Treatment 18. The half way point!!

Monday January, 29, 2007


Today was my half way point! I took my 18th treatment today. I scheduled an early treatment time for Friday so we can return home this weekend. There are things we need to take care of at home. The weather looks kind of “iffy” for Friday. I hope we don’t have ice and snow to prevent us from traveling back to SC. It is scheduled to be in the low 20’s here tonight and maybe snow and ice Wednesday.

I took a few pictures of the X-ray machine that is used for my treatments. One picture shows the mold that I have to stay in for the treatment. It’s hard to remain still during the treatment.

We have people coming and going all the time here at the Caring House. Some of the people we talk to here and at the hospital are very sick. The ones who have positive attitudes seem to be doing much better than the ones who do not think positively. That is one reason I have to stay positive!


THIS X-RAY MACHINE GIVES ME MY DAILY TREATMENTS.


ANOTHER PICTURE OF THE X-RAY MACHINE THAT GIVES ME MY DAILY TREATMENTS.


THIS IS THE MOLD THAT I AM IN FOR EACH TREATMENT.

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, 24-26 JAN, 2007

Thursday and Friday, January 25-26, 2007

Yesterday was not very exciting. I was still having rib cage pain, but it had gotten better. The X-rays showed some accumulation of fluid in the left lower lung. Even though I thought it was better, Dr. Boyd and Dr. Lee thought I should be hospitalized so I could get some IV antibiotics and get this problem cleared-up.
I was admitted late Thursday afternoon and started taking three different antibiotics by IV and one orally. An ultrasound was ordered to check for fluid in the lungs. They found some and Dr. Hargett, the pulmonary specialist, decided to aspirate and culture the sample.

Patsy left about 30 minutes before they did the procedure, and she was glad she did not have to watch. An ultrasound machine was rolled into my room, an area on my back was sterilized, and a sterilized medical blanket was placed around the area. They did deaden the area where the needle went into my back between my ribs. Dr. Hargett allowed two medical students, a nurse and his assistant in the room to observe the procedure. The doctor explained everything as he did it so the students could learn about this type procedure. I did not mind those people being in the room because I knew I was getting “cutting edge” technology. After less than 30 minutes, the procedure was over. For me, it was a “piece of cake”. The doctor withdrew about 3-4 ounces of fluid to culture. It will take a few days to get the results back. Since I was feeling good the doctor decided to release me from the hospital as long as I remained in the local area in case the culture showed something he needed to take action on. So, there went our trip back home for this week end. Maybe we will get more rest by remaining at the Caring House for weekend.

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Well, the Wednesday night supper went well. Patsy was “kind of” in charge if it. These people know leadership potential when they see it! We had a large variety of food available. Patsy and I made two large pots of lentil vegetable soup. The soup was a big hit even though many of the residents had never eaten lentils. They were surprised at how good the soup was. Since we cooked two big pots, we had some left over, and the residents enjoyed it the next day. We were glad because some of the people are very ill and do not feel like cooking.

Patsy announced she may make navy bean soup for next Wednesday. I asked her if she could make some Army bean soup instead! One reason she prepares non-meat foods is so we will have some food to eat. Most residents fix items with meat, and Patsy and I no longer eat meat. I am really surprised at how unhealthy people eat. But who am I to say, I’m the one with cancer. However, I had the cancer before Patsy and I changed our diet and started eating as healthy. Our intentions are to BEAT this cancer with prayer, radiation, exercise and diet.

For Veterans

If you are a Veteran this 11 minute video is well worth your time to watch. There is no narration, so expect no talking.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2487638612433437293&q=Veterans

The Gourmet Cook

Tuesday, January 23, 2007 (14th treatment)

I had my treatment at 9:15 AM. I was hoping my blood work and X-ray results would be back this AM. They were not, so I will have to wait until Wednesday to get the results. I am feeling better this AM. We need to go back to the grocery store because we are almost out of some necessary items. We plan to cook soup tomorrow night for the residents! I cooked one pot of soup Saturday, so I now consider myself a gourmet cook!

