I’m getting back in the game. Stay tuned.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Friday, December 28, 2007
"The End"
I need to make a New Year's resolution to not procrastinate, especially where simple things are concerned. This is by way of acknowledging that I didn't report on the CT scan as promised. However I have received calls and emails asking what the results were, and that's good because this writing has gotten pretty one-sided. I've not received any responses in quite some time. So you all can resolve to let me hear from you: email mebking@aol.com, call 574-232-3401 or respond on the blog.
Now I have that out of my system. The CT scan was just what I had hoped it would be. All is well and clear, no sign of any cancer. Even though I was fairly confident of that outcome, it was great to get the word from the nurse reading the report. When she said that there was no cancer, I realized I had been a little anxious about it. So now I really do have a new lease on life.
Chemo #7 was today. I think it was the first time Marcia has sat down for more than half an hour since #6. We had our usual good time. Her daughter Mary came in the afternoon, and we played with one of my Christmas presents. It's a game called Brain Age which is aimed at sharpening one's wits. Karl gave it to me, but it wasn't an insult. I keep complaining about all the brain cells that I'm losing to chemo, at least that's my excuse for how addled I feel most of the time. I'm hoping for great improvement, but actually I'm not so bad. Marcia and I both tested at a brain age of 36. Now if we just could find those 36 year old bodies.
Today's CA125 was 8.5. So that is more good news. And, Dr. Method is very pleased with how I'm doing. He says that I'm a model patient as all the treatments are doing just what they should. My last treatment (doesn't that have a good ring to it?) will be on Jan. 18, 2008. Then I'll have a check-up every three months for at least a year. If all is well then the time between checks will lengthen.
So I wish all of you wonderful family and friends and faithful readers a Happy New Year! I'm looking forward to my next year being ever so much better than the one just ending. My other resolutions include losing the weight I've gained and returning to the fitness level I had before this all started.
It has been great reconnecting with those of you who had been out of touch for too long, and I've certainly enjoyed hearing from the many who have contacted me. But I am going to have the end of the year be the end of my posting the blog on a semi-regular basis. I will write if there are any big events to report, but this is my sign-off for now.
I do want to tell everyone again how much your thoughts and prayers have meant to me. I'd never have gotten through this journey with the good outcome had you all not been with me. Thank you, thank you and thank you again.
Now I have that out of my system. The CT scan was just what I had hoped it would be. All is well and clear, no sign of any cancer. Even though I was fairly confident of that outcome, it was great to get the word from the nurse reading the report. When she said that there was no cancer, I realized I had been a little anxious about it. So now I really do have a new lease on life.
Chemo #7 was today. I think it was the first time Marcia has sat down for more than half an hour since #6. We had our usual good time. Her daughter Mary came in the afternoon, and we played with one of my Christmas presents. It's a game called Brain Age which is aimed at sharpening one's wits. Karl gave it to me, but it wasn't an insult. I keep complaining about all the brain cells that I'm losing to chemo, at least that's my excuse for how addled I feel most of the time. I'm hoping for great improvement, but actually I'm not so bad. Marcia and I both tested at a brain age of 36. Now if we just could find those 36 year old bodies.
Today's CA125 was 8.5. So that is more good news. And, Dr. Method is very pleased with how I'm doing. He says that I'm a model patient as all the treatments are doing just what they should. My last treatment (doesn't that have a good ring to it?) will be on Jan. 18, 2008. Then I'll have a check-up every three months for at least a year. If all is well then the time between checks will lengthen.
So I wish all of you wonderful family and friends and faithful readers a Happy New Year! I'm looking forward to my next year being ever so much better than the one just ending. My other resolutions include losing the weight I've gained and returning to the fitness level I had before this all started.
It has been great reconnecting with those of you who had been out of touch for too long, and I've certainly enjoyed hearing from the many who have contacted me. But I am going to have the end of the year be the end of my posting the blog on a semi-regular basis. I will write if there are any big events to report, but this is my sign-off for now.
I do want to tell everyone again how much your thoughts and prayers have meant to me. I'd never have gotten through this journey with the good outcome had you all not been with me. Thank you, thank you and thank you again.
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Holiday Spirit!
Good morning, all.
So who is in the Christmas spirit and has all their shopping complete? To anyone who answers "yes" to the shopping part, I don't like you quite as much as I used to, but congratulations nevertheless.
