How does cancer spread through the body? - Ivan Seah Yu Jun

Quick update

BMT doctor said that I am still OK, and I had an appointment with Dr. Lee and he said that all the tests are still OK.

Cramps - Still happening, and they kept me awake a few times recently.

Thyroid - They changed meds on me.  Not the amount (still 100 mg), but the manufacturer.  Have I seen a difference  Yes and no.  They want me to retest in a few weeks to make sure.  However, I am getting some weird hot flashes and stuff.  Joy.

The Back - Had a bad day Sunday... So bad that I cut our trip to Disneyland short (after riding Radiator Springs Racers).  It started in the middle of the night.  Must have slept funny.  Two days of "on my back" it seems like all has reset... for now.

Still looking for the magic bullet when it comes to the cramping issue though.

Gotta go run kids...

jc

Doctor update

I love Dr. Lee.

We laughed and joked and had a rollicking good time.

However, my IGD numbers were not in yet (yea, that's an important one).

I am a bit anemic.

I gained eight pounds.

Oh, and the thyroid numbers made me up my dosages from .75 to .88.

I have a tender spot on my chest that I will be getting checked out on the 9th.

Tomorrow morning I have a "full body x-ray bone survey".

Other than that - I'm fine!

Gotta get some sleep - in my electrically heated bed!

jc

Yay! My TSH is 4.45!

TSH

4.45

0.35 - 4.00

uIU/mL

What does this mean?

I get a bigger pill!

I started off with  5 MCG of Levothroid, and eventually went up to 75 MCG (that I took only hours ago).

I will start tomorrow taking the bigger 88 MCG of Levothriod.

Just in time to loose the weight I have gained this month...

jc

Just more chemo fallout.

Health update

Generally, pretty good, but could be better.

On April 30th, I went to the City of Hope BMT reunion. This was my second one (celebrating 1 3/4 years). It is a very upbeat party on the lawn of the hospital grounds. I went by myself this time (girls were in school) and had a very nice time.

I come away with deeply turbulent feelings on these things. First, everyone there is a cancer survivor. That in itself is a reason to be happy. You can also see what damage has been done to the body, scarred faces, missing limbs, unstable gaits. But they survived. When you sit down to eat, you always chat with the people around you. I sat with two ladies that had cancer -- one even had the same doctors as I did! The second lady was your stereotypical older lady with loud clothes and super bright personality that you see at art openings. She survived (her first year), but the toll on her body was enormous. Didn't seem to effect her spirit, though.

Walking around, comparing yourself to other survivors (yes, that is what you do -- and you know it), I seem to have come out pretty good.

That is untill you see the kids with the BMT buttons.

This is what always disturbs me the most. The little kids with a button that says that they had a BMT x number of years ago, but they look only half that age. The toll on their bodies is telling, and obvious, at this early stage of what should be a long life. It can't be easy explaining to everyone that they are not able to (fill in the blank) because their body was attacked by cancer, radiated, chemoed, rebuilt from stem cells harvested from them (or someone else), and somehow they survived -- albet in a much weaker form.

I am blessed that the girls are healthy and strong.

I also like to wander the campus and look at all the plaques placed around their. While interesting, it is also a reminder that these people didn't survive. Hope only goes so far.

The statistics are irrefutable. For me, I have 5 years from initial diagnosis. While I may be cancer free now, there is a 70% chance that it will return. The doctors know the numbers, and while they are quite positive about my long term health, the stats don't change just for me.

That puts a different spin on career track guidelines.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

As far as how I am doing physically, not bad.

I am fat as a cow, can't feel my toes, can't feel my finger tips, off ballance ( because I can't feel my toes and I am fat), can't remember names worth a crap, get cramps at weird times on weird muscle groups, and can't see well in bright light unless I have my cool new sunglasses.

While I did sign up for the YMCA, I have yet to get into a groove. Excuses, trips, projects, and hey -- is that something shinny? Hopefully, I can get the girls to take me there so they can swim.

My eyes have healed nicely, according to Dr. Rice. I can see 20/20, with some help from reading glasses. While it is nice to "wake up and see the clock", my brain still hasn't been wowed by that. I have to remember to look up to see the clock. It is nice, though.

The thyroid keeps me warm, and I have to keep myself super hydrated or else I start having weird cramps and spasms. I still am learning to listen to my body, something that I really neglected to do in the past.

We will see if I do better over the summer.

I probably should go exercise now (but ice cream sounds soooo tempting).

jc

Grumpy old Fart

That's what I called myself today to one of the Daisy moms. I have a head cold (or allergies), my back hurts when I cough, and I am walking around in a haze.

