Cycle 2: Chemo Update

Joe made it through his first Chemo treatment of Cycle 2 yesterday easily.  He was there at the Oncology Clinic at Duke early, as usual, in hopes of getting in and out quick, but as is usually the case, he got in before his time, but didn't get out until later.  His lab appointment was for 7:30 and he arrived a little after 7am and was called back to have his blood drawn prior to 7:30am.  However, that's the only thing that was early or even on time.  I kept track of him via text message all morning and his 8:15am oncology appointment didn't happen until 9:30am so he didn't get out of the doctors office until a little after 10am and then had to scoot upstairs for his Chemo treatment.  That appointment was for 9:15am and he didn't get up there until around 10:10am.  He texted me at 10:15am that he had settled down in the treatment waiting room and had hot chocolate & his cookies so even though he was very late, that seemed to make him happy. They called him to the back to start his infusion around 10:45am and by 11am he was hooked up to the IV and ready to get started.  We texted throughout the treatment and around 11:45am he was all done, unhooked from the IV and on his way out.  Apparently the hospitality lady didn't come around during his treatment so he helped himself to some orange juice on the way out.  If he had just let me go with him, then I could have gotten it for him during the infusion rather than waiting until it was done.  The good news this week, once again he has put back on a little weight, gaining 2.1 lbs in the past 2 weeks since his last appointment.  YEA!

After this cycle, he will have scans done on the 13th of June to see what the status of the tumor is.  Got my fingers crossed that it has shrunk some or at the very least, and I mean very least, hasn't grown any!!

Joe's spirits have been good this week and he has thus far felt good.  He had some trouble sleeping last night and had to get up during the night to take a pain pill, so hopefully tonight he will sleep better and feel a little more rested tomorrow especially since he will have choir practice tomorrow night.

Next week, his treatment will be on Tuesday because of the Memorial Day holiday on Monday.  The nurses have already warned him that it will be extremely busy as they are going to be trying to get the Monday & Tuesday people all done in one day.  That should be exciting, huh?  At least this time I'll be with him.

Weekend Update: Here's to a better first of the week!

Joe has had a good rest of the week and weekend so far.  He has however, maybe, possibly, only time will tell, learned that over-eating at one meal is not a good thing for him.  Seems the whole doctor's orders of snacking in between meals has been a hard prescription for him to follow.  Several times over the last week he has ended up with stomach pains following, guess what.....over eating large meals at one sitting.  Yesterday after dinner he was complaining once again about his stomach hurting and confessed that he had gone through a half a bag of potato chips prior to dinner, had eaten half the chips off of my plate before I came downstairs and finished off the rest of the bag with his meal.  Oh, and did I mention the 2 slices of cheesecake?..Didn't think so.  So Friday night he spent laying on the sofa with a stomach ache.  I spent that same time period mowing the grass, which brings me to my 2 problems.  Foot pain and allergies.  Friday's mowing was not without it's own comic moment when I lifted the splash guard from the side gutter to mow around it and discovered the not so small snake curled underneath.  The only thing I had to combat said snake with was the splash guard which I immediately started slamming down on top of the snake, over and over and over. Once the snake seemed to be stunned enough, I rushed (only as fast as the limp would allow) to the garage for the shovel and returned to hack it in to very small pieces.  I even had neighbors stop to witness the execution.  I have made it through this spring relatively unscathed in the allergies department but the last 2 days have been terrible.  I have taken so much allergy and sinus meds that I can almost fall asleep standing up.  Not that I've been standing all that much,...flat of my back with a tissue up my nose has been the pose of the day.

That is not to say that today has been a complete bust.  In between sneezes we managed to go shopping for new suits for each of us. We have the wedding of a very dear friend coming up early next month and needed to have some appropriate attire.  Joe's old suit doesn't fit any longer due to his weight loss and my old suit doesn't fit any longer due to my ever increasing waistline. But we will look very dashing come June 11 for Ms. Di's wedding!

Joe will start back his 3 week regiment of chemo at Duke on Monday morning.  I'm probably more nervous about it than Joe is because it will be the first one where i'm not going with him.  Guess it's the control freak in me but i'm sure I will be a nervous wreak until he calls me when he get's home on Monday.  I'm giving him this one week reprieve of my excellent company, but the following week it will be the 2 of us once again.  Joe is looking forward also to wearing his new jeans and shorts that we got today that actually fit!  No more super baggy!  Can I get an Amen?

Tomorrow will be an early morning at church so hopefully we will get to bed early tonight.  I'm sure it won't take me long to fall asleep as I plan on dosing up on allergy meds again.

