Health update, 9/27/07

Yesterday, I made a brief visit to Dr. Grapski's office to pick up some prescriptions. While there, I had the opportunity to check on my ca19-9 levels, measured a week ago. The news is not good, I'm afraid: after my first cycle of Xeloda, my ca19-9 came in at 307. Three weeks later, after a second cycle, it measured 390. You'll remember that "normal" is at or below 35. Now, this could mean nothing. When I first took the carboplatin/taxol combo, starting in June of 2005, I had a similar spike after the first cycle, going from 240 to 420, before it started a steady decline to "normal". However, that spike was accompanied by a series of other effects suggesting the treatment was working. Primarily, the pain I'd been feeling dropped considerably, as I went from needing the suggested maximum daily dose of ibuprofin, to needing no pain relievers at all. This time, however, I've noticed no change (or if anything, a slight increase) in my pain levels.

We'll go for at least one more cycle before making any decisions on what to do next. I'll get a CT scan after this cycle, then we'll also do more blood tests, to see if my ca19-9 continues to rise. If it is determined that Xeloda is not working, it will be time to get creative. We have reached the end of using chemotherapy alone. We note, for example, that while the carboplain/taxol combo had stopped working in my liver, it was still working everywhere else. It is possible that we could return to that chemotherapy while using radiation on the tumors in my liver. That, anyway, is one option among those that will be considered once the results are in from the CT scan and next blood test. More to come on this by late October...

Fantasy football!

Another week, another tough loss for Monkey Knife Fight, this time 161 - 139 to the EighteenGrands. Now in this league, 130 points is a really good score. Though it should be good enough for a win, MKF has found themselves on the losing end two consecutive weeks with such a score. We now find ourselves at 1 - 2, entering into the dreaded byes. It's early in the season, too early to call any week a "must win"...but this coming week vs. the first place Sunrise Stingers is a must win. With week 6 looming as a likely loss, with half the blade wielding chimps taking the week off, a run of wins is necessary to keep our play-off hopes alive.

Meanwhile, the Rodents are delighted. Seemingly putting it all together, Rodent Passion took league scoring honors for the week with its 130 - 68 victory over Gametime Decision. A strong performance by QB Philip Rivers complimented the continued stellar performance of our mighty receiving corps, which over-came the loss of Andre Johnson through the sensational play of Roy Williams, Anquan Boldin, and Deion Branch. In a daring pre-season move, RP traded perennial fantasy football standout Rudi Johnson for promising young runner DeAngelo Williams and the aforementioned Branch. Key to that deal, at the time, was the hope we have that Williams will develop into a stud in the NFL. In the short term, the play of Mr. Branch has been a key to consecutive wins. An important intra-divisional match-up awaits this weekend with Corporeal Punishment. At the moment, RP finds itself alone in first place in the Beatles Division of the Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Football League. With Corporeal Punishment alone in the division in second at 2 - 1, a victory would give RP a daunting 2 game advantage, and would make them the clear front-runners for that all-important first-round bye in the play-offs.

Update, 9/25/07

Just a quick word since my transfusion: had that on Saturday, and I was feeling the positive effects almost immediately. "Go juice," as my uncle called it when he was getting 'em (also during chemo).

Z asked about talking with my docs about "rhEPO". Actually, this was the first I'd heard of the term. However, I had been getting a red cell booster (starts with an "a"...can't remember the name of it at the moment) since the Spring. We'd taken me off it for a while, but with the recent happenings, we'll put me back on it.

Before this Spring, I'd never needed any help with my blood levels. I'd never needed a break from treatments, never felt unusually fatigued. Now, I suppose with the cancer moving to my bones, it's that much tougher for my body to reproduce the cells as I need them.

All those years of giving blood...I think I've still given more than I've taken, so I feel good about that. :)

Meet Sebastian

He's my new roommate -- at least for a short while, perhaps permanently, depending on circumstances. Seems my neighbor's new-born little girl, Sierra, has developed a fairly serious allergy to something. Just what, we're not yet sure. But as a precaution, while we're still waiting for the test results, Sebastian is moving in with me. If Sierra's allergies are of something other than cats, he'll head back next door. Otherwise, I'll have a buddy to watch football with. :)

St. Sebastian is an early Christian martyr, about whom very little is known. He is traditionally depicted as a young man bound to a tree, pierced by many arrows. Some time ago, my buddy Dave, moved by the appeal for the virtue of fortitude, gave me a prayer card of St. Sebastian, who is often invoked for healing from physical and spiritual wounds:

O Lord, grant us the spirit of fortitude, so that guided by the example of the martyr St. Sebastian, we may learn to bear witness to the Christian Faith and patiently support the sufferings of life.

