Updating on my condition/progress

Hi.

Had my 8th treatment (8 more to go) and visit with my Dr. yesterday. CA-125 is still down (8) - WOW, this is an "8" moment. Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket and choose all "8s"! - but my liver function tests are high. Got an ultrasound and it didn't show anything, so we'll just keep an eye on the blood tests.

My strength comes and goes, for the most part I'm doing well. I'm told I will probably never get back to the full energy level of pre-cancer - good thing I started with being a "high-energy" person.

Current symptoms I'm having are not too bad, just a bit irritating.
Head aches
Neuropothy - pain in feet mostly, some in hands
High Blood pressure
Upper spine pain
Insomnia
and the infamous "Chemo brain"

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Signs and symptoms of chemo brain may include:

• Being unusually disorganized
• Confusion
• Difficulty concentrating
• Difficulty finding the right word
• Difficulty learning new skills
• Difficulty multitasking
• Fatigue
• Feeling of mental fogginess
• Short attention span
• Short-term memory problems
• Taking longer than usual to complete routine tasks
• Trouble with verbal memory, such as remembering a conversation
• Trouble with visual memory, such as recalling an image or list of words

Signs and symptoms of cognitive or memory problems vary from person to person and are typically temporary, often subsiding within two years of completion of cancer treatment.

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The Dr. wants to wait another couple treatments (end of October) before thinking about releasing me for work. Hopefully I can gain strength and get a better handle on how to work around the brain function issues.

Thanks to all of you for the wonderful support.

Good news from Dr.

Went for chemo yesterday and got some good news. My CA-125 is down to 7, and my latest CT scan does not show any cancer tumors. The chemo seems to be doing it's thing. I'm now on the 2nd phase of the Avastin trial. Hpefully I'm an getting the real drug and it will keep the cancer from growing.

All is well.

6th Chemo treatment

Had 6th Chemo treatment yesterday. Went well.
I was feeling a bit nauseous and continue to have neuropathy mostly in my feet and some in my hands.
Other than that, feeling pretty good. Do have a case of "Chemo Brain" and bit of disorientation and can't concentrate well. Probably the chemo and the path I'm using.

My check up with the DR. went well. My CA-125 is down to 9 (normal). I get scans in the next couple weeks, should show if any cancer growth - most likely not.

This is my last treatment with all 3 drugs. Starting next will just be Avastin or the placebo.

Thanks for the wonderful Surprise Party

I wish to thank all of you who helped make my surprise party a good time. I kind of knew something was up, but had no idea so many people would be there to help celebrate my 50th.
(Hard to believe I'm so old - isn't it!?)

Thanks so much.
Cheri

Here are comments about me from Mary Erwin (Theresa's sister)
Cheri's idea of fine dining is noodles with "butter".

Cheri is 50 years old and still orders from the children’s menu at Lopez. Now she will get both the kid’s deal and a senior citizen discount? Lopez may end up paying for her to dine there!

Never discuss home improvement projects with Cheri. At a party on Saturday night my wife discussed her thoughts about laying tile in our bathroom. The next afternoon Cheri had tiled the bathroom and was just finishing up the grout by the time we got home from church. Tim the Tool man has nothing on this chick!!!

Never let Cheri help you pick out a pet. She must have thought we were lonely when she brought us the psycho schizophrenic dog from the "Espanola dog lady" When you took this animal for a walk it would lay down in the middle of the street and you would have to drag it home on its back. Most dogs get hit by the car first before you have to drag them from the road. Cheri thought this dog was the pick of the litter!!!

Obviously the "odd couple" was her favorite TV show when she was a kid. And Felix Unger was her idol. When I first moved to NM we stayed with Cheri and I remember at dinner I had left my plate on the table to check on my infant son Luke. 5 minutes later when I returned to the table my plate was gone and already washed and put away in the dishwasher. This happened on several occasions so I had to adjust. Cheri could never understand why I took my plate with me to the bathroom at Thanksgiving.

Along those same Felix Unger lines, Cheri is the only person we know who not only cleans out the dryer lint vent before every load, but also uses the dust buster every time to pick up any lint that falls on top of the dryer.

She thought that one baby blanket on the floor a few weeks after
Jodi was born signified that she was letting the housework get
completely out of hand.