Mid-week Update

Time for a mid-week update, however, there really isn't much of anything to report, but I guess that itself is worth noting.  How's that for a really bad sentence?  Joe had a good weekend, really enjoyed seeing "Hair" Sunday evening and then got to rest most of the day on Monday since this was a CHEMO FREE week!  Today he had PGUMC staff meeting and then a lunch for Julie which put him home just before 2pm.  Maybe a little more than he is used to but he seems to be doing pretty well tonight.  A little headache, probably from the overcast, dreary skies and a couple of stomach pains are the only complaints he's had over the last few days.  His energy is good, maybe too good which is why we have stayed up too late every night since Friday.  Need to work harder on getting a good night's rest!

A week and a half out of my boot and Joe is suggesting I get back in it again.  Today when I got home from work my foot had swollen up really bad with a big 'ol knot on the top.  Not quite sure what to do.  I suppose I could go see the doctor again....Nahhhh...don't want to do that!

Tomorrow night is choir rehearsal for Joe.  Hope there are more there than the 7 from last week. (that's a rather blatant hint for all the choir members that read the blog)  We'll both be there at 6:45pm.

Here's hoping everyone has a wonderful rest of the week and thank you to everyone's continued support, thoughts and prayers.

It's Really NOT My Fault This Posting Is So Late

I have been trying to post for the last 2 days, but Blogger has been down and I have been unable to get in to the control panel until today, so you see it really isn't my fault that there has not been an update this week.

Joe has however, had a pretty good week.  Following his chemo treatment on Monday, he took it slow the rest of the day, then on Tuesday had staff meeting at PGUMC and was back home by early afternoon to rest.  Wednesday, which has proven to be the hardest day on him was true to form and he was very tired.  Choir practice that night was a little shorter than usual, but then he had a small turnout for rehearsal so it was probably for the best.  It was an early night to bed that night.  On Thursday he was feeling somewhat better but right after dinner, was once again saying he was getting tired.  Today, Friday, he seemed to be doing much better and met me for lunch in Chapel Hill.

The biggest highlight of the week was the dessert after dinner last night.  A few weeks ago a member of TGMC, Larry Kroutil, had dropped off an apple pie that he had made for us to put in the freezer.  We had not gotten around to remembering to thaw it out in time to have for dessert until yesterday, when Joe remembered early enough to put it in the oven as we were preparing for dinner.  I must say that it was hand's down the BEST apple pie I have ever had.  Thank you so much Larry.  And we still have more of it to spread out over a couple of more days.  What could be better than that?

This weekend will be a fun filled one as we are having a couple of friends over tomorrow night for soup & Sequence (it's a card/board game) and then on Sunday we see "Hair" at DPAC.  Next week will be a "NO CHEMO" week, so hopefully Joe will get a break from the tiredness and feel more like his old self for a few extra days.  All in all, it has been a good week and the weekend is looking great!  Best part, it keeps raining so I don't have to mow the grass!

The Early Bird Doesn't Always Get the Worm

You've all heard the phrase, "The early bird catches the worm"?, well apparently that message doesn't translate well at the Duke clinics.  Joe's appointment for labs was for 7:30am so we figured we would try and get there a little early and maybe get ahead of the game.  So we arrived at the oncology clinic at about 7:05a.m and checked in.  Joe settled in to read his newspaper and I went downstairs to the food court to get his usual Brisk Sugar Free Orange drink and my large steaming cup of Seattle's Best Coffee.  I paid for his drink and then crossed the food court only to find that no one was at the coffee spot and it wasn't even open.  So I walked all the way back to clinic 1A with just Joe's drink in hand, disappointment written all over my face.  However, while I was gone they had called Joe back to have his blood drawn for the lab work.  The plan is working....except for my coffee.   I waited until 7:45am before walking back downstairs to the food court to try for my coffee again, but the coffee spot was STILL NOT OPEN!  So with frustration, anxiety and a good case of dragging my feet since it was now nearly 8am and I still had had no caffeine, I walked back up to clinic 1A.  Joe still sat there.  And that is where we stayed until 8:45am.....30 minutes late since the doctors appointment was for 8:15am.  After 15 minutes sitting in the exam room, Leigh Howard, NP came in, spoke to Joe and me, asked a few questions, went over some lab work, and sent us on our way to check out and make the next 3 doctor & chemo appointments.  By this time it is 9:20 and we still have to get upstairs to clinic 2A for the chemo treatment.  Did I mention that his appointment for there was for 9:15am?  And the last thing you want to do is be late for your chemo appointment, because they skip right on over you and then "work you in later", and sure enough, it was close to 9:30am before we got there.  So we settled in.  Only plus: they have coffee, so 2 cups later I am feeling better - they also have cookies, so several cookies later and some hot chocolate, Joe is feeling better.  But we sit,...and sit....Joe works on his new cell phone..and we sit....and sit until 10:35am.

Just as I open my computer to resume watching a movie on Netflix, the buzzer goes off and we are off to the chemo treatment room.   Joe even got to go to a different chair this week so we had new scenery.  Lots of empty chairs.

