Day 7

Had a good time last night with Sean, CJ, Hamad, and Robb all stopping by in the evening. Adina cooked the hot dogs (a little too much so on a couple of them)! There was also potato salad and some lettuce...and PLENTY of Gatorade! I could only get 2 Strat games in (lost both)! Stayed up a little later than I should have, but that's what sleeping in is for all this time!

Stomach has been acutely been giving me issues since last night. Starting to wonder if hot dogs were the right idea! But we're being cautious still here. Got the meds again to take, ands just overall monitoring on how my body is feeling to make sure I'm not missing anything!

I think we're having more visitors over today. So it's all good!

The visitors today were Joanne, Luc, and Trish. Adina heated up the baked ziti and meatballs that Ken and Amy had sent over yesterday...and damn was that tasty! My stomach is hurting a bit from it, but overall no worries! Also got a call from another D, this being my Srrat buddy Billy's mother. She's a good resource if I have any treatment questions, and always a good ear to talk to (as is Billy and Jack and all of the CHL, for that matter). Can't imagine it's been 8 years since I first started playing Strat hockey in Queens! But I love going there to draft and play, ad can't wait to do it again next season!

And back to the baked ziti...now I have an idea for my mother for future dishes! She doesn't make that "Traditional" baked ziti...hers is essentially ziti first boiled, then yes baked but just with a lot of mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce. I think mom needs to add meatballs to it next time. Then it'll become my new favorite dish from her! I'll talk to her about it tomorrow!

Anyway...time to get some rest. Another day of recovery tomorrow!

Day 6

Well, it's the first day I don't have to go in for chemo...I get 2 weeks off from any IVs, so that's a welcome sight! I still obviously feel tired, as the drugs haven't quite left my body! I'm also feeling a bit queasy as I woke up this morning, so we'll keep an eye out on that. Otherwise, I'm just hoping that my energy level can pick up as time goes on.

Supposed to have some people over today. Ken is stopping by I think to help Adina bring some bagged leaves to the recycle center. Then later on, it's the Strat crew (Robb, Hamad, Sean...and CJ coming to chill with Adina) for some shenanigans.

And D has just walked in the door from her accupuncture appointment...so we're gonna have some breakfast!

Breakfast was egg challah with butter (damn that stuff tastes good). Now D is back snoozing and I'm on the couch watching ESPN. I still feel tired (again, expected), just wonder how long this will stick around with me. I'll probably take a nap later on before guests swing by later on.

Forget nap time! Before my buddy Ken comes by, Adina wanted to clean out the garage of all the garbage that's in there (including actual garbage, since we don't have bear cans). GROSS! I had to step in to do some serious damage control!!! not how I envisioned spending a Saturday recovering from chemo treatments! But hey...this is what happens when we forget about these small things b/c of the crazy schedule! I pitched in as much as I could before my body started to tell me it wasn't up for it!

Damn Adina knocked that garage out! Ken helped out big time taking bagged leaves as well! Now D can get her car in there again! Had a bologna sandwich, which did go down rather nicely. No backtalk from my stomach yet, which obviously is a good sign! Sean and CJ bringing some hot dogs and salad over in a little bit, and we'll see how that goes! So far, things looking good!

Day 5

It's my mother-in-law's turn today to take me to MSKCC. Last day of treatment for this week. My hair has grown back at a pretty rapid rate! May have to go back down to a 1 again soon! I still get the slight nausea and heartburn from time to time, but nothing major. That and of course the fatigue that comes with chemo. But by and large I can't complain about how the first week has gone! Looking forward to see how my body reacts to 2 weeks of no treatment! But...the day is still young!

Come to find out that the co-ed softball team I was playing for lost their opening playoff game last night. From what I can tell, we're not hitting in the clutch. Grrrrr! I'll have to look at the scoresheet when I get to MSKCC and see what went wrong. My initial thought is people were trying too hard to make things happen again...or "superhero mentality" as I like to call it. But that's just a first thought. The scoresheet will tell me more.

No blogs from MSKCC because I decided to lay low and nap for a while. Been feeling tired a good portion of the day. D wants me to drink the Innergize energy drink she bought for us, but it's making me a bit queasy today. Had some, but didn't finish my glass (yet). Had chicken noodle soup, so it's good that I'm holding stuff down!

Now all that said, I am really hoping that this is the WORST of how I'm going to feel during the treatment...because if this is indeed the worst, then bring it on! My first week of chemo treatment hasn't been nearly as bad as I thought it would be. But by all indications, each time it'll get a bit worse...so I'm going to continue to attack this thing head on! I'm sure as hell not going to let testicular cancer dictate how I approach my life or what I want to do with it!

Now...I may have more chicken noodle soup...or some challah (ooh, I love me some egg challah with butter!), maybe I can knock down some more of that Inneergize, or some other relatively bland foods. I'm also going to watch some NFL Network, catch up on e-mails, and do whatever else my body can handle! And maybe come back later to blog some more!

Day 4

Waking up to a bug in Adina's bathroom isn't exactly the way I wanted to START day 4...but c'est la vie! Almost 7 am, and Dad will be here in 2 hours to take me back to MSKCC for another day of chemo. I don't feel so bad this morning (so far), so I may even take the wheel for the drive! And I think today I'll post early and update as I go along...keeping things fresh as I go along!

