The Adventures of Cancer Boy

Chapter 9: 2 weeks later

2009-02-04T22:19:00.000-08:00

So, it's been 2 weeks since my last post. Sorry about the time lag, but I have been busy with life and chemo. In the two weeks I have come to some realizations that have helped me to better deal with what is going on.

#1: Prayer is good. I have come to realize that the prayers of others is good. I don't know if it is good for me, but it is good for the people who are praying. I have my own means of coping with what is going on, but other people don't. Thus, faith helps them to deal with what is happening. I have come to realize that it is wrong to question others faith, something I have never done in the past. So please, if praying helps, I can use any you have.

#2: Chemo is good. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Although the chemo sucks, it is not as bad as breaking a leg or even having a really bad case of the flu. Yeah, I was being a whiny cry baby, but I realized that it was time to man up and get through this. As a teacher I am a role model to my students, not to mention my own children. They don't need to see me being all mopey and down just cause I don't feel well, instead I can show them how to cope with things that may suck but don't have to ruin your life. Yeah, I'm tired and don't feel well most of the time, but I can put on a happy face and show people that I have the strength to get through this.

#3: Friends are better. It is amazing what good friends will do. My birthday was about 10 days ago, and 5 of my friends came over and allowed me to shave their heads. A couple of them even came and sat with me during my last chemo session. I think it took them a while to adjust to what was happening, but they have all come through. I hope that the fact that I can show them I am doing well and still living the good life allows them to be more comfortable with my disease. Overall, although I was disappointed at first, I am truly proud of how my friends have come through.

#4: Family is best. My sister-in-law came and stayed for a week to help my wife out. To hear my wife laugh again was the best medicine I have had in a long time. I have talked with my brother and sister more in the last 2 months than in the last 2 years, and I am a better person because of it. Without family, there is really not much in life. I am so lucky to have so much family that cares and wants to make sure that I get better. Even my mother, who insists on calling every day, helps me get through the tough times.

So, 2 weeks later and I am doing better both physically and mentally. More chemo on Tuesday, but I intend to make the most of this weekend, living life to its fullest and spending time with those whom I love - my friends and family.

Chapter 8: Tired

2009-01-21T23:21:00.000-08:00

Cancer Boy is tired. I sleep 8 hours a night, I nap 3 hours a day, and I am always tired. It gets easier as I get farther from Chemo, but there is the dread that another dose of chemo is right around the corner.

I'm tired of people being overly nice to me. I'm not dying, I'm just a little sick. There are millions of people in the world who are in worse shape than I am, what right do I have to accept the kindness of others?

NOTE: I'm also tired of people saying they are praying for me. If G-D gave a damn, she wouldn't have given me cancer in the first place. Yeah, I know, she has a reason for everything, but I'm kind of tired of her bullshit and wish she could leave me alone for a couple of years.

I'm also tired of people who ignore my condition. I know, I can't have it all, but do people need to go out of their way to ignore what I'm going through because they are scared of cancer. I know you can't relate unless you've been there, but please, try to have a little compassion.

Mostly I'm tired of chemo. I've only been twice, and already I'm done. I have a life to live and it steals it away from me. I'm tired of being sick, in pain, and a total waste at home. I'm tired of my wife crying because of the stress she is under and I am unable to help because the chemo makes me so ill. I'm tired of not being a good father because I don't have the energy to deal with my boys.

The one thing I am not tired of is life. So I keep going knowing that chemo is in a week. I turn 39 on Friday, and I know that I want to see at least 50 more birthdays. I want to see my boys grow up and lead lives of their own. And I want to spend a lot of time with the woman I love. So, I put up with being tired and the chemo and all the bad stuff, because I know that the good stuff is right around the corner.

Chapter 7: Upsin Downs

2009-01-17T00:09:00.000-08:00

Well, just as I was feeling better, I received another dose of chemo. Nothing like chemo to knock you back on your ass. I was doing great - out for walks, tasting food, working; just like life was normal, then I got the reminder that, no, my life is no longer normal. Gotta say, not really enjoying the chemo.

