I hope you all had a nice weekend. Cathy and I certainly did … a nice mixture of relaxation and getting some things done around the house. It is currently too hot for me to spend much time outside, as, for example, the predicted highs this week are in the 110-114 range. Although that is a little hotter than average, it is more or less what we expect in the summer. It is the price we pay for roughly 8 months of fantastic weather. In the meantime, I’m letting the yard work slowly pile up for the fall … once we hit mid to late October, the weather in Phoenix will be great for being outside. Until then, well, I have an excuse … (Actually, I like working in the yard, and thus I look forward to cooler weather so that, among other things, I can be outside tending to our desert plants.)
I had my endoscopic examination at Mayo yesterday morning, and then an appointment with a GI specialist at Mayo in the afternoon (he specializes in the pancreas). The reason for these appointments was to see if we could figure out why I have occasional nausea.
On the bright side, there was no indication from the endoscopic examination of anything particularly serious. That was a relief, even though I didn’t really expect there to be anything serious. It was also a relief to know that my stent is completely clear. The exam did, however, reveal a garden variety ulcer. We don’t know exactly when I got the ulcer or if it is the cause of the nausea, but we are working under the assumption that I’ll feel better once the ulcer is healed. I certainly think I will. I don’t heal very quickly in general due to the chemotherapy, but I will increase my dosage of Prilosec from one to two capsules per day and will change a few things in my diet. This will help heal the ulcer. I am doing this for 6-8 weeks. I also have now stopped taking Aleve, which was prescribed under the assumption that my occasional back pain lately was due to an inflammation. It is hard to know, but the Aleve may have caused the ulcer … In the meantime, I will start adding some core and back-strengthening exercises to my routine, in hopes that I can mitigate the pain by having a stronger back. Regardless of whether it helps with the pain, it is a good thing to do.
So, in summary, I’m a work in progress. The nausea and back pain remain a bit of a puzzle, although we may have a clue to the nausea. I find the nausea and back pain to be an annoyance, but nothing much more than that, really. Indeed, I consider myself to be incredibly fortunate to have responded so well to chemotherapy. I believe I am one of the truly lucky ones. I need to embrace that good fortune, to focus resolutely on that, and not dwell on the more minor annoyances. Who knows, if I do that, perhaps the pain and nausea will take care of themselves …
I know I sound a bit like a broken record when I thank you for your support, but it is important to me that you know how much I appreciate all the support you are giving me. It means a great deal to me and Cathy, more than you will know, regardless of how often I tell you that. Team Bacon is fighting this disease with a great deal of strength, which I believe is a major reason for our success thus far. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for your support. Let’s keep on fighting!