Sid Bacon

I woke today with a bit more pain than I’ve had since leaving the hospital. This is the first time I was unable to get back to sleep due to pain.  I’ve been taking oxycodone and it has helped some.  We also put on new anti-pain patches this morning, so those may help, too.

It was nice and cool this morning when Cathy and I went on our walk.  At the end of the walk, she took off on her morning run.  It was great to walk with her, perhaps even more today than some other days.  We’ve been on an emotional roller coaster of late, and sometimes it just helps to hold hands and talk.  This was definitely one of those days.  And I suspect we will have many more.

We (Cathy, Dan, and I) had a good appointment with my oncologist this morning.  He explained the overall plan.  I will meet with the radiologist tomorrow for an evaluation and to prepare for radiation therapy.  Once we start (sometime early next week, I think), I will have radiation therapy every day of the week for 4-5 weeks.  While receiving radiation therapy, I will be receiving chemotherapy in the form of a pill. It sounds as though I will be taking about 10 such pills per day.  The chemotherapy makes the radiation more effective.  Side effects of the radiation include nausea and diarrhea. What is new?

My bilirubin was up today relative to a few days ago, and indeed was higher than when I went into the hospital when I was so sick.  It is amazing that I am able to keep my food down and, in fact, don’t feel all that bad in terms of nausea.  I think the new anti-nausea medication I am on is doing a great job at keeping me feeling pretty well. 

My oncologist just called to say that they are not comfortable with the consistently high and trending higher bilirubin, and so they want to perform a percutaneous biliary drainage procedure.  A catheter will be inserted into my liver so that bile can be drained. Initially it will drain outside my body, but ultimately, the catheter will be pushed inside the body so that drainage will be inside my body. I was hoping to avoid this, but it needs to be done, so of course we’ll do it.

We also met with a nutritionist at Piper today.  We got lots of good ideas for increasing my caloric intake.  I am hopeful that through all of this I will be able to gain weight.  It will certainly help to keep my bilirubin down, as a high bilirubin causes nausea and vomiting.  Not good for weight gain …

We are meeting each challenge head-on, though it isn’t always easy. Your support means so much to Cathy and me, and it helps us deal with these challenges.  Thank you!

Cathy and I slept in too late to have time to go on a walk or run.  Instead, we had to cut our morning at home short in order to get to Piper by 8:45 to meet with the radiologist who is going to perform the radiation therapy treatments. It was an informative meeting.  We will return to her office for a CAT scan on Wednesday and for a trial run on Friday, to make sure everything is lined up properly.  The first radiation treatment will be on Monday the 5th of November.  I will have chemotherapy treatment at the same time, in pill form.  The chemo drugs are intended to enhance the radiation therapy. There certainly will be side effects with the radiation therapy, but we are hopeful that I will deal with them well.

Because my bilirubin is still high, I will have the percutaneous bilirubin drainage procedure done on Tuesday (this is the reason the radiologist wants to wait until Wednesday to perform a CAT scan).  It will be good to get the bilirubin count down. My medication is sure helping deal with the side effects of an elevated bilirubin count, but it will be even better not to have to take medication throughout the day for nausea. Cosmetically, it will be nice not to be so jaundiced …  

Cathy and I feel good about the plan ahead for us. It will be good to get started!

After meeting with the radiologist, Cathy and I met with the holistic nurse who teaches yoga.  She guided us through some restorative poses … it was very relaxing and rejuvenating. It is fantastic that Piper offers this and other benefits (e.g., the nutritionist) for free to their cancer patients. 

My pain level has not been too high today, so I am thankful for that. I certainly have pain, but it is not too bad.

I am just about to finish a novel entitled “The Art of Fielding” by Chad Harbach.  This was a gift from my sister-in-law Pat … she sent me a good one!  The setting for the book is a small college in Wisconsin, and most of the characters either play on the school’s baseball team or are some other way associated with the small college (e.g., one of the main characters is the school’s President).  I’m not sure what I’ll read next. I have several possibilities, but am always looking for good recommendations. 

We have Laura, Dan, and Liz here for the weekend.  It will be a fun time; I’m really looking forward to it.  I hope you have a great weekend, too.

Thanks for your continued support.  It really does mean a great deal to Cathy and me.  Together we will make it through these difficult times. 

I hope you all had a great weekend.  Cathy and I did; we were blessed to have Laura, Dan, and Liz here for the weekend.  We had a lot of fun together.  Dan was here the entire week before that, so he was here for about 10 days … what a treat that was.  What a great son to spend his entire fall break in Phoenix with us.  He is so thoughtful.  It is just too bad that the time he was here flew by too quickly.
 

