Sorry I haven't posted anything for a while. I got busy with some stuff, and felt bad on other days where I just didn't want to get up from our new comfy couch.

I got an interesting new symptom. I got an area on top of my head, slightly to the ride side, that is very sensitive.   It's about a square inch in size and does not differ in color or texture. Just sensitive when I touch it.
I also noticed that my front lower teeth, specifically 3 of them, are also sensitive. Sometimes they feel tingly and numb.

I have caught a small cold. My throat hurts a little, and I a cough a lot. There is no temperature, I check it often.
Hopefully with some old school honey-tea-lemon therapy this will go away.

Status update regarding my marijuana licence:
I've sent all the documents needed to the compassionate care  center of Toronto. They said everything will take about 2 weeks to process. And it still be illegal officially. The only way to make it all kosher, is to go through a minimum of 12 week waiting period through the gov. I asked if there is a way to speed up the process, and the lady at the gov agency told me that only if the doctors says that I am terminal.

The compassionate center should hook me up with some quality medicinal grade stuff regardless if I got the licence or not. :-)

Below is a pic of all the medicine that I used to take to combat the symptoms. None of the drugs effectively combat the symptoms. You also see a joint, half of it is just a paper filter.. there's not much marijuana in there.. maybe 1/5 of a gram. And it does an amazing job of taking care of the symptoms.

That being said. I am extremely upset at my government for making such a hassle to get a licence. I mean if a doctor says it helps, not just the patient. What business does a politician have in preventing it from being accessible in a controlled manner, just like any other prescription drug.

Ok, I am done venting!

I got a ct scan coming up on the 30th, with doc appointment soon after, and finally chemo #4 on April 3.
Hopefully, the doc will say that everything is going as it should and that 6 chemo sessions is all that needed. I am really crossing my fingers for that. I am really not looking forward for my next chemo. But I've made it this far, not going to quit now!

I will let you guys know how my ct scan goes asap!

I finally feel a little better today, enough to write a new post. I have never been so exhausted like I was the last few days. Not even, after 10 hours digging holes in the ground with a shovel. I had a nice 10 hour sleep today, without any marijuana. Spent most of the morning outside today, its a very sunny day outside.

I am ultra sensitive to smells. Our toilet freshener acts about the same as a bug-spray on a bug. Just lethal. I get very nauseous really fast. Next time I'll need to induce vomit, I will just smell that spray. The funny part is, that I picked it when we were shopping, before the chemo.

I am also having some sour-metallic taste in my mouth. I've read that chemo can affect the taste since taste-buds also regenerate quickly, thus attacked by the chemo. I have noticed a slight change in taste when eating, stuff tastes like water a little bit.

No mouth sores so far! I been brushing like crazy. I am really glad the sores didn't come back. I've read another's patient blog and he said he would get the sores after each chemo. So I guess I'm lucky in that respect so far, fingers crossed.

2 days after chemo #3

Marijuana seems to do its magic as many other patients say it does. It almost eliminates any sensation of nausea for about 1.5 -2 hours. It also allowed me to sleep last night like a baby. The nausea seems to be a lot stronger than previous round of chemo. I did vomit quite a bit yesterday, just as the "high" faded away. I did feel a lot better are vomiting, but the nausea feeling came back just a couple hours later. A little bit of marijuana fixed it.

I did call my doc for a new pill for to control the nausea. I cant be stoned all day long. It's defiantly better than the alternative for now, but I would like to also have a pill that will allow me be functional for the day.

The weakness increased considerably, I just hope that it's only for the first few days and will fade away eventually.

Will I be trying to get a prescription for marijuana? Absolutely. I know that it works, and I don't know if the pill the doc will give me will work. Besides, the pill will not allow me to sleep like marijuana does. At least until I'm done with the steroids.

I have been thirsty a lot, and been drinking water non stop. Also, I increased my oral hygiene, the last thing I want is the mouth sores to come back.

I will let you know how the new pills are working as soon as I try them. Once I get a little more energy, I'll make my trip to the doc and get the marijuana prescription.

Getting Ready for Chemo #3

It's 9am, and I've been awake for an hour and a half already. In just about 2 hours I will be getting my third chemo. I am no longer neutral towards chemo, as I've learned to hate the side affects. But instead of being depressed about it, I've been preparing for it.





























