The Week In review - - Found the post Paul was working on - -

On Monday I had an appointment with the lung doctor who treated me while I was in the hospital, Arrived on time for my appointment and after the obligatory 45 minute wait I finally got to see the doctor. First thing he asked me was "Why are you here?". I told him I thought it was the follow-up appointment dictated by protocol from my hospital stay (i.e. an unnecessary appointment). Asked me about a half dozen questions, said everything was good and to come back in 3 months. Another hour and a half of my life I'll never get back....

Tuesday finally brought my PET Scan. They threw in a CT Scan for good measures. I didn't think that this would amount to much but the position they put me in for the PET scan was probably the most uncomfortable 20 mins I've endured in quite a while (Please read that to mean it really hurt). I could barely crawl out of the office to get back to the car. Went straight home, took pain pills, and went to bed. Thank goodness nothing is planned for Wednesday.

Chemo day finally arrived on Thursday. I was prepared for an all day adventure but things went fairly quickly. I was only held prisoner for about three hours. Getting a concoction of two different drugs. One has no side effects while they other has the obligatory nausea and hair loss as the top two side effects. They said that I would probably not experience either so that was good news. Looks like the chemo routine for the foreseeable future will be chemo followed by a check-up visit after 10 days followed by another chemo after 21 days.  Felt really good Thursday, one of the best days in a long time.

Friday brought my first radiation treatment. They are only treating the shoulder at this point but are setting up for the femur also. Seems they have to get permission from the insurance to treat two location at the same time. Why is that not a surprise? First visit was lengthy as they had to set up all the markers etc. Besides becoming part of the Borg Collective, I am also now a "Tattooed Man". Looks like my son and some of my nephews were a bad example.



Per Pete's comment I will no longer refer to charley using an upper case "c". As he said, charley does not deserve the honor of a capital "c".

As for charley -- "As ass head and a coxcomb and a knave, a thin faced knave and gull"

Rule are Rules, Unless They Change Them

Guest commentary on account of Paul has no computer access . . .

So, it used to be that you couldn’t get out of the hospital until you could go. You know, you gotta go, in order to go.

Unless you’re Pawl the troll motor.

Then you can’t go until you don’t go spewing, you got to keep it down. Which, of course, is pretty dang hard to do when you are not being fed anything.

At least I can now report Pablo is back amongst us in soul and spirit.  

I even talked to him today. In fact, he is up to short phone calls if you are so inclined. Listen to how he sounds, you might want to make it a real quick call if he sounds really tired. 

And if there's no answer, remember, he doesn’t have to answer the phone.

In the meantime, that rat bastard charley needs to die.

dum vita est spes est  

Better living through chemistry, maybe not so much

The regularly scheduled update has been delayed due to technical reasons. Like Paul is incapacitated and feels not like posting.

 Most of the blog post was ready to be published, however, the author is suffering from an adverse reaction to the poison consumed on Thursday, (AKA Chemo).

On a better note, if it makes Paul ill, think what it’s doing to that rat bastard charley.

I will update as I find out more, no calls to Paul please.
 

I hate charley

dum vita est spes est  

Weekly Update - June 14th

After seeing the doctor at the beginning of the week and getting an additional handful of appointments, I thought I might be on the way to getting some relieve. Spent the first day rearranging appointments since I had some overlaps with previous appointments (for the blood clots/lung thing). By mid week everything was on track.

Oh! I forgot about the insurance company. They had to start putting their two cents in the pot and as a result the whole train ran of the tracks. Still not sure about some of it... Can't have a PET scan because you have to have a CAT scan first... Anyway by Friday had everything rescheduled. Did get an Xray of my leg but no word yet if it means anything.

On Friday I had my Central line installed. Of all the medical procedures I've been through, this one amazed me. Total time involved was 55 minutes. That is timing from the moment we left the house, went to the hospital and then returned. Couldn't believe the attitude for the procedure. When I walked into the procedure room they asked me if I wanted to  get undressed and put on a hospital gown or just wanted to take my shirt off. 15 minutes later I was walking out of the hospital. My assimilation into the Borg Collective has begun.