Chemotherapy #6 was on Tuesday this week. That meant an "up" day on Wednesday, when I was pretty productive. A "down" day Thursday, saved only by a fair amount of sunshine, but little was accomplished. Friday was quite good and included a fun visit from Susan Naus, a long-time friend not seen recently. Today is good so far with hopes of getting some decorating done.
Karl had a long meeting yesterday morning, so I took Charley (the poodle) for a good walk--nearly a mile and a half. I felt better for it, and heaven knows I need the exercise to help balance the continued voracious appetite.
Here's a comic that seems to fit perfectly with my situation. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I really like the comic strips which often provide the highlight of my day for humor at least.
I seem to have jinxed myself on the good CA125 number by being so proud of last time's 8.7, because it's up a bit to 11.7. I'm told that is nothing to worry about because it will fluctuate before settling on a final number that will be the one future tests will compare to. As promised by Dr. Method, I'm scheduled for a CT scan. He does that after the sixth treatment as a double check that all is well at the site of the former cancerous tumors. That's on the 17th. I'll report.
Wishing all of my family and friends a peaceful holiday season with a quote from a recent note from Jan Frieden: "May the spirit of Christmas wrap round you and give you strength for healing". This could easily be modified to "strength for living joyfully".
So who is in the Christmas spirit and has all their shopping complete? To anyone who answers "yes" to the shopping part, I don't like you quite as much as I used to, but congratulations nevertheless.
Chemotherapy #6 was on Tuesday this week. That meant an "up" day on Wednesday, when I was pretty productive. A "down" day Thursday, saved only by a fair amount of sunshine, but little was accomplished. Friday was quite good and included a fun visit from Susan Naus, a long-time friend not seen recently. Today is good so far with hopes of getting some decorating done.
Karl had a long meeting yesterday morning, so I took Charley (the poodle) for a good walk--nearly a mile and a half. I felt better for it, and heaven knows I need the exercise to help balance the continued voracious appetite.
Here's a comic that seems to fit perfectly with my situation. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I really like the comic strips which often provide the highlight of my day for humor at least.
I seem to have jinxed myself on the good CA125 number by being so proud of last time's 8.7, because it's up a bit to 11.7. I'm told that is nothing to worry about because it will fluctuate before settling on a final number that will be the one future tests will compare to. As promised by Dr. Method, I'm scheduled for a CT scan. He does that after the sixth treatment as a double check that all is well at the site of the former cancerous tumors. That's on the 17th. I'll report.
Wishing all of my family and friends a peaceful holiday season with a quote from a recent note from Jan Frieden: "May the spirit of Christmas wrap round you and give you strength for healing". This could easily be modified to "strength for living joyfully".
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Happy Thanksgiving
Since it's Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday because there are no presents to buy and the menu is preset), I think I can get a little sappy in this entry. So here goes.
When I count my blessings, it's hard to know where to begin…so I think I'll start with you all. It has meant so much to me during these four months to know you're all thinking of, praying for, and wishing me well. Without all the cards, emails, calls, visits, delicious meals, presents, and maybe most of all hugs and kisses, I know that I would not be doing as well as I am. Thank you, thank you, and thank you again.
I had chemo treatment number five last Thursday (I know I'm late with this missive). Then on Friday I had a short, but wonderful visit with Susan Lindsay, who was my maid of honor forty-two years ago. She came to South Bend from Jackson, MS, with her son who was speaking to a group at Notre Dame, just so she could see me. It has probably been more than twenty years between face-to-face encounters, so it was very special. We went to lunch at the Bistro at the Morris Performing Arts Center so I could show her what I spent twelve years of my life working on. She, too, thought it was worth the time and effort.
When I arrived home I thought I needed a nap. Two and a half hours later I woke up to realize I had missed my appointment for the post-chemo injection I was to get, and as result didn't get the CA125 number until Monday. It is a great one though – 8.7 to be exact. So those toxic chemicals are really doing their job. Who knows, maybe I will get to zero.
Now I want to add part of a commentary from USA Today written by Alcestis "Cooky" Oberg about what we have to be grateful for. But first I need to say that this absolutely does not mean I'm in any way giving my family short shrift because I love and need them everyday, but I have some outstanding friends.
On Thanksgiving, families gather together and express gratitude for the bounty in their lives.
But what is a family these days? Of course, it's parents, children and siblings — blood relatives. But with American families becoming so mobile, so scattered and so displaced, many people form close family-like attachments to friends, making them siblings by choice, brothers and sisters of life.