Treatment 13

Monday, January 22, 2007. (13th treatment)

We arrived back at the Caring House and unloaded the vehicle. Again, we hauled our “stuff”upstairs. I got my treatment at 3 PM and then saw the doctor. About a week after my pneumonia, I started having pain in my left rib cage area. The technician took a series of rib X-rays this afternoon to try to figure out what is going on. When I go for my treatment tomorrow maybe they will know what the problem is.

Tonight at the Caring House a group of 28 ladies from the Durham Jr. League, the Singing Choral, came by to sing some tunes from Broadway for us. They sing for nursing homes, hospitals, and other places that have people who could benefit from the music. Yikes, this must be considered similar to a nursing home! They were very good and we really enjoyed listening to them.

Treatment 12

Friday, January 19, 2007. (12th treatment)

Well, here it is Friday and another week has come and gone. They scheduled my radiation treatment earlier than normal so we could depart before noon. We plan to go home this weekend because our son, Christopher, is coming to visit us on Saturday and Sunday. He was scheduled to give a talk to the Psychology Department at USC.

Saturday, I took on a tremendous responsibility. Patsy said it was time for me to learn to cook. She gave me a recipe and left me to swim or sink! I sailed across the water! I cooked a big pot of lentil soup. Now that was some gooood soup!

Snow on the ground

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Today we woke to find snow on the ground!

Snow in the prayer garden at the Caring House.

Patsy went to the food store yesterday without my supervision. For breakfast this morning we had twigs, that “good for you cereal”, with a lot of protein, fiber and NO taste with chocolate soy milk. Why chocolate milk? You will have to ask Patsy that.

I am trying to get up to date with the Blog and publish it on the day it happens. I expect the rest of the day to go as normal. Whatever normal is…..

Wednesday, Jan 17, 2007

Wednesday January 17, 2007

Well, today was not just another day. It started before I got out of bed with my left side hurting like pneumonia pain. It was not extremely bad so I did not get up before normal time. At Duke they always want to know how the pain is on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the most severe. I rated it a 3 this AM. It was an 8 or 9 at the emergency room last week.

I called the radiation department; like I was supposed to if I had any problems. They told me to come in at 2 PM and they would check me out. I was not running any fever this morning, but I was not running any last week in the emergency room either. Two doctors listened to my lungs and ordered an X-ray. I will get the results tomorrow when I go for treatment. They gave me Ibuprofen 800mg to take every 8 hours. That has not helped the pain yet; maybe they will have a solution for me tomorrow.

Note: blue article below is X-rated. You may not want your young children to see it!

While waiting for treatment today, Patsy and I were talking to a 90 year old woman in the waiting room. (All children, old people, and animals always find Patsy.) She had already had chemotherapy and was now having radiation. She said radiation was easy compared to Chemo. She was very upbeat and looked terrific for 90 years old. She said, “I am legally blind, have one boob, and no hair and don’t give a d--.” What a great attitude!

Tonight the residents at the Caring House had a community supper. They even had dishes Patsy and I could eat. One dish was vegetarian lasagna with 12 different organic vegetables and cheese. They had green beans, roll, broccoli salad, and other things that I could not eat. There were at least five different desserts. Patsy took a chocolate fudge cake. I did not eat one of each dessert, but 4 pieces of the chocolate cake. I must keep my weight up. I have already lost about 2 lbs. Now I have an excuse to eat anything I want!

We even had entertainment. There is a Methodist preacher here who is getting radiation, and he played numerous tunes--off key--on a fiddle. I wanted to tell him “I used to wish I could play the fiddle, but now I wished he could play it.” Patsy said that wouldn’t be nice.

I will get my radiation tomorrow again at 3:30 PM. Then on Friday it will be at 9:15 AM. We will leave for Florence after that and our son, Chris, will visit us Saturday and Sunday. He is giving talks and presentations at USC, Columbia on Thursday and Friday.

I did find out today that they plan to give me 36 treatments instead of 39. For you math teachers, I was 25 % complete on Tuesday.
So that means Thursday’s treatment number is ___? You can put your answer in the comments section.

