Uuuuppppdddaaaaaaaaatttttte

Teresa reminded me that I haven't posted anything for a couple of weeks. Been kind of tired. All of my blood counts are getting pretty low. You may notice that I'm typing slower than usual, so try to read slower. I had a platelet transfusion a couple of weeks ago and the platelets went up, then they went back down, but now they went up a little all by their little selves based on this mornings test. All the other counts went down at a slightly slower pace than the previous 3 weeks. Maybe I've hit bottom (I've said that before).

My memory has been a little absent. I remember things eventually, it just seems to take a bit longer to call up some things in my head. Not sleeping too well, unexpectedly, and I'm having weird dreams. Teresa suggested I write down the dreams and write a screenplay or a book. Problem is I don't remember them because my memory is sluggish. Oh yeah, I meant to say I'm having a little trouble with my memory and tend to repeat myself. And, my memory doesn't seem to be as good. I'm sure it will come back. What was I saying? Oh, my memory hasn't functioned too well lately.

My next doctor appointment is coming up. Don't remember the date, sometime in early April...with some doctor...in some other town other than wherever I live at the moment.

Hasta la vista till the next time Teresa reminds me to write a blog update.

Benadryl Sucks

Got my platelet transfusion Friday. I thought I would stroll in, sit in a comfy recliner, have blood drawn, test and type the blood, then get pumped up with a nice, tasty bag of fresh platelets. That's what happened, except for one little extra step. Benadryl. Following is the nearly exact exchange between the nurse and me after learning of the need for benadryl.

"That is given to counteract potential adverse reactions to the new platelets", said the infusion nurse.

"What potential adverse reactions?", asked the patient (me).

"Probably none", replied the nurse.

"Then why the Benadryl?", quizzed the patient.

"In case there is a reaction.", said the nurse.

"Like what?", asked the patient.

"Oh, probably nothing at all", answered the nurse.

"Then let's skip the benadryl!", exclaimed the patient.

"No, we can't do that in case there may be an adverse reaction", said the nurse.

"WHAT REACT...never mind, load me up", sighed the patient.

Benadryl makes me sleepy. I don't like to be sleepy. So, nap time for Scotty. After the benadryl and platelets, Teresa led me to the car. I took a 2 minute nap, standing up, while the parking attendant got the car. In the car, 15 minute nap while Teresa drove to Jessica's office. Nap in the waiting room while waiting for Jessica to finish with something. Went to Olive Garden for lunch. Nap with my head resting on my hands, trying not to drop my face in the spaghetti and meatballs. Back in the car. "Got to go to the mall", says Teresa. "Find a sunny spot to park the car", says Scott, "I'll wait". At the mall, nap in the car. Teresa gets back in the car. "One more stop", she says. "Sunny spot", I says. More nap. Teresa gets back in the car. "Going home now", she says. "Good night", I says.

Anyway, got my blood work results a little bit ago. Platelets are up to 48 from 20, that's good. White blood and hemoglobin (red) are unchanged from last Thursdays test. So, I'm wondering if I'm on the way back up.

Got to go back to work. Stay tuned.

Pump Me Up

Well, the blood counts are headed down a bit more aggressively now. My platelet count hit 20 today which means I go to OU Med Center for a platelet transfusion tomorrow. White blood cell count is below normal, but not far, and hemoglobin (red) is still barely in the normal range. I was expecting this, I just expected it sooner. I don't know how many billions of platelets I'll get tomorrow. Right now, I'm just trying to stay away from sharp objects. I guess my superpowers from the radiation are turning into super-weeney-powers. I still feel OK, a bit tired but nothing that really keeps me down. I'm still working all day, every day, which is good.

There's the latest. Stay tuned.

Pet Scan Rocks!

Got the results of the PET scan that was done on Monday, and it is GREAT! It's a two page report with lots of big $5 words. The layman's interpretation, for people like me, is that the lymphoma below my jaw is completely gone. Also, other areas in my chest and abdomen that previously showed signs of possible lymphoma activity are clear. That is the best PET scan result since this whole thing started 5 years ago. This Bexxar stuff is pretty cool.

Brother Mark took another picture of me after Bexxar. Here's the link to it: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v446/Arrowheaded/Resized_Fish_Jan_2007_016_S.jpg

I can't figure out how to hyperlink to it, so you'll probably have to copy that line and paste it in a browser to see the picture.

Still feeling kind of fatigued and the doctors are still watching my blood counts closely. That's a pretty good trade off, though, for this kind of result.

