Another Series of Three Treatments are Done!

Yesterday, I finished my last treatment in this series of three.  Each treatment day gets progressively harder as you go through the three treatments.  The last treatment had the usual installation procedure and I was able, due to the nice weather, to take a two mile walk during the two hour holding period.  Besides being good exercise, the walk also helps to break up the two hours and unlike the first two treatments, I was not worried about making it to the end of the two hours. 

My six hours of flushing the system dragged on as usual and because of the progressive nature of the three treatments, I had blood showing up for about four hours, versus only two hours for treatment #2 and none for treatment #1.  It is not unusual to have the bleeding and it makes you feel like you know the BCG fluid and virus is working.  I also had chills for most of the six hours, but they went away before bedtime.  I was left with a bladder that aches and is still quite sore 24 hours later. 

I spent the afternoon watching the second season of Downton Abbey and I'm looking forward to getting into the current season three.  My daughter wants to go on a family trip to see the actual abbey and it will put on my bucket list as I love England. 

The next major milestone will be April 10th, when I have my two year cancer checkup with the dreaded cystoscope.  The two year anniversay is very important as any recurrence after the two year mark will put you probably back to square one of starting the BCG treatments all over again, versus the removal of the bladder.  It's important to keep the orginal part as long as possible.

Thanks for everyone's prayers and concerns...

Two Down and One to Go.

Today was the second of my three weeks in a row of having my BCG treatments.  This series of three will all be started at 8 in the morning, which is a blessing because the 8 hours are over between 4-5 pm.  Just like last week the installation went extremely quick and well.  They changed the protocol on how they administer the treatment and I'm not going to gross you out, so just take my word that the change is effective.

Today went well and I was able to get through it with just one pain pill.  It was about in the middle of the pack for pain and didn't really call for taking any additional pain pills.  It was the first time in a couple of treatments that I experienced blood while I voided my bladder.  It is normal with this kind of treatment and certainly not excessive.

It was a long day that started with being waken by tornado sirens at 3 am (no tornado, just high winds) and then my normal alarm at 6am.  I have my normal, sore and worn out bladder, but it is worth it with the continued great results.

With nothing good on TV during the day, I went through the entire first year (7 hours) of Downton Abbey.  A very well done series by PBS.  I'm looking forward to seeing the second year next week and getting up to date on the current season three very soon.

Sweet #16.

My eight treatment hours are done and it was again one of the best of the sixteen treatments.

The one thing that I've come to understand over the course of my 16 treatments is that you never know what to expect.  You know that it is not going to be an easy day and like a good roller coaster, you just hold on to your seat and go where it takes you.  I'm very thankful that today went well.

The doctor's appointment was early at 8 in the morning and I still don't have the early morning routine down for how much I can drink before going into the doctor's office.  It is important to hold the BCG in the bladder for the entire 2 hours, while I sit in the La-Z-Boy and rock to keep it sloshing around.   Needless to say, I was counting down the minutes and knew exactly when the 120 minutes were finished.  I pumped myself with fluids all day and almost set a record for the number of trips to the bathroom.  It seems that the more fluid intake the less pain I experience, so today was a good day.

I reread John Piper's, Don't Waste Your Cancer, this morning and it put me in a great frame of mind.  I highly recommend the book to anyone going through cancer treatments.

Now I have six days of recovery and it all starts again next Wednesday at 8 am.

Great Finish To 2012

My all clear results from today's cystoscope finishes the year the same way as it started...cancer free!

Going to a cystoscope is always a very stressful experience between the pain of the actual procedure and the worrying over the results.  This time was no different except for the fact that I was feeling as good physically as I have felt since being diagnosed with cancer.  I have been running every day for about 4 weeks and feeling extremely healthy, which is exactly how I felt going pre-cancer.  So to get the all clear was a great feeling.

I appreciate all the prayers and people asking me how I'm feeling.  It is comforting to know that so many people care about my well being.  I will be posting again in January when I start my treatments in 6 weeks.

Big Day On Wednesday

This Wednesday, the 12th, I have my next cystoscope.  It's hard to believe that it has been 3 months since my last one.  It is always with trepidation that I go and have the procedure done.  The anxiety is now is more on results and less on the procedure.  This will be my 6th one in 1 1/2 years and the frequency will soon go to semi-annual for the next two years instead of quarterly.  As always, with a clear test, I will be scheduling the next set of BCG treatments in January.

I didn't know if I would like the BCG cycles going to 6 months between treatments versus 3 months.  But, I can now say that having more time to recover is nice.  I have been running now for about 4 weeks and get up in the morning ready to go, instead of wishing that I could have more time in bed.  While I would not say that I'm a morning person, I do really like getting up and getting a workout in before getting into the office.

Next post will be late afternoon on Wednesday, 12/12/12.

September Update

I realized that I didn't post my results from my September Cystoscope.  It was ALL CLEAR!  It was probably the quickest and least painful of all my Cystoscope tests.  A huge answer to prayer and relief.  The scope tests are always very stressful, but the end is always a huge relief when we hear the all clear from Dr. T.

My next Cystoscope is on 12/12/12 at 1:30pm.  With another all clear of cancer, the next treatments will start up again in January and February of 2013.  My plan is to have them done in time to go to the annual Florida Auctions in the middle of February.

I'm now about 7 weeks out from my last treatment.  The fatigue is still a constant, but this morning was the first morning that I've felt rested when I woke up.  I was feeling tired again by early afternoon, but at least I had about half of a day feeling real good.  Hopefully, with the new schedule of 6 months off between treatments will give me more days of feeling good than feeling worn out.

#15 Done and 6 Month To Recover

Treatment #15 is over and now I have until February 2013 before I start up #16-18.  The treatment day was different from the start.  I arrived 15 minutes early to find an all new office staff at my doctor's office.  He and his partners had joined a new practice with 30 other Urologists and I now had to fill out all their forms like I was a new patient.  Then they took 2 hours to get me into the Installation Room.  Nothing like adding 2 more hours to a process that take normally 8 hours.  The good new was that installation went smooth and the 8 hours went great.  Very little pain and blood this time.

The next big date is September 12th, when I have my next Cystoscope to see that the cancer has not returned.  It is always a very stressful day and I think anyone that has ever had cancer has worries that it will come back.  I'm trusting in the Lord that He will be with me and continue to pray for the cancer to never return.