Started chemo today

"Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing." (granfury)
03/11/2019 at 21:58 • Filed to: None

Three good things, besides improving my odds of beating this disease:

1) It’s not going to cost all that much - GoodRx had the meds listed for about $3,000/month, but I’ve got decent insurance so it’s only $25/mo.

2) I don’t have to take as many pills as originally thought - 5 at breakfast and 5 at dinner, instead of 6 each . They’re smaller than I expected, making it a little easier to take so many every day.

3) I don’t have to maintain my weight - I was told to keep at the same weight during this 6-month process by the NP, but the oncologist said I can continue to drop a few pounds as long as it’s intentional and not a side effect of the chemo . Last week I was eating bacon and cheeseburgers and Madelienes and all sorts of fatty stuff just to maintain my weight and it was really a struggle to cram in so many calories; despite all of that my weight was only one pound higher than the previous week. Now I can continue my weight loss plan without fear of screwing up the chemo.

Back to work tomorrow, armed with a big bottle of Immodium...

DISCUSSION (35)

random001 > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
03/11/2019 at 22:11

Good luck, man.

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
03/11/2019 at 22:13

Good luck! Hope everything gets much better soon!

dogisbadob > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
03/11/2019 at 22:14

good luck

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
03/11/2019 at 22:17

I am sorry to hear that.

I just had a tumor cut off my back a few weeks ago , which was a sarcoma... and a significant skin graft to close it back up afterward.

but I was really glad not to have to deal with chemotherapy.

A weight-loss plan is good, but not sure I would want to do it that way.

Here’s hoping for the best for you!

Monkey B > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
03/11/2019 at 22:19

stay upright! Kick some cancer ass!

WilliamsSW > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
03/11/2019 at 22:22

Good luck! Hopefully this is just to be sure that it’s all gone now?

Future Heap Owner > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
03/11/2019 at 22:23

You’ve got a good attitude about it!

When are you starting?

412GTI > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
03/11/2019 at 22:30

Respect! Always look for the positives, you got this!

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Future Heap Owner
03/11/2019 at 22:31

Thanks. I’ve been trying to remain positive through this whole ordeal. For some reason I figured that this illness was inevitable given my colon issues, so I wasn’t terribly surprised when I got the diagnosis. So far everything has proceeded relatively smoothly - early detection, it didn’t spread, quick surgery and out of the hospital in two days, etc. I don’t see why chemo won’t go as smoothly, but I’m prepared for anything.

When do (did) I start chemo? About an hour and a half ago, right after dinner. I’m just waiting to see what weird side effects are going to crop up, but may just go to sleep instead...

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > WilliamsSW
03/11/2019 at 22:33

Exactly. It didn’t metastasize , and it wasn’t in the lymph nodes, so this is just to make sure there’s nothing left. Apparently they’re still doing biopsies on the tissue removed, so this is just insurance to make sure it’s all gone.

shop-teacher > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
03/11/2019 at 22:43

Hang in there man!

Chariotoflove > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
03/11/2019 at 22:47

I didn’t realize you’d have followup chemo after such a successful surgery, but it makes sense. Colon cancer is nothing to take risks with.

OPPOsaurus WRX > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
03/11/2019 at 22:48

Its nothing but some weapons grade Tylenol. Go kick ass.

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
03/11/2019 at 22:52

Good luck dude. My dad went through chemo; it’s why he’s still alive right now. Granted he has a shit ton other diseases that now have him worse but that’s just him as he's been for years , chemo should work for you though. The process is... interesting,as witnessed, but my dad said for what it could do for him specifically he felt it working. Godspeed

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
03/11/2019 at 23:00

Good luck man! Have a double whopper on me.

ttyymmnn > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
03/11/2019 at 23:01

Go kick cancer’s ass.

Svend > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
03/11/2019 at 23:12

Good luck mate. Keep in there and fingers crossed it has all gone.

RacinBob > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
03/11/2019 at 23:18

What are you reading?

WilliamsSW > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
03/11/2019 at 23:20

Great! The chemo won’t be fun, but that time will go quickly.

