Chemo Treatment 5 Complete!

So you may have noticed I went "dark" over the past few weeks with no blog entries. No major reason for this other than I think I was just trying to ignore it and maybe it would go away. It didn't, but I am at the end of session 5 (out of 6) and I'm at Starbucks on the way to the doctor to get disconnected from my evil chemo bag buddies!

This has no doubt been the easist week to get through as I came into the week prepared to proactively deal with the side effects. I also had some eye-opening observations about my chemo treatment as I encountered others who were going through this or knew someone going through it. I realized that I was actually getting off pretty easily on the treatment side effects. I heard stories of legs being bloated to the point of not being able to walk, extreme sensitivity of the skin, etc. My minor symptoms of slight nausea, clogged pipes (i.e. constipation) and canker sores no longer seemed like such a big burden to bear, and were all treatable.

Additionally, I have been overwhelmed with support from family and friends at church, work, etc. For example, the number of people who have stepped up and desired to play Words wth Friends with me, although I am severely handicapped with "chemo brain" which obviously makes it easy for them to beat me...right?? ;-)

Over the next few weeks, I will need to start preparing to enter back into society. Although this time off hasn't all been fun and games, I can't say that I didn't enjoy some of it. Coming up over the next few weeks are:
- (if the weather is good) a possible motorcycle trip up the coast to the Bay Area
- My daughter Jessica and her boyfriend Christian coming out to visit me
- A family concert in Wisconsin honoring Cheryl's mother Ellen who will be leaving Oconomowoc to go live near her daughter Linda in Indiana.

So I have a very full 5 weeks to get through the chemo treatments, have a little fun and family time, and then re-enter society and see what it will be like to work again!

Until next time...
Ron