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My cancer journey

Started by Ed_K, July 11, 2016, 07:34:39 PM

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Ed_K

Yesterday we went to Dartmouth for a 2nd visit with the doctor who will be in charge of my stem cell transplant procedure. He went thru all the pros and cons of having this done, and kinda put me at ease with it. First thing they want to see is finishing this type of chemo treatment I'm doing now. I need to finish at least 4 sessions, I made it thru 2 and was supposed to start #3 today. When we got home last night there was a message that the blood test I did early yesterday morning showed a too low white blood cell and want to postpone another week. I've already had 2 1/2 weeks off and thought everything would be ok. We call this morning to ask why and they decided to try a blood test again this morning, so I'm hoping a day helped. It just seems that I get set back to much, I know it all to do with the body but it's hard to feel like this will go for ever. The specialist wants to harvest the stem cell as soon as possible, which I like. Once I get the chemo therapy over then the specialist will do the transplant of stem cells. It sounded scary of what and how this is done, but by the time we finished I was ok with it and want to get it done and over so I can be close to where I was before getting this cancer. I have decided to put in for social security and retire from full time logging, this depresses me but I'll still try to find a few small cordwood jobs to keep me busy. I'll also have the sawmill to make some lumber for projects and a small wood shop. The 10 acre maple orchard will get more attention also.
Ed K

catalina

Keep up the positive thoughts Ed. The body is a complex thing, all in time. Gene

Ed_K

 My blood test this morning turned out to only be .1% higher,but it was good enough that I could start my 3rd cycle. I know that they can only go as fast as my body can take, I can get impatient when things don't move along as fast as I think they should. At this point in my life I'm going to have to learn to slow down, which won't be easy as I've always been on the go.
Ed K

thecfarm

Get your SS benefits and sit back and enjoy life!!!
You worked your whole life. And than some.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

Autocar

My prayers are still with you Ed it takes alot of strength to keep a positive attatude. Hang in there and stay strong.
Bill

Ed_K

 Thanks cfarm and Autocar,
I did sign up for ss benefits as I worried that one income won't be enough, used a lot of the 401 as a, "repair iron account"  :) . I have a friend who has the same cancer diagnosis, he has been fighting it for 3 yrs now. So I worry as Rita's insurance premiums keep rising I won't be able to pay that and help with house money. My part was to pay the taxes,repairs and extra propane when we needed it. So hopefully ss will keep us ahead and building things in the work shop will be the extra for going out to eat or presents that we never did much cause I needed to get this job done and on to the next. The worst was never spending much time with my sons when they were young.
The young logger's and trucker's need to be reminded of this,it's not a good experience.
Ed K

gww

Edd
Most parents have those same feelings about their kids.  If you have kids when you are younger, you sorta have no choice but to pursue your work pretty hard if you want to provide.  The good thing is that most children remember it differrent then you remember it and really love you for it and also form their work ethic from you.  I believe this is why god invented grand children.  By then you are a little more patient and not quite as wrapped up in to making it in the world.
Regretts can be a waste of time unless they help you improve something that is going on currently.
Good luck
gww

BradMarks

gww:  well said and true

Gary_C

Hang in there Ed. I'm still pulling and praying for you and I know you can pull thru this one.

Gary
Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.

Ed_K

 If I can get thru this cycle 3, it'll be the first time we made a whole cycle. Yesterday and today made cycle 3 day 3 and 4. A cycle is 6 days of treatment then a week off. Once I make 6 cycles the specialist thinks I'll be low enough on bad blood cell in the bone marrow to harvest the good stem cells. This part I'm not to worried about, but then they will put me in the hospital for 2 weeks and give me a massive dose of chemo drugs to kill off all the rest of the cells in the bone marrow, then they put the harvested cells back in and they will jump start new good blood cells to grow in the bone marrow, this is the part that really scares me. I thought I'd be stuck in a bed for the 2 weeks but they said no that I would be getting out of bed every day and walk around for a mile walk. This I liked as I have to be moving or I'd go nuts.
Ed K

samandothers

Glad to hear you were able to start on the cycle and moving forward.  Prayers for you! 