I resumed my movie, the hospitality volunteer made rounds offering us food and drinks.  I passed since I was now on my caffeine buzz , but Joe got his usual orange juice and settled in after the nurse got the IV going.  He is currently reading "The Help", so he had a good solid hour and made some real progress with it.  It seems like everyone we encounter at the hospital has read it and talks with him about it.  I just sit there with my headphones on watching my movie on the netbook.  It takes approximately 1 hour for them to give him his fluids, chemo and then flush the line so by 11:40 we were on our way out to the valet to retrieve the car.  The moral of this story, next time we sleep later and get there at the time of our appointment.

P.S.  Joe gained another 1.9 lbs this week!  YEAHHHHHHHHH!!!!

It Was a Good Day!

It was a good day today.   Both Joe and I got to sleep late, always a good thing and around 10:30am my sister Phyllis and my niece's Aimee & Sara arrived to spend the morning & early afternoon with us.  I know Joe was really happy to see them, but he was especially happy to see the strawberries that Phyllis brought.  They are from a farm in Fayetteville and she brought him some from there last year and since that time he has repeated time and time again that those were the best strawberries EVER!  Now he has 2 buckets full.

After he and Sara had their fill of strawberries we were off to lunch at Only Burger and then for the 2nd day in a row, over to Tutti Frutti for dessert.

Believe me when I say, we were all more than stuffed by the time we rolled back in the door of the house.  After the food digested, Joe and I took Sara outside for some photos of her by herself and with her Uncle Joe.

Later on in the day we ventured up to Hardscrabble for Katy Lupton's college graduation party.  Congrats Katy, we are very proud of you!  Luptons were everywhere!  I took the opportunity to snap a pic or 2 with my phone of Bettie and family.  I'm not quite sure where Josh had run off to at this point.

It was good to see everyone and I know they were all glad to get to see Joe and spend some time with him.  Thanks Ted & Ellen for the invitation!  

All in all this has been a wonderful day.

Closing in on the 2nd Week of Chemo

Joe has had a very good week.  Although still tiring, he has not overdone it on any days and therefore has been able to do most activities that he usually does.  Although by the end of the evening he is very tired, he has managed to make it through without fevers and has slept much better.  His appetite remains very good, remember he had gained 4 lbs last week, and he has been snacking more in between meals so he doesn't over eat in a single meal which usually ends up making him feel worse in the end.   However, that isn't to say he doesn't indulge his whims every now and then.  Tonight after dinner it was a trip to Tutti Frutti.

Mark Boliek & Joe enjoying their frozen yogurt.

Joe's half eaten yogurt & fruit bowl.  Don't worry, he finished it very easily.

Tomorrow my family is coming for a short visit during the day.  We haven't gotten to see Sara since Joe had his surgery so we are both looking forward to getting to spend a little time with her, Aimee & Phyllis.   Then later in the afternoon we will be off to Hardscrabble for Katy's graduation party.  Bettie and Joe's mother will be there along with lots of other Luptons.

Monday we start the day at 7:3am at Duke again with Joe's lab work followed by an appointment with his oncologist and then his chemo treatment.  This will be the 3rd week so he will get a week off after this and won't have chemo again until May 23rd...YEAH!!!!!!

Chemo went smoothly

Well I called it pretty close to right this morning with regard to the timing for Joe's chemo treatment.   We didn't get upstairs to the treatment center until about 9am and Joe was called back to begin around 9:15am.  The nurse had a little problem getting the IV needle in and had to stick him twice.  That always  starts things off on the wrong foot but she did very well the 2nd time and from then on it went very smoothly.  Joe read and I watched a movie during the treatment and they finished up with him about 10:15am and we were off to retrieve the car from the valet.  Since this was a work day for me we didn't get the greasy hamburger lunch like last week.  I dropped Joe off at the house and I was off to work for the rest of the day.

Chemo Treatment Waiting Room at Duke

Joe spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon catching up on a  couple of recorded TV shows and reading 3 newspapers (since he slept through Sunday he had not read those 2 papers).  He had lunch alone, ahhhhhhhh, but wait, don't feel too bad for him since he had leftovers from Daniel's in Apex and Papa Johns.  He made a quick run to the grocery store for stuff for dinner tonight and made an excellent meal for us.  He did have a period of 4 to 5 hours during the day when he was having "hot flashes", I'm not even going to go there.  This evening though he has felt good, spent an hour on the phone listening to his mother and then talked with a couple of friends.  Currently he is playing "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" on Facebook so I would have to say he is doing pretty well.  He just needs to listen to his body and slow down or stop when he starts feeling rundown.  Easy for me to say, not so easy for him to do.

Wait, wait, wait...don't log off.   I just remembered what I wanted to mention when I started typing.  When Joe was weighed in today, he had gained 4 pounds!   THAT put a huge smile on my face and I do believe Joe was rather pleased himself!