A Freakin' Miracle of Modern Medicine

Well...not really, but the doctors were very impressed so far with the results after treatment. They were a bit surprised that the side effects have been so mild. But, my blood counts recently have shown noticeable declines, particularly platelets. They warned that there still could be side effects to come if a trend develops in lowering blood counts. Platelets dropped the most, down to 61 from 184. The normal range is 140 to 300. They said if that keeps dropping and reaches 20 I'll have to get a platelet transfusion. White blood count is down a bit below normal, but not bad. Red blood cells have barely moved and are still in the normal range. That's all based on results from this weeks blood work.

I had the PET scan this morning but the results were not in to the doctors by the time of my visits. They'll call me in a couple of days when they get them. Dr. Thompson, the radiation oncologist was downright flabbergasted at the short time it took for the lump to disappear. He said he's never seen a tumor shrink that fast. He pushed and poked all over me looking for a lump but found none.

Anyhoo, I sure am happy with the results so far and so are the docs. I'll keep posting updates about once a week until the blood counts start moving up. I might make stuff up just to make it exciting.

Aunt Janny, your comment post worked! You figured it out! Thanks.

Still Kickin'

It's been awhile since my last post. Things have been really uneventful without much, if anything, to post. Blood tests are still coming back with acceptable results, not feeling any side effects to speak of, and, the good news, the lump appears completely gone. I have doctors appointments and a PET/CT scan this Tuesday, I think I already mentioned that, and that's about it. The disappointing part is I didn't develop superpowers, no x-ray vision, still unable to leap tall buildings in a single bound, bullet's probably won't bounce off of me, and so on. Teresa and I are sleeping in the same bed again, I can now pee standing up, my eating utensils can now intermingle with the rest of the utensils, and I can get within 6 to 10 feet of other humans without exploding their thyroid glands. That's like the Y2K buildup when everyone thought all computers were going to crash, then nothing happened. I'll take that kind of non-excitement anytime. So, one more update after the follow up doctor visits and scan then I'll probably sign off this blog and hope this issue never rears its ugly head again. But, it's been fun. I might post a fishing report every once in a while.

Hello Mr. Fatigue

Mr. Fatigue arrived yesterday at work like an unwanted guest or an IRS agent. I could feel myself winding down beginning about 1:00. It's not as bad as chemo fatigue, and I don't feel bad. I'm just tired in spite of getting a good nights sleep. It's still with me today and will likely hang on for a couple of weeks or so. Teresa and I looked at some houses today in Ardmore, then went to Walmart. I was in slow motion all day. By the way, still no hit on a house. For those of you that don't know, Teresa and I bought a little house in Madill and have been looking for the past couple of months for something bigger and probably in Ardmore. The reason we have the house in Madill is a very long story I might tell some other time.

I have a couple of follow up doctors appointments and a PET/CT scan on 2/17 at OU Med Ctr. I'm anxious to see what the scan will show. My bones are probably turning into titanium and I'll be morphing into Scottzilla, as Mark predicted. Egg sandwiches are delicious, Jarrett, and I've been having an egg on a muffin for breakfast every morning. That's about the same as an egg sandwich and very tasty.

I'm going to take a nap now.

Exciting Update...Really!

It's only 6 days after Bexxar, but that lump on my neck is already shrinking. That is about 2 weeks sooner than the docs said I'd notice any changes. I thought I felt a change Saturday but thought it was my imagination. Sunday it really felt smaller. Monday morning it was clearly smaller by the way it looked and felt. I'd guess it's about half the size it was. And, I still feel pretty good. And, my blood work from Monday came back looking good. So far, I'm a big fan of that Bexxar!

This might be a short-lived blog if this keeps up.

Weekend Update

This was the first weekend after the Bexxar dose. It was so action packed I'll have to break it down by hour.

Sat. 10:00 - Got up
Sat. 12:00 - Took a shower
Sat. 12:03 - Got dressed (I don't take long showers)
Sat. 12:04 to 2:00 - Watched TV
Sat. 2:00 to 6:00 - Broke down and cleaned, oiled and greased half of my fishing reels
Sat. 6:00 - Ate dinner (I also had a late breakfast earlier, but skipped lunch)
Sat. 7:00 - Watched a movie
Sat. 11:00 - Exhausted from the hectic day, went to bed

Sun. 6:30 - Got up, ate Malt-o-Meal, made coffee
Sun. 7:00 to 12:00 - Cleaned, oiled and greased the other half of my fishing reels.
Sun. 12:00 - Did some yard work, got tired.
Sun. 2:00 to 4:00 - Took a nap
Sun. 5:00 - Started the grill for steaks, grilled steaks, ate steaks.
Sun. 6:00 to Now - Watching 60 Minutes

I need a Personal Secretary to keep up with my schedule.