And poor Adina...she hasn't slept well at all this whole week. Between worrying about me, worrying about her Mary Kay business, watching Luc (that's our adorable Godson who keeps asking "Ann DiDi" for "Unka Bet"), worrying about how the house looks, worrying about her body temperature...poor girl has been all frazzled! But I've already told her that unless I REALLY need her around, I'll be fine. So far, chemo hasn't bothered me nearly as much as I thought it would have! But then again, we're living things day by day...or at least trying to!

Now at MSKCC...had a little delay, but things are normal. Dad sitting here with me reading a book, and I'm just chilling inthe chair. All my vitals are spot on again, so that's definitely good!

1 pm and the drugs are going in. Starting to feel a bit tired, so I think I'll just close my eyes for a bit...be back later!

Ok...it's 5 pm and I'm feeling ok. A bit on the groggy side, but ok. Actually drove myself back home today (Dad just a passenger). So far, the first week has gone rather smoothly. Had that little stomach issue on day 1 thanks to not eating bland foods, but outside of that I'm feeling ok. I could easily broadcast a game if there was one to broadcast. Hamad talking about playing some Strat-O-Matic baseball...I'll see if I can get Robb over (since Sean will be here on Saturday) and we'll do up a bunch of games!

9:30 pm and I'm watching the 1988 Stanley Cup Finals Game 4! Good times! Oh I remember those days! Adina home, mother-in-law on the way, and I'll probably go back to bed a bit later.

Day 3

Mom comes with me today, but has her friend Pat here to start. I'm at MSKCC and feeling tired so far today. Gonna kick back a bit and snooze...

So I snoozed most of the day! My nurse woke me up when I was done for the day, and mom brought me back home. Still not overly nauseous, though I'm feeling a bit tired still. Guess this was expected! I'm not feeling strong enough to go to the chiropractor, so I'll cancel that and lay on the couch for a while. Got some sports stuff to watch, and hopefully I can do a BLSP (that's Bret Leuthner Sports Program on UStream.tv for those that don't know) sometimes around 8 pm tonight!

But it's 5 pm and I'm still tired...maybe more napping is in store! Before I go, I find out my buddy Ron says he joined the shaved head club! Should be interesting to see pics of that! Ok, I'm tired...D is making me chicken noodle soup and then I'll lay down for an hour or so.

And now it's 11:40 pm...wow what a nap! Must be the chemp fighting the cells in my body! Needless to say, no BLSP today. But I'm feeling good and confident that I can do a SBFC game should that scheduling issue arise. Adina agrees! Finish the night off by forwarding this to more friends, and now it's time for bed. More tomorrow!

Day 2

Adina drops me off again today since she didn't have to be at Chez Jansson until 11. Uncle was grateful that we got a hold of him to call him off. I'm grateful to him that he would come up to our house to bring me to MSKCC! Arrive at MSKCC, find out that massage at chiropractor isn't advisable, so we'll hold off on that for a few months! Got to set up lineups for softball today and then just sit tight. Hoping that I don't get sick again later. I want to be feeling good on Wednesdays so I can call more Sky Blue FC games while I'm doing Chemo!!! And yes, I'm not letting Chemo stop me from being on the mic! I will be at the field for those games!

2 pm arrives and that means my parents will soon be here to pick me up and bring me home. Feeling a bit tired from being reclined all day. Or maybe the chemo. Dad comes in and we're already ready to go. Out to the car where mom and my dog Alfie await (my sister, Kim, named the dog, but he gravitates to me anytime I'm around...so he's my dog)! Nice conversation back home. Both mom and dad want to help with the yardwork! Woohoo! Adina should be very happy!

Which I must say my relationship with my parents has gotten much better since D and I moved up here! The first time my parents came to our new home, I could see the pride in my mother's eyes. It was one of the best feelings I ever had to that point in my life, and it shows I can judge someones feelings and character spot on...because since then, she has been nothing than the best in our relationship. My dad has been awesome, too! I can't imagine how much it hurts them to see their son having to go through chemo.

Started feeling tired around 5:30 today...nothing major, just a bit fatigued. Stomach is fine (so far), no headaches, no other issues...just a bit tired. Parents went to town on the yard...good stuff there!

So I made pancakes for everyone (and yes, they were as good as always). I ate without having stomach issues (thank God), and Robb stopped by to play video games for a while. Good end to the night!

Day 1

Adina takes me to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in Basking Ridge. 10:30 appointment. We check in, and a short while later we're being led to "room" 3...they're more like private spaces here...to start my treatments. The first 90 minutes are anti-nausea meds and fluids. Then around noon, we start the actual chemo medication. Overall an uneventful day at MSKCC. I feel fine leaving, wondering if that's how I would feel in the days to come. My appetite has been fine, I've been drinking a lot of fluids on my own, all seemed to be well.

Get home, knock down a Subway sandwich, take a nap, end up being 40 min late to my chiropractor...and then I start to feel nauseous. Eventually pills and such don't help, and later in the night I get sick. Call MSKCC to let them know. Since temp stayed down (it has to stay below 100.4) just take one of the other pills they prescribed to me. That did the trick after a while. Was able to hold down crackers and ginger ale, so I slept relatively well for the night. Before we went to bed, Adina lament how once she put notice out for help with the lawn, no one was available. Not sure how to take that...I just want to sleep and not have to worry about drama, anger, or anything else that's negative vibes.

Wonder going into Day 2 if I'll be able to eat something, even if it's crackers en masse!