The Results are in…

Posted on by Brian

Went to the doc yesterday for the results of my latest PET Scan and… we’re almost there. The doc who read the exam actually used the phrase “dramatic improvement!” I’ve now gone from Hodgkin’s all through my chest and lymph system to a small spot of activity in the center of my chest (where a huge mass was before). They also picked up some activity in my left pectoral area, but they’re not quite sure what is causing it, as there’s no lump to match it up with on the CT portion of the exam. Dr. Davis thinks it might just be an inflammation of some kind that’s giving us a false positive, so we’re going to keep an eye on it.

So, at this point, I’m not completely out of the woods yet. But I have two more treatments to go, so I’m definitely in a pretty good sized clearing. At this point, I think it’s safe enough to say it:

Cancer is my bitch.

Let’s hear it for #22!

Posted on by Brian

Here’s one more way Brian Leetch and I are alike (not the record part – the last bit) :

“Boston’s Brian Leetch scored in the first period and assisted on Nick Boynton’s goal in the second to become the seventh defenseman — and 69th player — in NHL history to reach 1,000 career points.

‘I hope they don’t mention I was on the ice for all four goals in the loss,’ said Leetch, taking care of that himself. ‘Hopefully they won’t remember that, because that was disappointing.’ ”
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Ten down, one to go…

Posted on by Brian

Yesterday, my white blood cells were back up to above-normal levels, so I got to have my chemo treatment. Two more to go now!

I think my body got used to not having chemo after three weeks, ’cause it seemed to hit me harder than usual afterwards. Back to the old school tired. This morning I don’t feel too bad though.

Now it’s off for a PET scan to see just how much of the cancer’s ass we’ve kicked. Time to go drink some gross drinks and sit around for awhile. Yay.

And this afternoon, I am NOT going to forget my Neulasta!

Now we’re 1-4

Posted on by Brian

Well, we lost last night’s game, but I think we all felt better about this one. The score definitely didn’t reflect the effort we put out this time. They just had three or four really good players who would skate through us and fake out the goalie. Final score: 10-5. Ouch. We did manage to get a short handed goal on them, though.

I feel a lot better about this game and my playing than I did last week. I think as long as the team plays well and tries hard, that makes me feel and skate better. I wound up being -2 for the night, even after being on the rink for two goals. I had a part in both of those goals, as I was doing my usual excellent job of screening the goalie. I might have gotten credit for one of them, but I don’t know, simply because I’m not sure of how it went into the net.

All in all, a much better game, and probably the best I’ve skated/played so far. The season’s finally starting to look up! For me, anyways.

Bad, but not horrible news

Posted on by Brian

Some bad news on the chemo front – my white blood cell count was too low to get my treatment. I guess that Neulasta shot is doing something besides making me sore and tired after all. What does this mean? Well, first, it means I’m really depressed. Second, it means the treatment gets put off for a week. Unfortunately, there’s nothing I can do to make my body produce more white cells. Luckily, there’s also not much I can do to prevent it from making them either. So now it’s just a waiting game until next Thursday, then we’ll do another blood test and see where I stand. Ugh.
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Now we’re 1-3. Ugh.

Posted on by Brian

Well, another crappy night of hockey. Not quite as bad as my initial game, but pretty close, especially since I couldn’t blame the skates this time. I think I’m still not quite recovered from the cold I picked up awhile back. I just hope it hasn’t killed off enough white blood cells to keep me from getting my chemo today.
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