The Many Forms of Therapy

Our Chemotherapy Specialist, Dr. S.,  and his wonderful clinic nurse Heather, eased our minds this morning with their kind words and gentle manner. Most people fear radiation and chemotherapy because of the rumors regarding the uncomfortable side effects. Side effect management has come a long way over the last few years.

We’ve mentioned before how thorough these people are – at times we are overwhelmed with information and literature. We need time to digest it all before we try organize our thoughts and relay all that info into a post for you to read.

Regarding the chemo itself, which they just recently decided to incorporate, will act as an enhancer. The low strength and minimal doses that he will receive will intensify or complement the radiation with very few side effects. The numbers that the Dr. used on a scale up to 100 – Most patients receive 90-95 twice or 3 times weekly. The Cowboy’s number on that scale would be about 30 once a week.

“Cisplatin, also known as Platinol or CDDP is an anti-cancer chemotherapy drug classified as an alkylating agent. It interferes with the growth of cells and is very effective in treating cancer.” 

While they will be monitoring him very closely they’ve also educated us on how to manage these side effects. They now administer anti-nausea drugs with radiation and chemo treatments. He also doesn’t need to worry about hair loss. Except when we were back (way back) in our teens I can only recall The Cowboy without a moustache once. He lost it in a poker game . . . I told you it was a long time ago.

He may experience numbness or tingling in his fingertips or toes. It could also affect his hearing slightly and I’m not sure how we’ll ever gauge that. He suffers from that ailment that most men have called ‘selective’ hearing.

He may also suffer from fatigue. Fortunately for us and our life style he will be able to rest any time he needs to. Their biggest concern is that he stays hydrated at all times.

It was a month ago that The Cowboy was undergoing the biopsy procedure and on Tuesday his treatments will begin.

According to the Provincial guide lines in Ontario the average wait times for neck cancer surgery is 170 days or about 5-1/2 months. We are convinced we are where we need to be. We hope you are too.

Time for some Retail Therapy VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

There are a lot of times that I know I’m too factual in these posts but I feel compelled to form my thoughts into sentences and put it on paper before I lose my train of thought. As I get older that train seems to be getting faster and shorter.

 

Chinese Take Out Therapy VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Chinese fortunes are a lot more interesting if you add 3 little words to the end  . . . ‘in the bedroom’.

Try it.

The Cowboys read: Listen to everyone. Ideas come from everywhere . . .

Mine: Love is a warm fire to keep the soul warm . . .

Our WiFi signal is very weak right now so I apologize because this post may not get posted tonight.

Thanks for stopping by and reading our blog.

Also a Big Thank You for all of your wonderful kind comments and messages.

Prayers go up and Blessings come down. Thank You for yours.

Let’s get it right!

Today we spent some of our time cleaning, repairs and generally tidying up.

 

I feel the need to address one of my recent posts where I casually mentioned chemo treatment would be in our very near future. Well, not all of you read it that casually. We sincerely feel that this is a precautionary step only. I’ll relate back to Dr. G. in the valley when he said ‘We’ve got one shot at this – let’s get it right!’ We’re sure the doctors and professionals that we are dealing with here don’t want to look back and regret that they hadn’t pursued the chemo while they had the chance. The positive note from that same meeting is that they have decreased the amount of radiation treatment by 10 days. Instead of looking at April 30th as the last date we are now looking at April 20th. Mind you, that is still all subject to change but we are hoping that it doesn’t.

We did slip out for a while today to do some shopping. MD has been educating us and we’ve been learning about some of the side effects to expect while The Cowboy is receiving his radiation treatments. They all vary, of course, depending on the individual but we are trying to arm ourselves with anything and everything we may need to ensure that he will be as comfortable as possible.

Since the radiation will be focused on his neck and throat area his skin will become very sensitive and appear ‘very sunburned’. One of their suggestions is Aquaphor healing ointment so that was one of our purchases along with an electric razor.

There are several major issues, one of them will be his loss of appetite, the other will be nausea. Their biggest concern is weight loss so we are stocking up on protein drinks and other products that will help nourish his body – keeping in mind that his mouth will be sore and he will only be able to swallow soft foods. He loves ice cream and jello and I enjoy making soups. Plenty of liquids of course to keep him hydrated and then we get into the Metamucil or fiber drinks, Milk of Magnesia and prune juice. Another item on their list was diet ginger ale – flat, with no bubbles.

They’ve also told us that some foods may take on a ‘tinny’ or metal taste so they suggest using plastic cutlery plus drinking through a straw will make it easier for him to swallow. Simple things really, like a baking soda and salt mouth wash instead of toothpaste.

