I'm in Durham NC. The sky is blue (Duke blue?). Joaquin and Lucy are playing on the back deck with the neighbor's kid. Blues on the stereo. Eric's sister and mom are coming over for lunch. Eric and I are going to the Duke game tonight - the season opener! Eric got tickets from a friend of his. Whoo-hoo! I miss my people back in B'ham, but I'm happy to be here.
Ethan
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
Bad News
We just got back from our appointment with Dr. Nestor. The PET scan results confirm what I suspected from the increased CEA number and the pain that I've been feeling in my bones for about a week. The PET scan showed renewed cancer activity in my bones in multiple locations. The activity level is lower than it was in June, when I was hospitalized, but much higher than it was in August, when it was almost undetectable. This is obviously disappointing but not surprising. We were hoping for a longer period of inactivity, but we only got about seven weeks since my last full chemo in late September. I'm not happy about this news, but I don't feel too bad, because I've been mentally preparing for this possibility all week, although of course hoping for better news. The Avastin only was obviously not sufficient to keep the cancer down, although who knows whether it would have cropped up again anyway if I had continued with the full chemo regimen. But I don't feel that was really an option anyway, because the fatigue had become so bad that it was really pointless to continue. So I'm perfectly at peace with my decisions. I was able to take and enjoy my trip to San Francisco, which was really wonderful. I think of it happily pretty much every day.
I am still planning to take my trip to North Carolina, leaving tomorrow (Saturday) and returning late Wednesday. I will bring plenty of pain meds and it should be fine. I'm not worried about it. I'm just glad I decided to go sooner rather than later. I will see my best friend Eric and his wife Meredith and their kids Joaquin and Lucy and Eric's sister Abby and her husband Mike and their son Elijah and Eric's mom Joyce (his dad Joel is working in Prague). Eric and I have tickets to the Duke game against Miami of Ohio (where my former master's student Joel is now getting his PhD) on Tuesday night. We may also try to get tickets to their game against Princeton on Sunday night (their season opener). Duke will probably crush both opponents, but I'm looking forward to witnessing the atmosphere at Cameron. There aren't many teams that would be competitive with Duke (ranked #1 in the preseason, defending national champs, and arguably more talented this season).
In other news, the Parkes (Michael, Teresa, and their son Will) came over last night for dinner and to watch the Celtics (who beat the Heat in Miami). Michael is also a Celtics fan. I am planning (hoping) to co-coach basketball with Michael at the YMCA again this January and February. Will and Seth will be on the team again. My mom made a delicious Indian dinner for us all. I gave Seth the gift I got him in San Francisco - a kit with which you can make various solar-powered contraptions. Seth and Will had fun building with that. I also gave Seth the iPad which my friends Deepak and Shareen very generously gave him. I loaded Labyrinth and a race car app on it and Seth enjoyed those.
Today I played basketball at the university - three games of full court. I played full court Monday, Wednesday, and Friday this week, which would be a good week even before my illness. I rewarded myself with a Acai smoothie, as I usually do.
Unfortunately, I may not be able to enjoy smoothies much longer. Dr. Nestor recommended that I try the FOLFOX chemo regimen. One of the side effects is peripheral neuropathy (numbness, tingling, and/or burning sensation in extremities) and painful sensitivity to cold, including cold beverages. I haven't decided whether I want to do that. I will take the weekend to think about it.
Miles has been very fun to cuddle with this week.
OK, I'm going to eat dinner and then go play poker - that should be fun and take my mind off things.
Ethan
I am still planning to take my trip to North Carolina, leaving tomorrow (Saturday) and returning late Wednesday. I will bring plenty of pain meds and it should be fine. I'm not worried about it. I'm just glad I decided to go sooner rather than later. I will see my best friend Eric and his wife Meredith and their kids Joaquin and Lucy and Eric's sister Abby and her husband Mike and their son Elijah and Eric's mom Joyce (his dad Joel is working in Prague). Eric and I have tickets to the Duke game against Miami of Ohio (where my former master's student Joel is now getting his PhD) on Tuesday night. We may also try to get tickets to their game against Princeton on Sunday night (their season opener). Duke will probably crush both opponents, but I'm looking forward to witnessing the atmosphere at Cameron. There aren't many teams that would be competitive with Duke (ranked #1 in the preseason, defending national champs, and arguably more talented this season).
