Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Baldy


The new drugs I've been taking really had the hair coming out, so I decided to shave it all off. It looked really bad and I'm not sure I can pull off the bald look, but I really don't have a choice.

The good news is that I am responding well to the new drugs, so I got that going for me, which is nice...

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Up and Down

My CEA tumor marker has been going up, so my doctorordered a CT scan this past week. The scan was OK, but
some tumors had increased in size enough so that my doctor is going to change the medication I'm getting. She's going to start me on Avastin, and said that a lot of patients have had success with that drug. They told me at the beginning that this would happen - you use one drug until it stops working, then change to another. I'm actually looking forward to the change - I was starting to get tired of the side effects of the old drug. Now I'll just get new side effects! As long as it works, that's all I'm interested in!!

Friday, July 23, 2010

Steady as She Goes

I've been on a routine and things are going fairly well. I had my 4th straight "good number" with the CEA reading, so I think we are going to stay on this schedule for a while. I go in every other Tuesday and have the pump on until Thursday when I get "disconnected". I still get neuropathy from the chemo, but it isn't too bad. As a matter of fact, I was able to swim today at Barton Springs (for a little while).

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Something is Working!

I've had five sessions in a row now, and things seem to be working well. I had a CT scan on Monday and the results were good - a decrease in size of the "multiple liver lesions suggesting response to therapy" and "no additional evidence to suggest progression of metastatic disease". My CEA numbers have also dropped four sessions in a row, to its lowest level in a year. I think the new doctor's aggressive treatment is working! I'm trying not to get overly excited about this because they still can't "cure" me, but any good news like this is very welcome indeed!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

They tried to make me go to rehab, I said "No, no, no"!

Actually I said "Yes". I started a program at Seton for cancer patients who are experiencing fatigue after chemo treatments. It's a study that started out from the Lance Armstrong Foundation and now is a State program and Seton received a grant. They take patients like me and run them through an exercise program over the course of 3 to 6 months to tell if it will reduce fatigue. I think the results are obvious; if you exercise, your fatigue will decrease. The cool thing about this is that I basically have a personal trainer now twice a week - for FREE!

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Back in the Saddle Again

I had my first treatment in a long time today, and I'm glad to be back. The doctor is going to give me a shot for the white blood cells on Thursday when I get my pump disconnected, so we're hoping that won't be a problem anymore. You never know.

It's been a while - I'm feeling very tired, and that metallic taste in my mouth, and the sensitivity to cold... but I'm still happy we got it done. Time to kill some cancer cells!

Friday, April 23, 2010

New Doc, New Treatment, 19th Nervous Breakdown

I had a nervous breakdown yesterday. I was going to say I almost "lost it" but I actually did lose it. It was when UnitedHealthcare did not approve a CT scan my new doctor requested. I don't know why they did not approve it - I've already had two of them done at the same place. I'm getting convinced that they will deny any claim, no matter what. I'm fighting them on several fronts - they still claim a common drug used for colorectal cancer I received is "experimental". They want me to pony up $7500 for each of six treatments. I'm not sure how much that is but I know I don't have that much in my savings account.

The CT scan was finally approved after about 4 hours on the phone and I'm going in this morning. It's important that it gets done today so the doctor can review it this afternoon and we can start treatment next week. I haven't had treatment in several weeks and my markers are going up, so I'm ready to get back on track.

The good news is that I really like my new doctor and she is ready to get aggressive with the new treatment. So we're going to get after the cancer - now I need to work on my mental health!

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Easter Weekend


It's been a nice Easter weekend. John and Elsie are in town and we had a huge Easter feast today. Yesterday I actually went swimming - if only for a very short time. I've been avoiding the pool because one of the side effects from the chemo is a hyper-sensitivity to cold. For a few days after treatment, I can't drink anything cold and if I touch something cold I get a tingling and numb feeling in my fingers. It's very uncomfortable and a dip in Barton Springs is out of the question. Fortunately, it doesn't last forever and after last treatment it didn't seem so bad.

I have another treatment this week (provided my white blood cell count is high enough). I also have an appointment with the surgeon and he's going to check out the tumor once again. I'm not really looking forward to the week, but I really enjoyed this weekend.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

The Lab

Almost every time I go to the doctor's office I have to first go to the lab, where they take your blood and have it analyzed before treatment. I went in today expecting treatment, but because my white blood cell count is low again, I'm going to wait another week before treatment. At first I was concerned but the doc says this happens and not to worry. That's fine by me, it's not like I enjoy the infusions. He said we may have to go on a different schedule - every three weeks instead of every other week. As long as my numbers stay steady we can do that. That's just fine with me!

Monday, February 22, 2010

Hats

I'll probably be wearing a lot of hats in the near future, what with my hair falling out and all, but you won't see me on the Texas-Mexico border very often. We went down to Sanderson, Texas a few days ago and drove down to the Rio Grande with some friends. We had a blast and the weather was nice. I'm back to treatment this week, and I hope the numbers keep going down.

Hey John - Quien es mas macho?

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

"Off" Week

I'm "off" this week, so no chemo, no lab, no nothing (except for a minor fight with the insurance company, but don't get me started). A couple of weeks ago I was also "off", so we decided to take advantage of the time and go to San Antonio. We got lucky with the weather and stayed at a hotel on the river walk in San Antonio. It was very nice (except that the pool was under construction, but don't get me started).

We went to the market and the Alamo and I went to a Spurs game. I think we are going to take advantage of these "off" weeks!

Thursday, January 14, 2010

You Don't Want to go Where Everybody Knows Your Name

I used to work and hang out at the Showdown bar where everybody knows your name. Those days are over, but now I'm such a regular at Texas Oncology that everybody knows my name. Except instead of yelling "James!" ("Norm!") when I come in they say "Hello Mr. Rohlich", "How are you feeling today, Mr. Rohlich"? They're all very nice at Texas Oncology.

The good news is I'm feeling just fine. My white blood cell count went back up so I was able to get treatment yesterday and I'm still attached to the chemo pump, but I'll get that off tomorrow. Then 12 days of freedom before I have to go back. Not bad, not bad at all.

Friday, January 8, 2010

Pretty Good I Guess, for 8 Grand

I think this is a picture of a white blood cell. My white blood cell count went way up, which is a good thing. I was all set to go to chemo Wednesday when they told me my white blood cell count was very low and as such I should not do chemo this week. Instead they gave me two shots, one Wednesday and one Thursday. The shots cost $4000 each! They had to wait a long time before giving me my first one, to make sure the insurance company would cover it. This morning I had lab work done and they were really surprised at how high my count had gone, so I guess the miraculously high priced drug works. $4000 a shot, wow!

So now I'm back on schedule to go to chemo next Wednesday, assuming nothing else happens.

One other thing - I'm losing my hair!!!! I've always had a lot of hair but now it's falling out in chunks. I'll be the first bald Rohlich ever! Has there ever been another - I can't think of one. I'll get over it...

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Another Break Watson!

I was supposed to get another treatment this past Wednesday but the lab work indicated that my white blood cell count was low, so the doc gave me a break. I was worried about that, but he said that it happens and we'll start back up this coming Wednesday.

Since we had the day off, we went to a movie. I thought it was pretty good.