Sid Bacon

Lance Armstrong had testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs and brain. His cancer treatments included brain and testicular surgery and extensive chemotherapy; his prognosis was originally poor.  There was a period of about a year after surgery and chemotherapy during which he was in remission and simply being tested for re-occurrence of the cancer.  He was fortunate.  The cancer did not return, and he went on to win the Tour de France a record-breaking seven times!  Although his chemotherapy was excruciatingly painful and difficult, he found the process of therapy more satisfying than passively waiting during that year.  He preferred to befighting. I know that feeling.  Although my situation is obviously different … I am only in the fighting stage … it feels good to be fighting my cancer with full doses of chemo and with any and all of the other resources available to me.  When we are doing this, we are doing something, and that something is good!  We are fighting!
 

Cathy and I will be going to Piper for chemotherapy tomorrow morning.  We are prepared for the drill: vitals (including weight … it is hard to keep gaining, but I’m trying!); blood work to make sure I can have the full dose of chemo (I expect that to be the case); pre-meds to help with nausea; chemo 1; chemo 2.  We start at 9:00 and are usually done by 12:00 noon or so.  The therapy does make me tired for a couple days, but I fully expect to continue my walks and continue to feel good throughout most of the day.  It is such a blessing to have enough energy to work at home.  I enjoy working and definitely enjoy feeling good.
 

Thanks for your support, and please keep sending positive thoughts our way during chemo.  The gloves definitely are off on Thursdays!

Cathy and I are sitting at Piper.  My weight was the same as last week, which is good, but I’ll try that much harder next week to gain a couple pounds, which would be even better!  I don’t really want to have my suit for the wedding taken in, but I could do that if need be (almost certainly easier than gaining 10 pounds!).  The blood work all looked good, so we are ready to start the full dose of chemo.  I’m getting the pre-meds right now, but then we’ll move on to the two separate chemo drugs (and lunch).  Full fight!  All good!!

Today is the third Thursday in a row of receiving chemo for this second cycle (1 cycle = 3 on, 1 off).  Next week is my week off as we end the second of what may be six cycles of this particular regimen.  Next Friday is a big day.  I will come in for some blood work and then a CT scan to assess the size of the tumors.  They may not give me the results of that scan until the following Thursday (first day of cycle 3), at which time they also will assess the cancer antigen in my blood (done once per month).  The one and only time they did that the level had decreased … a great sign.  So, what we are obviously hoping for is another decrease in the antigen and a decrease in the size of the tumors.  Those results will tell us how the chemo is doing and will dictate the therapy regimen for some time, possibly the next four months.  I expect all to be good.  I’m getting better.  We can all tell that.   I may have little bumps in the road here and there, but they are minor.  When I look back over the past month or so, I see major changes in how I feel and what I am able to do.  We take one day at a time, but we really appreciate those daily changes when viewed over a longer time window.

We met a cancer patient today.  He was diagnosed four years ago with stage IV pancreatic cancer.  He is doing great.  It was so nice to talk with him … always good to be given yet another reason to have hope. 

I had a Reiki treatment today.  It was my first one.  If nothing else, it was very relaxing; I nearly fell asleep. I appreciate the fact that these alternative, holistic treatments are available to me at Piper.  We don’t pull any punches when it comes to fighting this disease.  We use all our tools and we fight together!

I know you are sending special thoughts my way on Thursdays.  I feel and appreciate all your love and support.  It truly is amazing.  Together we will beat this.  Thanks for your help!

I know it sounds crazy, but having cancer can make you a better person.  I certainly feel that it has made me a better person, and I am most thankful for that.  I can’t quite explain it, but living with the disease gives you clarity … not only to live your life in a more loving and caring way, but to focus on things that truly matter, such as family and friends.
   

Each and every day Cathy and I are fighting this disease with all our might.  I could not do this without her.  And of course Laura and Dan are such a source of strength and determination that I could not do this without them, either.  I want to win for them and Cathy as much as for anything or anyone else.  And as I have said before, you are helping me win, too.  This is clearly a team effort (as beautifully shown by Liz and Dan, with their new Team Bacon shirts).  We are all fighting and winning together. 
 