January 16, 2007

I was scheduled to have my treatment later today, at 4:30 PM. That meant we would leave for Duke around noon Tuesday and not have to hurry. At 9:30 AM I went to run some errands, and knew I would have plenty of time. When I arrived back at the house (10:30 AM), Patsy met me at the door and said Duke had called and we had to be there by 2 PM because of some changes in treatment schedules. We had to finish packing and loading the vehicle and leave soon. We hurried around and left at 10:40 AM. We knew we would have no problem getting to the appointment on time if we had no delays on the road.

Things were going well until we got on I-40 around Raleigh where we came upon a long backup of traffic. We could not see what was going on, but the traffic was still moving. We knew we would get there on time if the backup did not last long. Well, as our luck goes, the backup was short. I arrived at the hospital at 1:30 PM, in plenty of time. I checked in, and they said it would be a few minutes. After about 30 minutes, I checked with them again. They said they had not forgotten me; it would be a few more minutes. After waiting for one and one-half hours, they called me back for treatment. Finally I got my radiation, and we went to the Caring House to unload our luggage and get ready for dinner.

Tonight we had homemade split green pea soup, a large mixed salad, roll, and fruit. It was delicious. (Patsy is trying hard to make sure I have nutritious meals.) After visiting with some of the residents and listening to their cancer stories, it was time to go upstairs and work on my Blog. Have a GREAT evening!

My most exciting week so far

Tuesday January 9-12, 2007

Well, the rest of this week was a blur. I woke up about 3 AM on Tuesday morning with extreme pain on my left side. I lay in the bed awhile trying not to wake Patsy, but the pain got so bad I had to try to get up. I could only breathe about 10 percent because the pain was sooo bad. Patsy called 911 and I took my first and, I hope, my last ride in a medical vehicle. Those big lights in the ceiling of the vehicle were really bright! When I got to Duke emergency center about 4:30 AM, it was extremely busy. I stayed in the hallway on a gurney for hours before they had one of the small emergency rooms available. I stayed in the emergency room until a bed in the hospital came open. Can you believe that was not until about 9 PM that night? The emergency room people thought the pain was a heart attack. They were looking for a blood clot in the lungs and doing all those blood tests. Patsy had thought all along it was pneumonia because she said my cough had been sounding different for the last few days. Finally she was able to get a nurse to have another doctor check the X-rays. Sure enough, Dr. Fraley was correct!

I was scheduled for my radiation at 3:30 PM so they took me in a wheel chair to the South end of the hospital complex. The wheel chair ride included a ride through parts of the hospital that are off limits to most people, and a ride on the tram where I got to view all the pretty winter flowers. I have always looked at people in wheel chairs and felt sorry for them. Now the table had turned, others were feeling sorry for me or thinking other things. I guess that is just another day at the hospital.

The hospital was going to release me, but decided I needed my gamma infusion before I left the hospital. Duke did not have the same brand gamma that I take in Florence, so they decided to give me their brand, but very slowly so I would not have a reaction to it. Well, 5 hours later the infusion was complete. By then it was already 8 PM and the sign on the doors states that patients are discharged at 11:00 AM. I was afraid I would have to stay there another night. By 9 PM the nurse and doctor decided to discharge me as soon as I was given another dose of antibiotic. Well, the pharmacy finally got the medicine to the nurse. As luck has it, she dropped the pill on the floor. Well, another 30 minutes later I finally left the hospital.

The rest of the week went as normal. Since Monday (15th) is Martin Luther King Holiday and the hospital radiation department will not be working, we decided to return home. As I said before, we can get much more rest at home in our own bed than by being away. We will return to Duke on Tuesday. I will have my 9th treatment on Tuesday, then only 30 more to go.

Monday, January 8, 2007

We prepared to return to Durham today and arrived in time to start my treatment at 3:30. After the treatment, it was time again to return to Super Target for some more food items. I was not feeling well today, but I had a different type of cough. Patsy said, “It sounds like you are getting pneumonia.” I said, “No, I don’t think so.” Patsy and I took advantage of the media area of the Caring House and watched a movie this evening. The logs were burning in the fireplace, and it was nice to be by ourselves. It was kind of like having a date. No other residents were there, so we had the area to ourselves.

