Sid Bacon

March Madness has extended to April … it is all down to one final game, with Louisville versus Michigan.  The two semifinal games on Saturday were quite entertaining; I hope tonight’s final is as enjoyable to watch.  I don’t have a preference for who wins, which makes it easier to watch. I still believe that Kansas should be in this title game … Perhaps it should have been Kansas versus Wichita State – that would have been a good story line.
 

I’ve been feeling pretty good after chemotherapy last Wednesday, although I certainly have been tired.  The drugs really seem to wipe me out.  It is also the case that my hemoglobin is low, which certainly contributes to my overall fatigue. In fact, that could be the main source of my tiredness.  I still have been walking, though arguably at a slower pace.  I feel a little more energetic today than I have the past several days, which is definitely a good sign. 
 

It is also the case that I have had very little back pain the past two days. This is definitely a nice change; although the pain has been fairly minimal of late (about a 2-4 on a 10-point scale), it is much nicer to have little or no pain whatsoever (0-1 on a 10-point scale).  I also had a few days a week ago where I did not have any pain.  I wonder if this cyclical decrease in pain is the result of the chemotherapy.  I hope so … that would be a good sign indeed.
 

For the past several days I have experienced leakage around my biliary drainage tube.  These tubes usually are to be replaced every 8 weeks or so, but they are getting me in tomorrow morning, after about 6 weeks, to get it replaced before it starts to cause problems.  The procedure will be done at the Mayo Hospital.  Because of the time involved with this procedure, I probably will not post a blog tomorrow. 
 

It was great having Dan here for several days.  We definitely had a good time.  It was fun just to hang out with him.  And it was great to have Laura stay with us for a couple days.  It sure is special to have your children grow up to be such wonderful grown-ups.   They definitely take after their mom. 
 

One of the highlights during Dan’s stay was a trip to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum.  The Arboretum is a state park, and is Arizona’s oldest and largest botanical garden.  We walked the entire loop around the garden, and ended our walk with a picnic lunch; it was great!  Although it was a bit of a drive to get there, it was definitely worth it (I didn’t drive …).
 

I can’t believe that it has already been a year since Dan’s wedding (15 April).  Time really flies fast (and I haven’t necessarily been having fun … though I’m certainly grateful to be watching the time fly). I suspect that he and Liz will do something fun for their anniversary.  And then a couple weeks later they are off to Spain (for a conference) and Paris (just for fun). I am definitely excited for them. They will have a great time.
 

Cathy and I are so grateful for all the support we are receiving. We can’t thank you enough.  We are certainly fighting this fight with all we have.  Go Team Bacon!

Cathy and I have settled in for a long day at Piper.  They have taken my blood and started me on fluids.  If my platelets are 50,000 or higher, I will receive chemo today.  I am optimistic that we’ll hit that target, as my platelets were at 52,000 yesterday at Mayo.  Of course, they can vary from measurement to measurement and can change from day to day, so there is no guarantee that we’ll be as high today as we were yesterday. I certainly hope we are high enough; I’d love to get one more dose of chemotherapy in this cycle.  (It would be the first time lately that I was able to get 3 weeks on and 1 week off … I’ve thus far only been able to get 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off.)

If my hemoglobin has dropped from last week, then they’ll get things ready for me to have a blood transfusion tomorrow.  I have had a bit more energy lately, so in some ways I would be surprised if I need the transfusion.  We’ll see. 

Later this afternoon Cathy and I will attend a session at Piper on meditation led by a Tibetan Monk.  The session runs from 1:30-3:30, so we’ll be here for essentially the entire day. It is really great that Cathy is participating with me; I really appreciate her taking the time to do that.  We are hopeful that I can use meditation to help mitigate my back pain. 

Cathy’s cousin, Cathy, is going to visit us today at Piper.  It will be fun to see her, and her visit certainly will help pass the time. 

I weighed a bit less today than last week; that is two weeks in a row in which I lost a little bit of weight. I’m going to have to work even harder to gain weight.  I’ll be eating something every two hours or so, and will concentrate on high-calorie food and snacks.  I’m discouraged by the drop, but I realize that some of it could be due to the fact that I had to fast yesterday for my procedure at Mayo.  I’m pretty sure that fasting is not on the agenda for weight-gain. (I just finished a bagel with cream cheese … perhaps they could weigh me again!)

My blood work is back.  My platelet count was 38,000, so I am not going to have chemo today.  Too bad.  It seems as though my count continues to drop for more than a week after having chemo. My hemoglobin did drop, so I am going to come in tomorrow for a blood transfusion.  Cathy won’t be coming with me, so I’ll be sure to bring something to read for the four or so hours it takes to do the transfusion. 

I am disappointed that I am not getting chemo today, but they can’t treat if my platelets are too low.  They have my best interest in mind.

Although I’m disappointed with my weight loss and lack of chemo, I certainly am not disappointed with the love and support we receive from all of you. Indeed, Cathy and I are most grateful for all you do for us.  We can’t thank you enough.

I am back at Piper receiving my blood transfusion.  It should take just over four hours.  I look forward to feeling more energetic (Cathy jokingly said we should go out dancing tonight), although unfortunately I don’t get a boost in platelets from the blood.  This is the second time I’ve received a transfusion. The first time was almost exactly a year ago, right before Dan and Liz’s wedding. Perhaps I’ll make this an annual affair, for the next 30 or so years …

Surprisingly, I weighed in about 3 pounds heavier than yesterday … quite the variability.  I’ll certainly take this measurement.  It must have been the bagel and cream cheese!

