Action - Reaction

I will be starting Radiation Treatments tomorrow morning, so that means I'll be done before Christmas.  I may sail through without any immediate side effects, but can expect some nausea and fatigue.  

Hmmm. Sounds like Chemo.  In fact, it sounds like the side effects of just about everything medical, doesn't it?

In the meantime, I've been generally feeling so much better!  I'm out and about more, so my attitude is more positive.  I have hardly any nausea and I'm starting to recover from the fatigue from the Chemotherapy.  I still have some neuropathy (numbness and pain in feet and legs) from the Chemotherapy, but it could decrease or go away as time goes on. 

I am still dealing with back pain, but at least I have a bit more clarity about what is causing it.  I've had some MRIs and a couple of visits with an Orthopedic doctor.  I'll have a few sessions of Physical Therapy to help me with exercises etc.  The doctor feels that mid-back pain is mostly likely "referred pain" due to the cancer.  It seems to bother me the most when I'm up and moving around for an extended period of time.  

So... I sit.

Unfortunately, the lower back pain is probably caused from sitting too much!  

Go ahead and laugh.  I'm laughing too.

I'm hoping to get to the level of St. Paul in all of this. In Philippians 4:11 he says, "I am not saying this out of need, for I have learned to be content regardless of my circumstances."
 
  

Popular posts from this blog

The old tennis ball

Image
(You may need to click on photo to read entire blogpost) For two and a half years, I have referred to the tumor in my liver as a "tennis ball in my football" to describe the size of the tumor and an average liver.   Initially, I was told that only 18% of people with Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma (Bile Duct Cancer in the Liver) survive for 5 years. I'm still here, though, so I've already beaten the average statistics. Before, during and after Chemotherapy and Radiation, the CT scans have shown the tumor to be about the same size - no growth - no spread. Yawn... The tennis-ball-tumor and my news updates are getting old.   Boring is good. I'm so grateful to God!  Besides this, I have learned to manage the few mild symptoms and am doing just about everything I was doing before the diagnosis.  To celebrate, I insisted that the chemotherapy port be removed and the Oncologist finally agreed!   Thank you so much for caring about my journey - and for you...
Read more

Lloyd Christmas

Image
  It's been almost 18 months since I knew something wasn't right with my health and about 15 months since I learned it was because of a rare and aggressive Bile Duct cancer.  My quick update is, that after all the 2022 Chemotherapy and Radiation, I still have that inoperable tennis-ball-sized tumor inside my liver.  No change.    BUT... I have not had ANY cancer treatment all this year and no medication for pain or nausea for most of the year.  Yahoo! Thank the Lord for this gift!  For the most part, I feel pretty good. In the medical world, it is easy to become distracted by tests and statistics.  Sometimes, I really fight being obsessed with those numbers.  If they are "bad", then I feel defeated.  If they are "good", then I'm victorious.  I'm embarrassed to admit that I watched the silly movie, "Dumb and Dumber".  Admit it.  I know that some of you have watched it too.  If so, you probably remember these oft quoted...
Read more

Jeegaré Man-ee

Image
(You may need to click on photo to read entire blogpost) I have reached the 2-year mark in this cancer journey.  The first year was icky, with flu-like symptoms and abdominal pain and then, the ickiness of Chemo and Radiation.  Compared to that, the second year, however, was lovely!   So, this is how I celebrated living through a whole year without taking any cancer medicine or treatments:   a visit to the Emergency Room for nausea and abdominal pain. I've spent my life rejecting the idea of the ER, unless I might have a severe accident or heart attack. Everything has worked itself out with time, a call to the MD or, at most, a visit to Urgent Care.  But, that day, in my imagination, I thought the tumor had grown or spread because the pain was getting worse.  My thoughts went to Walter Payton.  He had Bile Duct Cancer too and led to a serious infection of his Bile Duct called Sclerosing Cholangitis. It can start with a blocked bile duct that ...
Read more