Perhaps this year, the prosperity we celebrate at Thanksgiving should not only be for the material riches of our lives but also for the human ones. After all, the bounty of living may not just be the abundance of goods spilling out of the cornucopia of life, but the richness of the relationships we have cultivated and harvested in our lifetime.
In recent studies, scientists have found that close friendships are very important factors to our health. In a longevity study in Australia, researchers found that a network of good friends was more important than family and economic prosperity in increasing the length of a person's life, especially among the aged. Friends help each other weather the vicissitudes of life — death of spouses, bouts of poor health, and so on. Other studies have indicated that friends reduce stress and provide emotional support through inevitable ups and downs.
Everyone has gathered best friends — an old school chum here, a trusted colleague from work there, or some wonderful person met by pure happenstance. These friends are people we can confide in, speak our hearts to — and to whom we listen intently for solace, inspiration and advice. They are our chosen family — the brothers and sisters of our souls — who clarify and define who we are, what we are doing. And these friendships never change: To speak after a decade's separation is the same as speaking just yesterday, time and distance rendered meaningless in our life journey together.
When we sit down to our feast of Thanksgiving this year, we should give thanks for that other family, that chosen family — our human harvest of enduring friendships. And they're easy to name, too. They're the ones who made a difference. "No love, no friendship," wrote Nobel Prize winner Francois Mauriac, "can cross the path of our destiny without leaving some mark on it forever."
I hope that all of you have as meaningful a Thanksgiving as I do. My list of blessings this year goes on and on.
When I count my blessings, it's hard to know where to begin…so I think I'll start with you all. It has meant so much to me during these four months to know you're all thinking of, praying for, and wishing me well. Without all the cards, emails, calls, visits, delicious meals, presents, and maybe most of all hugs and kisses, I know that I would not be doing as well as I am. Thank you, thank you, and thank you again.
I had chemo treatment number five last Thursday (I know I'm late with this missive). Then on Friday I had a short, but wonderful visit with Susan Lindsay, who was my maid of honor forty-two years ago. She came to South Bend from Jackson, MS, with her son who was speaking to a group at Notre Dame, just so she could see me. It has probably been more than twenty years between face-to-face encounters, so it was very special. We went to lunch at the Bistro at the Morris Performing Arts Center so I could show her what I spent twelve years of my life working on. She, too, thought it was worth the time and effort.
When I arrived home I thought I needed a nap. Two and a half hours later I woke up to realize I had missed my appointment for the post-chemo injection I was to get, and as result didn't get the CA125 number until Monday. It is a great one though – 8.7 to be exact. So those toxic chemicals are really doing their job. Who knows, maybe I will get to zero.
Now I want to add part of a commentary from USA Today written by Alcestis "Cooky" Oberg about what we have to be grateful for. But first I need to say that this absolutely does not mean I'm in any way giving my family short shrift because I love and need them everyday, but I have some outstanding friends.
On Thanksgiving, families gather together and express gratitude for the bounty in their lives.
But what is a family these days? Of course, it's parents, children and siblings — blood relatives. But with American families becoming so mobile, so scattered and so displaced, many people form close family-like attachments to friends, making them siblings by choice, brothers and sisters of life.
Perhaps this year, the prosperity we celebrate at Thanksgiving should not only be for the material riches of our lives but also for the human ones. After all, the bounty of living may not just be the abundance of goods spilling out of the cornucopia of life, but the richness of the relationships we have cultivated and harvested in our lifetime.
In recent studies, scientists have found that close friendships are very important factors to our health. In a longevity study in Australia, researchers found that a network of good friends was more important than family and economic prosperity in increasing the length of a person's life, especially among the aged. Friends help each other weather the vicissitudes of life — death of spouses, bouts of poor health, and so on. Other studies have indicated that friends reduce stress and provide emotional support through inevitable ups and downs.
Everyone has gathered best friends — an old school chum here, a trusted colleague from work there, or some wonderful person met by pure happenstance. These friends are people we can confide in, speak our hearts to — and to whom we listen intently for solace, inspiration and advice. They are our chosen family — the brothers and sisters of our souls — who clarify and define who we are, what we are doing. And these friendships never change: To speak after a decade's separation is the same as speaking just yesterday, time and distance rendered meaningless in our life journey together.