In other news, the Parkes (Michael, Teresa, and their son Will) came over last night for dinner and to watch the Celtics (who beat the Heat in Miami). Michael is also a Celtics fan. I am planning (hoping) to co-coach basketball with Michael at the YMCA again this January and February. Will and Seth will be on the team again. My mom made a delicious Indian dinner for us all. I gave Seth the gift I got him in San Francisco - a kit with which you can make various solar-powered contraptions. Seth and Will had fun building with that. I also gave Seth the iPad which my friends Deepak and Shareen very generously gave him. I loaded Labyrinth and a race car app on it and Seth enjoyed those.
Today I played basketball at the university - three games of full court. I played full court Monday, Wednesday, and Friday this week, which would be a good week even before my illness. I rewarded myself with a Acai smoothie, as I usually do.
Unfortunately, I may not be able to enjoy smoothies much longer. Dr. Nestor recommended that I try the FOLFOX chemo regimen. One of the side effects is peripheral neuropathy (numbness, tingling, and/or burning sensation in extremities) and painful sensitivity to cold, including cold beverages. I haven't decided whether I want to do that. I will take the weekend to think about it.
Miles has been very fun to cuddle with this week.
OK, I'm going to eat dinner and then go play poker - that should be fun and take my mind off things.
Ethan
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Wednesday update
I had my PET scan this morning. I probably won't know anything about the results until our meeting with Dr. Nestor Friday afternoon. I'm glad to be done with the pre-PET scan diet (no sugar or carbs, just protein and water).
I biked to the university today and played basketball - one game of half court and two games of full court. I was matched up with Marko (the Croatian Sensation) twice and Tony once, both very good players, so that was a good challenge. I'm still soft, stiff, and slow, but it was fun.
On Monday after basketball I walked by the overlook by the student union that looks out over the bay. The view was especially dramatic that day. There was a dark storm cloud over the bay, and you could see rain falling from it in dark streaks. But it was sunny where I was, and you could see blue sky and big billowy white clouds beyond the storm cloud.
I've heard that overlook called the "$5,000 view" because supposedly that's where they take faculty recruits before telling them that their pay would be $5,000 less than at comparable institutions. In my case, it was the $26,000 view, because San Jose State had offered me $66,000 (still more than I make now), whereas my starting salary at WWU was around $40,000 (less than my first job out of college with Oracle). Still, I'm very happy with my decision. I've had a great experience at WWU, and with the psychology department in particular. I think we've managed to hire people who are not only very talented in their fields, but very nice people, which makes it a great place to work. And it was never about the money anyway - if it had been, I wouldn't have left tech. Being a professor gives you the freedom to pursue your own interests and largely set your own schedule. The currency of the realm is ideas, rather than money, and I like that.
Ethan
I biked to the university today and played basketball - one game of half court and two games of full court. I was matched up with Marko (the Croatian Sensation) twice and Tony once, both very good players, so that was a good challenge. I'm still soft, stiff, and slow, but it was fun.
On Monday after basketball I walked by the overlook by the student union that looks out over the bay. The view was especially dramatic that day. There was a dark storm cloud over the bay, and you could see rain falling from it in dark streaks. But it was sunny where I was, and you could see blue sky and big billowy white clouds beyond the storm cloud.
I've heard that overlook called the "$5,000 view" because supposedly that's where they take faculty recruits before telling them that their pay would be $5,000 less than at comparable institutions. In my case, it was the $26,000 view, because San Jose State had offered me $66,000 (still more than I make now), whereas my starting salary at WWU was around $40,000 (less than my first job out of college with Oracle). Still, I'm very happy with my decision. I've had a great experience at WWU, and with the psychology department in particular. I think we've managed to hire people who are not only very talented in their fields, but very nice people, which makes it a great place to work. And it was never about the money anyway - if it had been, I wouldn't have left tech. Being a professor gives you the freedom to pursue your own interests and largely set your own schedule. The currency of the realm is ideas, rather than money, and I like that.
