Sid Bacon

I am, of course, hopeful that this is the day before my next chemotherapy treatment.  Our appointment at Piper tomorrow is at 7:00 AM.  The decision to treat or not will be made after the blood draw and analysis of my platelet count.  Here’s to lots of platelets!
 

Today is a reminder of why we all need to celebrate the good days. Yesterday was an especially good day; I felt energetic and had a great appetite.  To celebrate, Cathy and I went out for dinner last night.  It was great!  Today I’m not feeling quite as well.  I have been nauseous all day. The medication I take for it has helped; I have been able to eat my normal amount throughout the day, although it has been a bit of a struggle.  I also have been napping in between working, which helps me feel better.  Now, if I could get the phone to stop ringing while I’m napping …
 

A while back I wrote that a group of students in my department at ASU were participating in the Relay for Life event to raise money for cancer research. Their (Team Bacon’s) goal was to raise $1000; thus far they have raised over $1300.  The event begins tomorrow night.  I intend to walk the Survivor’s Lap at the beginning of the relay. I plan to feel great and really look forward to participating and thanking the students in person for their efforts.  These students are yet another group of supporters for whom I am most grateful.  I know I’ve said it before, but the level of support we receive is truly overwhelming.  Thanks to all of you for your support.  We absolutely could not do it without you!  We could not fight a fight like this by ourselves. Among the purple bracelets I have and wear, one says “No One FIGHTS Alone”.  I believe that, and I believe that we are fighting together.  Thank you for fighting with me! 

Well, despite our best efforts, my platelet count was only 37,000; it needs to be at 50,000 before I can have chemotherapy.  We already had an appointment scheduled for Monday the 23rd at 11:00, so we are going back to Piper then to try again.  Although this is disappointing, there is nothing we can do about it so we just have to have a good attitude and hope that all systems will be “go” on Monday.  The extra days for platelet generation should help.  And it will be nice to have the weekend – including tonight’s Relay for Life – without a new dose of chemo in me, as that tends to make me tired (see how I’m trying to find the bright spot in all of this?!).
 

Although the low platelet count is disappointing, everything else is looking good.  My energy level is high and I am not feeling nauseous today, like I was yesterday.  (I don’t think I’ll ever figure out why every so often I have a day where I feel nauseous.)  Moreover, every check-up I get when I’m at Piper indicates that I’m doing well, so I think we just need to focus on the positive, count our blessings, and be prepared to receive chemo on Monday. That will be great!  We need a new dose of chemo to attack those tumors!
 

The high temperature in Phoenix last Sunday for the wedding was 75 degrees.  This Sunday the high is predicted to be 102 degrees.  We sure were lucky to have such wonderful weather for the wedding!  And not so lucky to have such unseasonably warm weather for this weekend!  (The average high temperature is 87 degrees.)  Nevertheless, it will be a dry heat, and the mornings and evenings will be quite nice.  Cathy and I will still have nice weather for our morning walks!  They remain one of my favorite things to do …

Cathy and I participated last night in the Relay for Life.  We walked hand-in-hand for the survivor’s lap, which kicked off the event.  And I didn’t mind wearing a purple t-shirt.  Although purple is the color of Kansas State University (KU’s intra-state rival), it is also the color associated with pancreatic cancer, so I’m getting used to wearing purple!  There were probably another 25 or so survivors walking with us, some with their family members/caregivers.  It was a moving celebration; it was particularly gratifying to see so many young people who have volunteered their time and efforts to raise money for cancer research.  I was particularly proud of our students (and one alumnus from several years back) who participated.  Thus far they have raised $1955, almost twice their goal of $1000.  Way to go Team Bacon!
 

I was also touched by the fact that my friend Nate and his wife Penny stopped by to see us at the event.  Nate and I worked together at ASU when he was director of the Center for Solid State Science and I was the dean overseeing that particular center.  He has been very supportive during my ordeal; I greatly appreciate his support and friendship.
 

Cathy and I are planning to enjoy a low-key weekend ... much quieter than last weekend, to say the least.  We had a great walk this morning, after which Cathy went on a run.  And although someday I plan to get back into running shape, I’m not quite ready for that right now.  I do feel good, though, and more healthy than I have since my diagnosis.  I am truly grateful for that. 
 

We are doing some mundane things like laundry and other odds and ends around the house.  Although these tasks are not necessarily fun, I am happy to be doing them with Cathy.  They give me a sense of normalcy.  And that is good!  We also are planning to see a movie sometime this weekend … it has been a long time since we have been to a movie, and it is a great way to escape the triple-digit heat. 
 