My back went south Saturday night, and Sunday was just miserable. While It is slowly getting better, once in a while it "catches" and all those bad old memories come back. Coughing doesn't help. Especially the cough jags that I have with this allergy/cold thing.

Oh, and the Sudafed seems to mess with the thyroid pills.

It's 3:45, time for a nap...

jc

Ahhh, now that's better!

Five vials today, and all I had to do was to beg for it.

Does that make me weird or something?

Don't answer that.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

With the one drawn yesterday, I assumed that something was amiss, and it almost was.

A few weeks ago I went in for another test (thyroid) and they drew for everything BUT thyroid. E-mailed that doctor, and he said "No problem" and I went on my merry way.

Yesterday comes along, and only one vial is drawn. OK, that is for my infusion that I had today, "No problem".

Yesterday I made an appointment for a follow-up with the BMT folks up at Kaiser Sunset. The old tests are getting a bit stale (Multiple Myloma comes up fast) so I checked with Lisa (the Angel of oncology) today and she said that I have more tests to take.

JOY!

I was at Lakeview anyway for my monthly Aridia infusion, so afterwards, off to the labs for five vials of data.

Now that I am home, three pizza slices and two glasses of 2buck chuck, all is good with the world.

now if only I can wobble to bed.. . .. .

jc

Another Dr. Call

Hey, apperetnly my thyroid is way out of whack.

Still.

New pills. Joy.

Can I blame my weight gain on the thyroid? I hope so, I don't feel like dieting off some of this 270 pounds.

Man am I fat.

jc

Quick medical update

Well, I went to see Dr. Lee, and things are cruising along.

Yes, I have some Peripheral neuropathy that makes my toes feel weird. Something of a concern, if I stub my toe. I also detect a bit of it in my fingers, but nothing to get concerned about -- yet.

I will deal with it.

My back isn't 100%, but I try to stretch it out and keep it flexible, eat some calcium, and that keeps it in check. Related to that is the almost constant cramps I have in either my toes, legs, lower back, middle back, abs, and hands.

I will deal with it.

My blood counts are low-ish, but that is expected with the Thalidomide. Seems that it also is responsible for the cramps. Problem is, if I stop, the cancer can come back, bigger and badder than ever. This is keeping it in check for the moment. I quit, that is the last I can use this drug -- forcing me into a different chemo regimen that may or may not be as effective.

I will deal with it.

Slightly more challenging is the thyroid. Still have days of "manic-ness", and I recently refilled my RX. Well, I wasn't supposed to eat my calcium or multivitamin right after the 1 hour time limit is up. My pill regimen is getting complicated again.

I will deal with it.

Tomorrow, I have an appointment at the City of Hope for my "brain test", where they test my chemo brain functioning. Long, hot haul up, and a hotter haul home. It will be interesting to see if they finished that building they started when I was there a year ago.

Well, I gotta go get a kid out of school...

jc

The tale of a small gland...

Well, the latest thyroid test came back. Better than before, and right in the middle of the acceptable range.

Great, now all I have to do is get my routine down.

I used to take my fist full of pills in the morning with my shredded wheat, but with the thyroid stuff, my stomach needs to be empty. In the morning, it really is empty. And it has to stay empty for an hour. So I am wobbly and woozy for an hour while the pill (the size of a grain of rice) taunts my hungry system as a meal.

Sometimes I can shit, shower, and shave, but mostly I need to keep sedate. My gyros are very slow in the morning, and if I learch too quickly I just keep going in that random direction. I look very... amusing.

And, no, I don't drink beer in the morning. What do you think this is, Baja?

Next project: Loose some of the 50 pounds I gained over the last year.

Gotta go to bed...

jc

The chart for the Thyroid hormone

For once, excelling at something is not good.Can I get away with saying "I feel hormonal today"?

Gotta go, hormones raging...
jc

Just waiting for the call...

My thyroid test came back, and it was still off. Not as much as the first one, but still bad.

They are testing TSH (THYROID STIMULATING HORMONE), and the range is from 0.4-4.00 uIU/mL.

I scored a 5.72!

Finally, something I am good at! The previous one was 6.53.

Now I am just waiting for the Doc to call and tell me what pills to take. Great, more pills.

I feel manic, gotta go --

JC

Damn Thyroid...

Got a call from the Dr., my blood tests came back and my thyroid was way down (or up, can't remember).

Need to take another test in a week.

Bye, I gotta study for it now...

jc