My Journey 3/23/10

   I spent a little time in bed last night thinking about this hole cancer deal.  What I guess seems so ironic about it is the stigma the word cancer has and what it means to people.  I'm incredibly fortunate that I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma.  Not Colon, Kidney or Prostate cancer or another nasty type of cancer where the treatment is much harsher.  A friend of the family's had a type of colon cancer where his chemotherapy treatments involved him going into the hospital for four to five days at a time every three weeks.  I go into my treatments for two and a half to three hours every two weeks.  Easy in comparison.  I completely understand why people want to give up!  Not only is it a very depressing experience, but it beats you down physically.  Being a retired professional athlete, just the thought of not being physically healthy takes a toll on the psyche.  Fortunately there have been glimmers of hope through this hole thing.  Family, friends, community (local and abroad), positive test results, and a fighting attitude make going through a serious illness tolerable.  I have three more treatments left, April 29th is my last day of treatments.  Believe me, I look forward to that day!  I dropped into the process head first with the full intention of beating my illness as fast as possible!         

   I guess there are times in life where you really realize just how fortunate you are.  This hole experience has made me realize just that!   

My Journey 3/9/10

I had a treatment this past Thursday(March 4th), and I've done a great job staying relatively healthy during the last few months.  I did finally come down with a pretty good sinus infection that has been a bit of a bear.  Where does all the snot come from?  I feel like the Mucinex snot monster!  I should buy stock in Johnson & Johnson....

Socially going through cancer sucks especially living in a resort town.  Drinking and socializing go hand in hand.  But relationships develop and evolve and certain activities aren't so important which is pretty cool since it has given me a chance to get to know my girlfriends kids......The Hodgkin's infected a majority of my liver, so alcohol hasn't been a part of my life.  In fact, I haven't drank since August while I was trying to figure out what the hell was going on with me.         

So I've been getting some inquires from people wanting to donate after hearing about the fundraiser at the Breckenridge Clubhouse.  I figured the easiest way was to put a PayPal link on the blog to make it as easy as possible.  Its a donation link and goes to a donation account I have with PayPal.  Believe me, it feels a little odd doing this, but I wanted to give family and friends a chance if they weren't able to make it to the party on February 16th. 

          

My Journey 3/2/10

I'm getting ready to go to my 8th treatment on Thursday (March 4) and Marc Frank sent me a link that I found pretty interesting. Its about the University of Florida testing the Brazilian Acai Berry and its effects in a cultured- cancer cell environment. Take a read, its pretty cool to read up on cancer research. news.ufl.edu/2006/01/12/berries/. Anyway, the last couple days have been strong days. I have to take a $4000 shot called Nulasta. It helps boost your white blood cells, and cancer patents take it because the chemotherapy kills white blood cells. Simply, that's one part of your immune system that gets hammered! The Nulasta helps your immune system stay strong. An unfortunate side effect is it makes your bones feel like there imploding. It lasts for about 3 days. Let me tell you about how nice Medical Marijuana is for that! Not to mention the chemotherapy..... I didn't smoke for 12 years but started because of the treatments. And living in Breckenridge really makes it a hole lot easier.

My birthday was yesterday (March 1) and I have to say it was a very good day. Went to Denver Sunday night and spent some time with my girl friend and a girl I grew up with, Cathy Cooney and her husband Brian Green. Went to a new burger joint down town called H Burger. It turns out that the executive chef is a kid I went to school with named Ian Kleinman. Check out his blog at food102.blogspot.com/. Cool modern atmosphere, good prices and a little more casual.