Fifth

So the bad news is my latest scan results show that the cancer has grown/advanced. The chemo drug I've been on doesn't appear to be doing much if anything. Some spots haven't had any growth, but most have grown and/or are very active, and I have three new little spots in my lungs (woot! ding stage IV!). The good news is that there is another drug they can try.

The new drug is Taxotere. The main drawback to it is that it's related to a drug I've had before - Taxol. Cancer can develop immunities to a particular drug, and the immunity usually includes all drugs in that family.

They'll start me off on the same schedule I'm on now - once a week for three weeks, a week off, repeat. That schedule may need to be adjusted as my blood counts continue to go down. The side effects shouldn't be any different than what they are now but I'll lose the rest of my hair faster.

The thing I'm not looking forward to is I have to take a bunch of steroids on the day before the treatment (not the muscle-building kind, unfortunately). A lot of people have allergic reactions to the matrix that this chemo drug is mixed in and the steroid prevents/lessens the reaction. This steroid (I've had it before) makes me hyper and keeps me up all night. Being hyper and severely anemic is not a fun combination. You're all jazzed up and want to clean the house or something, but can't seem to get off the couch.

I'm still doing okay. Our spirits are a little lower around here after getting the test results, but that drug only had a one in five chance (at best) of working, so it's not unexpected. Work continues to be really good to me, Sandra watches out for me at home, and I get to go out and play every once in a while. Everybody's love and support continues to be appreciated much more than I can say.

I de-winterized my bike so I guess that's why it snowed here today. Sorry. But I should soon be out vroommin around town! And that's always a good day.

Cheers

Fourth

Anybody feel like doing something for me? Go donate blood. It's not just for car accident victims or red cross relief efforts anymore.

I get to have a blood infusion tomorrow. My crit is 23-24, which means I'm down about 3 and a half pints of blood (red cells). Most of you know I've gotten infusions during past chemos as well.

I was suprised to learn all the other uses for donated blood - I'd really only thought it was used for emergencies or surgery. I've met a lot of people who are there getting blood for a lot of different reasons.

In cancer's case, chemo kills blood cells because it targets fast-growing cells. The doctors won't give chemo to patients with low blood levels, so blood is infused to bump the numbers up. Chemo can then be given on it's regular schedule, which is very important as it increases the chemo's effectiveness in the patient. It's also such a boost to my energy level for about 5 days after I get the blood - try to imagine how tired you'd be if someone siphoned off about half of your blood.

So I'd appreciate it if you'd participate in your local office, church, etc. blood drives when you can. Or here's a link to the Utah donor registry which lists places you can go to donate: http://www.yesutah.org/donations/blood.php

Thanks much.

Cheers