ianunderhill vs. cancer (RIP Nick)

I'm back home as of yesterday afternoon, and I am presently almost feeling normal. Maybe about 85%, if I had to put a number out there. It's still early, so I don't want to jinx it, but I'm hoping today winds up being a good one. My next treatment is in six days and I'm wanting as normal a time as I can get prior to it, both for sake of my own personal sanity and so that I don't go into another chemo infusion already weakened. I'm very eager to discover it to be not as bad this time, and doubly so to share that discovery with all of you. Watch this space.

That's great news! Glad today's a good day and hoping they start to come more frequently.

Space watching, check. Glad to hear today's been good. Here's to many more as good and better!

Yar!!! You been playing any games, ian?

Actual ferrets are quite good at watching spaces!

Since I borrow their name for an internet handle, I will do my best to follow their example in this regard. Glad you're feeling better, and I hope you get some full on normal time before the next infusion.

Thanks everyone. Today's actually turned out to be a little more back-and-forth than the morning suggested, but on the whole it's been good. There have been moments of discomfort, but by and large, my meds are doing their work. Definitely my best day in a while. The best moment by far was getting invited to a Friend Thanksgiving next week. I'd completely forgotten about Thanksgiving and hadn't realized it was so close, and I'm relieved to have plans. My friend who's hosting has also promised that if I'm not feeling well and need to stay home, Thanksgiving will be brought to me. Of course I'm hoping I'll be we'll enough to get out for a couple hours and enjoy some food and company, but the thought of it all really made my day.

Answering ZaneRockfist: yes. Still haven't gotten into a groove in Borderlands 2 and haven't felt up for Syndicate, but I've been playing quite a few XBLA games in short bursts. If anyone spots me online and sees me gaming, feel free to pester me to jump to multiplayer if you see me playing something skewing more arcade-y or casual that you yourself have. I don't play much more than 40 minutes at a stretch right now and I'm a little slow, but it'd be fun all the same if you bug me at a good moment. I used some stale points up and tried Dogfight 1942's campaign mode this afternoon, and have also been playing short bursts of Contra (badly) and Trials Evolution.

I have recently started Warhammer 40K: Space Marine on PS3 (my folks got me a used one some weeks back and a PS+ account so I can take advantage of the "free" games; holy cow, what a value it's been already). I'm not far but I'm digging it. If anyone else snagged it and wants to go for multiplayer, I'm down to try it (PSN name is also "ianunderhill") but I can't promise anything, and it should be noted I don't currently have anything for voice chat with the PS3.

But yeah. Slowly getting back to games. It's fun when I have the focus for it.

Glad to hear things are going well And gaming is a great distraction for sure!

It's been a back-and-forth kinda week, but I am definitely getting my strength back. The start of the week saw me struggling to stay standing for more than a few minutes at a time when engaging in daily tasks like showering or doing the dishes, whereas now, standing under the hot water in the shower longer to enjoy the comforting warmth of the experience is something I'm doing deliberately.

I can't remember if I'd mentioned it, but one of the things they did right before I went on my first chemo treatment was to put a Plurex catheter in my abdomen. This is a tube with a nozel and cap assembly that gets covered up by a dressing when not in use, and it allows me to drain the fluid that builds up from my ascites at home by use of a kit with sterile materials and vacuum-sealed drain bottles. I'm pleased to say that not only have I gotten good at doing this, but better still, the amount of fluid I'm draining on a daily basis has decreased. Initially, I was draining around 1800ml a day. This has dropped to around 1000ml. Hopefully this is a sign of that first round of chemo having worked. I'll be curious to see if there's a further decrease after Monday's treatment. Convenient as it is to be able to finally drain myself at home and avoid the discomfort and inconvenience of having it done at the hospital, I'm ultimately looking forward to the day where I don't have to have a tube coming out of my abdomen.

So yeah, good news at last. I'm happy to write a positive post here for the first time in a while. Thanks again for putting up with all my complaining and woe-is-meism. The pain and discomfort experienced lately make it really easy to lose track of the good things. Right now, I'm feeling happy about all the good people close to me who have visited and helped me out with errands this week, I'm starting to get my enthusiasm for the GWJ forums back, and I've gotten a taste for gaming back after a period where it was too tough to focus on interactive entertainment for more than a few minutes at a time.

Oh, and good to spot a few of you in IRC yesterday, too. I still haven't worked out a good means of doing IRC on the iPad. When I'm back to sitting at my desk for computer time, it's a different story, but for now, IRC appearances are going to be spotty and involve a lot of disappearing. Please don't take it as me being rude, just think of it as me being sick and a bit lazy.

Dude. Stop apologizing and kick that cancer's ass. This thread exists for you to vent, and people are reading and responding to help.

Awesome about the convenience of the tube, and the reduction in the amount of fluid. Keep going!

Glad to hear it's going well. Keep up the good work and get better! And enjoy Thanksgiving.

ianunderhill wrote:

Convenient as it is to be able to finally drain myself at home and avoid the discomfort and inconvenience of having it done at the hospital, I'm ultimately looking forward to the day where I don't have to have a tube coming out of my abdomen.

Good updates and great progress....Keep it up!

