Side effects - hair loss

Here is a picture taken the night before surgery

The post surgery picture is in one of the earlier posts

Here are a couple of good looks at the effects of the radiation therapy

First response to hair loss

More aggressive response

Comments

I just received an email from another friend saying the procedure for leaving comments was too cumbersome so I went in and changed the settings. So for those of you interested in leaving comments it will be much more simplified. But don't think that you have to. I certainly do like hearing from all my friends and family.

Susan has been doing a great job updating this with my medical situation (which luckily will continue to remain unchanged until my treatments stop.

I've been thinking about adding a post that talks about some of the other things I've been doing to keep myself together during all this.

a third of the way through

Gary is having some cumulative effects from the chemo & radiation and including, of course, being tired. He is switching the chemo meds to evening ( 2 hours after eating) and hope that will help sleeping at night and ease some of the sleepies during the day. The radiation adds to it but there is nothing wrong with an hour or two nap.
Gary also mentioned the Dr said there is some improvement in his vision. gary's reply " I don't see it" Ha ha!

Susan

Scans

Although they gave me a disk with all of the pre and post surgery scans, the program that I assume allows in depth viewing and comparison won't install on my computers. So I am limited to selecting specific images from the two series. I wanted to, at least, be able to compare images from the same coordinates. The top pictures are pre surgery. The bottom ones are post surgery

visitors

I want to thank everyone who has visited. Spending time with my friends has really be a source of strength and comfort. The medications and radiation is having a profound effect on my stamina. There are frequent times when I have to shut down and recharge. I certainly look forward to continued visits but understand that we will have to work them into what now appears to be a somewhat unpredictable arousal level.

Gary

Boat Models

Susan has posted some things about my building a wooden boat model during my free time. This has been an on/off hobby of mine for quite a long time. Like most boys of my generation I spent many a rainy afternoong building plastic models of jets and hanging them from the ceiling of my bedroom. I do remember the only boat I built was a submarine that Myra got as a present.

My first foray into wooden boat models was about 35 years ago. In betwee life changes, I dropped out of school planning to take one of those hippie backpacking trips acrosss Europe. Around the time I got lai off of the job that was going to pay for the trip I had an accident with my parent's shower door and the glass popped out severing the tendon by the big toe on my left foot. I was stuck at my parents house and I don't know where I was but came across the model. My recollection was that it was a preformed bulkhead that needed to be shaped and all of the fittings added. I am sure I recovered well before the boat was finished and I left it with my nephew Richard and remember it sitting in their living room in varying levels of completion over the years.


When Rhonda and I got married I decided to try one of the more complicated models. I picked the H.M.S Beagle in honor of Charles Darwin and spent many many years working on it. To be honest it still is only about 90-95% complete. It had a bit on an accident while we were getting our house ready to sell.




After my surgery I was contemplating things I could do to keep busy. Over the years I moved on from model boats to furniture but I was told to keep away from power tools. Myra and Susan suggested another boat.

So I'll be spending some quality time with the H.M.S Bounty during this recovery
period.

Gary

Chemo & Radiation Days 3,4 & 5

The treatments are settling into a routine; Gary is there at 8 AM and out by 8:20. The only side affect is being tired. The only loss of hair will be at the radiation site. The oncologist hopes to have Gary off steroids in a few weeks which may help the tiredness somewhat.
And there are no sessions over the weekend.

Susan

Chemo/Radiation Days 3 & 4

Day 3
Computer was down, so it took as long as before. Did too much after the session so went home tired, which is pretty much the way things are.

Day 4

Finally the short version of the treatment. Met with oncologist, who is up to date on the trials going on at MSKCC and the primary care MD for bloodwork and just to keep his eye on everything. Then tired.

Susan

Radiation/Chemo Day 2

The second day of radiation went a little bit faster but not as fast as Gary hoped. There was still some adjusting and fine tuning done but there's aren't any sessions over the weeknend, so he has a chance to rest and get ready for a full program next week. The chemo continues every day.
Gary has ordered a new model boat, the Bounty ( http://www.historicships.com/TALLSHIPS/Constructo/HMS%20Bounty%20con80817/HMS%20Bounty%20con80817.htm ) and will get started as soon as it arrives. Danielle has promised to help and Alex promised to help by not helping. What a team!

Susan

Chemo and Radiation - Day 1

The first day wasn't too bad, just exhausting. It started off with pills one hour before eating, eating, then pills to take after eating. Gary has set up a spread sheet to keep track of the meds: ones before or after eating, ones that are 2,3 or 4 times a day, ones to take as needed and ones to take at bedtime. Soon they'll be color coded too.
The intitial radiation session was longer then the future ones will be. Getting everything set up, x-rays and stufftook close to two hours. Todays session should be 15 minutes or so.
No reaction to the chemo, there are drugs to prevent nausea and after the radiation, he was tired.
Alex is home and Danielle is expected soon. That's something to cheer Gary & Rhonda both. Friends are more then welcome to visit.Just check with Rhonda before so there isn't an overload on any particular day and rememeber Gary tires easily.

Susan

12/13/07lLatest news

Gary & Rhonda were in New York on Weds, meeting with a neuro-oncologist team at MSKCC (Sloan Kettering). The news was as good as it could get. Because the surgery was so effective in removing the existing tumor and his cognitive skills are intact ( he scored 100 on the exam ), he has an excellant chance on beating the odds of this terrible cancer. Which doesn't mean it will never come back but that he has a greater chance of a longer delay in it's recurrence and a better chance of fighting it off when and if it does come back. And there are lots of new drugs on the horizon in various trial stages.
In the meantime, Gary will be starting his chemo/radiation program today. The radiation course runs five days a week for six weeks and the chemo not as long and thank goodness for good medical/drug coverage. The cost of these pills is astronomical.
It is both physicaly and mentally exhausting for both Gary and Rhonda to answer all your questions and repeat them to all of you. They know and appreciate your concern for them. I will try and keep this as up to date as I can for them and respond to any questions you may have as well.

Susan Klatsky