Sid Bacon

I had a great night’s sleep last night and I am feeling great so far today, both physically and emotionally (they tend to cycle together).  The effect of chemo can be cumulative, so I may be hit harder this week than I was last week, but I am hopeful that my side effects will be limited to fatigue.  And of course the hair loss, which probably will come later this week or next, after what we hope (blood work willing) will be round 3 of chemotherapy. My attitude changes when I am on chemo … I really feel like I’m fighting this disease with all possible prongs of attack.  We need the chemicals to supplement all the thoughts, prayers, and positive attitude that are there all the time.  We definitely need the big guns that the chemotherapy brings.  Fight, fight, fight!
 

I am still feeling overwhelmed by all the Team Bacon signs lining our drive into Piper Cancer Center yesterday.  I can’t imagine that anyone else has this level of support, anywhere.  Surely it is unprecedented. It is truly amazing. I feel so loved and appreciated.  As I’ve said before, although I do not wish cancer upon anyone, there is a blessing to having the disease. And that blessing is being able to see and experience love and support from family and friends. I couldn’t feel any more love or support right now. Thank you!!
 

The interview I did aired last night during the 6:00 news.  The link to the story is here: http://tinyurl.com/amp75rb. As you will see quite clearly, I am wearing the Team Bacon shirt that Dan gave me for Father’s Day.  It is what I usually wear on days of chemo, given that I need to wear a button down shirt so they have easy access to my power port for getting blood and delivering chemo. Plus, it is just such a great shirt, and one I’m proud to wear! Despite the fact that I told two separate people that the A on A mountain was painted purple last April, not yesterday, that bit of information did not get to the author of the online story. Oh well, it doesn’t really matter. The main point is I have this unsurpassed level of support. And I am so very grateful for it.
 

I took a break from writing this blog to have two breakfasts sandwiched around a nice brisk walk in the desert with my best friend.  The first breakfast was a piece of toast, using fresh-baked bread that John baked when he was visiting a few days ago.  The second was hash browns and scrambled eggs, complete with an extra 350 calories mixed in to the eggs. The extra calories come from a liquid called Bene Cal. We have a lot of it, so I should be gaining weight soon.  I have a goal of gaining at least one pound per week.  I definitely do not need the TPN anymore, as my appetite is ratcheting up and I’m consequently eating more and more each day.
 

Last Thursday when we did the desert walk, I was winded from the three uphill climbs that are in the 1.6-mile loop that we usually walk. I wrote it off to the chemo, as that was the first time I had gotten winded.  Today I wasn’t winded at all.  Indeed, I feel great today.  It is a blessing, and I’m definitely not taking it for granted. I’m embracing each day, and these days when I am feeling so good are among the easiest to embrace. I love life, and I’m going to continue fighting hard for it. Thank you all for your efforts in this fight.  You play such an important role.
 

We fight together, we win together.  We win small battles as we deal with the daily challenges and more than occasional bumps in the road, and we are determined to win the biggest battle of all.  We’ll win that together, as we fight together.  Thank you again for all your support.  You’ll never really know how much Cathy and I appreciate it.
 

Fight on Team Bacon!

Fridays are great days, as we look towards the weekend.  Today is starting out to be a great day for me.  I had a good night’s sleep and am feeling great this morning.  I fully expect to get tired later on (it hit me yesterday about 11:00), but it is nothing that a little rest can’t solve.  I am looking forward to a nice walk in the desert with Cathy.  I don’t expect to get winded on the uphill climbs. Indeed, I think we’ll be able to go at a good pace and be ready for my second breakfast afterwards.
 

We inadvertently forgot to put on new pain patches yesterday morning (we’ve been replacing them every 48 hours).  Fortunately, I wasn’t in any pain. We ended up replacing them last night, so we have successfully extended the replacement cycle from 48 to 60 hours … a great step in the right direction … my pain may be decreasing thanks to the chemo.  At some point, we will probably try to reduce the dosage from 75 mcg/h to 50 mcg/h.  It is worth a try, in order to get the smallest and most accurate dose needed to control my pain.  We can always go back to 75 mcg/h if need be.  I’m certainly tuned very well to my body and its needs.
 

I feel so very fortunate right now to be feeling this good.  I certainly do not take these days for granted, because I know there may be not-so-good days on the horizon.  It is great to know that we are fighting this cancer with all our weapons.  I’m thrilled to be back on chemo.  It gives me a real mental boost, which goes along nicely with feeling better physically.  I’m optimistic that we’ll see good results again with this chemo regimen. I’m particularly anxious to shrink the tumors on my liver and lungs.  We can do that!  We are fighting with all our weapons … they’ve worked before, they’ll work again!
 

I’m back from our walk and my second breakfast (fried potatoes and scrambled eggs, with Bene Cal added for extra calories).  I am quite optimistic that I’ll meet my goal of gaining at least a pound per week.  My appetite is returning, so it makes it much easier to eat larger quantities and to eat more frequently. Everything is falling into place. Things are looking good.
 

