Nausea, CT Scan is positive, So many friends

Its been a while since I’ve posted an entry. I have not felt physically well the past week. Nausea began around Tuesday increasing in intensity through the weekend. I’d recently began some new medications for my mouth that had side effects of nausea. So we shifted those medications, but the nausea only increased. We also inadvertently forgot to change my pain patch, which causes a variety of withdrawal symptoms, one of which is nausea. Since I’ve had no pain without the patch, we decided to move ahead with stopping its usage.

However, it was a casual conversation Theresa had before a rehearsal with our family doctor, who plays in the band with her, that lead to identification of the issue. He suggested the nausea was caused by an acid imbalance in my stomach due to the liquid food I’ve been consuming. Sure enough after taking a Pepcid, the symptoms reduced dramatically. We will work with the nutritionist after President’s Day to determine how to break this cycle.

On Thursday last week, I went to the hospital for a CT scan. We received a voice mail from the radiation oncologist office late Friday. She indicated the CT scan revealed positive results. Both cancerous masses are continuing to shrink. When Theresa spoke with our family doctor at band rehearsal, he indicated the CT results were impressive. I will meet with my ENT doctor this Wednesday and the radiology oncologist Thursday to receive more details. But, for now, it appears the treatment is having the desired effect on the cancerous masses. Thank you, God.

Finally, I would like to reinforce my appreciation to all of you for your support. I’m not sure this was best, but I decided early on to not respond to any blog post. I’ve found that increasingly difficult. I read every post, often more than once. I’m overwhelmed when I see posts from friends and co-workers I’ve not seen in years. I want to reach out and say, “Thank you for caring. Its so good to hear from you.” The cards, letters, emails and blog posts have come from so many different corners of my world. One doesn’t realize how many friends one has accumulated until times like this put a spotlight on that reality. I want to thank each of you from the bottom of my heart for reaching out with support, no matter how small. It really does keep my spirit in the right place, and brings back many fond memories from my life experiences.