On other fronts, things have been going very well. I have been receiving tons of support from friends and family...

Note - I have the most wonderful wife in the world. With everything going on, she is doing an amazing job of holding it together. Granted, I knew she was tough - I have the bruises to prove it - but she is showing inhuman stamina. Truly my wife is an amazing woman.

One family member sent me rye bread - may not seem like a big deal, but trust me, there is nothing better than a good rye bread and it is something I can't buy in the town I live in. My friends have been better and the people at work are wonderful. Still not sure if I'm going to tell my students, although, as I lose my hair - which is happening rapidly - they will probably guess what is going on.

2 more treatments and then the PET scan. Hopefully, the PET will be positive and I can be done with chemo soon, otherwise it is another few months. The light at the end of the tunnel is there and growing brighter especially with a trip to Mexico in June to now look forward to.

So keep your chins up as Cancer Boy is getting through. To all my supporters, I appreciate everything you do to help me and my family.

Chapter 6: Resistance is futile.

2009-01-08T20:01:00.000-08:00

Cancer Boy became a Borg this week. I had a port-a-cath put in to help cut down on pain when I get chemo. They can now plug directly into the drip, no more holes in my hands or arms. Now, I always thought it would be cool to be a cyborg, but this isn't exactly what I had in mind. I wanted to be like Johnny Mnemonic and plug into the web with a port in my head. Still, anything that makes me part machine is very cool.'

Only problem is that the damn thing hurts. Sure it was just put in 2 days ago, but come on, it was a 20 minute surgery. This hurts more than both of my biopsies which lasted longer and had bigger scars.

Note: I hate Pharmacists. Mine decided that he knew best and wouldn't give me the drugs I requested one doctor to give me because another doctor had given me something else. He felt that I was going to sell them in a back alley somewhere, or that I'm an addict. Now we are talking about a drug that makes me jittery and gives me constipation. Yeah, that's what I'm going to become addicted to.

So, equipped with my new powers I am ready to tackle chemo again in 4 days. Just as I am starting to feel good again, I get more poison pumped into my body. Hopefully my new powers will help to cut down on the lingering pain and will allow Cancer Boy to fight the good fight.

Ch. 5 The Surreal Life

2009-01-03T20:37:00.000-08:00

I had an interesting thought yesterday as I was sitting in pain unable to do anything. A week ago, I was fine. Good health, feeling good, eating well, happy with life. Sure, I had cancer, but it was not affecting my quality of life. A week later and I can't eat, I'm in pain, have no energy and can barely get off the couch. So the question becomes, how is this better? I was healthy, now I'm not.

10 years from now, I will probably look back at this and realize that it was worth if in the long run. But short term, my quality of life has gone way down hill.

Note: I am a big fan of food. Since I had chemo, I not only can't taste anything, but it hurts to eat. Now, as a diet plan, this is great, but as a way to get better, it kinda sucks. My wife made Captain Crunch French toast for breakfast, and it had almost no taste. I might as well have eaten cardboard with Styrofoam bits.

Life moves on and I am growing used to my now lower quality of life. Every day I feel a little better, but every day I find I am eating less and less. Hopefully it is something the Dr. will be able to help me with, or I am going to be a stick in 6 months.

On another side note: My cable company has stopped carrying Fox. As I can do little but sit on the couch, to lose out on 2 of the 5 TV programs I watch, not to mention the National Championship game is really getting me cranky. A friend of mine today called me Cranky Cancer Man, and it is true. All I know is that both Fox and the cable company will be getting a call from Cranky Cancer Man so please feel free to pity whomever I reach on the phone.