The walk was as predicted: brisk, without getting winded.  And, of course, it is always a treat to walk hand-in-hand with my best friend.  I enjoy our conversations and just enjoy being with her. We are trying to spend as much time together as possible.  Thanks to the incredible flexibility that ASU has given to both of us, allowing us to work at home, we are able to spend quite a bit of time together.  I feel we are together even when we are working in separate rooms of the house. It is just comforting to be close.
 

We are expecting rain and highs in the upper 50s this weekend.  We may go to a movie.  We are definitely planning to put a log in our bedroom’s fireplace, and sit in our comfortable chairs and just read.  It should be nice and cozy. 
 

I am taking Cathy out for dinner tonight. We haven’t done that in a long time, though we’ve been out for lunch several times lately.  We’ll probably go to one of the local pizza places that we enjoy so much.  I can’t wait.  It will be fun.
 

I have discovered who was responsible for the Team Bacon signs at Piper. The clandestine operation was termed Zero Dark Piper … pretty funny.  I am still overwhelmed by the level of support I receive.  I can’t thank ALL of you enough.  You are definitely having a positive impact on my recovery. We are going to win this fight.  There just isn’t an acceptable alternative.
 

Have a wonderful weekend.  I’ll look forward to writing again on Monday.
 

Go Team Bacon!

Mondays are definitely not as fun as Fridays ... hard to beat a weekend.  Nevertheless, I feel good today, so it is a good day.  I certainly am not going to complain about the long week ahead of us.  Indeed, I look forward to Wednesday when (blood work willing) I get chemotherapy treatment again.  Sometimes my mind goes to the fact that I have new tumors on my lungs and liver … it is somewhat scary to think about.  But for the most part I focus on the fact that I am receiving an effective chemotherapy treatment, and I am optimistic that we will shrink those tumors and maybe even make them go away! It was successful before, it can be successful again.
 

The high temperature in Phoenix is only supposed to reach 59 degrees today, and there is a chance of rain (we’ve had sprinkles at our house already this morning).  It is a good day to stay inside.  Cathy went on an early morning run, and then we went on a brisk walk (brisk in terms of pace and temperature).  It was a nice walk.  I felt good, with lots of energy.  We got back just as it was starting to sprinkle … good timing.  Our weather here is, of course, trivial by comparison to the winter storms in the northeast.  To my friends in the northeast … I hope you were not too encumbered by this weekend’s snowstorm. I hope you have power in your homes and that you are able to get out from underneath the snow in a timely fashion.
 

Cathy and I had a great weekend.  We began the weekend by going out to eat pizza on Friday night.  We had not gone out for dinner for a very long time.  It was fun to do.  On Saturday afternoon, we enjoyed a fire in our bedroom’s fire place. I didn’t read my book, but instead spent most of the afternoon napping.  I was tired … chemo will do that to you.  Fortunately, I didn’t need to nap on Sunday, so we went to see the movie Lincoln.  It was extremely well done.  I can see why it is up for 12 academy awards.  Daniel Day-Lewis seems a shoe-in for best actor.  He was Lincoln.
 

Cathy spent part of Sunday baking and cooking for me, so that I’ll have plenty of good things in the house to eat. She is incredibly good to me. I couldn’t be on this journey without her; I need her by my side. It, of course, is not a journey we wish we were on, but it is the journey on which we find ourselves. We must make the best of it. I think we are. Incredibly, our love for one another has grown over this past year. I might have thought that a deeper love would not be possible, but it definitely is.
 

I feel fortunate to be feeling this good.  I have a pretty good appetite and I’m not in any pain. I don’t know if I’ll hit my goal of gaining a pound per week, but I sure am trying. And Cathy is definitely doing her part in helping me reach that goal.
 

I also feel fortunate to have such tremendous support from so many people. It really is overwhelming. Your love and support mean so very much to Cathy and me.  You are definitely helping us on our journey. You are helping us fight this awful disease. I don’t know what I’d do without Team Bacon.
 

We fight together!

We had overnight lows in the 30s last night.  That is downright cold for Phoenix.  It will make for a chilly walk this morning.  At least the sun is out, so that should help with the perceived temperature.  An advantage of walking in the desert is that we don’t have any shadows from houses … we have full-on sunshine. This may be a good day for a fire in the fireplace … perhaps this evening during the State of the Union address.
 

Cathy is currently running (in the desert). I’ve had a thick piece of toast for my first breakfast, made from my brother-in-law’s home-baked bread.  I’m not sure what I’ll have for my second one.  I often have oatmeal, though sometimes I have fried potatoes and eggs and sometimes I have pancakes. The main thing is that I eat, and eat as frequently as possible.  Cathy makes sure that I do.
 

