All Over But The Shouting

How do you end a blog about chemotherapy or any blog for that matter? I started this as a way to keep friends and family informed of my progress but it turned out to be more than that for me. It’s a journal containing memories from my past, it’s a diary of current events for me, and has a hint of the future. When first diagnosed with lymphoma 12 years ago my goal was to see the kids graduate from high school. After they did, Ann suggested I may want to establish some new goals.

I'll take care of myself. I'll live my life so that when someone says "be yourself," its good advice.

It is my family’s turn to end this thing. I asked Eunice, Ann, and Dallas to each write a concluding post for the blog. They can do the shouting. I didn’t really give them any direction. Maybe a letter, something silly, a joke, a recipe, or anything they want.

Something magical and unintended happened. We have a wooden snake that hangs in our kitchen. The words “Eat Good Food, Be Kind, Tell the Truth” are burned on it. I choose those words to conclude each post. It surprised me when I read the posts Dallas, Eunice and Ann sent me that those three themes came up independently in what they wrote. I couldn’t have asked for a better ending.

I love you all.

Eat Good Food, Be Kind, Tell the Truth

From Dallas… Eat Good Food

From Eunice… Be Kind

From Ann… Tell The Truth

Chemo Math

There were 6 cycles of chemotherapy.

Each cycle had 4 infusions = 24 infusions.

There was 1 booster shot for each cycle = 6 booster shots.

There were 30 capsules of Procarbazine for each cycle (3/day for 10 days) = 180 capsules.

Each capsule contained 50 mg of Procarbazine = 9,000 mg of Procarbazine.

There were 20 Prednisone tablets for each cycle (2/day for 10 days) = 120 tablets.

Each tablet contained 50 mg of Prednisone = 6,000 mg of Prednisone.
    - This was the worst part of chemotherapy for me.

Each chemo cycle included 13 hours dedicated to infusions = 78 hours.

Conclusion: Don’t know yet.

Eat Good Food, Be Kind, Tell the Truth

Click below for the collection of recipes or for an easy to print copy of a single recipe.

Collection of Recipes

Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Garlic

The Friday Update: Just the Facts

500 Yards

I’m feeling well and happy to have the treatments for the last cycle over. I started to swim again although I haven’t been as consistent as I would like. I used to swim 4000 yards a day. That’s a little over 2 miles. I had frozen shoulders and quit swimming about 5 years ago. It took close to 3 years for my shoulders to loosen up and feel pain free again. I went to the pool to swim a while ago and couldn’t complete 500 yards without stopping. I’m happy to say I am able to do that now. I will gradually add 100 yards every week until I get up to 1,800 to 2,000 yards.

The swimming helps me feel better physically and mentally. I should have started doing this early in the chemo regimen. It’s easy to stay in shape. It’s hard to get in shape.

Eat Good Food, Be Kind, Tell the Truth

Click below for the collection of recipes or for an easy to print copy of a single recipe.

Collection of Recipes

Stuffed Trout

The Friday Update: Just the Facts

Cheating

Dallas and I went to a ball game before he left. He asked me if I saw a play Jorge Posada made where he tagged a runner with his mitt but the ball was in his hand. The runner was called out. We talked about Armando Galarraga’s perfect game that became a one hitter due to a bad call at first that the umpire later apologized for. Imagine if the batter, Jason Donald, did the golf thing and told the ump he was clearly out. It’s hard to say that either Posada or Donald was cheating. What happened is all within the rules of the game.

Sports are a connection to our past and a benchmark for the future. They were and are a way to build memories with your parents and your kids. They’re the great equalizer; race, age, and gender, don’t matter. But now are the games that are supposed to teach character, discipline and teamwork teaching cheating?

I’m proud of Ann and Dallas. They don’t cheat. Trust is a hard thing to build and an easy thing to lose. We trust them but they are responsible for that. They’ve earned it. They have been looked up to inside and outside of sports as leaders. Ann is off to Chicago and Dallas is going around the world. But I’m not worried about them; they are ready for life.

