Like I had guessed, my PET scan was read early. Lucky me, it all came back normal and the stuff they found on the one back in July was gone. I figured it would be, but it was still nice to have the confirmation. All I have left is the second blood test to confirm everything then I will officially be done with this cancer crap. Woohoo!!
I also voted today. I was planning to wait until election day, but I had nothing else to do, so I just went today. I had threatened to vote third party and today I actually followed through and voted for Barr for President.
The thing about my health stuff, I'm still slacking really bad. I am starting to wonder what in the hell it is going to take to motivate me. The water intake has been the issue lately and I haven't realized how thirsty and dehydrated I've been until I started drinking. I was able to down nearly 2 liters before I began to even feel like normal. That's not good! Anyway, that's going to be my first step, try and drink more water, at least a gallon a day.
Tomorrow is a new day!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Blog IV
I had my PET scan today. I guess the images turned out good, but I don't know how long it will take before somebody looks at them. I have a doctors appointment next Wednesday, so hopefully it will be before then. Last time, my old man had a doctor look at them beforehand so we knew what was coming. We basically know this time as well, I just don't know if somebody is going to look at the results before.
The preparation for the PET is a total bitch. Whereas with the CAT, they just inject you with some nasty shit and you're on your way, with the PET, you have to follow a super low, basically no, carb diet the day before. I know people do this as a matter of lifestyle, but if it's not something you do everyday, it can be really tough and cause you to have a really, really long day. That's basically what yesterday was, a really long and bad day. I had a raging headache all afternoon and made several uncharacteristic screw ups at work. Three of them were pretty easy to fix, but one has the potential to cause me big trouble down the road.
The actual PET itself isn't such a big thing. Unlike the CAT, however, it takes much longer. They first inject you with glucose (and some radioactive material as well), then make you sit in a dark room for half an hour. You can literally do nothing but sit there, however, it can be kind of nice to have some alone time with your thoughts. After that, you go and lie in a machine that basically looks like a CAT scan machine for another half hour. Once again you aren't able to do anything to pass the time. You just lie there.
If I had to compare the CAT scan and the PET scan, I'd say it is about a draw. The prep for the CAT scan is pretty easy. All you have to do is drink the contrast beforehand, which, unlike most people say, I don't find to be that bad. The stuff they inject you with, though, I think some of the most horrendous stuff ever. The injection stuff for the PET is tame and the actual procedure itself can be kind of nice, but the day before totally sucks. All in all, it's a wash.
I totally failed on my diet today, but I think I had a valid excuse. I was hardly able to eat at all yesterday and I wasn't allowed to eat at all this morning. I went on a bit of a Taco Bell bender, which is of course not good. I didn't do well with my water consumption either. I think part of my health failures so far is the fact that I haven't felt truly able to move on yet. While my chemo might be done and my cancer (probably) gone, I'm still doing doctor/medical stuff and as long as I still have my port in, it's hard to get back to "normal" life.
Oh well, you have to keep trying, right? Tomorrow is another day.
The preparation for the PET is a total bitch. Whereas with the CAT, they just inject you with some nasty shit and you're on your way, with the PET, you have to follow a super low, basically no, carb diet the day before. I know people do this as a matter of lifestyle, but if it's not something you do everyday, it can be really tough and cause you to have a really, really long day. That's basically what yesterday was, a really long and bad day. I had a raging headache all afternoon and made several uncharacteristic screw ups at work. Three of them were pretty easy to fix, but one has the potential to cause me big trouble down the road.
The actual PET itself isn't such a big thing. Unlike the CAT, however, it takes much longer. They first inject you with glucose (and some radioactive material as well), then make you sit in a dark room for half an hour. You can literally do nothing but sit there, however, it can be kind of nice to have some alone time with your thoughts. After that, you go and lie in a machine that basically looks like a CAT scan machine for another half hour. Once again you aren't able to do anything to pass the time. You just lie there.
If I had to compare the CAT scan and the PET scan, I'd say it is about a draw. The prep for the CAT scan is pretty easy. All you have to do is drink the contrast beforehand, which, unlike most people say, I don't find to be that bad. The stuff they inject you with, though, I think some of the most horrendous stuff ever. The injection stuff for the PET is tame and the actual procedure itself can be kind of nice, but the day before totally sucks. All in all, it's a wash.
I totally failed on my diet today, but I think I had a valid excuse. I was hardly able to eat at all yesterday and I wasn't allowed to eat at all this morning. I went on a bit of a Taco Bell bender, which is of course not good. I didn't do well with my water consumption either. I think part of my health failures so far is the fact that I haven't felt truly able to move on yet. While my chemo might be done and my cancer (probably) gone, I'm still doing doctor/medical stuff and as long as I still have my port in, it's hard to get back to "normal" life.
Oh well, you have to keep trying, right? Tomorrow is another day.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Blog III
I can't say that I've really gotten started on my weight loss mission yet. It's a very hard thing to do, getting me motivated. I probably shouldn't have had the Chunky Monkey last night, but hey, that was the first night that I could honestly say that I was 100% and felt the need to celebrate. Was I wrong? Basically, yes. Oh well, moving forward. Remember, it has to be baby steps.
One of the goals I had set for myself for this week was on my water consumption. Back when I was losing a lot of weight, I would drink over a gallon a day. It's a fairly meetable goal, but I failed pretty miserably at it. I drink a lot of diet soda, and while it's not bad for me, it's not ideal. That's ok though, there's still time this week to not mess it up. It's actually one of the few things that I can do when my diet is screwed up for the next few days because of my PET scan.