Pet Scan scheduled for this coming Tuesday with first chemo scheduled for Thursday (pending PET Scan results). No Clue on radiation treatments.

Do hope once we start some type of actual treatment that I might start to feel a little better. It's not a pain thing, just an overall feeling bad. Don't know if it's Charley or all the pills I'm taking, Maybe just some combination of things. Seems like everyday I feel a little worse than the day before. There has got to be some relieve at the end of the rainbow.

Signing off for now. Will post again when things change.

As for Charley -- "Degenerate and base art thou"

And the fun begins....

I know I said I'd post about once a week but after one day with one doctor it has became kinda overwhelming. I knew that there would be additional items generated by this visit but I did not expect it to consume a couple of days of back to back stuff. Luckily I'm getting Wednesday off with nothing scheduled. The only thing I've got to do today is call these other providers and straighten out the overlapping appointments.

Oncologist is going to begin Chemo next week (Monday the 15th), pending completion of all lab work and various scans. Not sure what effects the chemo will have as I have not gotten the details yet. It's one of those "additional information to follow". The chemo will be an all day affair, the nurse said to allow anywhere from 6 to 8 hours. Plus side is it is only every 21 days. Down side is I don't know how many or for how long.

Interesting  development on the bone stuff. When Charley invades a bone it is not painful. That is until it actually fractures the bone (i.e. my shoulder blade).  Oncologist is concerned about my right femur.. I'm due for an Xray of the femur plus info from a PET scan to determine it's improvement. If there's any indication of Charley being involved, they are going to have a pin installed to prevent any future fracturing. Life only gets better.....

Scheduled for radiation treatment for  my shoulder next week (Pending PET scan). This should address the pain and make it a none issue. If successful I should be able to get off all the pills I'm taking.

Having a Central line installed sometime this week. No schedule yet but should know by the end of the day.

All said it appears to be a hurry up and wait scenario.....

As for Charley -- "I hate thee, pronounce thee a gross lout, a mindless slave"

Weekly Update - June 7th

I started the week feeling pretty good. Lot of time spent on telephone making doctor appointments and trying to schedule stuff. Additionally working with insurance company on hail damage from recent storm (hail got my truck, our roof, and a window). To say the least, I was feeling pretty run down by the end of week

Margaret bought a fancy electric type bed hoping I'd be able to sleep better. It works to some degree as I do stay in one spot for the entire night. Still toss and turn all night. If all else fails, I can charge the neighborhood kids for rides on the "Bodacious Bed of Bedlam."

Made my first doctor appointment (Primary Care), he said he would monitor what was going on but once I saw my oncologist he would become the focal point for all future care and first contact for any issues regardless of the nature.

Amber, Doug, and the grand-kids came for a visit this weekend. Good to see them. Doug helped out around the house with some items I hadn't been able to get to, I appreciated the effort.

Coming up this week I have probably the most important doctor appointment. I See my oncologist on Tuesday and will probably find out then what the future holds. I'm fully expecting a series of additional appointments from this one visit. I see the lung doctor on Thursday, concerning the blood clots in my lungs (from the DVT in my leg). Do not expect anything of note from this appointment.

If things ramp up significantly I'll post during the week. If it's pretty much low keyed, I'll give everyone an update next weekend.

As for Charley -- "I bite my thumb at you."

My Weekly Update - Vol 1 Edition 1.1

Just to keep everyone in the loop that might have some level of interest into what is going on, I plan to do a weekly update as to the status of things. I'll try to post during the weekend so that I can summarize everything that may have happened the previous week and lay out the plans for the upcoming week. With that said --- Here goes----

Spending a lot of time on the phone making doctor appointments. Have an appointment with my primary care on Friday. Since everyone claims I am type II diabetic his job is to monitor the glucose stuff and overall health during this entire process. First visit to Oncologist is scheduled for next Tuesday to be followed on Thursday with a trip to a lung doctor. I am sure that these few appointments will result in a multitude of additional appointments and/or test with other doctors. Got to be sure my hang nail is going to survive the chemo!

Down side to all this is that I can't drive. Doctors haven't said anything but because of all the happy drugs I'm taking Margaret has taken my keys away from me. Her and Mary will not let me do anything of value. Plus side -- I got to watch them mow the yard yesterday!

