A case of the Mondays

The bell at MD Anderson

Now two weeks in, I can say that it will be very nice to have a two day respite from treatments on the weekends.  I am not much of a late sleeper, never have been, but it is still nice to stay in bed until 8 am for a couple of days as I go through this.  It also helped this past weekend to have a couple things to do that involved people that I truly enjoy being around.  Saturday was the local reception for Robby and Shelley to celebrate their marriage with some people who were not able to attend the actual ceremony in Grand Cayman the first week of May.  Robby brewed 15 gallons of beer for the reception and I added 10 of my own and I think everyone had a great time.  While not able to sample these glorious libations, I did have a great time and I truly cherish the time I get to spend with this group of friends that have been together for 30 (or so) years.
As far as side effects go, the main issue right now is just extreme tiredness.  I don't really have energy to do much at all.  Last week at this time, I felt much better than I do today.  I suppose they know what they are talking about when they speak of the cumulative effects as I go through treatment.  My mouth is also experiencing worsening side effects.  It is definitely drying out and tends to bother me more as I am forced to talk more.  The left side of my throat is getting progressively more sore as the days wear on.  There is now definite pain whenever I swallow, but it is only on the left hand side.  I am also starting to see why they keep telling me to do jaw exercises every day to keep my range of jaw motion at an acceptable level.  All the muscles on the left side of my neck and face are tightening up and are increasingly more difficult to move.  The left half of my tongue where my original surgery is also starting to feel a little odd.  It mainly tingles, but the left base of it is also becoming painful when I move my tongue.  My jawline is starting itch like crazy too, but that could be attributed to a bad case of the beard lice.  Rereading all of that, I want to make sure that I point out that I am not complaining at all about these things.  There are many people that have had it (and will continue to have it) far worse than I do.  I merely wish to relay these experiences as I go through them to people who care to read about them, and have a record that I can go back through if I so choose.

Looking ahead, I have chemo session #3 tomorrow along with more radiation and a blood draw first thing in the morning.  I am curious to see my blood analysis results from last week and see how they compare to the original results.  My parting picture today is of the bell that I still have yet to ship to my uncle, a bell which resided in Cat Spring, TX for all the years that I can remember and will one day soon make its way up to Omak.