SYMPTOMS and SIDE EFFECTS. Man, chemo has been brutal lately! Thanks to all my blogger buddies who checked in on me over the last two rounds -- I've completed eight, with four to go! That's 2/3 of the way through. Yeah! Unfortunately, I've gotten sick on the last two rounds...once on Sunday morning, then again this last round on Friday night. In both cases, I probably should have taken additional anti-emetic medications, but decided not to...and I'm learning that is a BAD decision. At the same time, it really doesn't make me look forward to the next four rounds. Which got me thinking...
With everything I've been through fighting this bug called Cancer, I've never had a single symptom. Not one. Oh, don't misunderstand -- I've had headaches, nausea, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, memory loss, blurred and double vision, vertigo, weakness, and fatigue -- but every one of those were caused by either brain surgery or chemotherapy. Approaching my tenth year battling cancer, I still have not had a single symptom from the cancer. This must be the difference between a symptom and side-effect. I've had side-effects -- just no symptoms.
So in my case, the "cure" (though it's not one yet) is worse than the disease. It is extremely difficult to convince myself that chemo and surgeries are necessary, when I don't feel sick. Now, before you start drafting that e-mail, rest assured that I've tried homeopathic and naturopathic doctors, The Cancer Diet, MangoSteen, Xantha, Acai Berry, Antioxidants, and probably every other "cancer cure" you've read about in the National Enquirer or gotten forwarded to you in a spam e-mail...and without going down a lengthy rabbit hole, let's just say I've settled on conventional medicine. But that doesn't make it any easier. Round #9 starts on August 24th...bring it on.
SURGERIES. Okay, some of you know I had my six-month MRI and follow-up with neuro-oncology and neurosurgery. Having left California, I'm now being seen at Bethesda Medical Center and/or Walter Reed Medical Center in Maryland. Both are military hospitals, so that's not ideal...but I have good news:
They're referring me to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) one of the leading research centers in the world. Specifically, the National Cancer Institute -- that is SO awesome! I'm so blessed to be able to be seen by some of the greatest physicians on the planet. Second, more good news -- the cancer showed NO progression! That's the awesome news we were hoping for. The chemo appears to be working. However, it's not all wine and roses...the neurosurgeons here are far more concerned about my condition than the surgeons at Cedars-Sinai, where I've been going for the past nine years. They were amazed that I had decided to leave a tumor in my brain, and "hope" that it doesn't progress, metastasize, or upgrade. Dr. Rosen (has anyone seen "Fletch"?) at Bethesda recommended going immediately on a path to another surgery, and removing the tumor. We talked about it for almost two hours, and he eventually left the decision up to me -- and (see above) with no symptoms from the tumor, no and signs of growth or progression, I have no incentive to go back into surgery. Is that the right decision? Who knows. What do you think? Surgery has been far more harmful and traumatic to me than the cancer ever has been...so as long as the cancer is contained and I'm asymptomatic, what justification is there for surgery? Thoughts? It's a tough one, isn't it?
SEATTLE. On a lighter note, training for Seattle has begun! Two weeks ago I started my marathon training for the Seattle Marathon in November. I'm using the same training plan I used for Big Sur, which worked very well...based loosely on The Penguin's book "Marathoning for Mortals." If you haven't read it, it's outstanding...even if you don't like the training plans, the commentary and advice is wonderful. Finally, the Garmin ForeRunner 405 is amazing. I love it. Thanks for the advice, Momo -- you were right! I'm at about 30 - 35 miles per week, averaging about 7:43 per mile...I think 3:45 at Seattle is realistic. By the way, if you're following the story, I saw JD in Seattle a few weeks ago, and he looks great! The first time I've seen him since his dramatic weight loss, and he's a completely different person. And he's already running 10 - 11 miles on his long runs! He's an inspiration to many, especially ME. Running in DC is a joy...different from running along the ocean every day, but it's always fun to explore a new town (one of the reasons I never run the same marathon twice). Isn't that part of the fun?
Well, that's it for now -- thanks again for all your prayers and support. For those who asked, Pooh and The Monkey are doing just fine...and as cute as ever...here's proof:
Worth running for? You bet. Worth fighting for? ABSOLUTELY.
