I'm seriously overdue with this new blog entry. This past Monday I received my last radiation treatment, number 35. My last chemo treatment was the previous Tuesday. So my treatment regime is terminated. It's too early to say whether I'm cured; the first indication will be what's found three months after the end of my treatment when I undergo a PET scan. The scan will show if there are any groups of cancer cells. If none are seen, then I'll possibly be cured. But I believe that to be considered cured I have to have several "clean" PET scans.
Treatment side effects held off long enough for me to be able to eat some of Thanksgiving dinner, which was a very nice affair at the Snyders' with their three children present, including Kenneth who is attending a prep school in northern Alabama to prepare him to enter the Coast Guard Academy next year. Raquel and her fiance Alex joined us, bringing a tofurkey which they found to be scrumptious. I tried a small sample and admit that the flavor was quite good. As treatment continued, the side effects accumulated, to the point that I have been on a liquid artificial diet through my G-tube for going on two weeks. The side effects consist mainly of sores in my mouth and my throat that prevent me from being able to chew and swallow food. I also take strong pain medication to help me deal with the discomfort caused by the sores and difficulty in moving phlegm from my airway. I can attest to the veracity of the reports that treatment side effects continue to worsen for two or more days after the last radiation treatment, but I believe that I have now rounded the bend and am now on my way to gradually feeling better.
Damaris and I moved out of Hope Lodge this past Tuesday, with Raquel's assistance. We had become some of the "old folks;" long-time residents of Hope Lodge. Most of the people who were there when we arrived in mid-October ended treatment and moved home, and new patients and caregivers had moved in. There's a strong bond among residents because of the shared challenge presented by cancer. So when patients and their caregivers moved out there were always mixed emotions: joy because the patient had finished his or her treatment, and sadness because new friends were moving back to their home life. All in all, the Hope Lodge experience was an unexpected pleasure encountered as part of my cancer treatment.
Now Damaris and I are preparing to return to Costa Rica. We fly on Dec. 14 on Continental through Newark. It will be wonderful to be back home and to be able to celebrate Christmas with Steve and Pati, as well as Damaris' family. We'll miss being relatively close to Raquel, and within a day's train ride of Tim and Bret. I'll be really glad to see our dogs Maya and Laika. The week of Jan. 15 I'll return to Hopkins for follow-up exams, and hopefully for my G-tube to be removed. I'm required to have been feeding myself exclusively by mouth for a week or more for the G-tube to be removed. That will be a goal to work toward upon our return home. Then three months after treatment ended I'll return again for a PET scan. Hopefully that will show that the entire saga had the desired outcome.