Ethan
PET scan
Hi Everyone,
Send lots of positive thoughts our way today; Ethan and Kathy are at Mt. Baker Imaging now for E's PET scan.
~Grace
Send lots of positive thoughts our way today; Ethan and Kathy are at Mt. Baker Imaging now for E's PET scan.
~Grace
Monday, November 8, 2010
Good news/bad news again
Good news: today I biked to the university and played basketball - two games of full court. It was fun and I wasn't that tired afterward.
Bad news: I am starting to feel pain in my bones that reminds me of the pain I felt back in May and June when I was hospitalized. It isn't that bad yet, but I can feel it in several places. I was woken up last night around 12:30 am by a sharp pain in my right femur. I took an oxycodone for the pain, not realizing that it would keep me from sleeping, so I was up most of the rest of the night.
I have a PET scan on Wednesday morning. It takes at least a day to get the results. I meet with Dr. Nestor late Friday afternoon, so I will probably get the results then. We will talk about them and the increase in my CEA blood marker. Needless to say, I am concerned about what the PET scan will show. We'll see. Let's hope for the best.
Ethan
Bad news: I am starting to feel pain in my bones that reminds me of the pain I felt back in May and June when I was hospitalized. It isn't that bad yet, but I can feel it in several places. I was woken up last night around 12:30 am by a sharp pain in my right femur. I took an oxycodone for the pain, not realizing that it would keep me from sleeping, so I was up most of the rest of the night.
I have a PET scan on Wednesday morning. It takes at least a day to get the results. I meet with Dr. Nestor late Friday afternoon, so I will probably get the results then. We will talk about them and the increase in my CEA blood marker. Needless to say, I am concerned about what the PET scan will show. We'll see. Let's hope for the best.
Ethan
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Weekend update
I felt a little tired and achy this weekend. On Saturday I watched Stanford beat Arizona to move up to #6 in the BCS standings (Go Cardinal!). That evening Grace and I saw the movie "Waiting for Superman" about public schools and education reform efforts in the U.S. On Sunday we had breakfast with Jane and Gene at the Harris Ave Cafe in Fairhaven. That afternoon we met the Bunn family at Zuanich Park on the waterfront and the boys (Seth, Miles, Sam, Eli, and Micah) played together.
My exciting news: I am going to visit Eric and Meredith in Durham NC this coming Saturday through Wednesday. I am looking forward to seeing them and their kids Joaquin and Lucy. Eric and I are planning to go to at least one Duke basketball game while I am there. I have always wanted to see a game at Cameron Indoor Stadium, Duke's famously small, loud, and crazy home court.
Ethan
My exciting news: I am going to visit Eric and Meredith in Durham NC this coming Saturday through Wednesday. I am looking forward to seeing them and their kids Joaquin and Lucy. Eric and I are planning to go to at least one Duke basketball game while I am there. I have always wanted to see a game at Cameron Indoor Stadium, Duke's famously small, loud, and crazy home court.
Ethan
Friday, November 5, 2010
Seth's loose tooth
Yesterday I biked to the university and played basketball again. Four games of half-court. In the afternoon we visited with Gene and his daughter Christina and her husband Josh and their three cute kids: Eli, Seth, and Ephraim (who is 8 months old and so super-cute that I wanted to steal him).
Today I spent the day with Seth and Lynn. We went out to Wasabee Sushi for dinner. Seth had trouble eating the sushi (his favorite food) because his top front tooth was so loose. After dinner, we went over to my house and Seth and Miles played together. Finally Seth popped out his loose tooth. He was happy and proud about it. A couple of pics (warning: the pics are a little gross): http://remmel.shutterfly.com/1969
Ethan
Today I spent the day with Seth and Lynn. We went out to Wasabee Sushi for dinner. Seth had trouble eating the sushi (his favorite food) because his top front tooth was so loose. After dinner, we went over to my house and Seth and Miles played together. Finally Seth popped out his loose tooth. He was happy and proud about it. A couple of pics (warning: the pics are a little gross): http://remmel.shutterfly.com/1969
Ethan
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