Ed_K

 Last Sunday I slipped on some ice and fell down pretty hard. Hurt my right hip and arm,got a small black and blue on the back of my arm. I've fell down harder at earlier time in my life and didn't think this time was that bad. Well I mentioned it yesterday and everyone at the oncology dept went nuts. They made me get x-rays and a full exam with the doctor and all. Wow what a time, I got scared they wouldn't give me the cycle 3 drugs for this week and I'd miss doing a full cycle again. I haven't made a full cycle yet but it was always for blood test coming back to low. After all the x-rays and scares they let me have the chemo and all and today I finish the treatment, A first for me  8) . They also told me that I need to tell them if something happens again, I have to let them know right after, seems that you can break bones real easy with any kind of bone marrow cancer, just by bumping into something or falling. I'm happy to finish cycle 3 today  8) .Maybe in Jan. they can start the harvest of good bone marrow cells,and then get me into remission. I hope once into remission that I gain strength and do some logging. My truck driver has been helping to get some r/o logs out on the job I was working when all this started. I sit on the tractor or skidder depending on how big the logs are and he cuts the logs out and runs the winch,and I drive them to the landing. We have 3 loads go out and 1 1/2 loads to go and the $ part of the job will be done and I'll clean up the cordwood next spring/summer when I have the energy.
Ed K

petefrom bearswamp

Thinking of you here Ed.
I am not a spiritual man but all the best in your battle.
Kubota 8540 tractor, FEL bucket and forks, Farmi winch
Kubota 900 RTV
Polaris 570 Sportsman ATV
3 Huskies 1 gas Echo 1 cordless Echo vintage Homelite super xl12
57 acres of woodland

Ed_K

 Thanks to all who are still checking in and thinking/praying for me & Rita, we keep going by this and looking forward.
Ed K

thecfarm

I'm a thinking of ya through out my day.   :)
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

barbender

I will keep praying for you, Ed. You sound like one tough son of a gun to me ;)
Too many irons in the fire

Ed_K

 I finished my 4th cycle yesterday  8) . But now I'm having trouble with where they put the injection needle in, I think it was loose and some of the chemo got out of the vein and thinned the skin around the injection site.When we took the bandage off the tape pulled some skin off and and it's been bleeding some ever since, After super and had to re-bandage it after shower. We wont know what's wrong till Tues cause weekends and holidays they just say go to the ER, and all they do is more blood test that have already been done on last Thur.
Ed K

thecfarm

Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

Bruno of NH

Lt 40 wide with 38hp gas and command controls , F350 4x4 dump and lot of contracting tools

Ed_K

 It stopped bleeding some time last night, so now I feel a little better that it may not be as bad as we thought. Thanks to everyone for keeping up with my Journey.
Ed K

drobertson

In our prayers Ed,  as mentioned, you are one tough son of a gun!  Thanks for the updates, lots of folks praying for you and the family,
only have a few chain saws I'm not suppose to use, but will at times, one dog Dolly, pretty good dog, just not sure what for yet,  working on getting the gardening back in order, and kinda thinking on maybe a small bbq bizz,  thinking about it,

Autocar

Ed it amazes me the strength you show with what your going though. I pray for you and many other folks daily, hang in there. God Is Good All The Time.
Bill

Ed_K

 We went to Hanover on Wed. for another meeting with the specialist, one of my questions was about the needle not sealing and the chemo getting out of the vein, he looked at my arm and said that the skin around the injection site would be hard but it wouldn't eat the skin away, so that made me feel better. There were two other understudies fellows that checked me out, going over how the stem cell harvest is done.and The Dr. seems to think that the numbers they go by are as low as they can get them, so they are wanting to get started on the harvest of the cells. Part of this is to do a bunch more test like ekgs, chest x-ray, electrocardiogram, another bone marrow test and maybe another colonoscopy. They also do a dental exam.
So on Monday I went to the dentist for the check up, they found three teeth that needed fixing. On Friday they got me back in to fix them. A shot of novacaine and fixed two, on the third tooth I came out of the chair, it wasn't a cracked filling but a bad tooth down to the root. After 3 more shots of novacaine he gave up. All the doctor's had a get together and decided I needed it pulled out Can't have any infections during and after the stem cell transplant. Friday it comes out. I'm more nervous with this than getting chemo treatments.
A lesson here is once you have a cancer diagnosis, don't drop the dentist exams. Eight months of no cleaning can ruin some teeth quick.
I had more blood test at Hanover on Wed. When the results come back they will decide on more chemo cycles or wait for this infection to go away and start the blood cell harvest. Part of the harvest begins with a four hr chemo session, then I have to give myself a shot every day for a week. I don't know if I can actually give myself a shot. The four hr chemo will kill all the myloma cells and other bad cells floating around in my system, then the shots will bring out good cells from my bone marrow for harvest which will take anywhere from a day to three days. Once they get as many good cells as they can, they will give me a massive dose of chemo that will kill all the cells in my body and then they will put the good cells back in. I will be there for three to four weeks in a germ free environment to make sure everything is growing right.
Ed K

Autocar

Holey cow sounds like a long journey ahead of you. Prayers your way every day. Just keep the smells of the woods and how the cold air of winter lifts you up thinking about the logging day ahead. Stay strong brother !
Bill

samandothers

Praying for your healing and ability to over come! 

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