Cheri refuses to let any food be thrown away. She will clean the
plate of all children (I’m not sure, but she has probably even eaten
baby food), and no matter how little is left, will save it for later
in Tupperware in the fridge.

She thinks the best place to find the newest fashions is at Casa Mesita.

Cheri was relegated to traveling long distances at night even before
the kids were born so she would sleep and not need to make a rest
top every hour due to her tiny bladder.

She is most definitely a morning person if there ever was one. Once
she’s awake, whether it’s 4 a.m. or 7 a.m., she gets up. No lounging
in bed for her.

Cheri always has a cause. During the difficult time at Los Alamos
regarding scientist Wen Ho Lee spy case I recall Cheri wanting to
put a "Free Ho Lee" pronounced (frijoles) bumper sticker on her
little brown Spitfire. No place but America can you have a little
honky techno-lesbian riding in a beamer car declaring freedom for a
foreign national in the name of Mexican cuisine!!

We love you Cheri, as wish we could be there to help you celebrate
the big 50. We will drink a beer for you in Germany and toast your
birthday. The Erwins

My birthday surprise

Well, it didn't turn out the way I had hoped. Maneesha and Kiran worked for a few hours painting my head with Henna - it is supposed to be a temporary tattoo, to last a few weeks.




AFter painting on the henna, they put a solution of lemon juice and sugar on the painted parts to help it set, then I slept with the paint on. The next morning I used a butter knife to scrape off the paint and the red henna was supposed to show up after a day.

Well, it didn't quite work - looks like I have a bunch of birth mark splotches on my scalp.

The designs were so pretty and Kiran spent a lot of time designing, then painting. I appreciate the effort.

We thought I would start a new fad and many of you would shave your heads just so you could have henna tattoos painted on!

Finally - a new post. I'm now of age!

Now I am officially AARP age! They let me sign up a few months ago - in anticipation of my 50th.

To catch you up since my last posting -

I never quite felt recovered between chemo #4 and #5. Went into #5 feeling bad and didn't get the typical steroid high the following day. However, after a few days of feeling sick and feeling down after #5, I decided I would no longer feel sick, sore, ... and no longer be down. It worked!

I'm feeling good and have had a great birthday.
I'm celebrating the way Jamie does - over several days and possibly weeks.

Beth took me to Ojo Caliente hot spring on Sunday. My first time there. Soaked in some spring holes, smeared mud all over my body and let it dry, had a hot oil/rock massage, and ate a great meal at the Ojo restaurant. I would highly recommend it.

Tuesday night, Maneesha and Kiran Chitanvis helped me with my Brithday surprise - I'll tell and show you this later - it's a surprise!

Today started with me driving past this sign on the overpass.

Thanks Theresa!

Then I got to The Cottage and Susana and Beth had a Pena Colada smoothy and brownies (no nuts) ready for me. They put candles on the brownies and lit them - boy what a fire 50 candles makes! After I blew them out, the brownies were multi-colored with wax - made for interesting texture.

Followed that with a field trip to the Bradbury Science Museum with the Cottage kids to see Star Lab. On the bus ride back, I'm told to look at the "White Rock".

Thanks Annika and Kayla!


The only "kinda drag" thing today is that my oncology nurse called (while I'm on the field trip with a bunch of young germ incubators) to tell me my blood counts are way down and I'm supposed to stay away from germs, start taking antibiotics, and not eat any fresh foods. No sushi!

My kids (Jodi and Jamie) are up in the Jemez at camp until Friday, so Friday night I get to celebrate some more by going to dinner. SHH, now don't tell anyone this part, but I think my brothers and sister-in-laws are coming out from Texas to surprise me. Let's pretend we don't know.

Then, who knows what will happen after that!

Doing ok

Made it through the week after chemo treatment #4. I'm finally getting strength back on day 9 - not too bad. The nausea patch and different intravenous med seemed to work well. I was able to do the Relay for Life. It was fun, but also a bit weird being a "cancer survivor".

The family got back from Ireland. Had a good time - even got sunburned! (I'm wondering if they REALLY went to Ireland.) They said things were a bit rushed. They saw a lot and didn't get much down time. The LA Rugby team beat one Irish team and scared off another. Jodi said the clinics were really good.

Happy Independence Day everyone! If you are at Overlook Park, look for the Sage Cottage tent.