Thanksgiving dinner was great over at Mark and Kim Davis', such great cooks and fantastic hosts and good friends. Lot's of laughs and good food. It was also the first day that I could notice the effects of the radiation killing my taste buds. I could not taste the sweets nor the wine, the rest of the food had good flavor, but the taste buds that read the complexity of wine have deserted me. By the end of the weekend all food officially tastes like soggy cardboard. On top of that, it hurts to chew and swallow now, so I have to force myself to eat. I can see why my treatment team worries over weight and how people can start to get in trouble quickly, I dropped about 3 pounds over the weekend and am down to 211 today.
After having Thanksgiving off, Friday was another radiation treatment day and a check in with the doctor to make sure I had all everything I needed for the weekend, as they are aware that this is about the time in treatment when people start having major 'issues' with their mouths. I have developed a few sores in my mouth where they are shooting the radiation (all to be expected) and am having to rinse with the salt/baking soda rinse as well as the Stanford Mouthwash (oddly enough the only thing I can still taste, although greatly muted, and is less of an effort to use since the taste is reduced) much more often than before. Stacey's mom came up for Thanksgiving and to stay a few days and that evening a few friends dropped by to say hello and we had a nice evening.
Sunday, we went over to the beach in Santa Cruz and had a late breakfast with Stacey's mom and brother Steve, and some friends, Bob and Lin Korns. We went to Aldo's, a little place right in Santa Cruz harbor and had some great weather to dine outside, mid-60s and bright sunshine. The majority of us had crab, avocado, sour cream and swiss cheese omelets, I was eating from memory as most of my taste buds are gone. After eating and laughing, we walked down to the light house and then out on to the beach, it was a very relaxing day.
Today marks the half way point in my radiation treatment with only 16 more radiation treatments, due to finish on 12/22. I still have 5 more chemo sessions and they end on the 29th, so I am looking to close out my health issues by the end of the year and start fresh in 2010! My Erbitux (Chemo) rash is not as severe right now, but still uncomfortable-itchy and it burns, and I will get an update as to what to expect tomorrow when I see my Oncologist. As I mentioned earlier, I am now having issues when I chew and especially when I swallow. It also hurts to talk for too long as well, so believe it or not, I am not talking too much (ok, I know that is still a lot compared to most people-give a guy a break!)
Look for an update tomorrow after Chemo.
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