Sid Bacon

As always, it is great to get to Friday.  I look forward to a nice weekend with Cathy.  The weather is really warming up … it should be in the upper 70s and low 80s for several days now.  We’ll have to spend some time outside this weekend.  I’ll be sure to have sun screen on my head if I’m not wearing a hat.
 

Cathy and I went on a nice walk this morning. It was beautiful in the desert. I always enjoy the time we have together; it is always special.  We are planning to go out to eat tonight at a fancy steak house (Fleming’s), assuming I am feeling well enough to go out. I think I will be. Fleming’s sent us a $50 gift card to use on dinner … that will probably get us a little more than one meal, if we are lucky. I am certainly looking forward to our date.
 

My back pain is less severe than it has been the past several days. This is a good sign.  We’ll probably stick with the higher dose on my pain patch, at least for now.  Perhaps after a few more rounds of chemo I’ll be able to drop back down to 75 mcg/h, and maybe even 50 mcg/h. The main thing is that we are controlling the pain.  It makes it much easier to get through the day.
 

I am also not nauseous today (nor was I yesterday).  That certainly makes it easier to eat … and more enjoyable.
 

All in all, I am feeling pretty good. No complaints.
 

I hope you all have a nice weekend.  As always, thanks for all your love and support. It is much appreciated.
 

Go Team Bacon!

It is a beautiful day today in Phoenix.  The high temperature is supposed to reach 76 degrees.  It is sunny with a beautiful blue sky.  Cathy and I went on a briskly paced walk in the desert this morning.  It was great.  We take the same route every time.  It is a reasonable distance, and it includes some fairly steep uphill climbs, which make for a decent cardio workout.  I think I could push it further and increase the distance and number of climbs, and at some point in time I probably should, though I don’t want to burn off too many calories!
 

We had a nice weekend.  On Saturday we saw the movie “Side Effects”.  It was very good, complete with interesting twists.  We also watched my Jayhawks play West Virginia.  KU played well and won quite easily.  They’ve been playing well since their stumble a few weeks ago when they lost three games in a row.  They seem to be peaking at just the right time.  March Madness will be fun!
 

Our friends Mary and John stopped by last night to deliver a dark-chocolate pie … we had some for dessert after dinner. It was absolutely delicious! I think I gained a pound by eating just one piece.
 

I’ve been feeling well for several days now, with little or no pain or nausea.  I do get tired, but that is a small consequence that is easily dealt with.  With no nausea, I have been able to eat more. I sure hope it shows up at weigh-in on Wednesday. It is just so hard to gain weight, and entirely too easy to lose it. I’ll certainly eat frequently and do my best to gain weight. I definitely have lots of good food around the house to eat (thanks to Cathy), so I should be able to gain weight.  We’ll see.
 

Our swimming pool has been occupied lately by ducks (anywhere from one to four, oftentimes two). This is not the first year we’ve had them visit us. They sometimes spend as much as 15 minutes or more in our pool before flying away.  And they might come back once or twice in a given day.  They provide great entertainment, especially for our granddog, Nashley, when she is here.
 

As always, I want to thank you so much for your love and support.  It means a lot, and is so important to my fight against this awful disease.

I certainly have seen many acts of kindness and friendship over this past year while I’ve battled cancer.  And the gift of friendship keeps rolling my way.  Indeed, I am very blessed to have so many good friends.
 

I have people in town offering to take me to chemo.  Moreover, I have a friend (Rich F) coming to town for a conference who is coming a day early so he can meet me at Piper tomorrow.  He’ll stay with me while I’m receiving chemotherapy and then will bring me home.  This is beyond the call of duty … and clearly a wonderful example of friendship.  I am truly humbled by Rich’s act of kindness.
 

Another friend (Lynne M) is in town for the same conference. She is stopping by today to visit. It is nice to stay in touch, and I appreciate the fact that people are going out of their way to do so.
 

I just received a Vancouver Canucks beanie from another friend (Simon P), who lives in Vancouver.  It will come in handy on cool mornings (which we’ll still have this year), especially when I don’t have any hair to help keep my head warm.  It is my second beanie in just over a couple weeks (Beth S knit me a beautiful one, which I’ve already worn).
 

Our dear friends, John and Mary E, have invited us to see the touring Broadway production of “Memphis”.  We are going with them on Thursday night.  It will be great to see the show and, moreover, it will be great to spend time with Mary and John. (These are the same friends who brought the chocolate pie a couple nights ago.)
 

The list goes on and on.  These are just some examples from this week!  I can’t thank all of you enough. Your friendship is truly a gift that brightens my day … it is a gift I do not take for granted.   
 

Cathy and I went on a nice walk this morning after her run.  The weather was perfect, with temperatures in the mid 50s.  It is supposed to reach into the low 80s today, which will be nice.  It will cool down later this week, and then pop back up to the 70s. 
 

Our front yard is full of yellow poppies. They look beautiful, and are a wonderful sign of spring. (We usually get them this time of the year, at least when we have had a decent amount of rain – which we have.)  For some reason, we only get these wildflowers in our front yard.  Our backyard is full of color nevertheless … purple, yellow, red, orange, and green.  The desert is beautiful in the spring.
 

I feel good today, as I have the past several days.  I am so grateful for these days … I do not take them for granted.  I really appreciate having an appetite and not having any pain. Now, if I can just gain some serious pounds …
 

As mentioned above, I go to Piper tomorrow for chemotherapy.  I am very optimistic that my platelet count will be sufficiently high to receive chemo. And I believe that the rest of my blood work will be good and that all systems will be “go” for chemo.  I am looking forward to getting those cancer-killing drugs in my system.
 

