Barry, have the shots helped?  I hope so!  Waiting for an update and still praying.

mel

Melissa wrote on Aug 31^st, 2012 at 5:17pm:

Hi Mel
Yes the shots worked really well & brought the white cell count right back up to where they should be & we didn't have to delay any of the treatment.

I saw the Doc again last Thursday before the chemo clinic & he said he is very pleased with the way I am responding to the treatment.

He is pleased that I am not being effected with nausea, I am virtually pain med free with only needing 1/2 a tablet every 3-4 days & that is only when I have over done it a bit with the exercise & now that I have got the constipation issue sorted, he said these are all good signs.

Cheers & thank you all for your kind thoughts.

Barry

Hey, Barry.  Bit of bad news from Sydney University and the CSIRO.  It seems the hops used to make beer contain female hormones (phytoestrogens) and excess consumption can turn a lot of blokes into women.

They got 100 men to down 8 schooners each in an hour and almost every one of them;

   a)   Argued over nothing,
   b)   Refused to apologise when obviously wrong,
   c)   Gained weight,
   d)   Talked excessively while making no sense,
   e)   Became overly emotional,
   f)   Couldn’t drive,
   g)   Failed to think rationally,
   h)   Had to sit down while urinating.

Seems the only ones to get through unscathed was a couple of ClusterHeads so there’s hope for us yet.

Hi Barry I know we chatted a while back but I have been gone for a while.  I'm so sorry to read about your bad news.  Jimi said it the best cluster heads are fighters and if anyone can kick this beasts ass just like you have been kicking that other beasts ass all these years.  Your in our prayers buddy. Stay strong

Thinkin about you Barry...Keep up with the treatments and kick cancers a$$. I know you will. Try to stay standing while taking a whiz...lol
tachead

Thanks for the reports, Barry.  I've not posted following the first reply, but there is not a time I come on this board that I don't pray for you.  I also have reminders elsewhere to keep you uplifted before God frequently. 

I'm glad you have something now to keep you occupied.  Boredom is worse than any malady I've ever suffered!

Be well, my friend,
Jerry

Hi Folks
I had the last of this round of chemo last Thursday and up until now I haven’t had much to be able to let people know how I have progressed with the treatment.

Apart from being tired a lot I have had little or no reaction to the chemo drugs, from the blood samples that get taken prior to each treatment the doctor can determine how things are going within my body and all the signs are good with all of my vital organs working perfectly and my bone marrow producing sufficient white blood cells without having to take any medication to assist

The Chemo Oncologist is really pleased with the results so far, he is very confident that the tumors have shrunk and is thinking that they may have shrunk more than was thought possible at the onset.
I will have a full body bone scan and CT on my lung 30/10/12, from there he will be able to assess just how much the tumors have shrunk.

He confided in me the other day that by the time I was diagnosed and was put in his care there was little under normal circumstances he could do for me other than palliative care to make me comfortable until such time as I simply fell off the perch (my words not his).

The goal posts have moved for the better, with the tumors shrinking the way they appear to have done he now considers that I am a prime candidate for maintenance therapy, something that really shouldn’t have been possible before.

What will happen from here on is; get the scans done & assess the effectiveness of the chemo & the minor radiation therapy I had initially, from there I will go on the maintenance therapy for 9 lots that will consist of a 1 hour session every three weeks over a period of 27 weeks.

Once he is happy that the maintenance therapy is progressing to his satisfaction it looks like I may be able to return home some time in the New Year & fly down every 3 weeks for the treatment under the PATS scheme.

He is also looking at attacking the tumor in my lung the main offender but that is yet to be determined as to which way things will go.

This is by no way a cure but gives me the confidence that the future looks a hell of a lot brighter.

One day at a time.
Cheers
Barry

Cheers to you too, mate, and our sincere regards to She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed.




(Just as an afterthought, you may consider changing the name of this thread.)

The little internal repairmen certainly don't have three guys screwing in a lightbulb, their technical manuals must have been well documented.

Great job, Barry.   

BarbaraD wrote on Oct 15^th, 2012 at 5:22am:


DITTO

Thank you for the update Barry and with a good one too.

Sounds good here too Barry!

I'm widja.

Charlie

That is terrific news Barry!  Us Cluster heads are a resiliant lot.  Keeping you in my thoughts and prayers.

Good luck for 30th.