Radioactive

Radioactive by Image Dragon I do not own the rights to this music.

The song is appropriate for the blog, but I purposely did not link the the video. It's a bit dark ... cute cuddly stuffed animals getting beat up. I'm probably being a bit of a prude, but I still find it violent, stuffed animals or not.

Thursday was zap the new tumors day! I wasn't sure what to expect other than my head would be held immobile via a mask snapped onto a board during the 45-minute treatment. My biggest fear is that my nose or face would start to itch ... and I wouldn't be able to do anything. Mind over matter techniques are a must for this. So I counted the songs they were playing in the room, thinking we would go through up to 10 songs. This would help me gauge where we are in the process. I also sang the songs in my head ... and dozed off. My snoring woke me up a couple of times. It was a bit embarrassing to be honest.

Here is a picture of the mask. Freaky, right?

Anyway, all went well. I start stepping down the steroid dose Friday and will be off them entirely by 4/3. Thank goodness! I hate steroids ... more on that later.

So what's next with my little brain invaders? Well, hopefully we sent them to the tumor graveyard. Dr Cohen ordered a follow-up MRI for the end of April, then every three months until who knows when.

Continued prayers that this chapter is behind us and we can focus on killing the invaders in my neck and chest. Sneaky and resilient little suckers!

Friday was chemo day. After labs were drawn, I head in to see Rachel. We went over bloodwork, the radiation, follow-up treatment, and overall general commiserating. One thing I realized is just how blessed I am. Rachel ordered the CT to find out why my arm was swelling and .that caught the first of two brain lesions quite by accident. We did an Ultrasound the Friday before to rule out a blood clot. Truth be told, most would stop there and not push further. Rachel pushed. And the radiologist just happened to see the lesion on the front lobe out of his/her peripheral vision. Had the tumor been elsewhere ..... it's scary to think of the repercussions had we not caught them now. Again, I am so blessed. Even though the news is not great, it is evident that my "grace" and God continue to look out for me. I don't believe in coincidences. How could this incident be anything less than divine intervention? This realization has given me a lot of peace and calm in the roaring storm. It has also strengthened my resolve to do my part to beat this disease (more on that later). I am happy 😇

I learned something else Friday that was disconcerting. My tumor markers from February are up by 40 points. How did I miss this? I suspect it may be due to the treatment interruptions during the winter apocalypse. Regardless, I am not letting this latest news pierce my newfound peace. Liver enzymes are in normal range. White blood cell and ANC counts are high, typically indicating infection; this is from the dreaded steroids. We stay the course. I have a PET on April 7th. Let's see what that brings.

Chemo was brutal on Friday. Not the treatment itself, but the appointment. It was a long one. Thank goodness I got there early:

• Labs
• Visit with Rachel
• Iron treatment (my last one) for one hour
• Chemo for 30 minutes
• Potassium for 90 minutes

I don't know what the caused the potassium to drop, but the nurse caught that the levels were way low, alerted Rachel, and the potassium drip was added. I also have a one-week prescription because the drip is typically 2 hours but we didn't have enough time for a two hour treatment. 

I got there at 12:30 and left after 5. Wore me out.

This is where I start doing my part: Alkaline diet.  I had always heard that cancer likes an acidic body. I am sure with all the sugar I ingest that my body is as acidic as it gets. I have resisted this path for a long time because I saw person after person after person eat "clean", avoid chemicals, with no impact on their cancer diagnosis or longevity. My mantra? Why give up Blue Bell Ice Cream if it wasn't going to change anything?

So what changed? Staring mortality in the face. And thinking my time is running out. I realize I can just sit here and let it happen or I can at least TRY to take some control over my own destiny. Will it help? Who knows. It can't hurt. 

I get my second COVID shot today. Expecting to feel horrible, I've decided to wait until Monday to start the one week Alkaline cleanse before I begin the 21-day Alkaline diet. I have purchased all the non-perishables I will need (this stuff is expensive) and will be sending Mike to the store for the fresh fruits and veggies I will need for soups and smoothies. I had previously purchased fresh veggies for the the soups I would need for the first two days. I made and froze one last weekend. I couldn't sleep, so I made my second soup at 4:30 this morning. I also ordered a food processor (chopping, slicing, dicing), ph strips, and spelt flour.

Although I can't eat bread on this diet for the first month, I am told spelt bread, in moderation, is okay. My spelt flour came in this morning. I am going to make a loaf today just to see if this is something we want to continue.

Wish me luck on this new adventure! I promised myself I would give it six months and see if  tumor markers and PET results improve. I don't expect any impact on the 4/7 PET. I hear week three on this diet is a major milestone, so I am anxious to get there.

Watch this space 😏