Life presents you with situations where there can be no cheating. There’s no cheating in chemo. You can’t speed it up, can’t cut a treatment, can’t avoid the side effects, and you can’t change the results. I’m done – had my last infusion yesterday. It’s a tough lesson, but not a bad one, especially if you are prepared.

I’d like to thank my parents for helping to prepare me.

Eat Good Food, Be Kind, Tell the Truth

Click below for the collection of recipes or for an easy to print copy of a single recipe.

Collection of Recipes

Grilled Asparagus

The Friday Update: Just the Facts

Where Have I Been? What Was I Thinking?

Steve gave me the CD Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows. It’s a cover CD of John Prine songs. It’s good. John Prine was in the Twin Cities and played live on MPR during an interview in their studio. So I got interested in getting another CD. After Dallas left we cleaned his room and found a gift card to The Electric Fetus (Steve and Mary gave it to him) and naturally took it to the store and bought 3 CDs including Sweet Revenge. That was a couple of weeks ago.

Eunice told me tonight that Ann was going to give me Bruised Orange for my birthday but it was outrageously expensive. Ann made me dinner in Chicago instead and that was a much better gift. I mean Bruised Orange was good but not $143 good. Dinner with Ann was priceless.

I went to eBay to see if there were any copies on sale for less. I got a little distracted listening to the song “Let’s Talk Dirty in Hawaiian” and ended up looking at Great Days which is an anthology of Prine songs. It has “41 tracks on 2 CDs spanning the years 1971-1991” according to the notes including: “Hello in There”, “Sam Stone”, “Dear Abby”, “Bruised Orange (Chain of Sorrow)”, and a personal favorite – “Sabu Visits the Twin Cities Alone”. Some of the featured artists include: Bonnie Raitt, David Bromberg, Glenn Frey, J. D. Souther, Jackson Browne, Jennifer Warnes, John Sebastian, and Steve Goodman. What a lineup!

I’m still on Prednisone. I placed a bid. Eunice suggested an amount. I doubled it for my high bid. I want this CD. And then the magic words popped up: You're the high bidder and currently in the lead. Unfortunately there are still 4 hours, 16 minutes, and 19 seconds left in the auction as I write.

Imagine if I had discovered eBay last April! I could have bought and sold all sorts of stuff. Eunice doesn’t have a lot of stuff but I would have started there. I never would have let Smudge out – I’d have sold him: Rare Silver Tabby, used but in good condition, $143 or a copy of John Prine’s Bruised Orange. Dallas is gone and I’ve already taken his gift card so why not sell his stuff too? He kind of started it anyway. Ann’s in Chicago and she never threw anything away. There’s a fortune in her closet and the boxes in the basement.

CD Update: You won this auction. And I got it for less than my maximum bid.

Maybe I should do one more cycle.

Eat Good Food, Be Kind, Tell the Truth

Click below for the collection of recipes or for an easy to print copy of a single recipe.

Collection of Recipes

Great Salsa

The Friday Update: Just the Facts

Used Bread

I mentioned in an earlier post that I have been focused on buying “used bread”. It’s not really used bread. It’s day old bread and there is a thrift store in Hopkins that sells it. For a buck seventy-five you can get three loaves of bread or a combination of garlic bread, hamburger/hot dog buns, rolls, etc. You can get a deal on doughnut holes too. I love it. It tastes good, saves money, and provides me with a soothing comfort I can’t explain. It’s an antidote to my agitation and incipient frustration. Some people like massages, I like shopping for, buying, and eating used bread.

Eat Good Food, Be Kind, Tell the Truth

Click below for the collection of recipes or for an easy to print copy of a single recipe.

Collection of Recipes

Waldorf Chicken Salad: Eat it as a salad, in a sandwich or a wrap. It's versatile.

