Fatigue

John reports that he is doing well, but he remains tired most of the time. His voice is back (but not his beard and taste) but he is getting around more. Aaron sent me some photos that will give you an idea of the new John.

The first is one of John in the mesh mask that they used to hold his head still for the radiation treatment.

This one is a look at the results of his weight loss routine. All that butter and cream doesn’t seem to have had a major effect!

Here’s a closeup of his radiation-imposed beard style.

On the Mend

It was great to HEAR John on the phone this evening. His voice is returning and he reports that he can speak without pain. He sounded like a long-time smoker, however, and complained of not having much energy, but is no longer on medication and found that the nausea disappeared about a week ago. Even his bowel movements are getting more regular.

Now he’s waiting for his taste to return. He can still smell the lovely flavours of Patty’s special soups, he says, but the eating is flavourless. “I’m full of envy and jealousy now!” he reports, “All this lovely food – even the fresh blueberry crumble didn’t taste like anything!”

The crumble was served up at his visit to Gibson’s on Sunday. He had enough energy for that trip – and was even able to take the 2-hr wait for the ferry in his stride. He was not up to a Cindy Lauper concert on Friday, however, so headed off to visit his Mum instead.

He has appointments for blood work on September 26th and October 6th – and the dentist has already given him the assurance that his teeth look good.

So now it’s only recuperation on the menu. He still has 250 ml of “swish and swallow” to keep the thrush at bay, but beyond that it is up to his body to mend. He figures that just about the time he starts to get his beard back, he will begin tasting food again. Until that time, it’s eating by the clock rather than the flavour.

The Silent Man

John sent an e-mail explaining that he is now the Silent Man. His nausea is gone, but he is dealing with a very sore throat. He can only whisper - and that even hurts him so we won't be phoning him for a while. He lives on tylenol and won-ton soup - along with laxatives to counteract the constipation from the drugs. He wrote that he is living in the "happy crappy" phase.

Patty is taking good care of him now that Wilma and Gary have gone. She keeps the stock of soup plentiful and provides the sign language translation where necessary.

End Game

Bobby Fischer always argued that the game of chess was determined by the “end game” – all the early and middle moves are designed to get in a strategic position for those final ones. Now that the chemo is completed and John had his last radiation treatment we are all hoping that his end game will be a piece of cake! From here, it is a process of ensuring the best conditions for recuperation, and waiting for the tests to come in about 6 weeks or so.

Wilma reported that John’s throat is rather raw – we could hear it on the phone. He sounded like he had a bad case of laryngitis. He still feels nauseous and is very tired but now has enough saliva to spit. Who would imagine that this is a good sign? The dentist was one, since it means that John’s saliva will once again start to work its wonder against tooth decay. In addition, the dentist reported that his teeth are in good shape – another positive note!

John has lost a lot of weight over the last several weeks so will need to work at putting it back on through a rather sore throat. Wilma says he eats like an anorexic person – insisting that he is eating, but just picking at his food. I expect that will change as his throat clears up.

Patty came home this morning. Wilma and Gary will be heading off on Sunday (with a stop in to see friends in Hope on the way). We are all hoping for a short period of mending!

"Blisters the size of coffee coasters"

Aaron reported that the blisters from John’s radiation treatments are now the size of coffee coasters. This means that they are taking up much of the attention as he recovers from his last chemo.

John reported that they are not particularly painful, however – just something that needs a lot of attention to avoid infection. He has been given a ‘kit’ of material from the hospital along with some elaborate instructions. It includes boiling water, giving the area a saltwater bath, soaking it in gauze, and covering it with a special bandage. Apparently a garter belt does the best job of holding it all in place. He says the blisters are not getting worse, so that’s a good sign.

The blistering is only on one side – below his shoulder, near his collarbone. The other side hasn’t blistered – it’s just “scabby and lumpy”. He doesn’t even have blisters in his throat so is thankful about that – and very upbeat about the ordeal being almost over.

As usual, yesterday and today are worse than the weekend (from the chemo). He has been able to eat his 2 eggs and porridge, however, along with some vegetable soup that Patty made for him before she left. He also discovered the joy of freshly made won ton soup from a local restaurant so he will be taking advantage of that over the next few days.

Wilma and Gary are with him and when I called yesterday Aaron had joined them for the evening. They were all engrossed watching Tremé episodes.

Cleaned, Creamed, and Covered

John is resting at home after his last round of chemo – doped up on steroids, painkillers, and anti-nausea medication. Wilma and Gary are staying with him and last night when we called, Aaron had joined the three of them as well.

Now the big challenge is hydration – lots of liquid to keep his system flushed. Wilma reported that it is not an easy task since soup has no taste and each spoonful is a burden. John did chow down 2 eggs and plenty of butter, however.

The doctor was somewhat concerned with the blistering on his clavicle so gave him some cream and bandages to keep it clean and covered. Given John’s reduced capacity to fight infection, the objective is to minimize the chance of it by being extra careful that the bugs don’t get in.

Only 4 more radiation treatments to go!

Last Chemo

Today is John’s last chemotherapy session. If the last 2 are any indication he will be in bad shape for a few days before bouncing back. Since Patty is off at a wedding in the east, Wilma and Gary will be taking over as the support team until her return.

John is also counting down on the radiation treatments – only 6 more left. He was surprised by the appearance of blisters near his collar bone but figures that he had missed taking care of this spot with the aloe cream treatment since he didn’t expect that the radiation would have hit this area. He is now struggling to keep ahead of the burns with the cream but finds it an irritating addition to his repertoire.

Aaron has passed on a few more photos for us.

Here is one of Shaver's anti-shaving treatment.

"Look Ma, no beard!"

Here are a few from John's trip to Bowen Island. He was enjoying the sunshine (remaining well-protected) while wandering in the garden.