OK, I gotta ask— when draining fluid at home, how does one dispose of the fluid? Drain? The John?

brouhaha wrote:
ianunderhill wrote:

Convenient as it is to be able to finally drain myself at home and avoid the discomfort and inconvenience of having it done at the hospital, I'm ultimately looking forward to the day where I don't have to have a tube coming out of my abdomen.

Good updates and great progress....Keep it up!

OK, I gotta ask— when draining fluid at home, how does one dispose of the fluid? Drain? The John?

Bottled & aged?

Toilet. When I learned to use the Plurex kit in the hospital (a procedure that's mainly cleaning things pre/post drain to prevent infection around where the tube comes out of me and then applying a sterile dressing), we threw the bottles out in the biohazard can in my room. I was instructed that at home, it's safe to empty the bottles down the toilet and throw the bottles out normally. Since there's still going to be some residue from the fluid in the bottles, the fluid can't be any worse than other human waste you might, say, throw out on a diaper or whatever. Definitely need to be clean about it, but it doesn't seem like too big a deal otherwise.

Yay!

ianunderhill wrote:

Oh, and good to spot a few of you in IRC yesterday, too. I still haven't worked out a good means of doing IRC on the iPad. When I'm back to sitting at my desk for computer time, it's a different story, but for now, IRC appearances are going to be spotty and involve a lot of disappearing. Please don't take it as me being rude, just think of it as me being sick and a bit lazy. :)

IRC999 is free and not completely terrible, and if you get sick of that LimeChat is five bucks and the overall best.

It's awesome to hear that you can be at home more often now. It seems that you're much more comfortable than you've been since the start of your chemo.

It's good that you're making an effort to stand up. Saying that, have you considered putting a chair in your bathtub? Just a way to sit down and shower if need be. (As for the chair, I'd suggest a wingback.)

1Dgaf wrote:

It's good that you're making an effort to stand up. Saying that, have you considered putting a chair in your bathtub? Just a way to sit down and shower if need be. (As for the chair, I'd suggest a wingback.)

Or a La-Z-Boy

I'm pretty sure space is an issue when it comes to putting a chair in a bathtub.

There are bathing chairs you can get at the drug store or a medical supply place that fit in a bathtub.

I don't currently need a bath/shower chair.

So one more good thing: my oncologist phoned yesterday to check on me. She said we're going to play Monday's treatment by ear since I've had such a rough time in the past few weeks. For starters, my overall dosage is going to get dialed down by 25%. If we do wind up doing treatment Monday, we're only going to do 50% of the new level. I'm on the fence about how likely I am to say yes or no at this point, as I've been feeling better but am still a bit weak. I'm really relieved to have the option, though. either way, I've still got my appointment, so at the very least, it'll be interesting to see what the blood tests etc. have to say about how I'm doing vs. how I've felt.

How have I felt? The last two days have been about 70% good each, with the 30% badness having to do with basic pain, gassiness/bowel discomfort, and general fatigue. This is quite a step up from where I was a week ago. Here's hoping things continue to skew normal.

NSMike wrote:

Dude. Stop apologizing and kick that cancer's ass. This thread exists for you to vent, and people are reading and responding to help.

Awesome about the convenience of the tube, and the reduction in the amount of fluid. Keep going!

I agree - vent away! We all like knowing how you're getting on, and sharing what's going on is probably a good part of kicking cancer's ass because it helps keep you sane and connected.

I've got my fingers crossed for more normal to head your way (and less discomfort and unwanted fluids...).

For what it's worth a lower dose of chemo made a huge difference in my quality of life bringing it into acceptable level while still allowing me to continue treatment. That said your chemo drug is a different drug and everyone responds differently to this stuff don't feel bad if you just need a longer break from it.

Thanks krev. That's the impression I got from talking to my doctors, but it's super-reassuring to hear it from someone who's been through treatment. I'm really hoping the lower dose/break make life better.

So I didn't wind up doing chemo yesterday. I hadn't mentioned it previously, but while last in the hospital, I had a bedside surgical procedure to deal with a thrombosed hemorrhoid, which had become a problem amidst all the bowel issues I'd had following my original treatment. It's healing up slowly but requires regular consumption of pain meds. In the interest of keeping pain meds down, and also in allowing me to get a bit stronger prior to my next dose of chemo, my oncologist and I decided to delay treatment until next Monday. This way the nausea I've previously experienced doesn't result in...well, you know, butt pain.

Yesterday was still a good appointment, though. The doctor said that the reduction in fluid build up is almost certainly a sign of the treatment working, and a quick inspection of my hindquarters showed that the site of the hemorrhoid was healing properly and had no signs of infection. Tiring as it is going to these things, I'm eager to keep moving on things and get more good news. Much as I dread the side effects, I'm looking forward to next Monday. Progress in treatment is good stuff.

That's great that the treatment is working, dude. Especially that it's working well enough that you can afford a moment's reprieve.

Love hearing good news!! Continue to kick the asses of all assy things in the general assy vicinity while there are asses to kick assingly. Ass.

Great news, Ian, keep it up! And I hope you have a good Turkey Day.

Really good to hear that things are looking up!

I hope you're able to eat a good-sized plateful of turkey over the holidays.

Great news, Ian! Kick that cancers ass!

I suggest playing the Double Dragon Neon soundtrack while ass-kicking.

Taste: