Round II Complete

A quick re-cap of my journey so far….

I was diagnosed with chronic, no cure, Follicular Lymphoma in November 1997, when I was 44 years old. Fortunately, having been an athlete all my life, I was in great condition, which helps in the battle against cancer. Over five months I received six cycles of the standard chemotherapy. The treatment consisted of Cytoxan,  Vincristine, Prednisone plus a few other drugs. The treatments did not work. It was now summer of 1998 and I was receiving a Leukemia chemotherapy. The drug was called Fludara and I was receiving it five days a week. When I finished, I would have received thirty treatments over a five-month period. That would be thirty-six total treatments over 12 months for both chemos. That’s being stuck with a lot of needles. Needles for blood samples, needles for mistakes, and needles for the treatment. I started to dream of needles.  

Back to the story………….

I finished the first week of treatments, recovered for two weeks, had my blood checked and then it was time for another round. I took the second round, five days of the Juice and suffered excruciating, painful headaches for the whole week. That was on top of the usual sides effects, which I have previously described.  I would take my Juice and go to work and act like everything was ok. I went on sales appointments and handled business with my clients without them knowing I was sick. The main problem were the headaches, my head would pound with pain.

I finished the second round of Fludara and recovered for 2 weeks. Then I took the third round of Juice. I recovered again and then I was ready for my fourth, fifth, and final sixth cycles of the Fludara Juice. I finished the last treatment and I recovered for two weeks. I went to see my doctor and he scheduled me for another round of CAT Scans. There was some good news this time, as I did not have to get a lower GI Scan. That was a relief because it meant I did not have to drink the terrible tasting Barium. There is always a bright side to everything.

It was my third time taking these CT Scans. I have read information that shows the radiation received from a scan is equal to a years worth of sunshine. Unfortunately, you do not get a tan. I went to the hospital and received my scans. I would go back in a couple of days to pick up my film and the reports. I would also be going to visit my doctor to go over the results.

Next time…The Results.

Fludara-Week One

It was Wednesday and time for my third treatment of the week. I went to the doctor’s office and received my “Juice”. I was becoming a pro at this treatment routine. I would take the treatment in the morning, go to my office and work the afternoon, then I would go home and make my other Juice. My all-natural vegetable juice, then eat a little, go to bed so I could do it again the next day.

I repeated my treatments on Thursday and Friday. I still had a giant purple bruise on the top of my right hand.  I had been suffering from a headache since I finished my first treatment on Monday. I was walking around, going to appointments and living my life with a pounding pain in my head. I was mostly on the right side and trying to think was like being in a daze.  I had the headache, heartburn, constipation, smell and taste issues, restless leg and lack of coordination side effects. Not bad, it could have been worse. I still had my hair so nobody knew I was sick and taking chemo, and I did not tell anyone either. That’s very important when you are in sales, because part of the sale is based on appearance. I was still  looking fit, a little pale, but good none the less.

I completed one week of my new treatment and now had 2 weeks to recover. The side effects did not seem as bad, maybe I was just getting used to them? The main side effect was the painful headache. This headache lasted for seven to ten days. Eventually it went away. Another week had passed and I went to my doctor to have my blood checked. The same routine as my previous chemo, the doctor wanted to see if my blood counts had recovered enough to receive my next series of treatments.  My CBC’s (complete blood count) was OK. My red count was good and my white count was just enough to start treatment again in one week.

I felt good my third week, well, good is relative. I felt semi normal and enjoyed the feeling. There are things that I have found out later about the Fludara that I was receiving that were not that good for my body. Then again, Chemo is bad for the body as it causes organ damage to ones heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, veins and more.  However, it also can prolong ones life and that is great as long as you can have good quality to your life. I was determined to keep my life as normal as possible and to enjoy every second of it. We are all going to die, we just don’t know when. When you know your time is going to be up soon, you look at things differently. The sun is brighter, the sky is bluer and you realize how great it is to be alive.

In a couple of days, it was time for another round of The Fludara “Juice”………… a week sure goes by fast.