Chapter 4: Mana from heaven

2008-12-31T09:50:00.001-08:00

I awoke this morning at 5:30. Now for some this may seem normal, but not for me. Not when I went to bed at midnight. But there I was, wide awake and having to pee. It should have been 8:30 or 9, but no, 5:30 it was. The scary thing is, at my chemo training the day before, the nurse said I would wake up at 5:30 to pee. I said she was crazy but she said just wait and see. And sure enough, 5:30 hit and I was up like a light. I Woke up queasy and not wanting to eat anything. Water doesn't taste good, saltines taste like snot and the worst were the doughnuts which tasted like burned creamed spinach:

Side note on doughnuts: My wife got Hostess or Entamenss. Usually a pretty good call, just didn't sit well. But how come the chocolate doughnuts in these prepackaged boxes of goodness are always sweaty? The fake chocolate always tastes good, but it can be difficult getting around the sheen of perspiration. It's kinda like hugging someone who has been working out. Yeah, the hug is good, but it takes away from the experience.

So, there I am, sick to my stomach and miserable when my wife says the magic word: Bacon. Everything is better with bacon. So, I had a bacon and lettuce sandwich on sourdough with mayo. Although it made me feel very white trash, , it tasted really good and, after a second sandwich, I was feeling almost like a spry 80 year old. Hooray for the healing power of Bacon. I have found my secret serum and am well on my way to battling the forces of evil. I think I am going to start a new chemo diet: Bacon, water and grapefruit. I'll write a 250 page book on how to eat just these foods when you are having chemo. I should make enough to just pay for my Dr's bills.

Chapter 3: The Poison Pump

2008-12-30T20:14:00.000-08:00

Started Chemo today. Mostly unimpressed. 5 hours sitting in a chair getting 7 different medications pumped into me. Only one was painful, and there was no sickness at all. 2 months of people telling me how awful chemo was; the sickness, the pain, the hair loss. Yet there I was feeling fine, although bored, wondering what the big deal was.

Then it was dinner time.....

So, the queasiness started, but not enough to keep me from eating. And then it got worse as my wife was preparing the meal...

On a side note: If you are making food for somebody who is having chemo, don't make taco chili. Now, I appreciate the effort put in to making dinner for my family, but taco chili, really??? They know I'm going to be sick to my stomach and have problems eating and they bring taco chili. Please don't bring taco chili to your friends or family with cancer, bring something very bland.

So, my wife is getting dinner ready and I am getting sicker. She finally sets the taco chili down, I take one bite and it tastes like donkey butt (don't ask how I know, but I do). So, I put my spoon down and pick up the nice sourdough bread and figure I will be like my sister and just have bread for dinner. Problem is that the bread tastes like burned lamb brains. So, I force down some bread then sit on the pot for 20 minutes waiting for nothing to come out. Fortunately, my wife loves me, went to the store and got me doughnuts and Gatorade. Still tasted bad, but not as bad as taco chili.

So, sick to my stomach, food tastes like ass and I'll lose my hair in 16-21 days. They say it's worth it, except that I wasn't sick to begin with. Sure, some PET scan said I had lymphoma, but I wasn't sick. People would come over to bring food and look at me like I was faking it just to get free food. So, here I am paying someone to not only make me sick, but to make food taste like ass. Oh, and the Gatorade tasted like toilet water spiked with a bloody tampon.

Yeah, so worth it...

Chapter 2: The Cancer Effect

2008-12-23T23:07:00.000-08:00

Why does cancer bring out the best and worst in people? In the month I have known about my condition I have seen the bad, good and wonderful in my fellow man. But why cancer? I've had asthma all my life, certainly as life threatening as Hodgkin's, yet I was never treated differently. Well, not quite true, I couldn't get into the Army because of my asthma. But in general, I was treated like everyone else. Now, all of a sudden, I am either the most special person on the planet, or a leaper.

The compassion by some is simply unbelievable. We got an e-mail today from a couple whose only link to me is our shared religion and place of worship. They offered not only to babysit our children, but to cook us meals and do our grocery shopping. These are people I've met once and they are willing to do all of this. Now, either they have too much time on their hands, they are closet pedophiles or they truly understand the meaning of charity. Either way, the offer was just incredible. The love from some is simply mind blowing: A doctor who wrote off an old bill, a friend of my wives who cooked us meals; all of this truly reaffirms my belief in people.