I guess it's ok. My appitite has been way down since I stopped taking the steroids. It seems to be less than it was even during my off weeks while I was actually on the chemo. Perhaps it's psychological, I knew the chemo was coming before, so I would justify the eating by thinking I should enjoy it while I could. Yeah, that's the ticket! But now, I know there is no more chemo coming so I don't feel the same need to eat. That chemo does crazy things to your though process, eh?
Oh, and by the way, I didn't do the elliptical runner like I said I was going to. It's hard to find the motivation to workout at all since I can't lift. Ugh.
One of the goals I had set for myself for this week was on my water consumption. Back when I was losing a lot of weight, I would drink over a gallon a day. It's a fairly meetable goal, but I failed pretty miserably at it. I drink a lot of diet soda, and while it's not bad for me, it's not ideal. That's ok though, there's still time this week to not mess it up. It's actually one of the few things that I can do when my diet is screwed up for the next few days because of my PET scan.
I guess it's ok. My appitite has been way down since I stopped taking the steroids. It seems to be less than it was even during my off weeks while I was actually on the chemo. Perhaps it's psychological, I knew the chemo was coming before, so I would justify the eating by thinking I should enjoy it while I could. Yeah, that's the ticket! But now, I know there is no more chemo coming so I don't feel the same need to eat. That chemo does crazy things to your though process, eh?
Oh, and by the way, I didn't do the elliptical runner like I said I was going to. It's hard to find the motivation to workout at all since I can't lift. Ugh.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Weight
With cancer, people tend to see dramatic weight loss as a common side effect, either of the cancer itself or the treatment. It is often the case, however, that weight gain can be the bigger problem. That's certainly true in my case. When I started chemo, I was around 210-213 pounds. Now, I'm 230.
The steroids are a major, if not main cause of the weight gain. But there's also the fact that I haven't worked out since July, when this whole ordeal started. Whatever the cause, my body has been trashed by this whole cancer experience and let's face it, it wasn't that great to begin with.
When I was in my senior year of high school, I managed to get fed up enough with my weight that I dropped close to 50 pounds. In those years since, my weight has slowly started to creep back up. My weight when I started back then? 230 pounds. Rather symbolic, don't you think? Every now and then I try and re-create what I did back then in hopes of regaining my weight loss glory, but to no avail. The time is now, however, for me to really start working on my body in a serious way again.
I have this pesky little port in my chest, and I'm afraid to lift with it in. That thing should be out by mid-November and I can start doing some of my old workouts again. Until then, I'll probably just hit the elliptical runner we have here at the house.
The steroids are a major, if not main cause of the weight gain. But there's also the fact that I haven't worked out since July, when this whole ordeal started. Whatever the cause, my body has been trashed by this whole cancer experience and let's face it, it wasn't that great to begin with.
When I was in my senior year of high school, I managed to get fed up enough with my weight that I dropped close to 50 pounds. In those years since, my weight has slowly started to creep back up. My weight when I started back then? 230 pounds. Rather symbolic, don't you think? Every now and then I try and re-create what I did back then in hopes of regaining my weight loss glory, but to no avail. The time is now, however, for me to really start working on my body in a serious way again.
I have this pesky little port in my chest, and I'm afraid to lift with it in. That thing should be out by mid-November and I can start doing some of my old workouts again. Until then, I'll probably just hit the elliptical runner we have here at the house.
Second Chance
It's something a lot of people don't get, and of those that do, many don't seize the opportunity. I don't want to be one of those people. I don't want to be one who has something so genuinely perfect staring him right in the face, yet refuses to take action. My willpower on such things is often lacking, however, and I am a lazy man. I need something to keep me motivated and on target. Hopefully this blog will help.
I've started many blogs in the past, but unlike most bloggers, it usually isn't very long before I realize that I have absolutely nothing to say. That's a very important and much underrated quality, having something to contribute. But certain life circumstances have changed my way of thinking a bit.
At the ripe, young age of 23 I was diagnosed, treated, and most likely cured of cancer. Of course there is nothing at all unique about cancer, everybody knows somebody whose had it and by the end of their lives, it seems likely that they will have it too. However, I believe that by having it at my age, it really gives you an interesting perspective. Kids get cancer, of course, and it probably does impact the way the live their lives, but the problem with kids is that they lack perspective. They don't really have a pre-cancer life that they can compare to and alter during their post cancer life. 23 year olds, I believe, perhaps just enough life experience to put it all together.
Older people who get cancer suffer much the same fate, only on the other end of the scale. They are often too set in their ways to really change their habits.
Perhaps this is all just hubris that comes with youth, but hopefully I can make something meaningful out of this chance.
I've started many blogs in the past, but unlike most bloggers, it usually isn't very long before I realize that I have absolutely nothing to say. That's a very important and much underrated quality, having something to contribute. But certain life circumstances have changed my way of thinking a bit.
At the ripe, young age of 23 I was diagnosed, treated, and most likely cured of cancer. Of course there is nothing at all unique about cancer, everybody knows somebody whose had it and by the end of their lives, it seems likely that they will have it too. However, I believe that by having it at my age, it really gives you an interesting perspective. Kids get cancer, of course, and it probably does impact the way the live their lives, but the problem with kids is that they lack perspective. They don't really have a pre-cancer life that they can compare to and alter during their post cancer life. 23 year olds, I believe, perhaps just enough life experience to put it all together.
Older people who get cancer suffer much the same fate, only on the other end of the scale. They are often too set in their ways to really change their habits.
Perhaps this is all just hubris that comes with youth, but hopefully I can make something meaningful out of this chance.
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