I am actually feeling a lot better this week as compared to previous weeks. In fact I feel better today than I have felt in months. There is a lot to be said for better living through chemistry. Morphine twice a day has a way of putting a mellow on you.  Seems that once they had a diagnosis, prescribing pain medication was not near the problem it had been pre-diagnosis.

Special Thanks to Bro Pete for his email. I was having a hard time trying to figure out how to let everyone know what was going on. Pete step up to the plate and handled it for me and I really appreciate the effort (and eloquent words of wisdom). I will probably be checking email on a more regular basis now that I feel a little better. Just don't expect a timely reply.

The facts, just the facts

Sgt Joe would have said; “the facts, just the facts”

Vol 1 edition 1

The bastard trying again only this time looks like it’s targeting Paul.   This first round communique is by request so after this your source will be via the link at the bottom.

1.       Preliminary diagnosis is adenocarcinoma. This type of cancer is one that normally forms in mucus-secreting glands throughout the body.

2.       Major site appears to be on the shoulder blade where all the pain has been located. Minor spots may include a spot on one lung, one area under the lung and a possible spot on one of the femurs.  These might be due to the blood clots at these locations but are suspect.

3.       Treatment is normally radiation and chemo with the occasional surgery. 

4.       Paul is not interested at this time in getting a lot of calls as he is going to have to spend a lot of time gathering and understanding all the instructions and info the oncologists are going to be throwing at him. I can appreciate how difficult this process can be and right now he needs to concentrate on that aspect.

5.       And it’s a good chance he’s not going to be checking e-mails ether, priorities are a changing.

So if there are real questions, call or email me, and I will attempt to answer them. Paul was working on how he is going to be disseminating info, he is considering a blog along with the occasional E-mail blast whenever there is something he thinks you should know.

FYI – he’s in good spirits and intend to fight this. I am sure the treatment will be aggressive and at this time he plans to attend the great expedition in July.

More info to follow as it becomes available – Send me any email addresses to include in the distribution list I am sure I do not have them all.

He will be posting the first update soon after this appears in your email box.  His blog spot is  http://pvadamsupdates.blogspot.com/

His plan is to write a first entry, but as he is soon to discover, each doctors visit may/most likely will result in additional doctor appoints. So updates might be spotty at first.  His preferred method of communication is via the blog.

--------------------------------------   what I learned from before ------------------------------------------

The Rules

If you are going to speaking to someone that’s sick, you need to know the rules. They are organized as a set of concentric rings, like a bullseye. From the inside out, it’s your relationship to the person in the center that determines which ring you are in and what you say and do.

Center – The sick one

1^st Ring – significant other/spouse and if not married, parents and primary care givers.

2^nd Ring – Siblings, sons and daughters (i.e. close family)

3^rd Ring –  Extended family, friends and neighbors

4^th Ring  – Co-workers, classmates, the butcher etc

Whoever is sick is in the middle ring. The person in the center ring can say anything they want to anyone, anywhere. They are allowed to bitch and moan. They can curse the heavens and say, "Life is unfair" and "Why me?" That's the one payoff for being in the center ring. They don’t have to follow the rules.

Everyone else can say those things too, but only to people in rings larger than yours.

When you are talking to a person in a ring smaller than yours, someone closer to the center of the crisis, the goal is to help.

Pretty much what you should do is listen.

Listening is often more helpful than talking. But if you're going to open your mouth, be sure what you are going to say is going to provide comfort and support. If it isn't, don't say it.

Don't give advice. People who are suffering from trauma don't need advice

If you want to scream or cry or complain, if you want to tell someone how shocked you are or how icky you feel, or whine about how it reminds you of all the terrible things that have happened to you, that's fine. It's a perfectly normal response. Just do it to someone in a bigger ring.

If you want to help ask:

1.    Tell me what’s helpful and what’s not

2.    Tell me if you want to be alone

3.    Tell me when you want company

4.    Tell me what to bring

5.    Tell me when to leave

Most important of all the words out of your mouth should be guided by - Good in, talking to an ring smaller than yours.  If you want to say something bad, talk to rings bigger than yours.