Another consequence of my cancer is that it has brought my family closer. Amazing how a little disease can bring a family together. Brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, parents; all have been very supportive. Now, I am blessed to have such a wonderful family who cares so much about me, but why does it take a bad thing to get family members communicating? I love my siblings, they are the greatest, but I have talked to them more in the past month than the last year. Now, I know I am not the easiest person to talk to, but it seems like we would have better things to talk about than how my latest biopsy went. Also, it is very weird to talk to family that I almost never talk to. It is awkward to have a conversation with my wife's aunt who I barely know. At times I feel blessed to have such a large family; at other times it feels like a burden, although a burden I am happy to bear.

The group I find the most interesting are the ones who treat me like I'm not there anymore. Yeah, they call my wife to find out how she's doing and make sure everything is OK, but they won't talk to me. It's like they will catch cancer by being associated with me. And when they do talk to me, I can tell that just talking about it makes them uncomfortable. Yeah, I have cancer, but I'm not dying. It's not like I have a large, hairy nut sack growing from my chin. Yet, that would make some people more comfortable than cancer.

Cancer can be a big deal, but only if people make it one. Yes, people can die from it, but more people die from eating at McDonald's. There are worse things in the world than a cancer, like liver and onions. I know it can be scary, but why is it any more scary than driving down the street or eating my mother in laws cooking. I do appreciate the good thoughts of others and all the help they have offered. And I understand why some people don't want to be near me like I haven't bathed in months (It's only been 2 days). What I don't understand is why this has to happen because I have something called cancer. It would be much easier to understand if I got these reactions because I teach at-risk kids, or have weird facial hair.

Like all things in life, we have to take the good with the bad. I will always have time for people who call and want to know how I am doing, although the answer will always be fine. I will be grateful for any and all help people are willing to give to my family and I will be understanding of those who can't be around me right now. One of the powers I have received as Cancer Boy is the power to deal with all things with a smile on my face so that I can help others with their fears and worries. And, once everyone is back in their happy place I can do that which I love most; spend time with my family and play HALO. Notice, people don't feel bad for me that I play video games - they make fun of me for that yet I die while playing video games; with cancer, I'm not even sick.

Chapter 1: The Cancer Exposed

2008-12-22T14:27:00.000-08:00

So, after months of testing, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, Stage 2. Now, I know that it is a fairly mild case of Hodgkin's, but cancer is cancer. Since the testing began, I have been contemplating how this will effect my life style and the conclusion I have come to is that it will make me more cynical than I already am. However, I have decided to use my new super powers to fight evil, or at least the cancer that has attacked my body.

As I prepare to start Chemotherapy, I pondered what this means exactly. I will be doing 4 cycles of chemo, or 4 months. Each cycle consists of 2 treatments given every other week. Each treatment costs about $5ooo. So, I am going to be paying my doctor about $40,000 to poison me. Now he claims that he is going to be saving my life, which I could believe if I felt even a little sick or was experiencing any of the physical symptoms of Hodgkin's. However, as I feel as good as I did a 5 years ago, I wonder if the $40,000 isn't just a little too much.

Yeah, I know, how much is my life worth?? I would hope more than $40,000, but it still seems excessive to pay that much to poison somebody. If I wanted to poison my boss, I could pay somebody $10,000 to put arsenic in his Coors Lite. If I was in the mob, I'd probably do it for free. As such, I find it difficult to defend the exorbitant expense, however, I hope that this blog will help me come to terms with the financial rape I am about to receive.

As to the cancer itself, I feel somewhat like a phony. Sure, I have cancer, but it's not life threatening, it is highly treatable and there is a only a slim chance it will ever come back. Does this make me a cancer poser?? It's not like the Dr. said I only have 5 months to live. Instead, I have a few months of treatment then it's all better. It's like I got syphilis, but of the lymph nodes.

I start chemo in a week. Until then, I am in a holding pattern as the cancer continues to eat away at my lymph nodes. However, since I don't feel the tiny teeth chomping away, it's not all bad. So, until the poison starts eating away at my system, Cancer Boy will continue to fight the good fight.

Stay tuned for the next adventure of Cancer Boy: Why chemotherapy is like a hard kick to the testicles.