On the weight loss, I suspect they’re just trying to make sure the chemo doesn’t cause too much weight loss.

As an added bonus, any moles you may have on your body will miraculously disappear lol!

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > RacinBob
03/11/2019 at 23:21

I think I’ll need a little context here...

Nibby > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
03/11/2019 at 23:23

Glad to hear and please keep us posted! Hope you’re able to make a quick and full, as painless as possible, recovery

Future Heap Owner > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
03/11/2019 at 23:40

I was surprised at how quickly you were out of the hospital after the surgery. I hope the chemo is similarly straightforward. Keep us posted.

I’m sure you’ll have plenty of time to explore side effects. If I were you, I’d head to bed ASAP. Sleep well!

Deal Killer - Powered by Focus > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
03/11/2019 at 23:53

My prayers are with you, and I hope you get through this without too much discomfort. It makes my post about getting a ride home from my wife, which is directly above yours, a bit trite. All the best to you.

Merfthemadmauler > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
03/12/2019 at 00:00

I do a chemo infusion every 2 weeks. The side effects are tolerable since I know it’s doing some good. Getting quality sleep is sometimes the biggest challenge. Good luck to you,sounds like it was caught in time.

Spridget > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
03/12/2019 at 00:11

Best of luck, man; from the comments, it seems like this is just a preventative measure of sorts ?

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Spridget
03/12/2019 at 00:14

Thanks. Yeah, pretty much making sure everything is gone.

Captain of the Enterprise > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
03/12/2019 at 07:31

Best of luck!!

BJ > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
03/12/2019 at 07:54

You sound like you’re approaching this the right way: with a positive attitude. Good luck.

RacinBob > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
03/12/2019 at 08:11

Oh, just curious if you are reading any books in your downtime and what they might be.....

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > RacinBob
03/12/2019 at 09:19

No downtime to speak of, so no chance to catch up on my reading. This chemo is in pill form so I’m back at work, but somewhat nauseated.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
03/12/2019 at 09:46

All the best, man.

Duck Duck Grey Duck FTMFW! > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
03/12/2019 at 11:17

Just be careful, you don’t want to go into a fugue state and end up naked in a grocery store.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Duck Duck Grey Duck FTMFW!
03/12/2019 at 11:46

I’ve been warned of all sorts of strange side effects, and warned my bosses of such possibilities.

I’m saving the “run around the grocery store whilst naked” event for when I've dropped another 35 lbs. I'll blame it on the medication, but it may not be an accident... ;P

Mercedes Streeter > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
03/13/2019 at 18:13

Chemo sucks but you’re going into it about as well as you can. Best of luck!

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Mercedes Streeter
03/13/2019 at 18:36

Yeah, I’m feeling a little loopy on all of these drugs, but it’s for a good cause. My supervisor is understanding and giving me some less stressful tasks and I appreciate that, but I can’t wait until I can return to normal and not force anyone to cover for me. Today we had multiple dispatchers c all off and people leaving early (for reasons detailed in the next paragraph) and it was a little bit of chaos. I spent the day wanting to puke and sweating up a storm, but somehow managed to get through to the end of my shift. In times like this I want to stay and help, but I think my health needs to come first, and so I reluctantly departed at my scheduled time.

I think I’m doing well with this whole cancer thing, and will probably pull through it just fine. But yesterday I learned that a friend of mine was just diagnosed with uterine cancer, and I suspect that it’s not going to go well for her. She’s pretty big, probably over 400 lbs., and based on my p revious experience with family members that had cancer I suspect her tumor is pretty large and that the cancer h as probably spread. She left work early today to go to the ER, and I don’t know when she is going to be released. She called to talk to our boss several hours later, but nothing has been said. It was kind of odd that when I was out for my surgery last month s he stopped responding to my texts for some unknown reason, and I wonder if her diagnosis was the reason.

When my grandmother’s tumor was finally diagnosed it was said to be the size of a large g rapefruit; by that time it was too late to do anything about it, and she only lasted a few months after that. She was 94 years old and had a good life, and something was going to get her. But my friend? Mid fifties and hasn’t taken good care of herself, and I’m afraid of what her prognosis may be.