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CaringBridge May 12
Laura Bacon September 17, 2013
 
Too much of a good thing ...

Written May 1, 2012 3:11pm
 

It has been noted that my journal entries can have the feel of a food journal, as I talk quite a bit about eating in general, what I had for each of my breakfasts, gaining weight, etc.  Well, along that theme … I ate too much yesterday and am paying for it today.  I don’t think I ate too much at any one setting, but I ate frequently throughout the day.  (Anyone who has worked at home even one day knows how difficult it is to avoid falling into an all-day snack mode.  Food is constantly calling and is always available.) My last eating at dinner time put me over the edge!  I felt awful.  I feel better today, but am nevertheless quite nauseous.  I typically am nauseous 1-2 days per week, so this could just be one of those days, although it feels worse than usual, so I’m guessing it is pay back for enjoying too much from my food bounty yesterday.  I hate the fact that I likely did this to myself.  If I could, I’d give myself a (light) swift kick to the rear as punishment.  I’m not likely to be able to do that anytime soon, however, as I’m going to cancel our trip to Piper for yoga this evening.  I’m not up for the drive, let alone the yoga.
 

I have not heard what my platelet count was yesterday.  I am confident that it was not real low and, as I’ve said before, yesterday’s count is irrelevant with regard to receiving chemo.  What we need is for the count to be equal to or greater than 50,000 on Thursday when we go to Piper.  I think it will be, and thus we are counting on me having chemotherapy as scheduled. 
 

Well … I am going to keep my journal entry short today.  It is time for me to have a rest, possibly even a nap; I usually feel better after that, at least for a while.
 

Happy May Day!  


 

Laura Bacon September 17, 2013
 
Wonderful Wednesday ...

Written May 2, 2012 2:37pm
 

I woke up today without the nausea that has plagued me the past two days, and I still feel great!  Although Cathy and I didn’t have time for our morning walk, I was able to walk at least the same distance when I was on campus and walking from my faculty office to the basketball arena in which commencement for graduate students was held.  I am now back in my office.  I ate lunch and am writing at least the beginning of this while waiting until the first-year PhD students in the department begin their presentations. Those are scheduled from 1-3 PM.  I’ll try to get this finished before they start; otherwise I will not get this posted until late this afternoon.

 

The graduate commencement was great.  I was honored that Farris had asked me to “hood” her at the ceremony.  It meant a lot to me to be asked, and it was a real treat to be a part of such a joyous occasion.  The students have worked so hard to earn their graduate degrees.  It is truly a day of great celebration, and one in which faculty should embrace.  An added treat was that I was able to see some good friends at the ceremony (Melanie, Roxann, and Keith). There were many others I saw from afar, but didn’t get to talk with. 

 

I got a call yesterday afternoon from one of the nurses at Piper.  She let me know that my platelet count on Monday was 85,000.  Well above the 50,000 we need tomorrow in order to have chemotherapy.  I am confident my count will be well above 50,000 at that time, too.  I can’t wait to get some more chemotherapy drugs in my system.  (I know, you may not know many people who actually want those drugs, but when you are in my position, they are your best shot at survival. So, I always want to “bring them on.”)

 

I really appreciate days like today.  I feel good (just a little back pain) and seem to have lots of energy.  I am so thankful that I was able to participate in the commencement ceremony this morning and that I still have plenty of energy to listen to the students’ talks this afternoon.  Days when I don’t feel so great (like yesterday) really make me appreciate days like today.  I am embracing this day and enjoying every minute of it. 

 

I’ll write more tomorrow from Piper, while the chemo drugs are dripping in my port …


 

Laura Bacon September 17, 2013
 
Not Therapeutic but definitely Thankful

Not Therapeutic but defnitely Thankful Thursday ...

Written May 3, 2012 5:05pm
 

Today was to be the first day of the 4th cycle of treatment (cycle = 3 weeks of chemo treatment, 1 week off).  I did not receive chemotherapy today because my platelet count was only 55,000.  Although I have said that I only need a count of 50,000 to have chemotherapy, it turns out that I need a count of 100,000 or more to start a cycle.  So, today was not a therapeutic day.  However, it certainly was a thankful day.  As you may recall, at the beginning of each cycle they measure CA19-9, a cancer antigen that can be used to indicate the effectiveness of chemotherapy treatment.  A month ago, my CA19-9 value was 65.  Today it was just 37.  This represents a significant reduction.  Moreover, the normal range is 0-37, so I am now at the upper end of normal!  This indicates that the chemotherapy is effective.  (For those who might be interested in my history of that number: 192 pre-chemo; 164 after one month; 65 after two months; 37 after 3 months.)  We are thrilled with this progress.  I even got a hug from two nurses when I shared this good news with them.  After we left Piper, Cathy and I went out for lunch to celebrate the good test results! 
 

My physical evaluation today was also something to be thankful for. Everything is looking good (I even gained about a pound).  And the nurse practitioner had good explanations for why I am feeling a bit of back pain … none of which were consistent with my concern that it might reflect an increase in tumor size.  Indeed, given the CA19-9 results, I feel confident that my pain is definitely not related to an increase in tumor size.  Indeed, if anything, the tumor is continuing to shrink!  The slight pain is less of an annoyance when I don’t have to worry so much about its origin.  What a relief!
 