Speaking of eating … two of my friends (Chelsea and Tyna) brought dinner and dessert to my house last night.  We had a wonderful meal and a lot of fun catching up with one another.  It was really nice of them to do that. It was especially nice to have their company last night, as Cathy usually does not get home until close to 8:00 on Mondays and Wednesdays, the two days that she has a late class to teach. Chelsea was able to tell me what has been going on lately in the dean’s office and in particular in the natural sciences (I served as dean of natural sciences for 4.5 years, while Chelsea serves as the financial guru for that division).  I don’t necessarily miss the job as dean, but I do miss the people I used to work with, including Chelsea and Tyna. Life is all about relationships and treating people with respect. 
 

I feel very fortunate that I haven’t had much in terms of side effects from the chemo.  As I’ve mentioned before, I sometimes get a little tired, but I am not in any pain and rarely do I have any nausea.  I sure hope that I am able to receive chemo tomorrow.  My blood work worries include platelets (need them high) and bilirubin count (need it low).  It will be disappointing to go to Piper in the morning and not be able to get treatment.  I need the chemo drugs in my body.  I need to fight this disease as fervently as possible.  And of course that includes the chemo as well as the support I receive from all of you. I also believe that the positive attitude that Cathy and I have goes a long way in our fight.  We need to hit this disease with all possible prongs of attack. Each prong is important in its own right.
 

I’m back from our walk … it was great!  I always enjoy my walk with Cathy. I’ve also now had my second breakfast.  I went light and had granola and yogurt.  It was very good, and was just the right amount. I’ll keep eating throughout the day … I hope tomorrow’s weigh-in brings news of weight gain!  At the very least, I do not want to be losing weight.
 

My Jayhawks have been struggling lately on the basketball court.  They had lost three in a row (including an extremely disappointing loss to lowly TCU). They redeemed themselves last night with a blow-out win against cross-state rival K-State.  The Wildcats are ranked 10th in the country, whereas the Jayhawks had slipped all the way down to 14th. It was definitely a much-needed win, and in a style that should give my team some confidence.
 

Of course, Team Bacon has lots of confidence … we have confidence that the chemotherapy treatments will be successful in stopping the spread of tumors and will go a long way towards killing the existing tumors.  We’ll be on pins and needles when I have the next CT scan and tumor marker test, but that is over a month away, so until then we wait with confidence.
 

Cathy and I really appreciate the support we receive from Team Bacon … we gain considerable strength from it.  Thank you for all you are doing to support us in this fight. We certainly do not fight alone.

We are at Piper, but it is unclear whether we’ll have treatment today or not. Yesterday afternoon I was running a fever of 102.4.  With drugs, it came down to 99.1.  This was a real relief, as they would have sent me to the emergency room if the fever were much higher (103). This morning at Piper it was 99.7.  With the fever, they may not be able to treat; I am just not sure.  I think it will depend on the blood work (something in addition to the platelets and bilirubin count). I, of course, really want the chemo treatment, but I know they won’t treat if the blood work counter-indicates treatment. They want to be safe.  And I appreciate that. If we don’t treat today, perhaps we’ll be able to treat later in the week. I don’t think having a fever at this stage in treatment is unusual, though I certainly wish I didn’t have one.

I did not gain a pound this past week.  I was down a little less than a pound. I am basically holding my own.  I do not need to go back to TPN, but I do need to eat more frequently.  I can do that, though it feels like I am force-feeding myself at times.  Fortunately, Cathy has made food that I like (including her famous tofu/peanut butter/chocolate pies), so that makes it easier to eat. 

The blood work is back.  Everything looks really good except the platelets. They are at 38,000, whereas they need to be at 50,000. So, we won’t have chemo today. It is somewhat disappointing, but it is what it is. They need to be safe, and they definitely do not want to treat when the platelet are that low.  And they are happy that we were able to get two full-dose treatments in (I, selfishly, wanted a third!). They will give me this week and next week off (next week was to be off anyway).  We’ll come back this Friday morning for blood work to, among other things, see if the platelets are increasing or still going down. 

I am currently receiving fluids, as I got a little dehydrated with the fever (despite my best effort to drink lots of water yesterday afternoon and last night).  I always feel better when I have fluids, so this will be good.  They also think my slight decrease in weight could be due to my being dehydrated.

They are going to monitor my temperature today, to make sure it doesn’t go above 100.5.  I’m not sure what they’ll do if it reaches that threshold. It is possible that they will put me on a different antibiotic if they think I am infected (it is an antibiotic that I was just on for 30 days). Let’s hope it does not reach that temperature, as I’d rather not be on that antibiotic.

Today was a bit of a disappointment, but the blood work generally was quite good, so we’ll take the bad with the good, and try to emphasize the good. That is all we can do.

As always, I appreciate your support in my journey. I feel that you are with me all the way, and for that I am most grateful.  We fight together.