All of these steps are easy enough and these people seem to have done this a time or two. We are going to follow all of their recommendations and really concentrate to make sure that his recovery is quick and we can get back to our families and friends in Ontario.

Pioneer Woman Wannabe

This is exactly what the title says so if you aren’t into food and eating then just stop reading and go on back to your cocktail.

We are enjoying an appointment-free day today so while The Cowboy was busy doing this:

I decided to play Pioneer Woman.

This Quiche is one of our family’s favorite dishes. When I was a working Mom I didn’t have as much time as I do now so it was usually saved for special occasions. If I couldn’t wait any longer for my family to get out of bed on Christmas morning the aroma this creates brought them to the kitchen pretty quickly.

It’s a Bisquick recipe so it forms it’s own crust.

The basic recipe calls for 6 slices of bacon and one onion.

There will be a copy of the full recipe at the bottom of this post.

 

Drain and place in the bottom of a good-sized pie plate. My large Pyrex dish works perfect for this.

Mix together 3 eggs, 3/4 cup of Bisquick, 1-3/4 cup of milk, salt and pepper. We love fresh ground pepper!

 

Any day that I get to use my whisk is gonna be a good day!

What’s your favorite utensil?

 

 

 

 

 Pour this over the bacon, onion and oops!  . . .

 

 

 

 

the 2 cups of grated cheese that I forgot to add on top of the bacon and onions.

Ah, Well!

 

This recipe is so forgiving and so versatile. You can use ham, sausage or any type of leftover meat like chicken. I always have Cheddar cheese on hand but again just use up whatever you have in your fridge. Feta or Monterey Jack kicks it up a notch too.

Oh and this is what happens when you don’t re-close the Bisquick package:

So while the quiche was baking away in the oven I (vacuumed) and made up this favorite Caesar Salad dressing that our sweet niece Roxane turned me on to. While it’s not totally from scratch the flavor sure belies that fact and it’s so simple to make.

• 1 Cup Hellman’s
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp parmesan cheese
• 1 Tbsp chopped/minced garlic
• 1 Tbsp ground pepper

I always add lots more of the last 3 ingredients. I like to make up a big batch and it stores in the fridge for a good month to 6 weeks. I buy Parmesan in bulk, grate it and store it for future use.

Another little known fact that was recently brought to my attention – my friend Bonnie who lived full time on their boat for about 7 years (plus are now part time RV’ers) passed this little nugget on to me. Most condiments do not need to be refrigerated . . . including mayonnaise. Now that information is so important to those of us whose fridges are not residential sizes. So I’ve been testing this and so far . . . it seems to be working . . . at least I’m living to tell you about it. I’m very careful and use only clean utensils each time I scoop mayo from the container and by not letting any other food or bacteria come in contact with the contents.

 

This is another item that is always on my pantry shelf. It’s a great crunchy topping for casserole, soups or salads.

Sam’s Club (in the Valley) sells these 1-1/2 lb. bags for less than $6.00.  Ka-Ching!

 

 

In Canada the price is about $3.00 for 6 or 8 ounces and yes, (a note to my family) I’m bringing a supply home for you as your souvenirs.

While I was dishing this up (and this is a full size dinner plate) The Cowboy asked ‘Just how many people are you planning on feeding anyway?’

Just You Honey. Just You.

Thanks again for stopping by and reading our post.

VERY BIG THANKS FOR YOUR COMMENTS, MESSAGES AND ESPECIALLY YOUR VIRTUAL HUGS & PRAYERS.

 

---

Quiche

400^ 30 – 40 minutes

6 slices bacon

1 onion

Fry then mix with 2 cups grated cheese in pie plate

1-1/3 cups milk

3 eggs

¾ C. Bisquick

Salt & Pepper

Beat until almost smooth then pour in pie plate

Top with 1 cup cheese after 30 minutes then cook until cheese melts

ENJOY!

FORE !!!!

Last week when we arrived The Cowboy’s schedule consisted of 25 different meetings all in different areas of MD Centre. We completed the last of those sessions today – Tuesday.

Looking Up VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Yesterday he was required to undergo several simulations - treatment planning sessions. Today’s particular simulation involved the radiation doctor to locate the exact area to be treated, to take measurements and to create shielding to protect normal tissue.

This neck and head shielding, made of plastic mesh, needs to be custom fitted and will help keep him very still to ensure correct positioning during treatment.

Another CT scan and X-rays were taken to create a three-dimensional picture of the area. They also made permanent stains on pieces of plastic (like scotch tape) attached to his skin to align his body each time to make sure his body is not rotated during treatment.

