s to be expected but I’m looking forward to the night when I can sleep for more than two hours and the day when I can tie my shoes without nearly blacking out.
When I made this category of “recovery”, it is not from the disease but from the medicine.
Lumpy Bob 