Bum Briefing #4

I had the typical “scanxiety” before my chemo appointment. Given I failed the test the last time, even though I got the immune booster shots I wasn’t totally confident I’d pass this time. Thankfully the numbers came back and I had actually bounced back above where I was before I even started chemo. This was very encouraging so I asked if I could get these shots every round. The doctor agreed, but I’d have to administer the shots at home. Given my phobia of needles, this didn’t seem appealing to me. But, Beth seemed almost enthusiastic about the thought of stabbing me in the stomach. This is when Beth’s recent affinity for Dateline gave me pause. But, the chemo nurse that day gave Beth about a 2 minute tutorial, followed by a few practice stabs on a fake fat pad. I was almost offended when they were discussing the best place to stab me… Beth seemed pretty confident about where she thought was best.

This round of chemo went better than the last round. I think the shots really helped, which actually weren’t painful at all. The side effects were a little worse, which was expected. They warned me that with each round the side effects will compound and get worse. Beth was able to disconnect me from my chemo pump this time, which also saved us another trip to the hospital. I’m going in for round three on Monday, let’s hope there really isn’t anything new to report and it becomes boring, routine chemo.

Also, an update on Hailey—Our dog Hailey had apparently developed a sympathetic butt tumor. Shortly after I got my diagnosis we noticed a growth on her backside too. Her path ended up taking a parallel path as mine, we called the vet on the weekend and they recommended we take her to the pet ER so they could look at her. They did some tests but they didn’t have any results that day. Luckily after the tests came back her’s was benign, she still had to go have surgery to have it removed. For her, the major mental anguish has come from us making her wear boxers and her butt being shaven. Her hair grows very slowly so we can only assume she’s been heckled at daycare. She is recovering well, but the vet says now that she’s had one, she is more likely to get more in that area. So, we have to keep an eye on it.

UW has a short video talking about my primary oncologist if you’re curious who is leading my treatment. Here is where you can view it. Dusty Deming
https://youtu.be/Ne1awU2pTp0