Dr. P (is what we will call him) MD, PhD (Assistant Professor) is a very personable, quiet mannered young man in the Radiation Oncology Department. We will be meeting with him once a week from here on in.

Today he and 2 or 3 other colleagues, along with 6 other students, performed another scope and found that the cancer cells have increased in size. He will now be incorporating chemotherapy treatment into our sessions. We received a phone call from the Dr. S, MD, PhD, (Assistant Professor) Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology this afternoon advising of a meeting scheduled with him for this Friday.

We’re now in more intimate spaces in the Centre and I haven’t been taking as many pictures. I’ve always tried to be discreet with my photos both for the patients privacy and the employees as well.

We’ve also been attending classes where we learning about what to expect during and after treatment. They are making us aware of side effects and how to best treat any issues. We are also being educated in nutrition – they want us to concentrate on loading him up with carbs, protein and lots of fluids now and especially once he starts treatment.

I’m trying to keep this as brief as possible and yet my main goal with these posts are to keep our families back home in Canada and our friends who are all over the nation informed, as best I can. We hope these posts bring them comfort in knowing that their Father, Brother, Son, Uncle, Nephew and Friend is receiving the best of medical care in the world.

Everyone also needs to know that he has never been in any pain or discomfort. The only noticeable symptom is the hoarseness in his voice.

He has been relating this experience to the game of golf. One of the pieces of advice we hear when learning to play is to ‘Look past the ball’. That image allows his mind to look past the next six weeks  . . .

A Short Cut to Mexico through Houston

Sunday was another great day with clear blue skies and plenty of sunshine.

Turned out to be the perfect day for one of our favorite activities . . . Flea Marketing!

The Cowboy had found this one on the internet although we noticed several on the way.

Great Aromas VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

All kinds of activities for kids.

Mechanical Bulls that brought lots of smiles. Trust me, these were very mild, slow moving and not at all dangerous for these little ones.

Lots of Energy VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Shopping for Cowboys . . .

Oh and Yes there were a few items for Princesses too . . .

We thought we had been transported to Mexico. By the way, we think we were the only Gringo’s there.

This place was huge and I’m sure we only seen a very small portion of all they had to offer. We usually spend hours just browsing and people watching but the large crowds and very loud Mariachi music everywhere found us leaving earlier than planned.

It was a photographer’s paradise with all of the bright colors and happy smiling faces of young and old and I’m sure we’ll return.

We ended back at our quiet little park to enjoy the rest of the afternoon.

Now, while I’m not sure what you rich people were doing out there but The Cowboy grilled up a wonderful steak dinner, baked potatoes with onions, mushrooms and fresh, al dente asparagus.

We Thank God for another wonderful day.

We are extremely grateful.

Ending note: Shouldn’t that be spelled GREAT full?

Moving Day

While the temps were in the 80’s yesterday the cooler weather this morning (60’s) is a welcome relief.

It looks like treatment for The Cowboy will be radiation only. Although we haven’t received official word yet it looks like we’ll be looking at 5 days a week for about 4 – 6 weeks. Our visit on Monday will reveal a more detailed schedule.

All Star RV VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

It’s a Move Day today. We are leaving All Star RV Resort today and moving about 15 miles to Red Dot RV. With the big Houston Rodeo going on here it was a real feat to find a spot at all, let alone finding one that was as close as we are to MD Anderson Centre.

Working Out VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

The above photos are displayed in a way that, if you look at them real quick from left to right, should give the illusion that I am actually moving.

Our cost for the week here was $305 and we will be looking at a month’s stay at Red Dot for $325 plus electric. Looks like it will be about the same distance to the Centre and they have all the amenities we need.

After burning off those .008 calories a good hot soak was in order to ease those aching muscles.  

Our friends, Dwight & Elaine have left the valley heading this way. You can read more about them Here - Honkytonk Badonkadonk or Here - Down on the Farm. We will connect with them later today and we expect there will be lots of laughing, teasing, joking and oh yes . . . eating involved.

Our plans to head north this spring will be delayed for a while but we are just thankful we are here and able to do what we need to do for his recovery.

There are still a lot of ‘unknowns’ but we are very confident in God’s Love and Guidance. We know that He is with us every step we take. Sometimes He leads us and other times He’s had to push us.

Thanks for stopping by and reading and for your thoughts and prayers.

The Cowboy’s View

M.D. Anderson, WHAT a place! I guess all I can compare it to is when London built their new Cancer center. I thought it was huge. M. D.’s parking garage is bigger than London’s whole hospital. It would be like comparing McDonalds to the Waldorf. Normally a place this big would make me “Nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs” but everyone of these professionals make you feel like you are a brother or sister with a problem and they have a genuine concern for you.

