I Child-Proofed the House, But They Still Get In

Eunice and Ann are on their way home from Chicago and from what I understand had a good trip. They did a lot of walking Saturday night and Sunday. Visited Millenium Park, the aquarium, ate lunch there, took a water taxi to Navy Pier, walked Michigan Avenue, did some shopping, and had dinner at Pizzaria Uno. Ann's interview went well and she likes the organization, Mercy Home for Boys and Girls and hopes to be accepted for an internship. She liked Chicago and likes the urban setting. Chicago is a great city and I love it there too.

Dallas was home for dinner every night. We had steaks with leftover grape tomato and white bean salad on Saturday , ribs and baked beans on Sunday, and Tuscan chicken with home fries tonight. He was very helpful while Eunice and Ann were gone.

I did paint the bathroom this weekend - a rich red called Salsa Dancing. I probably did a little more than I should have. Got tired and has some low blood sugars. It looks nice but needs a little touch up here and there. I had my Cytoxin treatment today and feel good. I did sleep through most of it recovering from the bathroom painting escapade. Booster shot tomorrow and then off for a couple of weeks. I'm planning a trip to Detroit for work June 7-9, looking forward to doing a little travel, and seeing the folks in Southfield. People like to see you to make sure you are OK. My mother-in-law said I was doing remarkably well and even cheerful. I wasn't taking Prednisone when she was here.

I'm beginning to believe Eunice has warned both kids about the effect Prednisone has on my patience. They are complimenting the meals I make and thanking me for them. I'm a little suspicious. I may have to make a tragically bad meal to test my theory.

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 Tuscan Chicken with Rosemary and Lemon

Imagonnapaintdabathroom

I'm feeling well during this cycle. My infusion Monday will be the last for this cycle and then the booster shot of Neulasta on Tuesday. The Prednisone is doing it’s work - I have good energy - and the additional NPH insulin does a great job controlling my blood sugars. They are running between 80 and 150 which is great.

I slept well last night for about 4 hours. Sometimes that’s all I need. I fill my time with a variety of things like this blog, cooking, work, needlepoint, gardening, watching Twins games, walking, and so on. Not too exciting. It’s funny how the port gets in the way of little things like driving a car. The seat belt goes right over the port. A golf bag strap would go over the port. Eunice had a bad day and buried her head in my chest where my port just happened to be. Not sure who it hurt more but once I got it out of my lung and we iced her head, things were cool.

Today, Imagonnapaintdabathroom – on Prednisone. I’m not very handy. Oddly enough the one thing I can do is electrical stuff. My knowledge of electricity goes back to my Junior High shop class. I had a “deck” of cards with a scantily clad woman on the front and when someone opened the cards they got an electric shock. My shop teacher found it in class and took a liking to me. The class formed a circle holding hands and he opened the deck and had two students in the circle put their finger on the cleverly disguised conductors that administered a shock that went around the circle. This was great entertainment for 7th graders and I got an “A” in electricity. 1968 wasn’t all bad. We did not cover painting but Imagonnapaintdabathroom. The first coat may be on by the time you read this.

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

Salmon with Coriander Rub and Lime: Adapted this recipe from Bon Appetit. It was simple to make but a little fussy.

Dilled White Bean and Grape Tomato Salad: Went well with the Salmon and very easy to make.

Frustration is a Self-Inflicted Injury

It's not my line. Brendan Harris, a Minnesota Twins third baseman was quoted saying this during spring training. He attributed it to Sage Rosenfels, a Viking backup quarterback. Last night Denard Span got tossed from the Twins game for showing some frustration with an umpire's called third strike. He injured his character and the team's chances of winning. To his credit, he said so in the paper. It is interesting that elite atheletes have to work hard to keep their emotions in check. It's a lesson we can all learn from - especially me.

Frustration and prednisone are a bad combination. The prednisone gives me tunnel vision and today I felt confused by my treatment plan and experience in the doctor's office. They actually came through and cleared everything up including calling me at home later with more details I had asked for and explaining why some of the things that happened had happened. Today was a good reminder that I don't need any self-inflicted injuries. I'll focus on what I have control over including my diet, my attitude, and asking good questions.

Speaking of taking control, my endocronologist asked for me to fax in a food/exercise log each week. I use mainly to record my blood glucose levels. In the spirit of things I posted a link for a simple Food Diary to track what you eat and activity. There is space for other stuff you might want to include too. There was a little conceren that I had lost weight the past week - about 8-10 pounds. But if you start out a little chubby, eat simpler healthier foods, cut out snacks, have no cheese, quit drinking alchohol, and are a little more diligent about getting some exercise (walking) you lose weight. Hard to believe.

