Nothing Doing

It was a fairly uneventful week. My Chemo-brain has abated and my mind has been clear ! I was also pain free. The fatigue was mostly absent. I felt a little bit foggy and tired at times but it was not as overwhelming as it has been in the past. In fact, I would have to say that I felt close to normal for the first time all year.
Is it May already? I have no idea where January and the other months went !
I felt a bit tired today and yesterday-- mostly from boredom or lack of motivation. I did go to the park several times this week and I also went uptown and did a lot of casual visiting. While at the park on Wednesday (I think) I saw some people engaging in LARP. That is an anachronym for "Live Action Role Playing". It was interesting to watch...

 I didn't get anything accomplished that I thought I would...I think I was flummoxed that I was feeling my old self again. I will see my Doctor next week and find out when my next Chemo will be. I imagine that it will be on Friday the 11th, but I was off by a week last month so I'll just have to see.
As I have stated on this blog many times, I am fortunate that I haven't experienced the more difficult side effects that some people have. It lays me out for a few days and I spend a week or more recovering. This time it was a week of feeling bad and a week of near normal. It is just so hard to predict or plan any activities. If I were employed (gainfully), I wonder how many days I would have had to leave work or call off ! I probably would have tried to soldier on only to find that the effort was to no avail and I would probably have to end up taking a leave of absence. I have read on other blogs about individuals who continue to work and raise their families. I don't know how they do it and I imagine it is really difficult. I think most of them are 20-30 years younger than I and maybe that explains their excess energy. I remember when I was being treated for prostate cancer and also taking care of my father and working and beginning a new marriage, it just seemed to be a matter of managing my time. This time around, though, is quite a bit different. It was serious and sudden and my age worked against me when it came to calling on energy reserves.
This seems a good time to mention alternative therapies and diets...a few people have offered me advice concerning supplements or diets. And, I notice internet and social media postings about alternative treatments besides surgery, radiation or chemo. Before this diagnosis of Stage 4 Lung Cancer, I had always read with interest about alternatives and also about famous people that had tried radical therapies when others had failed.
But, you know, as much as I love Life, I don't take much stock in what is outside Mainstream Medicine right now. I dug into articles about miracle cures and helpful diets and supplements and I find them to be fairly antiquated and unsupported.
My appetite has been good and my weight has held steady. I had constipation problems so I went, pretty much to a liquid and vegan diet. I am eating baby food also. I have found that grapefruit juice tastes best to me when I get a bitter taste in my mouth. Also, it is not made from concentrate and does not have added sugar or preservatives. I eat romain lettuce or cobb salads with vinegar and oil. If I want protein, I eat pink salmon or hard-boiled eggs. For sweets I rely on Boston Baked Beans candy and Made-in-Canada-rough-edged-no-quality-control Lifesavers.
I look skinny in the mirror and feel like I have lost muscle but I have only lost maybe ten pounds and that was mostly the result of the hair on my head falling out !
So, here is where the year went:  Chemo...one week of dis-orientation, major fatigue and roving pain...then, a week of recovering and fatigue...then, a week of getting prepared for the next round...and, Repeat...that about sums up 4 Chemos (12-15 weeks).
Everyone's physical being is different. Everyone handles  and their body responds to treatments differently. Cancer attacks and meets with varying results according to it's makeup and the individual's makeup.
What I have learned from this experience is this: you will get through it if you are a good patient and you trust your Doctor and the medical community. You will have a better time of it if you stay as active as possible and stay social. You will benefit from exercising your Spirituality through prayer and fellowship. You are a child of God and you must trust...
My poor little Robot, JoJobt, is waging his own battle...he seems to have an electrical short and I don't have the technological expertise to operate on him. I may have to summon the energy to call upon his Maker: the Wowee company, in hopes of finding a specialist for him ! I know he would love to clown with me again and I miss his shennanigans !
http://youtu.be/qjpX2yciY9E   Careful the Clown and JoJobt and the Alien Sword !!!

Life is Good...Life is an Adventure !