In the past three days I have been poked, probed, and prodded by not less than Ten Doctors and at least eight technicians. They have done more tests on me than I have had in all the rest of my life. I have had CT scans, Internal Videos, Barium swallows, X-rays, Scopes, blood tests and the list still goes on. These people are thorough. Tomorrow, Thursday there will be a 40 member team made up from every field Surgeons, Speech Therapists, Dentists, Radiologists, Oncologists, Dieticians, Physiatrists and the list goes on. They will all sit and talk about the many test results and come up with the best approach to treating me.

All this has happened over the past three days and it seems like weeks. By Friday “The Team” will have a plan in place. What it sounds like so far is that they want to save my GOLDEN voice, so I can continue to share the pearls of wisdom with the world. In order to do that, some of them have been leaning towards Spot Radiation over a six week program. I guess I am not going to be feeling very good for that six weeks because radiation does some stuff to you but once I come out the other side I will be the same “Jolly, knowledgeable little gem” I have always been. Since I am in Texas they gave me a choice “You can either go cry in the truck or Cowboy up” !

The Princess and I just can’t get over how things out of our control have been preparing us for this part of our life. We live in our motorhome and are totally mobile. Many we see coming and going daily are from far away, staying in hotels, renting cars, eating nothing but restaurant food, living out of a suitcase and spending money like water.

We are retired and have no fixed schedule to worry about like others with jobs, homes to maintain, payments that need to be made and wandering among strangers for weeks at a time with no one to divert your attention from the problems you are having. In a campground you are always surrounded by happy people having relaxed enjoyable times. The fact that I turned 65 last year and got on Medicare that is paying the thousands of dollars this is costing without it costing us a dime. You just can’t buy this amount of treatment unless you have very very deep pockets.

Days have seemed like weeks to both of us. There is so much going on every day and it seems we may not be staying in contact with each of you but some days we are just exhausted and have taken in so much information it becomes a blur. Please excuse us if we bother you too much. Please excuse us if we haven’t called to update you recently. It brings back to mind an old book “I’m dancing as fast as I can”.

That’s about how we feel. So for now I sign off.

When in doubt, let your horse do the thinkin'.

Happy Trails to You, Until we meet again.

Ending Note: This was written a couple of days ago but not posted until today – Friday; we are still waiting to hear officially but it looks like radiation treatment (only) at this point.

What is Following?

Tired of checking our blog only to discover that the same old post is still sitting there? Well, here’s a quick and easy lesson on how to see if anything new has happened since your last visit.

I follow a lot of Bloggers, probably about 50 or so. They don’t post everyday nor do I check or read their blog everyday. But I can see if they have any new posts and then choose to read them when I have the time.

Look for the red arrows  . . .

One of the simplest ways is to become a follower:

(Bloggers love followers!)

You may be required to open a Google Account (which is very simple) or you choose to follow ‘anonymously’.

Or you can choose to follow by email:

 

Since my inbox would fill up pretty quickly, this method works for me:

If you click on the orange icon on your screen a drop down menu will give you a couple of choices. I click on RSS (Really Simple Syndication).

The screen will change and in the upper left corner you should see something like this:

Click on ‘Subscribe to this feed’.

These instructions may vary, depending on what operating system you have but all I can tell you is that this is what I do and I’ve done it so often that it’s all very routine so I apologize if I’ve left something out.

You should come up with something like this:

Click on Subscribe.

Your feeds should show up on the left of your screen, however this will depend again on your individual computer settings.

The Bold Text indicates a new post on that particular blog. Then you can see who has posted and decide if and when you would like to read it.

Lastly, all bloggers love to receive comments. It lets us know that there is someone out there actually reading this.

This will show up on the bottom of each post and if you click on it you’ll be able to leave your (positive only) comments:

If you have chosen to ‘Follow Anonymously’ and wish to leave a comment, please leave your name in the message/comment box so that we know who you are.

We’re going to take this opportunity to send out a BIG THANK YOU to our current followers and to those of you that take the time to leave such wonderful comments and send your thoughtful emails. We sincerely appreciate YOU! Or if you have anything to add to this post please feel free to do so. Many of you bloggers have so much knowledge to share.

To any of our new readers please take some time to read “MY BLOG LIST” located on the bottom right side of the page. Just click on any of them and follow their travels and their wonderful writings.

How about starting your own blog? It’s a great way to journal, share your lives and even show off some of your photos.