God willing, my new roomie can act as a reminder of my need for virtue in general, for fortitude in particular. Trying to paraphrase St. Thomas Aquinas (and I invite the correction of those who understand the great saint better than I), fortitude is that habit of the soul which allows us to overcome the fear of death that disables our reason, leading us to despair of our fate. By the willful application of reason against the passivity of my flesh which leads to fear and despair, I am reminded that by faith I believe in the God Who overcame death, and have hope that He will provide for me at my own.

Health update, September 20, 2007

I met this morning with my oncologist, Dr. Grapski, of the Thomson Cancer Survival Center (link to the right). Blood tests showed I'm in good shape to start cycle three of Xeloda -- took a first dose after leaving his office, and the second just minutes ago. We've begun tracking my tumor marker, ca 19-9, the levels of which have proven to be a solid indicator of the activity and growth of my cancer. My ca 19-9 from 3 weeks ago was at around 300. While this is high (normal is below 35 or so), it doesn't mean much by itself -- when we can compare it to today's number, that's when it'll be significant. We'll see...I don't have a feeling either way. I've had it as high as in the 400s...I've had periods where I've been happily "normal". Right now, we just hope to see it go down.

We set up a CT scan for mid-October, after this present cycle is finished. I'll meet with Dr. Grapski two days later. By then, we'll have our first indications concerning the effectiveness of this treatment.

In the meantime, I'll be getting a blood transfusion this Saturday. My hemoglobin is at 8.8 g/dl -- "normal" is between 13.8 and 17.2 g/dl. A transfusion should push me up to around 11, then hopefully my body takes care of the rest. Why am I so low? I don't really know. I've been low (but not this low) since coming off the irinotecan/erbitux I'd been taking through the spring. I suppose the Xeloda takes out some...maybe the cancer in my bones is doing bad stuff, too. Plus, I was losing some blood due to those digestive/urinary tract infection issues I believe I'd mentioned. In combination, I suppose it's easy enough to believe my red cells would be low. Hopefully, a transfusion helps me out -- gives me more energy, helps the body recover a bit better, stuff like that.

Edit (9/21): I'd confused my hemoglobin with my hematocrit. The first is "the iron containing oxygen-transport metalloprotein in the red blood cells", and is quantified by mass per volume of blood. The second is a "measure of the proportion of blood volume occupied by red blood cells" and is reported as a percent. For men, it is typically between 38% and 52%. My hemoglobin is at 8.8 g/dl. I don't recall the hematocrit...but when I've needed a transfusion in the past, it's been around 24% to 27%.

Fantasy football!

Half a point to Gigi for getting that Monkey Knife Fight is a Simpsons reference. Of course, how hard would that be to guess for anyone that knows me fairly well at all? I've got to admit, though, I was disappointed no one gave me a Tyson v. Secretariat ("They were so drunk" -- Moe) or anything. Perhaps stung by the lack of recognition, MKF could not pull out the nail biter versus the Maroon Tigers, falling 132 - 129. MKF continues to get balanced scoring, however, and remains a legitimate title contender.

In Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Football League action, Rodent Passion remains undefeated, carried by a super-powered wide receiver core. We put the smack down on KC Masterpiece, 104 - 72, despite another poor showing by Rex Grossman. I've got to admit, I haven't the patience of Lovie Smith for Rex's lackluster efforts. He's taking a seat this weekend.

Health updates

I can't seem to find a good way to archive all the health updates in a convenient place. So I'll make this list of links to all of them, updating it whenever there's a new posting. I'll keep the link to this post on the "links" list on the right.

1. Chronology
2. June 30, 2007
3. July 14, 2007
4. Xeloda (August 8, 2007)
   
5. First cycle down (August 23, 2007)
6. Round two in the books (September 14, 2007)

A better idea, from Z in the comments -- I'll make a permanent list of links on the right, so you don't have to click twice to get to any of the past updates.

Quote of the day

God has created me to do him some definite service; he has committed some work to me which he has not committed to another. I have my mission; I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. I have a part in a great work; I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good, I shall do his work; I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place, while not intending it, if I do but keep his commandments and serve him in my calling.