That's about it for tonight. I am off to bed as I can hardly keep my head upright.  Thank you to everyone who has visited this site, left comments, sent emails and kept us in their prayers and thoughts.  It is greatly appreciated.

Chemo Day....again

7:20am appointment for lab work at Duke this morning followed by an 8am chemo treatment.  However, i don't see us getting up to the 2nd floor treatment center before 8:30am.  It usually takes 45mins-1hr for the lab results to be in and they will not do the treatment until the labs are in. Hopefully we won't be punished by having to wait too long for being late getting to the Treatment center.

Joe was exhausted yesterday and slept on the sofa most of the afternoon (I have to admit that I did too however).  He had a slight fever after we got home from church but took some tylenol and within a couple of hours his temp was back to normal.   He was nervous last night but slept pretty well.  I however, got about 2 hours sleep.  I could not get to sleep.  I kept going from being too hot to too cold, but I think most of it was in my head.  Just one of those nights where I couldn't clear my head.  Hopefully that means that tonight I will be able to get to bed early and off to sleep quickly.

Well Joe has just come downstairs and is taking his meds, so we will be out of here within the next 5 minutes.  I hope everyone has a good day and I'll post later today on how it goes with Joe and how he is feeling afterward.

Thank you for the continued prayers, get well wishes and support from all our family and friends.

End of the first week of new Chemo Treatment

Joe did very well this week with the effects of his chemo treatment on Monday.  He felt good on both Tuesday and Wednesday, possibly too good.  I think he overdid it both days so by Thursday it had caught up with him and he spent the vast amount of the day laying on the sofa and not eating well.  Both Tuesday & Wednesday he was out for lunch, had chorus/choir practices and just out and about running errands.  Hopefully he has learned his lesson and next week he will pull back a little on Tuesday & Wednesday so that the rest of his week can be good too.  He has felt better today, Friday, but it's only 7:45pm and he's already talking about being tired and going to bed soon.  I guess I just might have to start cracking the whip a little and get him to behave himself when I am at work and no one is around to tell him to either SLOW DOWN or JUST STOP!  But we all know he won't listen so I'll just keep whining and he'll just keep being Joe and we'll all keep loving him.

Next week we have his oncology appointment at 7:20am on Monday at Duke  and the chemo treatment is scheduled for 8am.  Hopefully the lab results will be in so he can begin on time.

The 2nd Time Worked Like a Charm

Today was Joe's second attempt at starting his IV chemotherapy treatments.  It was originally supposed to begin 2 weeks ago, but had to be put off until today.   Neither of us slept very well last night and we both were awake soon after 4am this morning and unable to go back to sleep.  So at 6:35a.m., we left for the Morris Clinic at Duke for his 7am bloodwork appointment.  We got back to see Dr. Zafar around 8am and after a short conference with him about how Joe has been doing the last couple of weeks, we were off to the 2nd floor to the chemotherapy treatment center.  His treatment appointment was for 8:30, but we did not get up there until closer to 9am.   While waiting we spoke with one of the counselors that is part of Dr. Zafar's team and just went over some concerns as well as some history of when, where & how Joe's cancer was diagnosed.  Her services are part of what is offered to us and she encouraged either or both of us to contact her at any time with questions, concerns or just to talk.  As we were wrapping up with Tracey, the buzzer given to Joe at check-in went off meaning it was time for him to go back for his therapy, so off we went.  

The nurse directed Joe to one of the first recliners and me to the little chair next to him.  From there it all went rather quickly.  The nurse found a vein and inserted the IV needle.  A CNA took his vitals and then a nurse from the pharmacy went over all of the meds that Joe is currently on.  Then the original nurse was back, hung a bag of fluids and started Joe on them.  After about 10 minutes I had to excuse myself to go to the bathroom and upon my return, there were 2 other bags hanging from the IV pole and Joe's chemo treatment was under way.  It wasn't long at all before the IV began to beep indicating that he was done and the nurse was back over, turned off the machine, disconnected his IV and we were out of there by 10:45am.  Actually the wait for the valet to get our car seemed longer than the treatment.

From there we were off to Only Burger for lunch, Tutti Fruiti for dessert, stopped by a friends house who had surgery last week (Glad you're feeling better Mike!) and then home.  I spent the afternoon napping on the couch so I can't say what Joe was doing other than watching TV (at a loud volume).  I do know that Joe has felt good this afternoon, but is currently saying his head feels "tingly", "warm" and he keeps holding his hands to either side of his head and wiggling his fingers (jazz hands) .  Not real sure what that is symptomatic of other than Joe being Joe.

****Late Breaking News**** He is now burning himself in the kitchen.  Never put a stainless steel ladle on top of a stainless steel spoon rest on a stove with all 4 burners going.  Apparently it gets very hot.