January 5, 2007

Friday, January 5, 2007

I got up early to get ready for my 8:15 AM appointment for my third radiation treatment. Following the treatment, we packed and departed for home.

Moved to new room

Thursday, Jan 4, 2007

Well, we (Patsy and I) had a good night’s sleep last night and slept late this morning. There was no reason to get up early because my appointment today is not until 3:30 PM. We had breakfast of cereal, fruit, juice, and hot tea.

After a short workout on our new elliptical exercise machine, we had lunch and moved to a new room. When we arrived at the caring House only a handicap room was available, and we were able to move into a regular room today. Of course, it had to be upstairs, and Patsy packs a lot of clothes! It was then time for my 3:30 PM appointment for radiation treatment.

Next we made another trip to Super Target to pickup more items we needed, (That I forgot on the first trip) and then Patsy fixed us a tasty meal of brown rice, black beans and tomatoes, and a spinach salad. We visited with some of the residents of the Caring House and talked about cancer (real exciting conversation), and had an after dinner snack. We planned for our trip home on Friday, watched a program on TV, and prepared for a good night’s sleep.

SuperTarget and Sam's visit

After the first treatment we went to Super Target and Sam’s to get some food for our stay at the Caring House. When we got back, I put together an elliptical exercise machine. It must have had about 500 bolts and screws! Patsy plans for me to exercise and eat right while I am taking the treatments. I no longer sneak food when she isn’t looking! That’s because she is always looking!

All of the people here at the Caring House and at the hospital have been extremely pleased with the doctors at Duke. Some have had treatments in other places and were not pleased and turned to Duke because they are so good. So far we have found the people to be very helpful, friendly, caring, and professional. They seem to treat cancer patients with more care. They probably think we are dieing!

Set-up and first treatment

The treatment and set up lasted about 30 minutes. They had to first put me in the mold that was made on a previous trip about 3 weeks ago. That is to insure that you are in the same place each time they radiate your body. After they got me on the table in the mold, they lined me up with the radiation machine markers. The specialist had to take 2 x-rays and get them checked by the doctor. Then they made additional adjustments and the doctor approved them. Then they drew three purple lines on my body for future reference. By doing that they will not have to subject my body to additional x-rays each time I go for treatment. Finally, they were ready for my actual treatment. I received seven, thirty second treatments, each in a different area. I even counted to see if they were thirty seconds long, and they were right in the time frame.

Arrival at our new home for the next 2 months

After we checked in at the Caring House, which took about one and one half hours, it was time to go to the Radiation Department for my “mark-up”. It takes only about 10 minutes to drive to the Hospital from the Caring House. Duke also provides transportation from the Caring house if you call ahead about 45 minutes. That is really good if you don’t feel like driving some day, especially if the weather is bad, like snowing or raining. Duke even provides free parking at the back entrance of the Radiation Department for cancer patients. Today we drove to the hospital. After we checked in, I was called to the changing room where I had to put on one of those beautiful hospital robes. All the ties were on this one, so I was able to cover up properly. I was taken to the “Tan Area” machine. They have red, blue, tan, and yellow areas for different radiation requirements. Why is mine tan? That’s a good question. I will ask on Thursday when I get my next treatment

Radiation treatment for recurrent prostate cancer

Wednesday, Jan 3, 2007

The day for my treatments has finally arrived. We got up early, 5:30 AM. Well, that is no earlier than I would have gotten up had I been going to work. We departed at 8 AM, after loading all our goodies in the truck. The trip was not bad, after 3 hours and 180 miles we arrived in Durham, NC.

The first stop was at the Caring House where we are scheduled to spend the next 39 week days. Yes, week days. We hope to go home on the weekends. That is if we don’t get too tired of hanging around, doing what ever we want whenever we want and spending 30 minutes at the Radiation Oncology Department at Duke University Medical Center each weekday. After a few weeks, we may decide that the drive is not worth it; we’ll see!