Therefore I will trust him. Whatever, wherever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve him; in perplexity, my perplexity may serve him; if I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve him. My sickness, or perplexity, or sorrow may be necessary causes of some great end, which is quite beyond us. He does nothing in vain; he may prolong my life, he may shorten it; he knows what he is about. He may take away my friends, he may throw me among strangers, he may make me feel desolate, make my spirits sink, hide the future from me -- still he knows what he is about.

John Henry Newman, Meditations and Devotions, III, 1855

Round 2 in the books

As of yesterday, I am through two rounds of Xeloda. I wish I had something more to say about it. No noticeable change in the levels of my pain meds. Still around the same level of side effects -- meaning, virtually no side effects. I'd guess the nausea and fatigue I feel is more a consequence of the pain meds than of the chemo. One disturbing sign -- my vertical scar is getting a bit tight. I've been feeling this coming on over the last several days. There is a noticeable hard spot, right near where my belly-button used to be, which had not been there until recently. I don't want to get ahead of myself on what this might mean...certainly something to discuss with Dr. Grapski when I see him next week.

Fantasy football!

So, the rule goes, nobody except you (meaning me) really cares about your (meaning my) fantasy football team. But this is my blog and I'll do what I want. You don't like it, you can start your own blog and criticize me mercilessly (which is how I gather much of the "blogosphere" works). And even though you don't really care, I'll be posting news on both my fantasy football teams on a weekly basis. Happily, in Great Pigskin Experiment action, Monkey Knife Fight (who can guess the reference first? And be specific...) starts at 1-0, getting balanced scoring across the line-up: Matt Hasselbeck, Travis Henry, Joseph Addai, and Antonio Gates doing the heavy lifting in a 132 - 105 win over the Lazerphiles.

I'm told today by Dan Shanoff that there's no shame in winning your fantasy football game while being the lowest-scoring team in your league to do so. So I can proudly say Rodent Passion completely destroyed the under-manned Popeye's Nephews by a score of 73 - 51. They, too, are 1-0 in the Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Football League to start the year. (Note: due to different roster sizes and scoring systems, the scores in the Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Football League will be consistently lower than those for the Great Pigskin Experiment).

Now the name Rodent Passion stems from a Dave Barry article of many years ago, the gist of which I can't recall. There was something about squirrels making sweet, sweet, squirrel love, which he referred to as "rodent passion", which he then remarked would make a great name for a rock band. I don't know about that, but it's been a great name for a modestly successful (1-time Super Bowl runner-up, 2-time play-off participant, in its 3-year existence) fantasy football team.

In contemporary times, we have a rather limited view of "passion", typically confined in our thoughts to purely sexual matters. Classically, however, "the passions" suggest something akin to our emotions, that part of our soul that is moved by events outside of us, "passively" as it were. They are neither good nor evil in themselves, but can lead to either good or evil. The aim of the good man is to train, or tame, the animal within, so that one's passions can aid in the performance of good and noble deeds.

In the past week, the Rodents have been moved to anger and sorrow in various parts because of Chris Brown of the Tennessee Titans. For nearly 3 years, he's been a waste of space on our roster, and one week after we finally wash our hands of him, he produces his best game as a pro. Were I compelled to act purely from my passions, untempered by reason, I might act in a malicious way (either by thought or deed) toward Mr. Brown or the good owner of Popeye's Nephews (shrewd enough to select Mr. Brown in our recent rookie/free agent draft). The inner man, the Dennis who longs to be good, however, takes this opportunity to forgive Mr. Brown, delighting in his resurgence, and congratulate the Nephews for their astute acquisition (even as I totally destroyed them on the field). A good man would never gloat over a fallen opponent. I'm still working on this, people.

Far From Home

Reminiscing again over my time in Munich...

Here's a picture of my band, Far From Home -- Southern Germany's best honky tonk! It was great fun, and the folks in and around the band were among my best friends in Germany. John (the drummer) and I have since moved to the US, but Michelle (vocals, acoustic guitar) and Robert (lead guitar, vocals) have been joined by Wolfgang (bass) and Fritz (drums) and have been doing really well. Mary Beth left the band late last year to pursue a solo career, has put together her own band, and will be touring Holland soon. Look her up if you're there! She's a heck of a song-writer -- you check out her stuff here.