When we sit down to our feast of Thanksgiving this year, we should give thanks for that other family, that chosen family — our human harvest of enduring friendships. And they're easy to name, too. They're the ones who made a difference. "No love, no friendship," wrote Nobel Prize winner Francois Mauriac, "can cross the path of our destiny without leaving some mark on it forever."
I hope that all of you have as meaningful a Thanksgiving as I do. My list of blessings this year goes on and on.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Hello, Great Friends and Family
Here I am at four down and four to go. The half-way point is a pretty good place to be in a series of chemotherapy treatments. This past Thursday's session was a little different from the others because Marcia was out-of-town. Karl, always there when I need him, was my main support, and I had a great parade of friends throughout the day. This included Peggy King and Nancy King (not related), but since we've called ourselves "The King Sisters" from time to time it was fun to have us all there together. Mary Jan Hedman followed and Mary Downes rounded out the day. They brought food and presents, and I'm not sure if the other people in the chemo room found us entertaining or obnoxious, but it made the six-hour day go faster for me.
My CA125 number keeps going in the right direction. It's now 11.8, and as I mentioned last time anything under 10 is my goal, so I should definitely get there soon.
Overall things continue to go well for me. Appetite still too good, and fatigue continues to slow me down. I am reminded that during the years I worked on raising funds for the restoration of the Morris Performing Arts Center, I always said that I was much more a tortoise than a hare. It took us ten years to raise about $9million, but I never quit. Now I must characterize myself as a snail but not a total sloth yet, it just takes me so long to get things done due to frequent rest breaks.
As you see I am not writing frequently anymore, but I'll keep you all posted after each chemo. The next one is November 15. Until then Happy Halloween! Which reminds me, I now think my hair looks a lot like Linus's. Hail the Great Pumpkin!
My CA125 number keeps going in the right direction. It's now 11.8, and as I mentioned last time anything under 10 is my goal, so I should definitely get there soon.
Overall things continue to go well for me. Appetite still too good, and fatigue continues to slow me down. I am reminded that during the years I worked on raising funds for the restoration of the Morris Performing Arts Center, I always said that I was much more a tortoise than a hare. It took us ten years to raise about $9million, but I never quit. Now I must characterize myself as a snail but not a total sloth yet, it just takes me so long to get things done due to frequent rest breaks.
As you see I am not writing frequently anymore, but I'll keep you all posted after each chemo. The next one is November 15. Until then Happy Halloween! Which reminds me, I now think my hair looks a lot like Linus's. Hail the Great Pumpkin!
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Hi, Again
Well, I thought that healing from surgery was boring to write about, but that at least I had day-to-day changes. Living through the weeks of chemo treatments is a bit of a wasteland. I generally have enough energy on any given day to take a walk usually with Charley (the poodle) and Marcia (the best friend), doing some household chore, preparing simple meals and maybe going on one errand. Then it's a nap and reading or calling friends who will still listen to me talk without having many interesting topics. But I can't say that I miss running around to meetings of various committees. I'll get back to some of that but never as much as I've done in years past. Instead of admitting I want to just sit in a chair and read, I'll say that I'm resting on my laurels. How long do you think I can get away with that?
I went for the third (of eight) chemo infusions on Thursday and so far I'm doing fine. I think I mentioned before that the first day after treatment the steroids are still working and I feel great. I begin to understand why athletes like them, but, alas, by day two I start to drag. After a couple of days things improve though. A symptom I have not experienced so far is loss of appetite. I want to eat all the time especially anything with carbohydrates. I have managed to give up the numerous Oreos and glasses of milk I indulged in for the ten day that my hair was falling out. Fat is not a good substitute for hair. Speaking of hair, I didn't lose all of mine, and I discovered the other day that if I part what's left down the middle and pull the little tuft at the back straight up I can look a lot like Alfalfa from the Lil' Rascals. I have a nice wig, but around the house I mostly wear scarves and hats, and here again I realize that wrapping a bandana to tie in front, I can look like someone who could join Lucy and Ethel on the line at the candy factory. Anything for a laugh!
My doctor visit yesterday brought more good news on the CA125 levels. I have gone from 364 to 29 and now to 15. Anything below 10 is good, and I fully expect to get there soon. I feel very fortunate that the treatments are working as they are suppose to. When I spend a day in the chemo room, I come away so greatful for my ongoing improvement that I should not complain about anything.
I know that you all are continuing the send your thoughts and prayers because I feel the good effects. If anyone would like to send me an email message rather than post something to the blog, my address is mebking@aol.com, and I'll be happy to respond. And don't hesitate to call either (574-232-3401).
