Post chemo

Okay, so things got worse after the last post. I was up all night with nausea on Wednesday and home from work recovering on Thursday. My throat is still very sore and I feel very fatigued and weak. But I seem to be able to keep some food down now. Wow it's tough to think positive thoughts when you're curled up in the bathroom all night with a bucket between your knees. Clearly the nausea pills they gave me are placebos, because they are not working:{ Hanging in there. -Eric

Staples

I had the staples removed from my neck today. The doctor says that the incision is healing very well. The incision is about 3 inches long. My throat is still very sore and the doctor expects it will be so for at least another week. I am still on a regular dose of pain-killers. The voice does sound better but due to the swelling it still sounds strained. Once the swelling is down and the pain subsides, I will be seeing a speech therapist to help me learn to use the new pipes. I had chemotherapy again on Monday. I have had severe fatigue for the past two days and in combination with the sore throat, it has been pretty miserable. Things should start to get better later in the week. -Eric

Recovery from Surgery

I have been trying to avoid talking, but that's easier said than done. I still sound quite raspy, and hoarse. My throat is swollen and sore and the pain killers make me tired. The doctor will remove the staples from my neck on Wednesday. I am impatient to get my voice back, the doctor says it will take some getting used to and I will have to relearn to speak again with the new pipes. I am back in for the fourth dose of chemotherapy tomorrow. Take care. -Eric

Post-Surgery

Well, I survived the surgery. The doctor said it went very well. The surgery took about 1.5 hours to complete. I had to be kept awake during the surgery so that I could talk with the doctor about how the prosthetic felt, and to be able to speak so that we could test how well it worked. These prosthetics are custom fitted for best results. I was a little nervous about being awake during the surgery. But I got really nervous when part way through the surgery I heard the doctor say: "Get me the big knife this one is not working ... hmm, this one is not working either, get me the saw ..." Buzzzzz. I white knuckled it during that part. But honestly I did not feel any pain at all. They shot me up with a bunch of local anesthesia for the pain, so all I really felt was pressure and pinching during the procedure. I could notice an immediate difference in my voice afterwards. But it is still quite raspy due to all of the swelling. The doctor told me not to talk for the next 3-4 days to allow the swelling to go down, at which point he expects my voice will sound very much like normal. I have half a dozen staples in my neck where they made the incision, and a large bandage that will be in place for the next week or so. I spent the night at the surgical center so that they could monitor my vitals. It wasn't too bad, but the bed wasn't that great, so i didn't sleep much. They have me on pain killers and antibiotics until the swelling goes down. It went very well and my hopes are high for the end results. Take care. -Eric

Pre-Surgery

Well, tomorrow's the day. I'm going in for surgery on my throat to get my voice back. Believe it or not it has been five months since I first lost my voice. I have grown accustomed to it in many ways, but it is still an issue at home, and at work, and I need to get it fixed. I am a little nervous that I have to be awake for the whole thing, but excited for the outcome. The surgery is scheduled for 12:45 pm tomorrow and I can't eat or drink after midnight tonight, so it's going to be long morning tomorrow, I'm sure I'll be hungry. The surgery is scheduled to take about 2 hours. This surgery requires an overnight stay at the surgery center so they can monitor my recovery. Wish me luck.

PInewood Derby

This is Josh. Josh recently turned eight and he is great. He joined the cub scouts and competed in his first cub scout pine wood derby. Here is a picture of me and Josh and the car we built. While we did not place in the top three, Josh's car did very well.

Caught a Cold

I caught a cold this past week and it's kicking my butt. Since my cell counts are at their lowest it could be tough to shake. The doctor is putting me on antibiotics to stave off any potential infections since I am at high risk. And I am on the standard cold/cough medications to mitigate the other symptoms. I have another Nadir check coming up on Thursday where they will check my cell counts and make sure that I am not too low. Having Fun:) Take Care. -Eric

Third Dose

The third dose is going okay. I opted for the post-chemo IV after this dose to help mitigate the side affects. I'm not sure if it helped or not, but I have not had the nausea that I had last time, which has been nice. Each dose has come with it's own unique side affects and perhaps that has been the hardest part, just not knowing what to expect. Fatigue and body aches have been the most prevalent this time. The doctor says that the side affects would get progressively worse with each dose. That doesn't give me much to look forward too :)
Just a bit of advise. Don't get cancer. :) I would like to say that there is no upside to getting cancer, but that's not necessarily true. I have never been closer to my wife and kids. It really puts things in perspective, and life's priorities seem to be a lot easier to sort out now days. Take care. -Eric

CT scan results/Third dose

I spoke with the doctor today about the CT scan results from last week. The nodules in my lungs have shrunk since the last check. The doctor is pleased with the results. I also received my third dose of chemotherapy today, all is well so far. We have scheduled an IV for Wednesday morning in hopes of minimizing the side effects like I had last time. I will undergo one more chemotherapy dose (that will make 4 total) and then I will get another CT scan. If the nodules are continuing to shrink we'll tack on two more chemotherapy doses. If they have stopped shrinking then the chemotherapy will likely stop for now and we will discuss next steps.