Another bit of good news is that my insurance company has, upon appeal, agreed to authorize a patch to help control my nausea.  The company has authorized a year’s supply of these patches.  Each patch lasts one week.  I have tried this patch before (using a sample from Piper) with good success. We are hoping that this patch will eliminate those few days per week when I am nauseous.  It will certainly be less work for me than remembering to take a particular pill three times per day.  I have enough pills already …
 

So, all in all, there is much to be thankful for today.  I’m going to worry less about my platelets.  The chemotherapy drugs are doing their thing, and the low platelet count, in part, simply reflects that.  We will not miss a treatment, but instead will consider next Thursday as the first day of cycle 4.  All will work out well.  I know it.
 

I want you to know that I shared all the “Th” words and phrases with Lana when I was at Piper this morning.  She loved them.  She gave me her email address.  I will be sending them to her.  And she will be using them as she works her way through each week, taking such excellent care of her cancer patients.  I am so thankful for her and all the other staff at Piper.  They really make a difference in the lives of their patients.  Those of us who go there are very fortunate that we are being treated by such wonderful, caring, and competent people. 
 

Thank you all for your concern and support, for your prayers and good thoughts.   We are a big team, and obviously an effective team.  Thank you for staying in this fight with me.  It will be a long haul, but I certainly like the way we have started.


 

Laura Bacon September 17, 2013
 
TGI Friday ...

Written May 4, 2012 3:43pm
 

I am still feeling good about yesterday’s visit to Piper.  We received such good news overall.  It feels great to be moving in the right direction.  All that good news even helps compensate for the fact that I am feeling slightly nauseous today.  It is not too bad, and I am sure it will go away soon.  I hope that the patch will be more effective than the pills I have been taking in dealing with my nausea.
 

It is always nice to be heading into the weekend.  We are looking forward to having Cathy’s sister, Mary, in town for a few days starting tomorrow evening.  And I think Laura will come out and spend the night on Saturday to join the party, so we’ll have two additional reasons to celebrate this weekend.  Earlier in the week, the long-range forecast was for triple digits this weekend.  That has changed; the highs are now predicted to be in the low 90s … another reason to celebrate, especially because the morning and evening temperatures are still very pleasant.
 

I think we’ll have access to more wedding photos soon.  I won’t inundate you with too many, but I’ll include a few more so that, among other things, you can see the beautiful setting in which Dan and Liz were married.  The Desert Botanical Garden is truly spectacular, especially this time of the year.  Cathy and I are going to meet Liz’s parents there soon to attend a ballet created especially for the Garden by Ballet Arizona.  The ballet will be performed to Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony.  I think it will be stunning, and am really looking forward to it.
 

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.  Thanks so much for your support!


 

Laura Bacon September 17, 2013
 
Cinco Saturday ...

Written May 5, 2012 5:16pm
 

Happy Cinco de Mayo!  I mentioned yesterday that we are going to celebrate by having Cathy’s sister Mary and our daughter Laura at our house tonight.  Mary will be in town for several days and Laura will be joining the party tonight.  Perhaps not quite in step with the rest of the Cinco de Mayo celebrations, we are going to celebrate the good health news we’ve received lately.  I’m also going celebrate feeling good today.  I was a bit nauseous yesterday, but not today.  It is a really good day. 
 

These days when I have very little pain and otherwise feel good are such a blessing.  I am lucky; I have more days like today than I have days when I don’t feel well.  The ones where I am nauseous make me appreciate these days even more!
 

It is great having this new patch for nausea.  It means one less pill (that was taken three times per day).  I also was given approval from my nurse at Piper to stop taking an anti-nausea/anti-anxiety pill about a week or so ago (I was taking it for nausea, not anxiety).  It is nice to have fewer pills to take … I still have my fair share, but am very happy to have even just a few fewer. One of the challenges of having so many pills is just staying on top of the schedule.  I am lucky in this respect: at the start of this ordeal, right when I got home from the hospital, Dan created a spreadsheet for tracking the medications and a location in our laundry room where the spaces for the pill bottles are labeled and arranged in the order in which they appear in the spreadsheet.  Cathy has since modified the spreadsheet as medications have changed, but the overall system has not changed … it is brilliant! Although it is a great system, it still requires me to remember to take various pills throughout the day.  I am the potential weak link in the system …
 

I’ve had a great day.  Cathy and I had a nice walk and a leisurely breakfast afterward in our backyard (my second breakfast, her first).  After breakfast, I took a box of documents to a location where they were shredded.  I have had that box sitting in the garage for about eight months.  Talk about procrastination!  We then did a few things around the house before running some errands.  Afterwards, we had lunch and a nap.  Now I am writing this blog while Cathy finishes a game of solitaire on her iPad (she didn’t want my help!).  Once the game is over, I think we are going to have a smoothie (anything to fatten me up!) and then get ready for our guests.  We are going to have fun evening.
 

I hope you have a wonderful weekend.  We certainly have much to be thankful for … true happiness comes when we stop and count our many blessings, small and large.  


 


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