I Would Like a More Exciting Disease

I'm bored with my cancer. I want an exciting disease -- or even an exciting cancer. Maybe an interesting new symptom, or unexpected test result; or maybe a new test that would tell me something new. 

I want novelty. I want doctors hovering around my hospital bed trying to figure out what I have. I want to hear my case described with words like and phrases like "mystifying" and "never seen before." I want to be a plotline on House.

I'm tired of being part of the cancer machine. I'm tired of my treatment being routine. I'm tired of feeling like everything is just running through a standard script. 

Mostly, I want a disease that doctors are trying to cure, not manage.

I'm tired of having to be managed.

Nausea Does Not Make Things Better

It seems we have entered the nausea phase of chemotherapy. No vomit yet, but the weird sweaty sensation? The overproduction of saliva? The slight wobbliness? Oh yeah, all present. They pretty much start if/when I eat lunch, and last until I go to bed. 

I cannot say I am excited by this latest development. 

Though, admittedly, actual vomit would make it worse.

Always the Last to Know

Bloom County is back?!* And no one told me?! Some friends you are...

* Now called "Bloom County 2015." See: http://www.gocomics.com/bloom-county

Quote of the Day

From the latest installment of Slate's ongoing effort to rethink how we think about cancer:

“Everyone always says to make the most of your time, but they don’t tell you that you won’t have an ounce of energy to do it with.”

I don't have much to add to that. I'm not even pursuing hard core treatment, and I still find the smallest activities feeling like accomplishments. I'm not sure what the folks on the worst of the chemo regimens do, never mind those who let the doctors just beat the crap out of them only to find out that nothing's worked, the clock's running out, and they've got nothing left to work with.

Cancer sucks.

A Post Antarctica Kevin Update

So Kevin survived my absence quite nicely, though my couch isn't any better for the experience. Not exactly sure what she's looking for, but she still seems to find great joy in trying to dig her way through the cushions. 

More generally, I think we've taken a few steps back in the socialization realm. She's back under the one bed more often than not. However, traveling did allow me to learn something new about Kevin.

Unpacking for me is always a slow and haphazard process which proceeds in stages over an extended period. Stage 1 in this case wound up with a bunch of my socks on the floor. 

Turns out Kevin has a sock fetish... 

Happy Holidays!

Hard to believe there are just three weeks until Christmas. I guess that means it's time for this year's holiday card. The challenge this year was choosing a photo that was both recent and yet not too repulsive given my current reversion to the larval stage. But I think I got it figured out...

Back to Cancer

The facts from cancer day, roughly in decreasing order of importance:

I'm seven pounds lighter than at my last appointment. It must've been the high-end proteins on the cruise ship. 

The tumor markers are bouncing, but basically down. The last four measures have been 35, 13, 7 and 13. I'd prefer seven to the trend rather than an anomaly, but the teens are good. 

The tumors were determined to be "stable" -- i.e., smaller, but not the 30% smaller necessary to qualify as "decreasing."

I got more detail on the surgery question. As assumed, the problem was two-fold: there was the uncertain evidence that the cancer has moved outside the liver, and then there's the problem that the tumors in my liver are fairly dispersed and at least one is in a very hard to reach area. Thus, chemo's a better response as long as it continues to work. 

So the plan is to continue with the current treatment regimen for another quarter. Joy. 

And that is pretty much where we stand at this point in time. 

Except, of course, for the fact that chemo sucks, my head is pounding, I've got a head cold that just won't quit, and I still haven't even unpacked my bags. 

The GCW Tour, Buenos Aires & Antarctica: Parting Shots

"Don't cry for me Argentina" is still the only thing I know about Eva Peron. When the hotel clerk asked my plans for the day and I mentioned the museum she got a look on her face that suggested I might want to do something else. So I wandered to some areas of the city I didn't get to at the front end of the trip. 

It was, ah, diverse. Ranging from some very touristy areas to some very non-touristy areas. But it was all very photogenic. So here you go. A few last shots from Buenos Aires before we turn back to cancer...

The GCW Tour, Buenos Aires & Antarctica: Another Post for Anne (and Further Evidence for My Theory)

The bar across the street from the Tango de Mayo Hotel in Buenos Aires where I spent my last night:

So having now found an Irish pub in pretty much every country I've been to since the one in Hanoi prompted me to start keeping my eyes open, I've decided that there may only be one country in the world without an "Irish pub": Ireland, where it would just be called a pub. 

But my sample is still pretty small, so I should probably visit a few more countries before I get too excited. 

The GCW Tour, Buenos Aires & Antarctica: I Probably Should've Planned This Better

Today's the last day of this current leg of the GCW Tour. I have to be at the airport at 6:00 pm for a 9:00 pm flight, then it's about twenty hours of planes, trains and automobiles and I'm home. 

Of course, my hotel wants me out by noon so I've got to figure out what to do with my day. I'm figuring the hotel will hold my bags, so I can leave those here and spend one more day of wandering Buenos Aires. At one point I passed the sign for the Eva Peron museum and since pretty much the only thing I know about her is the phrase "don't cry for me Argentina," I figured I might start at the museum and see if I can learn something. 

After that, I'll track down some Patagonian beer for my cat sitter, since "exotic beer" is all they wanted, and then maybe check out some more of the city's parks. May as well enjoy this little blast of summer while I can. It's unlikely to be sunny and 77 when I get back to Seattle.

Speaking of getting back to Seattle, check out the timeline for the forty-eight hours starting with the flight home (and adjusted so times are presented in Seattle time):

Tues, 4:15 pm (10.5 hours) -- Flight from Buenos Aires to Atlanta
Wed, 2:30 am (3 hours) -- Layover in Atlanta
Wed, 5:30 am (5.5 hours) -- Fight from Atlanta to Seattle
Wed, 11:00 am (2 hours) -- Claim bags & get home 
Wed, 1:00 pm (21 hours) -- See if Kevin remembers me and adjust back to Seattle
Thur, 10:00 am (1 hour) -- SCCA Lab draw
Thurs, 11:00 am (1 hour) -- SCCA oncology appointment with PA
Thurs, 12:00 pm (6 hours) -- SCCA chemotherarpy infusion
Thurs, 6:00 pm (72 hours) -- Recover and sleep

In other words, at this point we pretty much return you to your regularly scheduled cancer blog. Depending how photogenic the Eva Peron Museum is, I may have a few final pictures of Buenos Aires to post, but then we'll be back to cancer. 

Figure a day or so until I post again, as I'll soon be busy traveling, sleeping, or getting treatment. 

Personally, I'm missing the penguins already.

But the good news is: only twenty-four days until the sib trip to Costa Rica which, admittedly, got stuck in there a little close to Antarctica. Sorry co-workers!