....it all makes my head spin!

Saturday night my daughter, Lili, and I were the MCs for the annual Planned Parenthood Champagne and Chocolate fundraiser. It was at the restored Eclipse Village coal town(which I used to be a part of). Lili did so well and I was quite proud of her. Maybe pics next time.


Well, yesterday was another "chemo day" in Columbus. Although the doctor first told me that avastantin (spelled wrong by me of course) isn't really chemo--then he told me that it is chemo.
We will continue on this "product" until we notice a "regression". The implication was that we would then go back to the real poison chemo. That may be 18 months (altho I guess there is no room to notice a "progression" which I am hoping for!). At $34,000 (that's what the bill said!!) for a pint bag of this stuff, one cannot continue indefinitely!

But enough of that dreary doctor talk. Since I saw the CDs I mentioned in the last blog, I decided to try to eat a diet designed to conquer cancer. Little or no meat, lots of juices and vegies. In order to prepare some juice, I called in a juice expert and as you can see by the pics above, Evelyn was teaching me the procedure. I want everybody to know that you sure as heck don't get much juice out of lots and lots of vegies and some fruit!

Yesterday in Columbus I also went to the OSU Center for Integrative Medicine and talked with them. My oncologist gave me their number but said that he really didn't believe in what they are doing! They are all about diet as well, but not vegetarians! The important thing to them seems to be to get the right amount of Omega 3s and cut back on omega 6 and 9. That and lots of other confusing ideas to both Anne and I. We are going back to get more information next week.

.....as I said, it is clearly enough to "make my head spin"!!!

I am definitely going to keep researching and looking for how to beat this thing. I can do it!
In the meantime, I am going skiing with my son tomorrow and then Thursday my daughter and I are off for an adventure in Florida. We will fly to Ft Lauderdale with no other plans than renting a car and heading south! Except for flying there it seems just like the days of my youth.

Back on Monday night!

Good, Better, Best.....

...never let it rest, until your good is gooder and your better is best! Oh boy, that comes from Edith Bruggink, my sixth grade teacher. She shoulda been a nun--a real Germanic type! I remember the day she chased Kenny Skelton around the room throwing erasers at him!

But, the word for the day is "Better". I am feeling better, both mentally and physically and I can not see why I shouldn't be able to beat this thing!

Went to Washington DC with our good friends who shall be nameless here since the last time I clearly identified somebody they were dissappointed (upset?) with me. (Maybe I should digress here and clearly state that any "old" people I identifed would be me and others close to me do not talk about the weather, etc.) We had a really good time in DC, somehow getting around so quickly on the Metro is really exciting for me.

We went out to eat, a play, dined out a lot (I always enjoy the food at the American Indian Museum), several museums, and toured the National Cathedral--very European, I liked it.

Before I forget to mention it, I put on my special "juniper tree righting hat" and pushed the tree back into place. I did not even need to put on my bathrobe to do it.

I have another chemo on Monday and I am looking forward to talking to the "integrative medicine" people afterward. I am really feeling quite good and looking forward to getting more info about my "condition". The more I read and see, the more curious I become about traditional medicine (whatever that is) and the best possible diet. An older friend sent me a very interesting video essentially panning the use of chemo as a dangerous thing. This video really was all about eating to cure cancer!

Well, since I am well into the chemo thing, I can't go back. But I certainly will continue to investigate every possible way and means to limit--or even, better--cure this silly cancer thing.
Could I actually be cured after so many have been so discouraging about the outcome? Maybe not, but remember: If one never asks the question, the answer is always No. I am trying for the "Yes".

How do you know someone is truly old?

...well, I know the answer because I have older relatives like my sister. The answer is that the most important things they talk about are their ailments and the weather!

That reminds me: Sometime you should ask me about my theories on bowel movements versus sex and what happens as one ages!

About the pics here. They may be the last ones you have to suffer through of skiing--well, this year anyhow. Unless I can go again! The important one shows my friend Chris ready to ski the Black Diamond slopes! ...and his motto has always been, "I wish I could spend more time in the office."

Well, it has been six months since my learning about the lung cancer and it has been quite a ride. Such a diagnosis can give one fear, happiness, introspection, and just plain confusion. A few weeks ago I went to see an excellent speaker named Cornell West (I hope I got that right) and he quoted Socrates, "The unexamined life is not worth living." And then he quoted another who said, "The examined life is painful." In fact, it can be quite painful.

But I would like to close this little blog with something that happened to me yesterday. I got a call from a nurse connected to the insurance company. It was good, she was checking up on my care, medicine, and condition. She asked me a bunch of questions. I answered honestly, you know: I ski a lot, have some pain, don't lay around much, and do have lots of fun. At the end she said that I didn't sound like someone with stage 4 cancer as her other patients spend lots of time in bed, watching TV, etc.

Well, I take that as a real compliment and I hope to continue in the current manner! Off to Washington DC tomorrow for the long weekend. Remember to shut off the TV and get out to have some fun.

"Fire is a faithful servant.....

......but a harsh master." Just thought I would throw in another of my Dad's sayings and I can't figure out when it will actually fit in the Blog!

"These are the best of times, these are the worst of times." I have been doing lots of interesting things and having lots of enjoyment while doing them. Tonight I am looking forward to an Eritrean Dinner put on as a benefit by an OU student. It should be interesting to see if I can conjure up food and other memories of the 22 months I spent there in the Army l964-66. I think my future "bucket list" should include a trip back there.

One of the worst of times is the flood we had in our kitchen after the pipe in the ceiling froze and broke. We think it may have ruined our maple floor!

Another problem came up during the ice storm when the pretty juniper trees in our front yard fell over due to large amounts of ice. Strong man Wil put them back up and propped them there with a ladder. Hurt my shoulder doing it too---old age can be hard work! See pic of happy boy in bathrobe before his shoulder started hurting!

But the big problem crops up ever day or two and it is "in the head." I do feel good--except for an occasional cough with deep breaths, but I do so wonder what is going on inside. It is really frustrating to see the Doc, get some chemo at ridiculous prices (more on that some other time) and then leave for 3 or 4 weeks. Dammit, I don't want or expect an immediate cure (I am told it is not cureable!) but I would like more information about my disease and more ideas about how to fight it! What is going on with adnocarcinoma research? Has anybody lived for a while with this?

I am asking and checking constantly and as I said, I do feel good like I can can beat it! But this "in the head" thing always lurks in the background! ...oh well, off to the Eritrean Dinner and some American wine.