Saba Beats Cancer

Made it to the beach and it is outstanding.  The nurse said at 3 weeks I wouldn't even remember how good it feels and she is right. Been three weeks since the MTX and no dry eye today, no runny nose, more energy - just feeling better every day. And I caught my own bait and caught one fish. Had to come in after that as don't want to overdo it. So one thing we forgot when we rented the house was to take the Roku with us. We left it here. Leave it to the kids of our renters to figure it out. So they decide to watch Netflix but rather than use one of our profiles, they create a new one - called "The Guy in the Attic".  So Katie freaks out and calls us because it is really kind of creepy.  Is there a guy in the attic watching our Netflix?  I don't remember leaving the Roku at the beach house so it is a mystery for a while until we figure it out.  But a very creepy start to that day. Will take the Roku with us this time. So the progress continues - no nap yester...

So - made it through a week of working half days with no issues. A little tired but no set backs which is HUGE.  I will take it.  Lee changed the dressing on my PICC line - still annoyed it is there but on well.  Also - I think they screwed up since I had no blood tests this week. I didn't remind them yet because I wanted to go a whole week without going to MD Anderson for the first time since February.  Absolute heaven.  Seriously. No hospital for a full week - crazy good times. Will remind them today so if I have to go back it will be next week. Scans are set for July 17th with doctor visit on the 18th.  All cancer patients (including this one) are always nervous even though I know I am cancer free. It is still there hanging over your head. Feeling better every day.  Had a little bit of tinnitus, still a little dry eye, running nose and damn this hair is taking forever to do anything. I want to be me now.  Instead I will settle for headi...

Yes - I am actually at work. I actually got a doctors note to work as is required as I end my FMLA - which is family medical leave and not what millenials think of when they see FML. At work and it feels phenomenal.  I am only working 4 hours a day this week and then resting. Will work 8 hours a day next week with only a 4 day work week.  Making sure I take it easy and have plenty of hand sanitizer and still taking antibiotics.  A few side effects lingering - the dry eye every morning, and a little tired - but that is it. Other than that I am a normal bald guy with no eyebrows or eyelashes.  Taking some vitamins that I will will accelerate the hair growth. We will see. The girls are still here and we have had some great discussions about weddings and futures and boyfriends and moving.  So nice not to talk about me and my health. Tonight we are going out to a new place for dinner.  So excited. And we are heading to the beach this weekend and I may ev...

So I had a beer and a glass of wine Friday night and both tasted great. Might have been a tad too early as I felt a little off on Saturday, more tired, and had the night sweats Friday night. This is the first alcohol since mid February. But I think I will hold off another week before trying again. Felt great this morning - have the girls in town for a father's day today. Went to the last coffee shop in the area we had not hit and then walked to breakfast near our house. Just absolute heaven. Being normal again is so amazing and feeling just that little bit better every day. We actually started planning a 2020 vacation - so very cool. Last thing I need now is to get this PICC line out of my arm. Nurses have not responded yet to my email request so I will push again on Monday.  So nice to be going to work rather than the hospital tomorrow - just amazing what has happened in the last week. And this is the longest I have gone without chemo since March 1. My body needed the break ...

So it's been one week since I finally got out of the hospital - and tomorrow will mark the first time since March 1st that I will go 8 days without a bag of chemo hanging from my arm.  Jeez. Still doing all my detox stuff so that I can get even healthier. Imagine waking up knowing that you will feel better than you have in 5 months. Every day for the next week or so. It is pure heaven. And we went to coffee shop number 3 this morning. It was a little far so just drove over there, walked the pups and sat outside and sipped my coffee and had a great egg taco.  Absolutely grand. The hair is coming in like an 11 year old going through puberty. All peach fuzz on my face and head. And it is pure white - I mean no color whatsoever.  So the first round of hair should be interesting.  Don't care as long as it is growing which means there are less toxins in my body. We did add wheat grass to the mix because there are indications it helps with detox and a couple of ladies...

Ring the bell on the chemo - we are done!  On Sunday, based upon the issues with the methotrexate and my kidneys I emailed Dr. Fowler and asked - since I have been in remission since chemo #2 and I truly believe that no cancer cells could survive the onslaught at this point - do I need chemo #6 (actually chemo 11 at this point) or is the risk to the kidneys too much? He called me on the way to the airport and said that is a good question. He has had 7 patients who ended early and all are still in full remission.  So I asked the question - is there a compelling reason to do #6 - he said he would consult with the very doctors who developed R-EPOCH and ask.  Well apparently at dinner at the big cancer conference last night they discussed my case. Their answer on whether I needed chemo #6 based on all that has happened from those that know the treatment the best:  "absolutely not". So no more chemo. He called me from Switzerland as we were walking the pups on the w...

For the first time in forever, I have not doctor's appointments on my online MD Anderson schedule.  This is a HUGE first and feels pretty damn good. BUT I still had to go to the hospital to get my dressing changed on my PICC Line.  Lee is trained to do this but we ran out of the supplies to get it done and need a new prescription for it.  So I drove down there like a normal guy and got it done. If you missed my classic rock concert on I-10 on the way home, you really did miss something.  How cool is it to be driving around like a normal guy.  Albeit with tubes coming out of his arms, a little off on the stomach and dry eyes - but pretty damn normal. Still waiting on what to do about the kidneys. But we can wait.  And live a normal life.  Yay. These type of days are numbered - have to get back to work soon. So we made the decision that we need to take advantage of it while we can. We are hitting one of the many of the coffee shops in the area each...