Chemo News

I had chemo again on Tuesday even though my blood counts were still low (white cells as well as other blood components were low). I'm taking injections of 'nupegen' to increase my white blood cells. So far so good - not much nausea as before (2 weeks ago) since I had a lower dose this time around. My oncologist also told me that he'll be changing my schedule to every other week to help with the nausea.

As for my new bike, I'm already at 100 miles on the odometer. So far I've installed HID lighting and frame sliders on the bike. =)

Go Speedracer!

Well, I got my new bike today! =) .....and I absolutely LOVE it!

I test rode it and was totally amazed at its speed. It's acceleration is totally phenomenal! I rode it on the freeway and just a few seconds after entering the on-ramp I was already going 116. Acceleration was so high that my ass lifted off the seat and I had to grip the handle bars really tight just to keep myself on the bike! LOL. The only higher G's I've experienced would be roller-coasters. But, its just as much fun. =)

I'm actually glad I started off with a lower-end bike (Ninja 250). A 600cc sportsbike (or higher) is really too much bike for a beginner.

The downside is that now when I drive my car, it feels slower than before. =/

My New Toy

As a belated birthday present for myself, I bought a new Suzuki GSX-R600 today! =) It's blue and white - the one I've been wanting for over a year and it's finally MINE! I had it delivered so its going to arrive tomorrow; I can't wait!!

The down side of getting this bike is that the insurance is insane! Complete coverage is four times as much as my car! But since the theft rate for gixxers are really high I think it must might be worth it. I also have lojack installed with the early warning system - any unauthorized movement will page my phone (and send an email). I think thats kinda cool.

As for my health, it seems that my blood counts are pretty low. When I went in for my chemo on Tuesday my oncologist said that they hadto cancel my chemo for this week cuz it was THAT low. The nausea last Thursday was pretty intense; good thing I have this week to recover (and actually enjoy my new bike!).



2008 Suzuki GSX-R600 Review

Chemo Continued

I started back on chemo (taxotere) today. Everything was pretty uneventful - went it went really smoothly. I was given benadryl so I slept most of the time I was there (about an hour and a half).

Nothing much more to report about, I'm doing well and no longer worried about the possible mets to my liver. I'm keeping myself occupied with lots of other stuff which helps me cope with that bad news. So far I've been watching lots of movies on and from Netflix ('Star Trek: DS9' and 'House, MD' as well as other stuff). I've also been shopping for motorcycle insurance since I'm pretty sure I'll be buying one soon (a Suzuki GSX-R600). So far the lowest I've been able to find is about twice as much as my car insurance. Yikes! The part that costs the most is the comprehensive and collision; it would only be around $300-$400 a year without these.

Doctors, Doctors

I got my voice partially fixed yesterday (if you didn't know, my voice has been hoarse since surgery). What they did was inject (through my neck!) some collagen in my left vocal cord since it no longer moves (most likely damage from surgery from what I was told). Boy, it was a really weird sensation talking for 30 mins after the injection. The solution is only temporary, lasting about 3 months and if my voice hasn't gone back to normal by then I'll need to get another operation to fix it.

Today I had a meeting with my oncologist (as planned). He didn't tell me anything that I didn't already know but just tried to comfort me a little saying that it was way too small to even see on the CT and only visible on the PET scan. I'll start chemo next week. In about two months I'll have another scan.

PET/CT Scan Results

I saw the images on the CDs and read the radiology report. I read it multiple times just to make sure. It's not good news at all. According to the report, "there are three new hypermetabolic liver lesions..., highly suspicious for metastatic lesions". To say the least, I'm quite upset and felt nauseous immediately after reading that sentence. It makes me wish that I didn't read the report at all, and instead waited until my oncology appointment. I just had surgery two months ago to remove it and now it's back?!?!?

My oncology appointment is on Tuesday so I'll have a long talk with my oncologist about this.

Back To The ER

I woke up this morning with extreme pain around my J-tube area - I've been having this pain for about 4 days now but nowhere as bad as today. I also noticed a day or two ago that there was a few drops of blood also around that area (as well as some puss) but didn't think nothing of it since it wasn't exactly gushing out (and one of my nurses said not to worry about it). But now I'm starting to really worry since the pain has increased and the tube appears to be stuck - before it could easily be pushed into or pulled out of my abdomen.

I lucked out this time - there was no waiting line for the ER when I arrived, Yay! I immediately got a room but still had to wait a while for a doctor to come and see me.

After an abdominal x-ray and an ultrasound with some blood tests, it was confirmed that my J-tube area was infected. More antibiotics for me....yuppie! They also replaced the J-tube which hurt like hell. =(