I don’t know for certain if I will ever be labeled a “cancer survivor”, but I know right now I am surviving cancer.  I am surviving in the face of this insidious disease.  It is not getting the better of me.  We are beating it and living a blessed life despite its presence in my body.  Although yesterday’s chemo treatment is hard at work killing cancerous as well as normal cells, and although I am usually quite tired after the treatment, today I’m feeling especially strong and good. 
 

I started the day with a 2.5-mile walk, but have not done anything particularly strenuous since.  Rest immediately following chemo is a good thing.  I’ve been able to work at my computer most of the day; it has been enjoyable and quite rewarding.  I’ve been eating regularly, trying to gain those elusive pounds.  I haven’t had much nausea today at all, which has been a real treat.  This is something the professionals at Piper are still working hard to control.  They prescribed another medication yesterday that I took last night and this morning … it may have helped.  I’ll know better after a couple more days of this regimen.  They were happy that I was able to extend the pain patch replacement from 60 to 72 hours without the need for a pain pill to deal with any breakthrough pain, but they want to wait until after seeing the results of the CT scan to determine whether to drop the dosage.  I agree with that approach, as I’m not eager to fall back into having pain.   On Tuesday, Cathy and I are going to Mayo for a follow-up visit with the palliative care team. They are the ones that managed my pain in the hospital and finally got me on the right, pain-free track.  It will be good to see them again and get their opinions on how I am progressing.
 

It is only a few more hours until my Jayhawks tip off in their bid to reach the elite 8.  I have faith they will be victorious.  It would certainly be a nice way to end this beautiful day.  Stay tuned …

I felt amazingly well yesterday, despite it being the day immediately after chemotherapy.  As I mentioned, I took it easy, which was critical to how I felt.  I started today with more vigor (and no nausea!).  After our walk I did some upper body strengthening (and boy do I have a ways to go to get back to where I was), had a second breakfast, and then worked out in the yard for a couple hours trimming bushes, etc.  I was bushed after that.  Lesson learned.  I do feel I need to push myself, but I also need to continue listening to my body. So, now I know.  Take it at least a little easy a couple days after chemo. But, no harm no foul.  I’ve recovered after Cathy made me a delicious chocolate smoothie, we had a nap, a great Columbian lunch (thanks Laida!), and I am now watching March Madness.  All is well.  Oh, and did I mention that the Jayhawks won last night?  The KU-UNC matchup should be a good one.

I’ll keep this blog short.  I’ll close by saying that I feel incredibly fortunate to feel this well right now in this fight.  I am getting so much help and support; I can tell that it  all is working.  Let’s keep it up!  Let’s fight together!!

I picked Kentucky to make it to the finals … certainly looks like they’ll make it at least to the Final 4.  Tip-off for the Kansas-North Carolina game is about an hour away.  And it is just a game.  I know I’ve written a lot about my Jayhawks and March Madness, but I’m putting in writing now that I will be fine with whatever happens in today’s game.  Of course I want another National Championship banner to hang in Allen Fieldhouse, but I certainly have the perspective that there are more important things in life than national championships.  That said, if we win, you know I’ll have something to say about it … :)

Today has been another good day.  I’m less tired than I was yesterday (and still no significant nausea), and have been taking it easy to make sure I’m not too tired.  I plan (certainly hope) to go into my lab tomorrow for a few hours. We have a candidate in town for a faculty position in my department, and I would like to meet her and listen to her job talk.  I then will have some meetings with people from my lab.  I am very excited about going in.  It will be the first time I’ve been to campus since Friday, the 13th of January.  If nothing else, I’m excited by the fact that it seems like a real possibility that I’ll be going to work tomorrow.  I like working at home, and it is more efficient, but there is something to be said about the normalcy of actually going intowork.  Stay tuned. I’ll let you know how it goes …