Luckiest man on earth

The weekend of my birthday, my greatest pals Amber, Marty, Jon, and Juliet held a wine and cheese “funraiser” for me and invited my friends in CA.  They raised over $3000.  My best friend and former co-worker Matt passed the hat at my previous job.  My old colleagues in San Francisco contributed over $800.  On the east coast, Alex and I had a birthday fundraiser that same night as the west coast party. Our friends in New York donated over $1300.  Not to mention, my family who has been providing substantial monetary support and goodwill since my diagnosis.  I count myself lucky to have such an incredibly generous and supportive network of friends and family.  I am truly blessed.  Thank you. 

Surgery

On Friday Alex and I met again with my surgeon.  The surgery will be a lower anterior resection to remove the tumor and some lymph nodes.  It will take about 5 hours.  It’s scheduled for January 12 just over 8 weeks after my last radiation treatment.  Why the wait?  The reason is because the radiation is still conducting a nuclear war on my tumor.  They will put in a temporary ileostomy (bag from the small intestine that will divert intestinal contents so that the surgical area can heal).  If possible the surgery will be done laporoscopically via my back door (i.e. with a camera and small incisions), which has a faster recovery rate.  Otherwise I will have a traditional open-abdomen surgery.  The risk of a permanent colostomy is low. 

I will be in the hospital for approximately 5 days after the surgery.  Alex calculated that I’ve lost about 8 lbs since my treatments started.  So she’s making sure my skinny butt eats more fat.  The post-operative chemo will begin again a few weeks after surgery.  This is what my surgeon calls a chemo sandwich.  I originally understood that the ileostomy would be for 6-8 weeks, but now the doctors recommend that I keep it until the chemo is over in six months.  This is so the post-operative chemo will affect any remaining cancer cells as soon as possible.  In colorectal cancer patients there is a high chance of reoccurrence or spreading to other organs like the liver

Done with pre-op chemo and radiation

I apologize for not posting any updates but my “get up and go” got up and went.  I had my last pre-op chemo and radiation treatments two weeks ago.  Since then I have been very low energy.  I spend most of the day resting or napping.  So, I am finished with phase one of my cancer treatments.  Next week I meet with my surgeon to start on phase two.

Fifth and Sixth Weeks

The treatments really started taking their toll on the fifth week. I spent two Sundays in the ER with a fever and I was also admitted to the hospital for a couple of days. Turns out I was a little dehydrated. My doctor’s main concern was that I might be developing Neutropenia. Good news, my white blood cell count was fine and there where no infections. My hospital maybe considered number one in NYC but that does not apply to their food.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutropenia

Fundraisers for Me

My incredible SF Bay area friends are hosting a fundraiser to help me pay for my cancer treatments. My friends who live in NYC don't have to feel left out. They will be invited to an east coast fundraiser, my birthday party, also held on Saturday November 21st.

 You're invited to a West Coast Fundraiser Wine & Cheese Party for Shane!

Week Four - Inflatable donut

Doh! Cancer is now officially a pain in my ass, at least a couple of times a day.  Luckily, there's oxycontin.  Narcotics woo woo!  That inflatable donut at the RX is starting to look better and better.

Week Three Matzo Balls

I start my third week of continuous chemotherapy today. A pump, which I wear, administers the cocktail 5FU via the aforementioned port catheter. It’s attached to me 24/7. My oncologist said the pump would be about the size of a Walkman – more like a portable 8 track cassette player. The pump makes a sound like an industrial air freshener in a restroom. The saucy chemo nurses who laugh at my bad puns swap the cassette of 5FU and insert a new needle in my port every week.

The 5FU will not cause me to lose what little hair I have left. So far I have only felt a little nauseated no long conversations yet on the big white porcelain telephone. Last week the doctor gave me a script for Marisol or oral Mary Jane and told me to eat more donuts. A side effect of the Marisol could be increased desire3 to watch Cheech and Chong movies and laugh hysterically. High caloric foods will help increase my blood pressure. I will have another bowl of matzo ball soup please.