On Saturday afternoon we listened to the ASU/UCLA football game (ASU lost in the last second) and carved four large pumpkins.  Dan, Liz, and Laura each carved their own, and Cathy and I carved one together (Cathy did most of the carving).  They all turned out great!
 

On Sunday morning, Dan, Liz, and I went on a nice walk with their dog Nash. Nash is such a good dog … she is really fun to have around.  Cathy didn’t join us on a walk (she had run earlier), but instead stayed home and made a delicious pancake breakfast. 
 

We are headed to Piper this afternoon for some blood work and to discuss the percutaneous biliary drainage procedure that is scheduled for tomorrow morning.  Because of the procedure, I will not be posting a journal entry tomorrow.
 

I want to thank everyone who has recommended, either directly to me or via the guestbook, a book to read.  I really appreciate it.  Please keep the recommendations coming.  I’ll do my best to read them all …
 

Cathy had to leave very early for work today, so she did not get to go on a run or walk.  I did have the opportunity to walk … it just wasn’t as much fun without Cathy.  Then again, nothing is.  When I stop to think about how my illness has disrupted her life, I am amazed at how she is managing it all. I just don’t know how she is able to get all her work done and take care of me. Somehow, she does it.  As I’ve said before, Cathy’s colleagues at ASU are doing so much to help her during this difficult time.  We are both very grateful to them. 
 

Thank you for your continued love and support. We’ll keep fighting … as a Team.

Happy Halloween! …
 

My procedure yesterday (percutaneous biliary drainage procedure) was largely successful, in that the catheter was successfully inserted into my liver and we now are draining bile to a bag that can be placed any number of places on the outside of my body.  One of the side effects of the procedure is that it hurts a bit to breath … the deeper the breath, the greater the pain. This is one of the reasons I am not running sprints right now … The bile ducts were quite swollen, so the surgeon was unable to prepare the inside of my body for internal drainage.  I, of course, want very much to be able to get rid of the bag and have the bile drain internally, as it is meant to do.  He wants to see me next week, after the swelling has subsided (thanks to a week of drainage) and give it another shot.  He feels there is better than a 50% that he’ll be able to place an internal stent in my body for proper internal drainage. He seems like an excellent surgeon, so I’ll remain optimistic that he’ll be able to do this.  It would be a huge morale boost for me if he were successful.  I really don’t want to live with this bag.  But if I have to, then I have to.  (It is not even the kind of bag I could use for trick-or-treating tonight, though I suppose it is one I could use to scare our trick-or-treaters.)
 

Another side effect of the procedure is that I have a catheter on my right side, such that I can only sleep on my left side (I don’t sleep on my stomach or back).  By being restricted to only one side, I am a little sore on my left side when I wake up in the morning.
 

Side effects aside, I am grateful that the procedure was largely successful and that I now have sufficient drainage to avoid the dangerous situation of having too high of a bilirubin count (I was getting there, somewhat rapidly).
 

I had a CAT scan this morning in preparation for the radiation therapy I will have starting next Monday.  We go in this Friday afternoon for a “test run” (I am not sure exactly what they will do on Friday), and then start the treatment on Monday.  I will have radiation every day of the week (Monday through Friday) for about 4-5 weeks.  In combination with that, I will have chemotherapy in a pill form; the chemo is meant to enhance the effectiveness of the radiation therapy.  Once we are done with that, I will go back to the original chemotherapy regimen that was so successful for me.
 

The radiation therapy is done at the hospital connected to Piper. This means a lot of driving.  It also means that Cathy has to rearrange her schedule in a major way to get me to and from the therapy.  It may be that I’ll feel well enough to drive myself, though we won’t know that until after a few rounds of the therapy.  It also may be the case that Laura can pick me up and take me home if that works with her schedule. She has been very helpful in that regard before. In any event, someone likely will be inconvenienced.  I hate that, but unfortunately it is the situation in which we find ourselves.
 

Before we went in for the CAT scan, Cathy ran and then went on a nice walk with me. We went for about two miles at a reasonable pace.  It would be easier to take a day off, but I know it is important for me to stay in the best shape that I possibly can.  Plus, the walks – when they are with Cathy – are a highlight of my day. It is important that I continue to do things that I like to do.
 

It has been a tough three months, but at least I am here to talk about it. We’ll get through this and move on to better days.  I just know that better days are ahead, but it will take some more fighting to get there.  Thank you for your love, support, prayers, and uplifting thoughts. I need them now more than ever before.  And I know I can count on you to be there for me, to help me fight this difficult fight. 
 

Thank you!