End of Treatment Week 1

Hello my friends. I now have one week of treatment in my rear view mirror. Here’s what it looked like:

• Monday - I introduced you to my new friend Ivi who infused me with iron and chemo drugs. Then I headed to a radiation treatment. I started at 9:00 am and was done around 4:30. It was a full day.
• Tuesday - Just a radiation treatment which from start to finish takes about thirty minutes. If you are interested, click on the camera and watch a boring video with me on the table getting a treatment.
• Wednesday - Just a radiation treatment so in and out. Today my appetite continues to be excellent and my swallowing seems better than it’s been for a while. That was a good thing as my weight was about 81 kg (179 lbs). The last time I was that low was in junior high school.

• Thursday - A radiation treatment followed by my first appointment with Dr. Helmet Hollenhorst. He’s my Radiation Oncologist. He’s really a joy to have on my treatment team. He explains in human speak, clearly cares about his patients, and I count myself fortunate to have him in my corner. I shared with him how good I’ve been feeling all week and in particular that my appetite and swallowing was improved. He said I can expect that to go up and down through treatment. The radiation will kill cancer cells so shrink my tumor but it also will cause inflammation in around the site as other cells are damaged. As an aside, I just learned that although cancer cells can reproduce, they cannot heal. This is why radiation treatment is effective. Normal body cells both reproduce and can heal; with the exception of those around the tumor. That’s an unavoidable consequence. It was during Thursday treatment that I recorded the session so you can see what it looks like to be on the table; click on the camera at the end of this sentence if interested … pretty boring.
  To my surprise, early in the evening, extreme exhaustion kicked in around 7:00 pm. I slept on and off in my new man-chair for a while and headed to bed. During my appointment with Dr. Hollenhurt, I mentioned that I don’t sleep well and wondered what he thought about cannabis oil. From his response, I guess it is too soon for the medical community to have a strong position one way or the other but he did share that some of his patients find it helpful. For those who don’t know, cannabis is legal in Canada and sold around the corner from my house in the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation. I dropped in and picked up a bottle.
  When I headed to bed, I had a lot of nausea. I have meds to take as needed and I did but it didn’t seem to help very much. So I was exhausted, took a small amount of cannabis oil on the hopes it would help me sleep but mostly I tossed and turned all night.
  I guess I got my first taste of what to expect going forward.
• Friday - I got out of bed still exhausted but got dressed and forced myself to eat. The only good news is that my weight is okay. Our Moosehead billets, Alexis and Jason, are heading to a game in Bathurst, New Brunswick tonight so need to be on the bus for an 11:15 am departure. I like to send them off with a healthy breakfast. It was good to have something to keep me busy before driving over to my 11:10 am treatment. Janet and I headed over early which was a good plan as this is the most difficult time of day to find parking. The lot was totally full but eventually, I found a meter on the street. To my delight, downtown businesses were paying parking meters around Halifax as a Valentine’s Day treat (Note: most people pay parking meters with an app instead of by coins these days). As usual, the treatment was a thirty-minute event. Janet and I planned to attend the lunchtime season launch for Neptune Theatre but I was too exhausted. We headed home and I dropped Janet at the grocery store around the corner from our house. This is our normal rouine; Janet grocery shops and texts for a drive when finished … when I help, we always spend too much. We planned to have friends for supper and then watch the Moosehead’s game but I knew I was too tired and contacted Joel to cancel. When Janet texted for a drive home about an hour later, I had difficulty helping load the car but we got it done. Adam helped unload at home. I went to bed and slept on and off through the afternoon. Napping through the afternoon helped and we watched the game in the family room. Although struggling with some nausea, I had some homemade soup. We headed to bed after the second period.

I doubled my dose of cannabis oil Friday night. As is typical, I was up to pee frequently through the night, but when I got up around 5:30 am Saturday morning, two hours ago, I’m feeling more rested than I have for ages. And I am starting the day with next to no nausea.

One treatment week complete. Yeah!

With the Heritage Day holiday on Monday, I have three days off before heading into my second week of treatment.

As always, thanks for being in my corner and I encourage you to share my journey with anyone you think might benefit.

Peace, Love and Laughter
Phil

PS - There is a lot of people who are matching my treatment schedule with increased exercise and reduced meal portions. I will post a summary before heading into week two. Perhaps it will motivate you to become more active. Although I had highs and lows this week, I truly believe my lifestyle changes through the last few weeks have me ready to tolerate these treatments better.

PPS - Breaking News - Janet and I will become grandparents in August. Becca and Chris have just gone public to let the world know a child is on the way. We got this news during the family meeting on January 6th. but it was way too soon to say anything. It did provide a positive moment in what was otherwise the most difficult hour of my life.