I really hope it makes the nausea better, and gives me the ability to sleep for the next 10 or so days. If it works, I will be coming to my family doc today and asking for prescription. I really do think it will help. I am a firm believer in all things natural. Maybe it's a placebo affect, or not. I hope it helps.

I will write more often during the days after chemo.

Possible Digestive Issues

Yesterday I had a scare. I went to the washroom, and saw a lot of blood in my stool. This has never happened to me before in my life. I immediately called the oncologist, and had an appointment scheduled the next morning 9am (today). Meanwhile, I started searching online for answers. From my research this could a side affect from the Cyclophosphamide drug in the RCHOP regimen. That drug lowers the platelets (see through liquid in which red and white blood swim, its responsible for clotting and preventing bleeding).
I also had a day when my stool was very black, almost charcoal color. It happened once, and was fine after. I looked it up, and it seems to be a common side affect. There is no need to do anything about it right now, but something to watch.

Today in the morning I did a blood test, my platelets levels are fine for a chemo patient. My doc didn't have a good idea why it happened, but she gave me some food softeners (not a laxative)  to help with the digestion.
I was told that if it happens again, I would be directed to a gastrointestinal (GI) doc, who will put a camera up my butt, and see whats going on. I really really really hope it doesn't happen again.

I still get tired on daily basis, and my beard started to fall out. I carefully examined 1 beard hair, and it seems that the root is almost 2x thinner than the body. This falls in line with the side affects of chemo, hair thinning.

My chemo #3 is coming up on the 13th of March. I asked my doc again about trying marijuana, she was hesitant, I felt as if she had a personal vendetta against using pot for genuine reasons. The pills don't seem to work very well, of course there are other pills I can try, but there are so many and it seems the only way to find the one that works is through trial and error. Like I said before, I am against pills, if there are natural alternatives that work..who isn't? So meanwhile, I have secured some quality marijuana, and I will test it after my chemo. If it does, I will insist on getting a prescription.

I can also say that I no longer have a neutral attitude towards chemo I had the first 2 rounds. I am now not looking forward to it at all. The overall symptoms and side affects seem to be intensifying with each round. But by no means I am scared or anything. I still maintain that I have felt worse after some hardcore partying.

Also, being bald is awesome. All my friends say it looks pretty good, and I really like the fact that I don't have to brush it, and my head is dry after shower. I might actually keep the baldness after chemo.

Chemo Brain

Chemo Brain - term used to describe confusion, inability to concentrate, disorientation. An occasional side affect from chemo drug Cyclophosphamide.

I seem to be experiencing that more often now. It usually last for under a minute, just a moment when you can't quickly form an answer to a simple question.

Two days ago I had a Chemo Brain Fart, if you will, that lasted about 20 min. I was driving to get an oil change  for the car, in an area that was known to me. I decided to cut through a plaza to avoid some traffic on an intersection, and turn right. I did exactly that, except when I drove 5 min in the correct direction I instantly felt like I was going the wrong way turned around and went the opposite direction for a few blocks, when again I felt like I was going the wrong way, turned back and went a different way at that intersection. In the end, I did this 4 times, going every way on that intersection, going a few blocks and then turning around. Finally I realized that my initial cut through the plaza was correct and I got to the oil change place.
I felt like I was completely disoriented and didn't know the right way was. Although, my driving ability was not compromised, it felt scary. I didn't even change my oil at that place because they wanted to charge me way too much. Bummer.

The day after, I had a small incident when I could not formulate an answer. That lasted only seconds, but I still noticed it.

This will certainly be up high on the list of things I will talk to my doctor when I see him.
The muscle pain seems to be more tolerable now. Could be the potassium rich food I been eating. I still get tired/exhausted  randomly throughout the day to the point where I need to drop everything I'm doing and sit down. Also, as of yesterday evening, my spleen started to annoy me a little. I would rate the pain about 4 out of 10. More of a discomfort really. But it again prevents me from sleeping on my side.

I push myself to be active by visiting friends, family and going out as much as I can. Tanya keeps me on my toes as well.