Pending a clean/negative PET&CT scan on April 11th, my treatment for Hodgkin's Lymphoma is 100% complete.
My sincere thanks to all of you for your support throughout my treatment. I would not have gotten through it in such a positive way without you. Thank you also to Ray Tavares and Moe Cieri for taking me to lunch this past week. Being with friends is always helpful and appreciated.
Before I sign off, a few statistics from the last couple of weeks:
7 lbs 9 ounces -
My younger brother, Doug, and his wife Samantha welcomed their second child into the world on March 11th. Beau Dillon Deets was born at ~7:45 AM at Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte, NC. One of the big questions with Deets Children is whether or not they will win the recessive gene lottery and have shocking red hair or not. So far, it looks like Beau may take after his mother and have brown hair.
1 in 20 -
The number of Americans that is a cancer survivor. This number has thankfully been rising over the past decade, due to improved early detection, better treatment protocols and I believe the shrinking stigma associated with having cancer.
1 in 1,000,000 -
The odds of my Virginia Tech Hokies ever making the NCAA Men's Basketball tournament. Sadly, the Hokies were left out of the field for the 4th year in a row, despite having a pretty good resume. Good luck to the team in the NIT (a.k.a. Not Invited (to the NCAA) Tournament).
Showing posts with label Hokies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hokies. Show all posts
Friday, March 18, 2011
Monday, January 3, 2011
3rd - Happy New Year
Happy New Year Everyone! I am convinced that 2011 is going to be a phenomenal year. I look forward to good health, time with family/friends/co-workers and balance across the many facets of life that make it worth living.
Before I get too far into this post, I need to say a special thank you to the Cieris, Kerrins and Nestors for the wonderful food that they have given to us over the past couple of weeks. Moe, not surprisingly, makes one kick-ass Lasagna.
The hangover from the last treatment was a little longer than those prior, so I expect the cumulative effects of chemo to continue. Even if it does continue to get worse physically, my mental game is strong and will carry me through. I have "made the turn" and am now headed for the finish line of a long and successful treatment.
Treatment #7 & 8 are this month, followed by my second PET-CT scan on or around January 31st.
Before I wrap this up, I want to wish my Virginia Tech Hokies well in tonight's Orange Bowl vs. the Stanford Cardinal.Who do these guys think they are having a singular cardinal as a mascot. Everyone Hokie fan knows birds are like interceptions...they are better in bunches. My prediction is (of course) a blow-out for the good-guys...VT 45 Stanford 27.
Oh yes, I almost forgot...my promise to post a couple more requested hairstyles...
Before I get too far into this post, I need to say a special thank you to the Cieris, Kerrins and Nestors for the wonderful food that they have given to us over the past couple of weeks. Moe, not surprisingly, makes one kick-ass Lasagna.
The hangover from the last treatment was a little longer than those prior, so I expect the cumulative effects of chemo to continue. Even if it does continue to get worse physically, my mental game is strong and will carry me through. I have "made the turn" and am now headed for the finish line of a long and successful treatment.
Treatment #7 & 8 are this month, followed by my second PET-CT scan on or around January 31st.
Before I wrap this up, I want to wish my Virginia Tech Hokies well in tonight's Orange Bowl vs. the Stanford Cardinal.
Oh yes, I almost forgot...my promise to post a couple more requested hairstyles...
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| "The Bieber" |
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| "The Trump" |
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
19th - Conditioner Seems Silly
Happy Birthday today to my Dad, Dan Sr. I love you.
Sorry for missing a few days of posts. I attribute it to extreme melancholy with my situation. That is in the past now and I am back to the expected level of positive mojo.
Stuart and I rated each of the last few days as they went by. We did this to set up some expectation of what "normal" might be, but it will also give you some insight into what has been going on. Sorry in advance to the believers in the 1-5 or 1-7 Likert Scale...we went with the tried and true 1-10 Cancer Sucks Scale (with 1 being the worst feeling in the world and 10 being the best). Here is how we catalogued the days:
Thursday (Chemo Day): Can't recall...passed out
Friday (Day After): 7
Saturday: 4 (I actually feel asleep in the middle of the Hokie's rout of Wake Forest)
Sunday: 6
Monday: 7
Today (Tuesday): 8
All-in-all, I think this is pretty decent, assuming I feel good for the next 8 days prior to my next treatment and the rhythm is the same for the next 6 months. Incidentally, I have also decided that I am going to kick this thing in 6 months rather than 8 months (you may recall the 6-8 month range the oncologist gave me for chemo).
