Tick tock Tick Tock

We've become clock...well actually calendar watchers. And really the "We" is Me. One of the best ways to "handle" chemo is to diary or journal the experience. You start having the ability to better predict the good days and the bad days. If you hear of anyone getting ready to start chemo I would strongly recommend doing the same. We use a calendar and write down what Roger has eaten and had to drink and then we also write down how he felt - low energy, no energy, vomiting, intestinal issues, etc. And on those really low, crappy days, I pull out the calendar and remind Roger it will only be X more days until the good days start and will point to the calendar as hard fast proof. Its not science but it works for us.

Unfortunately, what you can't predict is the impact of the accumulation of chemo in the body. This will layer an additional complexity in trying to predict the coming good days. The second round of chemo was definitely harder on him than the first round. Again, we try to keep focus on the fact that the bad days, however many there are, will be followed by good days.

This weekend marked the official start of GOOD DAYS!! He felt downright decent in fact to the point where he started to overdo it physically. Which is another one of those paradoxes....when you feel good you want to get out there and "do" stuff...unfortunately when you are as physically puny as Roger, "doing" stuff can quickly kick your butt. Likewise, doing stuff burns calories. So it becomes this vicious circle of wanting to do more, doing too much, and having to play catch up with food, drink, and rest. Nonetheless, its a battle we are happy to endure because it means Roger feels GOOD.

This leads me to the other part of the calendar watching . Roger is supposed to be on this 3 day on chemo/12 day off chemo schedule. This week he got an extra "bi" week....so he is/will be actually off chemo for approximately 19 days. His doctor is out of the office this week on vacation so Roger got a little vacation from chemo. He literally could have skipped he was soooo excited about not getting chemo. He should feel like superman by this coming weekend....provided he doesn't over do it.

We had a moment of levity about this brief "vacation". When I saw the next infusion date was scheduled for the week of August 8, I went back and checked my calendar because the date seemed "off" from the 3 days on/12 days off schedule. Being the rule follower that I am and more importantly one of MANY people who wants to get him better, I immediately checked in with the scheduling nurse in case she had made an error. You see, I thought Roger was supposed to have chemo on 8/3. When Roger realized what I was doing, he looked at me like I had three heads and said, "What are you doing?? Shhhhhhhhhh!! Don't tell them!" I gave a similar look back and said "I understand your motivation and know what you're thinking, however, if the treatment has a protocol of x days on and y days off and that protocol means a greater likelihood of the treatment working then don't you think we should stick to the protocol??? After all, you're not doing this because its fun." A few more looks were exchanged....He still got his week "off" . And honestly, seeing how happy he was/is...I think we will push back on the doctor and see if the treatment will as effective on a three week schedule on an ongoing basis.

Have a great week. We'll post more later.