The Chemo Chronicles: Special Late Night Edition

Greetings Loyal Readers,

A special final call edition of the Chemo Chronicles today. As always there are spills and chills galore, but why don't we just jump right into the action and you can see for yourself?

This past week was a bit of a rough week for Mom. As you know, chemo tends to build-up in the system and unfortunately, Mom experienced a good deal of nauseousness this past week. Mom takes a medication called Emend for nauseousness Tuesday -Thursday. However, she can only take that medication 3 days a week. Mom has 2 other drugs that help with the nausea, Zofran and Decadron but they are not as powerful as the Emend. It's pretty difficult to see Mom not feeling well. Still, she's a trooper and Mom rarely lets on that she's not at her best.

Well, as you know today is chemo day (and Chemo Chronicle day too, but you knew that already) and it was a one medicine (Gemzar) kind of day. We followed the usual ritual: pick a seat (preferably one where Mom can't see too many people that really look sick), get blood drawn and then wait for the results. Well I won't keep you...the results were good, Mom passed. So Mom had her chemo and it went very smoothly. We spent much of the time looking at a cookbook that I brought ( How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman, highly recommended by YFC), but more on that later. The time flew by and we were in and out in about an hour and a half.

Post-chemo we picked-up Bubby and took her to a bridge game at the Drake (tres chic Bubby...Your Faithful Correspondent considers himself lucky when he gets invited to play checkers at the "Y") and then Me and Mum were off to lunch at the Niu Japanese Fusion Lounge. Yes, the name is a bit pretentious, but the food was good and after a quick trip to Walgreens, Mom was happy to settle in for a nice nap.

And speaking of food...YFC was lucky enough to host Mom and my little sis Melvin (err...Michelle...she'd hate it if I let everyone know that I call her Melvin, so let this be our little secret, k?) for dinner. We were lucky enough to be joined by a surprise guest, Russell. When I say it was a surprise guest, I don't just mean that it was a surprise for you. I mean it was a surprise to me, Mom and Melvin too. So I understand it (YFC always aims to be understanding...perhaps a new acronym is needed -- YSC: Your Sympathetic Correspondent. You're right, we'll continue to work on it) Russell offered to drive the girls here and decided to pay YFC a visit (he wanted to talk about publishing rights or some such nonsense). Well, luckily YFC's Momma taught him well. Her first rule of cooking: Serve stew if you must, but never scrimp on the salad. No wait...I think that was the rule of Bernstein's dressings. Mom's first rule of cooking: always make 50% more food than could be reasonably devoured by the invited guests. Anyhow, it was a lovely affair. Your Faithful Correspondent made braised short ribs (aggressively seasoned with fresh rosemary and fennel) with a side of butternut squash orzo. All in all good food, good company, quite a success!

Fair disclosure: my little sis was actually a big help wen it came to clean-up time. She's gotten a fair bit of stick in these e-mails (though not nearly as much as she deserves) and sometimes ya gotta give credit where credit is due...thanks Melv!

Anyhow, in a roundabout way, this takes us back to today's chemo session, where me and Mum were reading our cookbook. Your Faithful Correspondent has decided that for the forseeable future, every Sunday will be family dinner night at Chez YFC. YFC was thinking about prime rib for next Sunday's feast, but Mom seems to be leaning to rack of lamb. I suppose we all know who's likely to win that gastronomical battle (just to be clear, it's Mom...Mom is going to win).

And why will Mom win? Well, because she's got one of these:



Ah yes, the ol' Get out of Jail Free Card (and just to be clear, she really does have the card).

And that brings us to the close of our e-mail. But before sign-off Your Faithful Correspondent has an announcement of sorts. It's kind of scary (for yours truly) but I figure that by putting it out there YFC will be forced to have some level of accountability (for those of you doing the math at home -- that'd probably include the Dad -- accountability = scary). Here goes: for many years now, Mom has been telling YFC that he/I/me ought to write. Needless to say, Your Faithful Correspondent has pooh-poohed this idea in the past but the time has come to embrace change and YFC heed Mom's words. Just to be clear, the fact that Mom has threatened to beat YFC with a wire hanger had absolutely no bearing on the decision-making process.

[YFC feels compelled to clarify for the my loyal readers who move their lips when perusing these e-mails -- no not YOU, but it's 2 names from yours on the e-mail list...shhh -- YFC was not actually threatened with a wire hanger. Mom stopped threatening me with physical violence almost 3 1/2 weeks ago.]

[Yes, that last line was a joke too. It was only 2 weeks ago.]

[Yes, that last line, also a joke.]

[By the way, does anybody know what these nifty little things on the end of these sentences are called?]

Ok, that's all for now.

Faithfully,
Corey

The Chemo Chronicles: Special Live Update

Greetings Loyal Readers!

It's been far too long, hasn't it? Well, I have a special treat for you today. I'm coming to you LIVE from Mom's chemo treatment. Undoubtedly this will be an update filled with spills, chills and surprises galore. I can hardly wait to see what's in store! Come and join me and let's discover how the day unfolds together...

Well as always, we'll start at the beginning, or at least somewhere nearby...Mom was particularly busy last week. We celebrated Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) at her sister Roberta's (a/k/a Auntie Berba) house. Then on Friday, we sprung Bubby (Mom's mom) free from the nursing home/rehab facilty where she was incarcera...umm recuperating...from her broken clavicle. We were all delighted to have Bubby home again (at least until she started ordering me around. I started to drive Bubby back to the rehab facility, but Mom said that wasn't nice so I turned back around). Also, Mom received word that Stephen, one of her dear friends, was 99% recovered from stage 4 Non-Hogkins lymphoma. It was great news to hear and made Mom even more resolute (if that's possible) to beat this cancer.

