A place to keep my work.
that's what it feels like
Published on March 14, 2019 By Uvah In Life, the Universe and Everything

An update on me. Just got back from seeing my cancer doc. Mine is stage 3b adenocarcinoma. Non small cell lung cancer and I'm going to be treated systemically (I think that's what it's called) with Keytruda. My doctor says the markers needed are there, which is a good thing. However being that it is stage 3 it won't go away forever and I'll have to deal with it as is. I'm going to be getting a port installed (good choice of words?) beneath my right shoulder simply because it'll be easier than sticking a needle in my arm every time they need a sample or to inject medication. Hence my reference to Borg because I feel like one. My doctor also wants a CT scan to have a look inside mine head. Why I dunno because I told him there ain't much there, if anything, to see but he insisted. Fortunately my adopted daughter Jessie has taken control over the whole shebang because I doubt I'd be able to follow half of what all those doctors I've seen had to say. Tell you that girl is worth her weight in gold. She is so meticulous and keeps track of every little detail. So this is where I'm at. It remains to be seen how long it all lasts. But I are positive and don't intend to stress it, that will only make things worse. So first a pacemaker then a port. What could come next? Peanut gallery comments welcome.


Comments (Page 2)
5 Pages1 2 3 4  Last
on Apr 05, 2019

Am praying for you.  And they told us these were the golden years.

on Apr 07, 2019

Uvah, I hope you have more good times. 

on Apr 08, 2019

More good times?  For mine, he's has more than enough good times!

He needs to get down to some serious work....

Thar be skins in tha wantin'  Aaaarghhhhh!   

on Apr 08, 2019


I'm going to be getting a port installed

any port in a storm...  

sounds like you're weathering the storm well... lots of good people taking good care of you...

hope the waters are a little calmer for you soon...

(the only thing missing in this post is the pirate speak... and I'll leave that to Capt Starkers... )   

 

on Apr 08, 2019

Jeez, I had no Idea Ross Get better soon !

on Apr 08, 2019

Thanks folks. Today is back home day. Things are looking up, I'm responding favorably to treatments. Steroids are being cut back, breathing treatments as well. The port is a bit of a inconvenience but I've gotten used to it. I've had, wonder of wonders, a few nights when I slept all the way through. Still up at the crack of dawn but not before dawn itself. Since I've been under doctors care I've gained a little over fifteen pounds. When I entered the hospital I was down to 115.6 lbs, down from my usual 145-150. Now I'm up to 132 and still going. One thing is I've got more energy than I know what to do with. Because of the meds they have me on. But to have that level of energy before I've even had my first cup of coffee is unusual. 

Now all ye lubbers....got off yer duffs an' git crackin'. Times a'wastin'   

on Apr 08, 2019

Good to hear you are getting better Ross. I have a few health issues and will be 69 this year, but my issues are nothing like yours.

on Apr 08, 2019

Home now and pigging out on pizza. Surrounded by my cats the moment I walked in the door. Jessie is out collecting my meds, more meds...yuck...organizing the myriad doctor appointments I have coming up. Gonna be busy for a bit.

on Apr 08, 2019

Glad you're home Ross!

on Apr 08, 2019

And this time, stay at home.... no more hospital sentences.  Orright!!!!  

Like everyone else, I'm glad that you're back at home in your own surroundings.  Hospitals are good to be in when you're feeling sick, but not so good when you're feeling much better.

I was up at the hospital on Sunday night with extreme chest pain, vertigo and vomitting - had kept absolutely nothing down for over two days - and was severely dehydrated.  I told the triage nurse that I needed to lay down somewhere as I kept passing up whilst sitting up, that it was causing dry- reaching due to pressure on my stomach.  She told me that I could lay on the waiting room seats and offered me a pillow.  Wow, a pillow?  Those seats are the most uncomfortable to sit on, much less lay down on, yet despite telling her that I have chronic back issues and hip pain, she insisted that was all there was available.  I tried laying on the seats but it was nigh impossible to get even remotely comfortable... no width to lay flat.

Anyway, to cut an even longer story short, the woman who saw the triage nurse before me was told it would be a 6 to 8 hour wait before a bed and doctor became available.  That meant the wait for me would have been around 9 to 11 hours, going on the premise of an hour per patient.  I arrived there by ambulance around 1.00am, which would have meant I was trying to lay on those damned seats until 10.00am to 12.00am.  There was no way I could manage that.  After over a couple hour of trying I told the triage nurse that I'd be better off at home.  An ECG showed my heart to be fine, so there was no reason for me to stay after a maxalon shot had help to ease the nausea and vertigo.

I came home and am feeling better now, though.  Well no worse than usual.  However, it is a sad indictment on the Ipswich Hospital.   Other major hospitals in SE Queensland have endeadvoured to cut their ER wait times down to around two hours, less in some cases, even during peak periods, yet the hospital here still has ridiculous waiting times of 6 to 8 hours or more.

 

 

on Apr 09, 2019

Uvah, I'm 66 as well. We are BOOMERS. I've been following your Borgness. Glad to hear that things are improving for you. Compared to your problems I'm lucky but I realize how quickly things can change. I need a hernia repair and the circulation in my legs ain't good. Smoked cigarettes for many years. Also I've been out of work since December and I'm getting pretty heavy. Today I started an exercise regime. Hope I can keep at it. Walking. I used to run but those days are long gone. They say walking is just as good as running. I walked 2 miles today and during the first mile I felt it! Second mile was better. Could have walked farther but my thought was to increase a wee bit at a time. To make a long story short the 1952 people need to take care of themselves. Hope things keep improving for you Mr. Ross.

on Apr 09, 2019

Yup, we're the Boomers alright. And yes things are looking up. Shame Mark had to go through all that. I was lucky, when I got to the ER last Sunday night it was less than ten minutes before I was taken inside and started on a one hour breathing treatment. Then an X-ray, a cat scan, which gave me a panic attack because I was unable to breathe lying flat. An hour later I'm in my room, comfortable and on my way to dreamland. That was at three in the morning. My daughter was exhausted and she had to work at eight am. 

on Jun 06, 2019

An update on me:

Just spoke to my oncologist today. The radiation is doing its job on the right side of me however the cancer has spread and is affecting the left side now. Further treatment is not going to help therefore my condition is......Terminal. Weeks perhaps months to go and I bet my doctor a penny, all he has to bet with, that I can stretch it out. Where I go from here is anyone's guess. So if somewhere down the line you don't hear from me for a bit you'll know why. All my love to you guys at WC and SD for all of everything up to and including my weirdness. 

on Jun 06, 2019

Ross... crap. So sorry to hear.

Can't even begin to imagine what you must be feeling.

on Jun 06, 2019

Sorry to hear this Ross, but don't worry, you'll be well taken care of in Heaven when your time comes.

5 Pages1 2 3 4  Last