OK, went to the mats with chemo again today, and so far, emerged victorious!! No nausea or visible side effects, but then, I am claiming a fairly shallow victory as if there are any, they won't show up for a day or two since I'm pumped with two day's worth of anti-nausea drugs as well as the chemo its own self. . . .
But, I'm feeling good about it. Dr. Russell, my medical oncologist, said that the side effects form the chemo may not necessarily be any worse than the first time, which was entirely manageable. His advice is that the bulk of side effects will come from the radiation. And some are kind of humorous. My beard now only grows on two very limited areas of my cheeks, and those very slowly. And the hair on the back of my neck is falling out. Couple that with the bald spot in the top of my head and I will be sporting the Roman tonsure stylish in the 7th Century. Elaine has already referred to me as Friar Joe and is checking out brown robes in my size on Craigslist. . .
My throat is dry and raw and pretty much hurts all the time. This will unfortunately progress, but they gave me good leads on pain management, so we'll se how that goes. But the doctor also told us that even though my strain of the disease is highly curable, the treatment regimen is one of the toughest since it is comprised of both radiation and chemo. I say, if you can't take the cure, then you better stay away from the disease. This one is not meant for weenies!!!!!
Well, the day started with radiation at 8:30 AM and ended about 6:00 PM with chemo, so I am beat and signing off.
Peace and love to all!!!!
Joe
Hope today is going well for you, Joe. It's halfway point day!
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