Today, I started feeling a little fatigued. Not bad, but it's here as expected. The good part about getting fatigued is the naps. I still feel pretty good. Teresa can't wait for tomorrow because I go back to work and she wants me to go back to work. She says I'm driving her crazy. I'm sure that's because I've been flying around the house like a Tasmanian Devil (not).

I appreciate all the comments here and phone calls. Keep them coming. To respond to some comments, Bill, I will gladly roll your trash to the street, for a fee. Cindy, you write fine, call if you want. I'd call you but my fingers are tired from typing and stuff.

More to come in a couple of days.

Dose Day +2

Well, what a day! I read magazines, watched TV, did some work, read some work email, etc, etc. The highlight of my day yesterday was rolling the trash can to the street. Today, I got to roll the empty trash can back to its home, AND I got the mail. What a rush! Seriously, I still feel fine. I have my first post-dose blood test, called a CBC (complete blood count), this Monday. I'll have blood work every Monday for about 3 months. The good news is I can get that done here in Madill so I don't have to drive to Oklahoma City every week. Barring the unknown, I shouldn't have to go back up to OKC for about a month. On 2/19 or 2/20 I have follow up visits with Dr. Selby (Hematologist) and Dr. Thompson (Radiation Oncologist), both at OU Med Center.

I hope to have something exciting to report on future updates, then again, I hope I don't have anything exciting to report, if you know what I mean.

Day After the Big Dose

Spent the day home from work, as instructed by the doctors. Right now and up to this Sunday they said I should avoid other people. Not to protect me, but to protect them FROM me. Yesterday the nuclear physicist, JR, measured the amount of radiation coming off of me using a Geiger counter. If you've ever heard one of those things, probably on TV shows or movies, you'll know it usually sounds like a series of clicking noises. When he turned that thing on about 1 yard from me there were so many clicks it sounded like one continuous, loud hissing noise. Wow! That's like a story out of a comic book superhero series where a bad guy gets nuked. But, I promise to use my powers for good, not evil.

I feel fine. It was near torture staying in the house all day. The temp got up to about 70 or better, calm wind, perfect for fishing, BUT I CAN'T LEAVE THE HOUSE. I am able to access my work email from home so I worked a bit, watched TV, read magazines and visited many fishing websites. And, my iPod has a fishing game on it that I played a few times. That's about as close as I'll get to actually fishing for a couple of weeks.

Dr. Anglin, a new recruit in my Army of Doctors, said yesterday that my blood counts will decline over the next few weeks. In about 4 to 5 weeks the counts should start coming back up. In the meantime, I may have to get a transfusion or two if the counts get too low. He said platelets will probably go down first, then white blood cells, then red blood cells. I'm eating healthy portions of red meat and other iron rich food to try to keep the counts as high as possible.

My plans for tomorrow include reading work email, reading magazines, watching TV and visit many fishing websites. Oh, and I'll play the fishing game on my iPod. I can't wait.

Big Dose Done

Had the big dose of Bexxar today. They gave me a 108 mlg. That's a little bigger than usual because they said I metabolized the test dose fairly quickly. So far, I'm just groggy from the Benadryl and don't feel anything else going on yet. The procedure was identical to the test dose and took about the same time. Nothing eventful took place, just did the deed and came home. I'll update some more after the benadryl wears off.

Big Dose Delayed

Today was supposed to be the day that I got the therapeutic dose. But, the dose of Bexxar intended for me didn't pass quality control. Something about this molecule not binding with that molecule. The new day is Wednesday 1/21.

Daily Routine

Teresa pointed out that I spend a lot of words here talking about the actual treatment, drugs, tests, etc, and little about changes in my (and our) daily rituals. So here is a glimpse at an average day for an irradiated guy like me.

Sleep in a separate bed. Teresa and I have been sleeping in different bedrooms since last Thursday. She likes it. I'm worried.

No long trips of 4 hours or more sitting near others. I can ride in the back seat all by myself on shorter trips. We did that on the way back last Thursday. It was like being a rich guy having a personal driver.

Stay at least 6 feet away from pregnant women and children. Not a problem, most women try to avoid me and kids only show up when I give them money.

Minimize time spent near others and delay return to work. I've been waiting for those orders my whole life!

Don't let others use my bathroom, if possible. Teresa set up a bathroom for me in the back yard.