Thanks you all for all your support.
I went for the third (of eight) chemo infusions on Thursday and so far I'm doing fine. I think I mentioned before that the first day after treatment the steroids are still working and I feel great. I begin to understand why athletes like them, but, alas, by day two I start to drag. After a couple of days things improve though. A symptom I have not experienced so far is loss of appetite. I want to eat all the time especially anything with carbohydrates. I have managed to give up the numerous Oreos and glasses of milk I indulged in for the ten day that my hair was falling out. Fat is not a good substitute for hair. Speaking of hair, I didn't lose all of mine, and I discovered the other day that if I part what's left down the middle and pull the little tuft at the back straight up I can look a lot like Alfalfa from the Lil' Rascals. I have a nice wig, but around the house I mostly wear scarves and hats, and here again I realize that wrapping a bandana to tie in front, I can look like someone who could join Lucy and Ethel on the line at the candy factory. Anything for a laugh!
My doctor visit yesterday brought more good news on the CA125 levels. I have gone from 364 to 29 and now to 15. Anything below 10 is good, and I fully expect to get there soon. I feel very fortunate that the treatments are working as they are suppose to. When I spend a day in the chemo room, I come away so greatful for my ongoing improvement that I should not complain about anything.
I know that you all are continuing the send your thoughts and prayers because I feel the good effects. If anyone would like to send me an email message rather than post something to the blog, my address is mebking@aol.com, and I'll be happy to respond. And don't hesitate to call either (574-232-3401).
Thanks you all for all your support.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Back Home Again in Indiana
I'll start with a salute to a beautiful day. The sun is shining, the temperature is near perfect, and best of all for me is that I suffered no nausea from last Thursday's chemotherapy treatment. I'm feeling quite well except for being tired, so I just take lots of naps and feel very fortunate that I can.
We had a fine and restful trip to Wisconsin. I can sum it up briefly by saying that Karl caught lots of fish and I lost lots of hair. Having had my hair cut quite short just before going to the cabin in the woods, I thought that was a great place to have it fall out. I had taken my wig and several baseball caps and there was no one there that I knew to see me. However Karl reminded me that I should vacuum well or we might be fined for violating the "No Pets Allowed" policy. Humor helps.
We had a very easy drive back home on Tuesday, and I have nearly caught up with laundry.
Marcia accompanied me to therapy on Thursday. It is so good to have fun company for the six hour session. And the best news came from the doctor's visit where I learned that my CA-125 (tumor marker) number that had been 364.4 prior to my first treatment was 29.8 before the second. The goal is to have it below 10, and that should certainly happen before I finish the series of eight treatments.
As we experienced the variable weather at Lake Owen in north central Wisconsin, I couldn't help but start having unhappy thoughts about the cold, gray days that we have in our not too distant future. But I was saved by a quote in a news story about the changing seasons. This comes from 19th century poet Celia Thaxter and she writes, "There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart." I hope you all know by now how grateful I am for your thoughts and prayers and for staying with me as this drags on. You all are just the best of family and friends, and my grateful heart will work at staying sunny with your continued help.
Love you all!
We had a fine and restful trip to Wisconsin. I can sum it up briefly by saying that Karl caught lots of fish and I lost lots of hair. Having had my hair cut quite short just before going to the cabin in the woods, I thought that was a great place to have it fall out. I had taken my wig and several baseball caps and there was no one there that I knew to see me. However Karl reminded me that I should vacuum well or we might be fined for violating the "No Pets Allowed" policy. Humor helps.
We had a very easy drive back home on Tuesday, and I have nearly caught up with laundry.
Marcia accompanied me to therapy on Thursday. It is so good to have fun company for the six hour session. And the best news came from the doctor's visit where I learned that my CA-125 (tumor marker) number that had been 364.4 prior to my first treatment was 29.8 before the second. The goal is to have it below 10, and that should certainly happen before I finish the series of eight treatments.
As we experienced the variable weather at Lake Owen in north central Wisconsin, I couldn't help but start having unhappy thoughts about the cold, gray days that we have in our not too distant future. But I was saved by a quote in a news story about the changing seasons. This comes from 19th century poet Celia Thaxter and she writes, "There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart." I hope you all know by now how grateful I am for your thoughts and prayers and for staying with me as this drags on. You all are just the best of family and friends, and my grateful heart will work at staying sunny with your continued help.
Love you all!
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