Congratulations PITTSBURGH!!

Nice try ARIZONA, but it just wasn't meant to be.


And so went a relatively quiet and relaxing Sunday. I hope a good time was had by all. Tomorrow begins the beginning of the "end." And none too soon if you ask me. I'll freely admit, I'm ready for this to be over. Of course, the worst is still to come, so they say...


The good Folks at the Bobby Baker Clinic (I'm sure in an effort to cheer me up) pointed out that as of Friday, they were now "BUMPING UP the Treatments." 'What does that mean?' you might ask... 'Well we're now going to target a SMALLER AREA.' Sounds good doesn't it, Oh, but wait... we'll also be INCREASING the doses. Swell. It'll hurt more, but over a lesser area! Oh well, that's how this whole things gone: good News / bad News.


I'v e had tqo more fingers "go off" now boasting a total of 7 bandaged flanges, and I may just stop tryoing to corredt the inherent "typos" that come with the darn things. At least the tears don't splash on the pages like they jmight otherwise. Poor Joni, the Oncology Pharmicist is worried about infections, I tried to assure her that I was doing pretty good (that was last Thrusday, wehn there were only 5) and they're not too bad, really. Speaking of pharmacy - only one more of those lovely sessionsw, nesst Thursday. Actually, I will miss those Nurses quite a bit, as they have been very caring, and a big help in adjusting to "side affects."


One of the most troubling of all to everyone seems to be my loss of weight. Yes, it seems to have become a factor. ONe which I'll attribute to the counter productive by product of the AFTER TASTE resulting from the ENSURE. I've been taking the ENSURE from the git go, and it actually started out pretty good, I could actually tolerate it just fine. I had bought some at the store, comes in bottles, when I first had my tonsils out, as they were concerned way back then about loosing weight. Given the choice, I went with Coffee, as my recollection of the other flavors was let's say, somewhat less than motivating. Well, there was a bit of sticker shock, with them costing a little over $2.00 a bottle, and my supposedly having to take 3~6 servings a day, depending on what all else I was able to eat.

Well, the first week of Radiation Treatment, Jeannie the Receptionist was kind enough to offer that the Cancer Society made it possible for patients to draw one case per week, which was quite a savings, so I gladly took her up on it, and received my first case of canned 'Regular' ENSURE. By mid-January, I was ready for another, only to find out, that they were "out!" No problem, the effervescent and every resourceful Jeannie pointed us to the American Cancer Society, who conveniently happened to be just down the road, at the Cameron Center (where I used to make my Blood Bank Donations). We went by, and they were kind enough to provide another case (up to one p/Month for 3 months), this time ENSURE "PLUS." Well, I don't think either the Cancer Society nor the ENSURE folks are fully aware, but this lowly little Patient can tell you, THEY AIN'T THE SAME. The after taste, effect on the mucous production, and all around consumption experience went from tolerable, to horrible - making it really hard to drink the now six cans a day they wanted me to have.

Anyway, short version is I lost 10 pounds the first month, then 5 pounds in a week, then only 3, and last week, it was another 10 pounds (they didn't like that...). So everyone was in a tizzy, with one result being I got an increase in my pain patch, from 100 (whatever they ares...) to 150, which helped on the pain management side, and a referral to the Kaiser Nutritionist, who initially responded that they could get me an appointment early in March! We wound up with a phone consultation, which rattled Amanda a bit, as the (questionable) Nutritionist mostly focused on how many terminal patients she'd had lately from one thing or the other..., with the best thing coming out of the conversation being to NOT put raw eggs (this had been my idea) into my "shakes" as a way to increase proteins in my diet. Lately the scrambled egg thing wasn't working, as it was too much trouble to get the leftover egg mush out from my cheeks and gums. Have I mentioned before that brushing my teeth takes roughly 45 minuets to an hour these days?

Well, Thursday, whilst lamenting all this to my Dear Nurses at Kaiser Oncology, Annette suggested CARNATION INSTANT BREAKFAST. Well, I had taken that waaaayy back in my High School days, when I was (desperately) trying to GAIN WEIGHT for Football, and two of those (morning & night) were part of my program. So, I didn't have any problem, and we got a "mixed" pack to try. Well, the Vanilla was close to ensure, and not great, the Chocolates (of which there are 3 flavors) create taste issues, and are not pleasant, but the STRAWBERRY - hello, we have a winner! I can't explain it, as I've been avoiding Strawberry Ensure, and real Strawberries are no go, but the Carnation Strawberry is smooth, soothing and tastes great (well, not bad anyway). Only problem here is so far, all we've been able to find is the Variety packs, which only have two strawberries per package. Anyway, Annette gets the ANGEL'S award again. Thank you Annette.

Lastly, the NO TALKING RULE is in full enforcement now, as that seems to be the one thing I can actually control, to minimise the discomfort I continue to experience with my TONGUE and mouth.


"To bring up a child in the way he should go, travel that way yourself once in a while." - Josh Billings