Games of Chance and Pixie Dust

 

"Alea jacta est" (the die is cast)
     - Julius Caesar, as his troops crossed the Rubicon River towards Rome

 The heart surgeon met with us today, made a brief cell phone call to the lung surgeon, stepped back into the room and announced that he would be operating first.  So much for doctors "arm wrestling" over who gets my body first as I previously forecast.

Chemo and radiation end October 8.  Then heart surgery sometime after my body recovers sufficiently.  Before Thanksgiving?

Sew me up; I'm getting cold!

And that leaves lung surgery to be scheduled after the  heart surgery.  Ay, my head is spinning.

Finally I am getting some specifics on what has been a very uncertain medical situation until today.

Good news!  The radiologist says the tumor is down to 1/2 its original size.  I am breathing and walking better and generally have lots more energy including weeding out the nasty blackberry weeds and thorns in the back yard this morning.





So keep up the good thoughts as the roller coaster continues and my battle with the back yard weeds and bamboo, and with my cancer cells continues:

and sprinkle a little pixie dust  my way if you have any to spare.

From Portland  -  Lynn

The upsides of energy

Lynn is in between chemo treatments 1 and 2 -  enjoying a 2-week hiatus from managing IV'S, snacking on ice chips, and watching the scenery on the waterfront as the hospital complex adds more new buildings to the campus. Lynn's energy is back - actually it's back big time. Since early summer Lynn's been going slower and slower-  his big walks sometimes were barely past the bottom of the driveway at our house. This week however he's more like himself - and part of it is less chemo, but part of it seems to be better lung capacity. It's fun to have Lynn back with good energy and his consistent positive outlook about this battle.

Since chemo ended, we're taking longer and longer walks, and Lynn's volunteering to do things like get the car after a good downtown dinner (which meant walking about 5 blocks while our friend Lea Barrow (pictured here)  and I dawdled over the check at the restaurant). Lea's visit has given us reason for visiting the Japanese and Chinese gardens (and walking on a big field to settle into watching the chimney swifts do their dance in North Portland ). We're planning a trip to Timberline Lodge today....before the rains begin in earnest in our fair city. All activities with walking requirements that would have been impossible during chemo weeks.



So this good news and good energy inspired me to muse on the concept of energy. Turns out I don't quite know how energy works in humans - much less in the world at large.

 According to wikipedia "In physics, energy is a conserved extensive property of a physical system, which cannot be observed directly but can be calculated from its state. Energy is of central importance in physics. It is impossible to give a comprehensive definition of energy because of the many forms it may take, but the most common definition is that it is the capacity of a system to perform work."

What I do know is that energy can be depleted by odd things - long hikes, big meals, long day at work, bad news, the vision of a kitchen sink piled with dirty dishes.....and can be replenished by equally random items - chocolate, visits from friends, a joke, 10 minutes of yoga, a text message, a good night's sleep, a lovely downhill coast, lots of water, a smile. Major goal through this treatment is finding all the little things that add energy.

We have a week of energy ahead before we return to the chemo. Gonna be full of good times!

The first set of chemo treatments ended today but nothing remains simple...

One down and one more chemo set to go as radiation continues daily.   Meanwhile I am rereading the materials and learning  how many side effects may manifest 4-5 weeks after treatment starts.


Dinner with thoughtful friends got me thinking about tai chi,  meditation and even the spiritual basis for hope and self healing.  These are unexpected avenues for this Western mind to be exploring.   But difficult times may call for expanded options.




Now another twist. Imagine you take your old car into the shop after the odometer rolls past 100,00 miles just to anticipate what repairs it likely will soon need.

You are then stunned to receive an estimate  of $10,000 for a new engine, transmission and a rear axle all needed in the next few months.  Well, lo and behold, I not only need to beat lung cancer but I also am facing heart bypass surgery!

So my excellent doctor explained to me that after the next set of chemo treatments, my heart and lung surgeons will  arm wrestle  over who  cuts on me first.

I biked over 2,000 miles this year and came into all this as a healthy and unlikely surgery patient according to each doctor who met me.  I am optimistic!

So keep those good thoughts, comments and emails coming. Feel free to call.  Any time is fine. Or come visit.  Dana and Meghan are driving in tomorrow. Jono returns from a China business trip too.  Longtime friend Lea will be here next week. 

The roller coaster continues.
I'm riding with my eyes open and hands up and trying to enjoy it all. Whoopee!

Back in Gear

After a short detour and a brief course in cardiology, Lynn's been pronounced ready to resume chemo and radiation Tuesday (only one day detour!). So we're now planning for the gradual onslaught of  "chemobrain". Turns out there are hats, t-shirts, name tags, posters

and bona fide research, as well as  various other accessories to remind the world that people undergoing chemo are likely to be slightly off their game - losing words, forgetting what you were about to say or do, and otherwise being in a fog.

Sounds like most of us under stress.

But  there you have it. Much more satisfying to catch Lynn in chemobrain than to focus on some of the other aspects of cancer treatment.

Thanks to Jono and his roommates for taking on some of the extra driving this week!

Precautionary tales

Hmmm...Chemo and radiation are all well and good, and the precautions we were told to take did their work well -  ice chips, acupuncture, imagery, protein smoothies (with kale - Portland's favorite food group), short walks, flintstone vitamins with iron (yes, there still is a Barnie character in those chewable tablets). Thanks to friends who sent books and love and advice...The set up for beating cancer is full of kitchens well stocked with healthy foods,  book shelves  crowded with humor books nd trashy magazines, and machines of every ilk with classy plug-ins, beeping noises, rolling desks etc. Lynn navigated the first week reasonably well - even attending his bicycle club meeting and stirring up club business.  However a nagging chest pain that started on day 2 worried the docs. So tonight (Friday ) Lynn was admitted to the OHSU hospital (up the hill) for observation to make sure that nothing is awry. A precaution, but a wise decision. I got to meet the doctors who have been responsible for Lynn's pacemaker (they weighed in on next steps, and just came by to say hi because they like Lynn), and to find out first hand what shift changes look like "on the hill" - swarms of people in blue baggy pants descend on the tram, ready for the ride down to the waterfront to frolick somewhere else in Portland.

Day One is behind us.  It was a kaleidoscope of medical procedures, important information about new meds, diet whats and what nots and possible future side effects with appropriate graduated responses.  It was also much welcomed visits at the Infusion room from Deborah (with snacks) and Jono (with lunch).

In our Up and Down theme, I started up on the hospital campus hill overlooking the town and the Williamette River, then took the tram DOWN to the OHSU Center for Healing building for chemo and, in the afternoon, with a free Patient tram pass traveled UP to radiation.

Medical terms I don't even understand are creeping into my vocabulary.  Pills that fight nausea which I do not have also help with sleeplessness.  No more airline "chuck buckets"; its "emepails".  See what I mean! 

But this does not distract from my main themes.  First, this is curable so why not me.  Second, if poisons are needed to kill certain cancers, I wholeheartedly accept my treatment plan and trust my doctors.   Third,  my primary jobs are to keep my weight up  (I fortunately have been practicing for this one much of my life) and to avoid the onset of anemia and fatigue with walks, foods with iron, Flintstone Complete daily vitamins, and short but flat bike rides.  Surrounded by all my loving friends and family, I think the odds are good and improving. 

So hang on for the ride up and down the Hill!  This morning is acupuncture Up the Hill (preventative treatments - years of Chinese wisdom on my side), then radiation.  Then Down the Hill by car for lunch with Jono at the Chinese Gardens downtown and back across town for chemo.  Got my book tape, snacks, cough syrup and water bottle and ready to go get after it.  Yee ha!