The Friday Update: Just the Facts

My Brother, My Son, and a Lunatic in Florida

Today, September 11, is my brother Bill’s birthday. Dallas is in Morocco. And there is a lunatic, Terry Jones, in Florida who wants to burn 200 Qurans in the name of stopping the building of a mosque and Islamic Center two blocks from ground zero. Not on ground zero, two blocks. It’s New York; might as well be two miles.

Jones believes that Islam is a "false religion" that is "of the devil" and therefore must be defeated. But Islam, he believes, is also threatening to take over in the United States. Hence his justification for the Quran-burning: "We must send a clear message to the radical element of Islam," Jones said. "We will no longer be controlled and dominated by their fears and threats. It is time for America to return to being America." Which is…?

This isn’t about a mosque and Islamic Center. It’s about a lunatic who wants a Christian nation. Even that may not be good enough. During a recent sermon Jones also voiced disgust at the United Methodist Church a few blocks away that is planning an interfaith prayer service: "Lily-livered, yellow-bellied Christians” and he said the rest of the country wasn't much better. "Our nation is in ruin spiritually." He undoubtedly would prefer a straight, white, male dominated, evangelical, Christian nation.

You could be next. He's like a cancer that just won't quit. He is endangering our children and absolutely ruining my brother’s birthday.

The Florida lunatic called off plans to burn 200 Qurans, saying he would instead travel to New York today to talk with the imam of the mosque about moving the Islamic center elsewhere. His purpose should be to apologize.

But then again, it’s too late, the damage has been done.

Eat Good Food, Be Kind, Tell the Truth

Click below for the collection of recipes or for an easy to print copy of a single recipe.

Collection of Recipes

Mustard Roasted Potatoes

The Friday Update: Just the Facts

Prednisone, For the Last Time

I’ve finished the treatments for week 1 of my last cycle. I got tipped again the first day but it wasn't as dramatic since I knew what to expect and the nurse was a bit more athletic. I am feeling well. I am taking the Procarbazine and Prednisone for the last time. That’s a good thing, especially the Prednisone. I think Eunice will be happy when I am done with it too. I’ve painted the bathroom, cleaned out the glove compartment in the car, fixated on vacuuming the porch, cleaned out a my desk drawer, bought a tandem bicycle, got a new shade for the other bathroom, created a detailed itinerary for a trip to DC, insist on buying “used” bread, started letting Smudge out, cleaned out my cubby, insisted on framing and hanging some art, and have been a general pain in the butt when I get focused on something.

The latest and greatest was reorganizing the spices. Melinda stopped by last night to pick up vegetables from the CSA. She noticed the spices. It’s almost a work of art. We had a spice drawer that has driven me crazy for years. No more. I found magnetic containers that stick to the refrigerator door and have moved all our spices there for easy access. They look good there too. The containers have clear tops so you can see the spices. The prettiest ones are marjoram, mustard, and turmeric. They are all pretty; different shapes, sizes, and colors. The drawer? It now holds oven mitts, hot pads, and a variety of cooking utensils.

Have something you need organized? Only about seven more days of Prednisone left. Call now. Melinda, you should probably lock your door.

Eat Good Food, Be Kind, Tell the Truth

Click below for the collection of recipes or for an easy to print copy of a single recipe.

Collection of Recipes

Paella With Chicken, Mushrooms and Shrimp: A dose of Prednisone wouldn't hurt for making this.

The Friday Update: Just the Facts

Hawaii Will Never Be The Same

I finished the Hawaiian Islands on the needlepoint map last night. It will be hard for me to refer to Hawaii as anything but the Hawaiian Islands from now on. Today is the 8th of September so I am about a week behind. I still have to finish the Gulf of Mexico, a bit of the Atlantic Ocean, and part of the border that goes around the entire map. And since I have to spend a week in Detroit later this month I am really two weeks behind. Or can I take it with me? I don’t check luggage so I would have it in my possession the entire way. It’s bulky, it’s a big map, so using the same bag to pack will be an issue but I won’t check it under any circumstances. And how much will I really get done at a business meeting? I should be sleeping better then but may still have time to kill in the morning.