Now that Liz and Dan’s wedding is behind us, we can focus on our nephew’s summer wedding in Colorado.  Andy and Kate are getting married in late July, and we definitely plan to be there!  We will make our plane reservations this weekend, while we dream about the cool mountain air ... 
 

Have a great weekend!

We are (well, at least one of us is) taking it easy today.  We had a nice walk followed by a hearty breakfast, during which we finished reading the paper.  I am now writing this and Cathy is vacuuming the house …
 

We went to “Cabin in the Woods” yesterday afternoon.  There was lots of blood, which was the entire point, as we are focused on blood platelets this weekend.  Also, the local movie reviewer gave it 4.5/5 stars.  We would not be nearly as generous in our ratings … but there was lots of blood and I think I could feel the platelets spewing from the screen into my body, so it was worth going.  We may go to another movie today, but one that is less bloody.  Yesterday’s movie was bloody enough for at least two movies!
 

I’ve been experiencing a little back pain lately.  It is hard to tell what is causing it.  It could be caused by our increasing the number of hours between replacing the pain patch from 60 to 72.  This, you may recall, was the first step in seeing whether we could reduce my pain medication (the fewer meds that I need, the better).  The next step after that would be to reduce the dosage of the patch.  Because of the pain, I have since gone back to a replacement cycle of 60 hours, with the understanding that our dosage and replacement cycle may be just what they need to be.  Although going back to 60 hours hasn’t made a difference yet, one of the things we have learned is that pain is something you need to get ahead of … it may be that we have gotten behind and it will take a little while to catch up.  I’m optimistic that we will get this under control soon.  The pain isn’t so bad that I have needed to take additional medication (in the form of a pill) to mitigate it. I suppose another reason for the pain may be tied to the fact that I have skipped chemotherapy.  Just another reason we need those platelets!  We need the chemotherapy drugs in my body, attacking those cancerous tumors!  We are all certainly fighting together, but we need those drugs helping us out!
 

Please think good thoughts for tomorrow’s 11 AM appointment at Piper. 
 

Here’s to having enough platelets to have chemo!

My platelet count was 62,000, so we are good to go for chemo.  They are going to reduce the dosage of both chemo drugs slightly in hopes of avoiding this problem with my platelets in the future.  Although I’d prefer the full dosage, I am happy with this decision, as it is way, way better to receive a slightly reduced dosage of chemo and stay on track than to receive the full dosage and possibly have to skip treatments in the future.  It is also not unusual to have the dosage reduced.  I am happy and feel blessed to receive chemo today.  Cathy and I are currently sitting in Piper waiting for the “pre-meds” which precede the two successively administered chemo drugs.  All is good.  (The title for today is compliments of Lana, one of the gregarious nurses at Piper.  She is the one who typically takes my blood and sets up the delivery of my chemotherapy drugs.  When we walked in today, she said today was going to be a Marvelous Monday, with platelets sufficiently high for chemo.  She was right!  It is nice to be treated at a place where everyone is pulling for you.)

Cathy and I had a nice Sunday.  One highlight was having lunch with Cathy’s cousin, Cathy, and her husband Mark.  They were running some errands in our area of town and decided to pick up two large (at least) pizzas and join us for lunch.  The pizza was delicious and the company was fantastic.  What a treat!  They have been so supportive throughout this entire ordeal … I don’t know what we’d do without them.  There was so much pizza that we split the left overs, leaving us plenty of pizza for dinner last night (and probably a lunch or two this week). 

Even though our appointment today was not until 11:00, and thus I wasn’t here in time to place an order for lunch (usually needs to be placed by 9:30), the person who takes orders and delivers the lunches ordered one for me! And it is pretty much exactly what I would have ordered.  What a deal.  This is my day!

When I think about how well I have been feeling lately, I have to count my blessings.  Although I have a multitude of medications I take throughout the day, I feel as normal and healthy as I have felt in a long time.  It is such a great feeling.  It makes my life easier and I think it makes Cathy’s easier, too.  Despite my feeling so good, Cathy is still taking such great care of me. She is making wonderful meals and snacks daily, and just being a wonderful companion.  I don’t know what I’d do without her and her support.  I am so lucky!

I forgot to mention that my weight today was the highest it has been since I started being weighed at Piper.  I have gained 12 of the 20 pounds that I lost at the beginning of this ordeal.  It has to be all the great food that Cathy has been preparing, coupled with having an appetite for that wonderful food.  It feels great to have things moving in the “right” direction.

Thanks to everyone for pulling for me.  It makes a difference!