We had our share of disappointments yesterday: weight (now not a factor); platelets; and Buddhist monk.  The monk was certainly very nice, but not an especially good teacher. We assumed that the focus would be on cancer patients and the use of meditation to help with things such as pain (a very common side effect of cancer).  Instead, we heard a lot about the monk’s background and how good he is at meditation.  We’ll need to seek out another teacher who can guide us through meditation.  Cathy and I are confident that guided meditation can help … we just need to find the right teacher.

Because we have had relatively early morning appointments the past 3 days, I have not been going on my daily walk.  I’ll change that tomorrow.  It is important for me to keep up the cardio. I am going to add some weight training as well, as I need to add muscle mass along with the mass I’ll gain from my ice cream and pies.

I am pleased with the new biliary drainage tube that I received on Tuesday. There is no leakage whatsoever.  Indeed, I was pleased with the whole process.  They started the procedure when they said they would (9:00 AM) and we were out of there by 10:30 … and home with In-N-Out burgers by 11:15. 

Although I was disappointed yesterday, I still feel blessed to be under the wonderful care of the medical staff at Piper.  It is a great place to be, and I have complete trust in their judgments.  Their decisions are always made with my best interest in mind. 

And I still feel blessed to have so much love and support from so many friends and family members.  It is truly overwhelming.  I can’t thank you enough for all your support … it means a great deal to Cathy and me.

It has been quite a week, with quite a few medical appointments (Tuesday through Thursday).  Tuesday and Thursday were especially productive … I feel more energetic already after yesterday’s blood transfusion, and the new tube I received on Tuesday is working great.   I went on a walk this morning, although unfortunately I had to go without Cathy.  She is presenting at the state Speech and Hearing conference being held today in Phoenix, and had to get going early.  I am going to meet her at the end of the day to watch the student group compete in a Bowl contest. These are the same students who are doing the Relay for Life as Team Bacon next Friday night, so we feel the desire to support them in this contest against students from the other two state universities.  It should be fun.
 

Recently we’ve had a few days where the temperature was below average. It was great to have a bit cooler weather for a few days. Today it should be a bit warmer than average (88 deg), but still nice.  It is cool in the mornings and evenings, which makes all the difference in dealing with the slightly higher temperatures during the daytime.  The weather is nearly perfect for walks in the morning.
 

Although I always look forward to the weekend, I do less so this weekend. Cathy is going to California tomorrow morning, returning Tuesday afternoon. Unfortunately, her mom is in hospice care and is not expected to live that much longer.  Although I’ll miss Cathy, on the bright side Laura is going to move in for a few days to act as my nurse and companion.  There are a few things (e.g., attaching pain patches to my back) that require a second person to accomplish, so she’ll put on her nursing cap for those.  Because Laura is a big basketball fan, we intend to watch some NBA basketball games while she is here.  She’ll have her companion hat on for those. We’ll definitely have fun together.  I am looking forward to it.
 

I hope that you all have a wonderful weekend.  Wherever you are, I hope you are able to get outside and enjoy beautiful weather.  Each day is truly a gift. No one knows how long they may live, so it is important to enjoy each day as the special day that it is. In addition, it is important to show your loved ones how much you love them.  You can never do that too often.
 

Thank you for all your love and support.  Cathy and I are truly grateful and humbled. 
 

Go Team Bacon!

I had a nice weekend, although for the most part I was without company.  I took Cathy to the airport around 8:30 Saturday morning.  Laura was going to come out Saturday evening, but she remembered a birthday party she was planning to attend, so she postponed coming out until Sunday.  She came out mid-morning to put new pain patches on my back, but had to go back home (after we watched a basketball game!) afterwards because of some error in her on-line tax return.  After dealing with customer service for over an hour, she scrapped it all and started filing by hand. Unfortunately, the change from on-line to paper is not straightforward given her status as an independent contractor (something I don’t quite follow).  She stayed at home last night to work on her taxes, and she was going to take today off from work to finish them. I wish there was something I could do besides worry and feel sorry for her. We hope she is able to come out for dinner tonight, and to put new pain patches on me in the morning.
 

I have been going on walks in the morning.  They are not as much fun when Cathy is not here, but they are important to do.  The mornings have been absolutely beautiful, so the walks have been quite pleasant.  Even though the temperatures have hovered near 90 the past two days, the house remains cool because I leave the windows open during the night and close them in the morning.  It is going to cool down a bit over the next several days, although it is supposed to get quite a bit warmer (pushing triple digits) in about a week. Ugh.  It is a little too early for triple digits.  Fortunately, those high temperatures will not last.
 

I have an appointment this Thursday with a pain specialist. We had an appointment with them about two weeks ago, but the physician left to be with his pregnant wife before we were able to meet with him.  Based on our discussion with the physician’s assistant, they might recommend a neural block.  I’ve had one before, although the access would be different, so perhaps the results would be more favorable.  I certainly would be happy to have reduced pain.
 

My back pain has been relatively mild lately, ranging from a 1 to a 4 on a 10-point scale.  I can ignore the pain fairly well, but it would be nice to get the pain down to 0 to 1.  I am open to various procedures that might do that, though I’d prefer not to increase the dose of my pain patches.  Indeed, I’d like to decrease that dose.
 

I have pretty good energy, thanks presumably to the blood transfusion I received last Thursday.
 

Today is Dan and Liz’s first-year wedding anniversary.  I would like to wish them a very Happy Anniversary.  I cannot believe that it has already been one year since their wedding. That was such a special day.
 

I want to thank you for all your love and support. We fight this challenging fight as a team, a formidable one at that.  Go Team Bacon!