Other than the Hokie victory, which moved us back into the the Top 25 in the polls, the highlight of the last few days has been talking with my old college roommate, Steve Sparks (a.k.a. Sparky). Sparky always made me laugh and has not lost his touch. We talked for almost an hour, mostly about his experience with Hodgkin's, but there was some inappropriate humor mixed in for good measure. I have not laughed like that in a while and it was much needed. Thanks Sparky.
Tomorrow I have an appointment with Dr. Frenette in the afternoon. His goal is to check blood work; my goal will be to talk about mouth pain, bone aches, heartburn, flu shots, port pain, CD68+ macrophages and fear of children and public spaces. It should be fun for him.
I will leave you with this. It sure did seem silly putting conditioner in my hair in the shower today.
Sorry for missing a few days of posts. I attribute it to extreme melancholy with my situation. That is in the past now and I am back to the expected level of positive mojo.
Stuart and I rated each of the last few days as they went by. We did this to set up some expectation of what "normal" might be, but it will also give you some insight into what has been going on. Sorry in advance to the believers in the 1-5 or 1-7 Likert Scale...we went with the tried and true 1-10 Cancer Sucks Scale (with 1 being the worst feeling in the world and 10 being the best). Here is how we catalogued the days:
Thursday (Chemo Day): Can't recall...passed out
Friday (Day After): 7
Saturday: 4 (I actually feel asleep in the middle of the Hokie's rout of Wake Forest)
Sunday: 6
Monday: 7
Today (Tuesday): 8
All-in-all, I think this is pretty decent, assuming I feel good for the next 8 days prior to my next treatment and the rhythm is the same for the next 6 months. Incidentally, I have also decided that I am going to kick this thing in 6 months rather than 8 months (you may recall the 6-8 month range the oncologist gave me for chemo).
Other than the Hokie victory, which moved us back into the the Top 25 in the polls, the highlight of the last few days has been talking with my old college roommate, Steve Sparks (a.k.a. Sparky). Sparky always made me laugh and has not lost his touch. We talked for almost an hour, mostly about his experience with Hodgkin's, but there was some inappropriate humor mixed in for good measure. I have not laughed like that in a while and it was much needed. Thanks Sparky.
Tomorrow I have an appointment with Dr. Frenette in the afternoon. His goal is to check blood work; my goal will be to talk about mouth pain, bone aches, heartburn, flu shots, port pain, CD68+ macrophages and fear of children and public spaces. It should be fun for him.
I will leave you with this. It sure did seem silly putting conditioner in my hair in the shower today.
Friday, October 15, 2010
15th - The New Normal
Many of you have heard the phrase "the new normal". It has been overused many times in the media over the past few years and I heard it a lot lately related to my condition. The theory is that I will find a rhythm or pace to my life during this treatment. As today is only "day 2" (common nomenclature for the first day after chemo), I will not pretend that I am anywhere close to the new normal. Stuart will be glad to hear it after witnessing my day.
So how did I feel? Generally pretty good. A few common side effects not worth mentioning, although I will give special recognition to my burning feet...who knew? Good thing I bought the lotion.
I did work for a couple hours and took a walk around the neighborhood for about an hour. Other than those three, the rest of the hours in my day were spent on the Internet trying to get my head around what I read in my pathology report yesterday. I will no doubt get past it and move on.
One of my college roommates, Steve Sparks, posted a comment to yesterday's entry. He was diagnosed with Hodgkin's at age 28, so I look forward to his wisdom and experience as I go through this.
Tomorrow, my Hokies have a slim chance of beating Wake Forest and moving the team to 5-2 on the year...I will be tuned into ESPNU tomorrow for the 3:30 kickoff.
So how did I feel? Generally pretty good. A few common side effects not worth mentioning, although I will give special recognition to my burning feet...who knew? Good thing I bought the lotion.
I did work for a couple hours and took a walk around the neighborhood for about an hour. Other than those three, the rest of the hours in my day were spent on the Internet trying to get my head around what I read in my pathology report yesterday. I will no doubt get past it and move on.
One of my college roommates, Steve Sparks, posted a comment to yesterday's entry. He was diagnosed with Hodgkin's at age 28, so I look forward to his wisdom and experience as I go through this.
Tomorrow, my Hokies have a slim chance of beating Wake Forest and moving the team to 5-2 on the year...I will be tuned into ESPNU tomorrow for the 3:30 kickoff.
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