I'm making myself stay ambitious for a short
time after having played the Sunday Brunch at The Warwick today in order to
give everyone a brief update. Obviously, I'm still working, that's
pretty good news, although I think if I had to go more than 4 hours or so it
would be time for me to bail out.
Side effects of the radiation continue to
compound and worsen as promised; I can no longer speak comfortably at all,
swallowing is excruciating (even water), muscle aches in the back and
shoulders, and general fatigue. Because my tumor is in the neck, mouth
pain is the main problem, particularly the blistered underside of my
tongue. Well, that's enough whining (although I must admit I feel
better to have bitched at everyone a little bit). The good news is,
there's no new bad news. No unforeseen complications have developed,
the tumor is shrinking, I'm managing to maintain my weight (which takes some
true grit), and the low-grade fever I was experiencing has
disappeared. I'm still able to mentally focus for long enough periods
of time to be able to play music, a game of cards, write this letter,
etc. So despite all my complaints, I'm sure things could be much
worse.
You're a heck of a support system out there;
I've seen almost all of you who receive this who live in the Houston area in
the last three weeks, and I hear from the rest of you via email and
phone. This means more to Sally and I than you will ever know.
Speaking of Sally, she appears to be none
the worse for all the wear; she's been going at it 24 hours a day, but I
can't deny that she seems up to the challenge. I would like for all of
you to encourage her to try to make some time for personal interests,
important ones as well as those that may seem trivial.
I'm going to keep this brief, in order to
get some rest before tomorrow, a long day at M D Anderson during which my
blood will be re-evaluated, a new mask made, a new sim planning session will
take place, in order to pinpoint the radiation to the areas which have been
altered by the previous treatments, AND a regular dose of radiation.
Two more weeks of that, then the combine chemo + radiation
begins.
I honestly can't say when I'll write again;
I try to every so often just so everyone knows I'm capable of it, however,
the need for rest seems to grow and grow, and frankly the pain is beginning
to be a major distraction. I was prescribed a mouthwash today that
will "numb" the area for 30 minutes or so, allowing me to slip
down some Sustecal; its only partially effective. I guess there's only
so far you can go to inhibit mouth pain. I can actually see the
wound, and it's a doozie. Saliva has thickend up so much that I have
to use a kleenex to remove it from my mouth, and sometimes when I do that,
some tongue tissue comes along with it. The reason I'm saying all this
is: I feel like I'm being supplied with every possible option for pain
control, it's just that this is going to be hard to combat.
Thank you all for your continued
concern.
