Category: Last chemo

Jumpy Bob

~ Bob Cook ~ 3 Comments

Alright, now that the cancer is gone, what next?

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.

I.V., IV

~ Bob Cook ~ 2 Comments

Today’s chemotherapy might be my last. This morning the doctor reviewed the blood tests showing my cells have recovered from the last round and I can tolerate another. Then she explained in two weeks we do the PET scan to see if there are any remaining cancer cells. If so, I get two more doses. I appreciate a back up plan but firmly expect this disease to be gone now. Expect the best but prepare for the worst. If my prayers are answered and the doctor’s original assertion is correct, the cancer is gone now after four doses.

Today was the typical round of several bags and syringes running from 9:30 am until 3:00 pm. On the way out I rang the bell, signifying my last visit.

So I have the next three weeks to endure the side effects. The next five days involve a racing heart, hot flashes, four hours of sleep at night, tingling fingers, and avoiding sick people because my immune system is suppressed.

For sure the chemo effect is cumulative. At first I thought it would be sick the first week and getting better for the next two weeks, then the next dose. But, each dose make me a little weaker with longer recovery. Last week I felt more tired than ever. So I’ll see how this last one gets me.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” said Jesus in Matthew 11:28

“What does not kill you makes you stronger” Sorry Kelly Clarkson but your famous lyric makes for a catchy break-up song but not real life. What does not kill you makes you weaker. And that’s a good thing.

“Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it (pain) away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” says Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:8

So, I’m ok feeling like a marionette with half the strings cut. God’s grace saved me, gave me life everlasting, and lets me lean on Him as I walk THROUGH the valley of the shadow of death, stopping to catch my breath.