Eat Good Food, Be Kind, Tell the Truth

Forgot a key ingredient for an enchilada recipe. Didn't get frustrated - making progress in little ways. Maybe tomorrow.

A New Beginning

Two of the most common side effects of chemotherapy are fatigue and insomnia. Doesn't seem fair but that's the way it is. I've been sleeping well but do have more time on my hands. I thought I'd start a blog as a journal to look back on. You are welcome to join me.

Over 11 years ago I was diagnosed with cancer; a mixed-cell follicular lymphoma - a slow growing lymphoma. I went through a CHOPS chemotherapy routine and later Rituxan. Things went well until last month when a CT Scan showed growth and a biopsy revealed an additional, more aggressive, Large B-cell Lymphoma. That's the lymphoma part.

As I told my family about my cancer and prepared for chemotherapy I did some good and not so good things. My wife, Eunice, was fully involved but my daughter, Ann, pointed out that we don't communicate well as a family out loud in conversation especially about my cancer. Frankly there hasn't been a lot to talk about for a while but there is now. And she and my son were 10 and 8 when I was first diagnosed so I was remiss in not saying more over the years. So this blog is for them too and maybe it will start many a conversation. Welcome to my family.

As far as my treatment, think of it in Days with Day 1 (D1) being the start of treatment. The link for Chemocare in the sidebar is a good source of information about the drugs, side effects, precautions, etc.

D1: Rituxan, Cytoxan, and Etoposide (VP-16), (7 hour day). Start taking Prednisone (two 50mg tabs per day) and Procarbazine, or Mutulane (three 50mg tabs per day). Put them all together and you get R-CEPP which is the name of my treatment. It's fairly aggessive. More later on the Procarbazine and its food implications.

D2: Etoposide (2 hour day)

D3: Etoposide (2 hour day)

D8: Cytoxan (2 hour day)

D9: Neulasta (booster shot for white blood cells in and out)

Day 28: Start the cycle again for six times or Q4W x 6.

I started my first cycle April 21.

Prednisone is a tough drug for diabetics. It increases your blood sugar dramatically and 100mgs/day is a massive dose. I normally take Lantus insulin for a baseline 24 hour coverage and use a sliding scale of novolog for meals and corrections. My endocronologist suggested taking 25 units of NPH with each dose or half the #mgs of Prednisone for each dose. This is working well. My thanks to her. That's the biggest part for diabetes.

Now for food. Procarbazine has many dietary or food restrictions. Alcohol and cheese are the key ones but the list goes on and on. Without going into a lot of detail Procarbazine interferes with the inactivation of Tyramine in various foods so that "serious events" can happen. They put cardiac failure at the end of the list which I suppose is appropriate. So we are focusing on fresh, natural, and packaged foods with less than 5 ingredients.

I should mention that I am also lactose intolerant but almost all the drugs I am taking cause constipation. I am reintroducing dairy products, including eggs, into my diet and so far so good. There's always a silver lining.

So what am I eating? Good stuff actually. I was worried at first but we've (my wife and I) have gotten into the search for food that will avoid a "serious event."

Breakfasts:

Egg burritos made with onions, other fresh vegetables, scrambled eggs, a little salsa (less than 5 ingredients), no cheese, rolled in a tortilla.

Lunch:

We found uncured hot dogs with 3 ingredients. I had one on a bun with a little mustard and it was great. I'm not a big lunch eater but enjoyed it.

Dinner:

Rice with chopped panned fried skinless chicken breasts, a little salsa, baby peas, with a fried egg (over easy) on top. The leftovers shouldn't be kept more than 2 days so it makes a great breakfast too. I "harvested" this idea from my brother-in-law. But if you are having guests and want to prepare something for all sorts of different tastes and/or preferences you can place all the ingredients (meat, salsa, vegetables, seafood, eggs, etc.) in separate bowls and people can use what they prefer. Use rice, tortilla chips or something else for a base. He calls it "Pile On" and it is good - be creative.

Beverages:

I have an 8oz cup of coffee in the morning and drink a lot of water everyday (2 qts)

Eat Good Food, Be Kind, Tell the Truth!

I'm just getting started, I like to cook, and the food will get more interesting!