Menstruating women should use a flushable tamp.....wait, that's not supposed to be for me.

Sit while urinating and flush the toilet 3 times with the lid down. These are very, very unnatural actions for a man. When I sit I get confused whether I'm supposed to pee or, well, the other. Put the lid down?? Put the LID DOWN?? I'm not familiar with that procedure.

Use separate towels, washcloths, and toothbrush from rest of household members. Easy enough, but now we have to buy another toothbrush (just kidding).

Use separate dishes and eating utensils for 1 week and wash them separately. No problem, I only use my fingers anyway.

Do not breast feed. I can and will comply with that one.

In a future post I'll describe newly discovered and expected superpowers as a result of radiation.

The Little Dose

Had my first dose of Bexxar today, and it was pretty uneventful. Met a new member of my Army of Doctors. J.R. (an Indian with an alphabet sized and spelled name) is now my Nuclear Physicist. Also met Eric, the Nuke Med Tech, who injected the Iodine 131 (the radioactive part of Bexxar). And met Brian, the RN who sets up my IV and checks my vitals. First, I get Tylenol and Benadryl. They offset the potential side effects of the Tositumomab, the monoclonal antibody that finds and sticks to cancer cells. Then about an hour to get the Tositumomab in me. Then the fun part. They rolled in a little cart with a lead lined "suitcase" on it. That case had a syringe with the I-131. After some preparation, they rigged the syringe to inject into my IV. The funny part is when Brian and Eric finished rigging it up, they turned on the machine that injects the I-131, then both of them quickly left the room like they had just lit the fuse on a stick of dynamite. And there I am in the room all by myself. I felt like Wile E. Coyote when he realizes one of his gadgets is about to explode on him. The techs and nurses are around that stuff a lot so they have to limit the amount of time they are exposed to it.

Worst side effect so far? Sleepy from the Benadryl. Right now I feel fine.

Next step is a Gamma scan this Monday to see how much of this stuff is still in me.

A Few Updates

I got an email from Natalie, the PA that works with Dr. Thompson (radiation oncologist) and one of my A of D's. She said the blood work done on Monday came back looking good, an indication that the NHL has not progressed. And, I talked to Tammy, RN at Dr. Ikeguchi's office, about the recent PET scan. She said the scan showed no changes, no new spots and no progression of the NHL at the affected site (neck). That's good, too! My thyroid medicine was delivered today by UPS from OU Nuclear Pharmacy. I have to start taking that tomorrow and every day for a few weeks. Thyroids tend to soak up radiation and are susceptible to damage from it. This medicine, Potassium Iodide, protects thyroids from radiation damage.

But wait, there's more! Dr. Selby returned my call from last week (he was on vacation). I called him to ask about a new drug recently approved by FDA for treatment of relapsed NHL, like mine. The brand name is Treanda, and I think the chemical name is betamustine hydrochloride. According to the article I read, the drug was approved in October for use in certain treatments for NHL. Dr. Selby is familiar with it but thinks the Bexxar has a better chance for success, so he wants to stick with that. That drug, he said, was developed in East Germany sometime during the Cold War. At that time, E. Germany didn't have access to cancer drugs used in the US so they developed their own, like this one. So, it's pretty old stuff. It's in the alkylating family of cancer drugs, similar to cyclophosphamide, that tends to have more harsh side effects. I had cyclophosphamide before. I'd prefer to stay away from it. There I go sounding like a MD again!

New PET/CT Scan Today

As promised, here is a brief, and maybe boring, test/scan/lab/treatment and/or misc. procedure update.

Dr. Ikeguchi, one of my A of D's (Army of Doctors) ordered a PET/CT scan before we knew about the relapse. I completely forgot about it until the PET scanning place called me about it. Oops. Well, went to OKC, got scanned, had dinner with Jess, came home. That's about it. No results yet, but I imagine it will show what we already know.

Quick review of upcoming events:
Monday 1/5 - blood test
Thursday 1/8 - Dosimetric Bexxar dose (the little one) and a scan
Friday 1/9 - Glow in the dark
Monday 1/12 - scan
Wednesday 1/14 - scan
Thursday 1/15 - Bexxar therapeutic dose (the BIG one)
Friday, Saturday, Sunday - Glow, pick up metal objects by pointing at them, melt soft plastic objects by looking at them, reheat cups of coffee by stirring them with my finger, design a new RadioActive Man superhero suit.

On another note. Is the comment from Heather THE Heather S. from Bville?

Stay tuned for more Nuclear Scott News.