After my first treatment yesterday I went to bed about 11 and was up by 3:45. Yeah, I’ve got some time. The treatment went well. I had to be tipped again although it was less dramatic this time mainly because I knew what was happening. We scheduled a PET scan for early October and I was asked if I had any issues they should know about. I never know exactly how to respond to that question but decided to let them know about some side effects I’ve noticed. The response was this is the last cycle and we will take a look at some of that stuff later to see if it just goes away once I am done. Basically, buck up for now.

Eat Good Food, Be Kind, Tell the Truth

Click below for the collection of recipes or for an easy to print copy of a single recipe.

Collection of Recipes

Chicken-Pineapple Skillet: This recipe is from the More With Less Cookbook, a collection of Mennonite recipes. There are many recipes that are Tyramine friendly in it. They help you consume less of and use effectively the world’s food resources. Our was printed in 1977 but there have been updates.

The Friday Update: Just the Facts

Labor Day

Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop. ~Ovid

Eat Good Food, Be Kind, Tell the Truth

Click below for the collection of recipes or for an easy to print copy of a single recipe.

Collection of Recipes

Fresh Strawberry Gelato

The Friday Update: Just the Facts

Talking to People in My PJs

I don’t really wear PJs but I have substituted pajama pants and a night shirt for a bathrobe in the morning. They are quite comfortable; maybe too comfortable. I stay in them a little longer than I should. This means I end up having conversations with people in my PJs – neighbors, the UPS guys, mail carriers, and others. They don’t seem to mind but what are they going to say? You look like a dork? Only your children will tell you that and they don’t mention it because it doesn’t surprise them.

My sister-in-law, Jan, came to visit a few weekends ago. She’s a trooper. We went to IKEA and the Mall of America and I made her and Eunice stop in many stores looking for a seersucker nightshirt. We never found one but we did find a seersucker pajama top on sale that was very close. It’s very comfortable and I’ve been wearing it a lot.

I tend to wear my PJs more when I’m feeling well. When I’m fatigued I try to get cleaned up early and dress. Today I’m going to be in them for a while – feeling pretty normal – 6th and final cycle is coming up.

Eat Good Food, Be Kind, Tell the Truth

Click below for the collection of recipes or for an easy to print copy of a single recipe.

Collection of Recipes

"Soy" Sauce: Tried several recipes and this works. From Heidi Gunderson’s Migraine-Free Cooking Blog.

The Friday Update: Just the Facts

The Delta Ad Annoys Me

I was in St. Louis yesterday and am in Detroit today. I’ve been feeling well, traveling more for work lately, and seeing more of airports. There’s a big sign in the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport for Delta Airlines advertising their American Express card. If you have their card you can check your first bag free. They also have a slick brochure in the seat pockets advertising the same thing. I’m not even on Prednisone and this irriates me.

Our stupidity is Delta’s competitive advantage. No kidding, that’s what they must think. Remember when Delta was on the forefront of raising the fees they charge customers to check baggage, underscoring how they were trying to squeeze every nickle from the flying public? It was called it a "gotcha fee." Delta raised checked-on luggage fees to $25 for the first bag and $35 for the second. They also considered charging for carry-on bags.

Because Delta believes we have forgotten all this, they now advertise if you get their American Express card your bag will go for free. So they are saving you the money they are trying to bleed out of you with the gotcha fees.

Do I sound bitter? They may think I’ve forgotten but I definitely haven’t forgiven. Sorry, I’m really just upset when anyone tells me they think I’m stupid and they are going to take advantage of that. Obviously the easiest thing to do is to just not get the card and get a good night’s sleep.

Eat Good Food, Be Kind, Tell the Truth

Click below for the collection of recipes or for an easy to print copy of a single recipe.

Collection of Recipes

Cherry Tomato Bread Salad with Basil

The Friday Update: Just the Facts