I can’t thank you enough for all your support.  You help me keep a positive attitude, which I believe is very important in my fight against cancer. We’ll keep fighting together. 
 

Go Team Bacon!

Cathy and I are now at Piper.  The blood has been drawn and they have started me on fluids.  The fluids tend to make me feel better, so they are now part of our Wednesday routine.  Even though I had just eaten a big bowl of oatmeal for breakfast before starting our trek to Piper, I was already hungry when we arrived, so Cathy went to the nearby Einstein Bagels to get some bagels and cream cheese.  I need to keep eating.  I held my own in terms of weight, which is better than losing, but I need to start gaining pounds on a regular and steady basis.  I know I can do it, because I’ve done it before, but it isn’t easy.  Maybe I better have a second bagel …

We did not go on a walk this morning.  We usually don’t on days we have a 9:00 AM appointment at Piper.  It doesn’t hurt to skip a day here and there, although this is about the only day during the week in which we skip.  It is good to walk.  I need to exercise.  I probably should get back to lifting weights, to build muscle mass and increase my strength.

As I have said before, I am confident that my platelet count will be sufficiently high (> 50,000) to receive chemo today.  I really hope that the count is in the 100s, so that I have plenty of room to decrease and still be > 50,000 next week, which will be the third treatment in this cycle.  I’ll then have a week off to build them back up.
 

It is going to be a beautiful day today, with a high of about 80 degrees. Unfortunately, this weather will give way to rain and cooler temperatures at the end of the week (Friday and Saturday).  We are going to have a houseful of company this weekend, as Cathy, her sister (Mary) and brother-in-law (Kevin), and our nephew (Andy) are running in a race on Sunday.  Dan will be in town, too, although he is not running. Fortunately, the weather on the race day should be fine. But unfortunately the weather on Saturday is forecast to be rainy with a high in the upper 50s/low 60s … and we have tickets for a spring training game that day.  We may have to cut our losses (on the tickets) and stay inside with a fire in the fireplace!  We’ll see.  In any event, it will be a fun weekend, with so many people in town (Laura will be staying with us, too, so that will add to the enjoyment). 

Well, my blood work is back.  My platelets were only 75,000. That is quite a drop from last week.  It is sufficient for this week, but it doesn’t bode well for next week.  We’ll just hope they don’t decrease too much with this round of chemo.

I am now back home. My friend Rich was at Piper for most of the morning. After chemo, we went out for lunch (with another friend/colleague, Andrew O) and then Rich brought me home.  It was so kind of him to come a day early so he could help us with transportation. It was especially helpful today, as Cathy had various appointments and meetings that would have made it very difficult for her to stay at Piper and bring me home.

I am so fortunate to have such dear friends. And I thank all of you for giving me the love and support that is so important in my fight.  We fight together.  I believe that.  Thank you for fighting with me.  We will make great progress together. 

Go Team Bacon!

I am very thankful that I was able to have chemo yesterday.  I admit to being disappointed, however, in the large drop in platelets over the past week; I am nervous about whether I’ll get chemo next week. But there is no point in worrying.  It doesn’t do any good.  Instead, I am picking up a prescription of folic acid later today.  We hope that will help bolster the platelets.  In the meantime, I’ll also eat lots of vegetables; who knows if that will help, but it surely can’t hurt!  (Daniel, I like vegetables.) 
 

It is a beautiful day today.  Our walk in the desert was fantastic.  Cathy is now on a long run.  She’ll be more than ready for her race on Sunday.
 

I seem to have turned a corner in the past few days in terms of my appetite. Yesterday I was actually hungry and anxious to eat.  That is a step up from just being able and willing to eat.  I have been hungry today as well.  This should bode well for an increase in weight.  I hope it pans out that way.
 

I am really looking forward to our evening out tonight with our friends, Mary and John.  It will be fun to spend time with them, and it will be enjoyable to see the Tony award-winning play “Memphis”. We are going early so we can “tailgate” and enjoy a BBQ meal on the lawn just outside Gammage auditorium. I’ll need to get in a long nap today so I can be at my best tonight. (I don’t want to nod off on a full stomach in a dark auditorium.) I already feel sleepy (amazing to be sleepy so early in the day), so I may need a couple naps … one in the morning and one in the afternoon.  Naps are good.
 

I am also looking forward to our weekend, where we’ll have family in town for the 15-k race on Sunday.  The weather should be good on Sunday, with a high of 70 degrees.  I sure hope the weather cooperates and that we are able to go to the baseball game on Saturday.  We almost certainly are going to get rain tomorrow, but there is also a slight chance of rain on Saturday. The temperatures are forecast to drop on Saturday to a high of about 59 degrees … cold for us.  On the bright side, I will probably get to wear my new Vancouver Canucks cap to stay warm!  I suppose there is nothing quite like a hockey cap at a Spring Training game.
 

I am a very fortunate person.  I have been blessed in so many ways.  I certainly wish I did not have cancer, but the diagnosis has given me an opportunity to see how truly blessed I am. I am so fortunate to be married to my best friend and to have such wonderful children.  And I couldn’t ask for better family and friends.  You all have given me a multitude of reasons for which to be thankful.  We will keep fighting this disease with all the weapons we have. And with such a formidable team, I feel we have a reasonable chance of relegating this terrible disease to a chronic condition.  That must be our goal. That must be what we are fighting for.
 

As always, thank you for your love and support.  It truly means a great deal to Cathy and me.  We couldn’t do this without you.