And that brings us to today's events. Michelle and I joined Mom at her appointment with Doctor Ann Mellot (a/k/a Troll Named Cotton). Well, I'm not going to keep you in suspense...things went splendidly . All of Mom's numbers were good and she was able to have treatment today (don't fret, more on that in just a moment). The good news just kept coming. Ol' Cotton Troll told Mom that she was unlikely to lose her hair at this point. Now I know what you're thinking..."whew, what a relief." Bzzzz...wrong answer! If you had been paying attention to previous e-mails (and given that I craft each e-mail so lovingly, with only you my loyal reader in mind, you really ought to have the decency to read more carefully) you'd know that the correct response would have been to a) give thanks to the Big Guy Upstairs (possible anagrams include: Big Gay Pursuits, Busy Guitar Pigs, A Rugby Pigs Suit, Sir Tubas Pig Guy -- seems like an awful lot of pork there) and b) remind the Big Guy Upstairs (I'm certainly not going to start with name-calling...use anagrams at your own peril) that we'd still like to see a full and complete recovery.

And speaking of, the Big Guy Upstairs...this is the holiest time of the year for Jews. As I previously mentioned, we just celebrated Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. We will soon be celebrating Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), which begins at sundown Sepember 21 (Friday), and lasts until sundown September 22 (Saturday). Yom Kippur is the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. It is said that on Yom Kippur G-d seals the Book of Life is sealed and the fate of everyone will be finalized (i.e., who shall live and who shall die). I'd like to ask you to say a special get-well prayer for my mother on Yom Kippur. Even if you are not Jewish, I know that G-d will be most receptive. And let's be clear...our track record is pretty good so far. The last time I asked for a group prayer was right before Mom's CT scan (foreshadowing: Mom will have another CT scan in about 3 weeks...hint!) and her tumor shrunk by 40%, so maybe if we all pray extra hard, Mom can join Steven and be well on the road to remission.*

* - note that this is in no way to be confused with the 2002 film "Road to Perdition" starring Tom Hanks, Paul Newman and Jude Law. If you haven't seen the movie I won't spoil it for you, but suffice it to say that I saw it in the theatre and it was L-O-N-G and S-L-O-W. What made it even worse was that I saw it in a very crowded theatre and I was wedged in the middle of an unusally long row. The opening credits had scarecely begun when I had to...well, let's just say that I almost resorted to waterworks atduring the movie (and by that I don't mean I was about to cry).

Well so much for that brief digression. Mom wants to again thank everyone who contributed to the cancer walk...approximately $1,000 was raised. And you know what? With all this talk of praying and movies and money-raising, Your Faithful Correspondent almost lost sight of the real reason for these updates -- Mom (of course, I couldn't ever lose sight of her really). Luckily the beeping of the chemo machines jarred me back on course. Today was Mom's "heavy" day (2 medicines) and she came through it like a champ. We'll be leaving here in just a little bit.

(You're about to eavesdrop on a genuine post-chemo interaction -- literally right after Momwas unhooked from the chemo dispenser -- between Your Faithful Correspondent and the real star of this show...YFC is typing this in real-time!)
Corey: Mom, do you want to say anything to My Loyal Readers?
Mom: Huh? What baby?
Corey: Mom, do you want to say anything to My Loyal Readers?
Mom: Just sending my love and blessings and thanking them for their love and support.

Well, I suppose that pretty much says it all, really. I'll throw in a quick reminder to say a Yom Kippur prayer and I promise to have more for you soon.

Faithfully,Corey

A Bump In the Road

Loyal Readers,

I'm afraid that today's news wasn't great. Nothing tragic mind you (no need to go running for the window ledge), but all the same, I think we'll have to save anagrams and details about FoMmie merchandise for another day.

Today Mom went in for her usual Tuesday chemo appointment. As you know, for each cycle of treatment, Mom has the following schedule:
1st Tuesday: Gemzar, Cisplatin (in case you weren't paying attention, these are chemo drugs)
2nd Tuesday: Gemzar
3rd Tuesday: Gemzar
4th Tuesday: Off

Today was scheduled to the the 3rd Tuesday of her 3rd cycle. As usual, Mom had her blood drawn prior to the chemotherapy. The purpose of this is to check Mom's levels of hemoglobin, platelets and white blood cells prior to the chemo. In theory, if any of these counts were to drop below a certain level, Mom would not be able to go through with her scheduled chemotherapy appointment. Unfortunately, today was one of those days when theory and reality met head-on. Mom's white blood count levels were low and, as a result, she could not continue have treatment today.

What does this mean (even in moments of crisis my loyal readers are asking probing questions, that's very good!)? Well, as my very loyal and very intelligent readers remember from 8th grade science class, white blood cells help the body fight infection. Mom received a shot to boost her white blood cell count today and she'll receive another shot tomorrow. But she will skip chemotherapy treatment this week and since next week is Mom's scheduled off-week, that means she won't resume treatment until September 18th, which is smack dab in the middle of the Jewish holy days, i.e. the period between Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). I think the timing of this incident is a sign. Since, Mom's news has been generally good so far (notwithstanding some nausea), I think that perhaps we've become a tad complacent about her recovery. I believe that we are expected to return to prayer during the coming weeks, to place our faith in G-d and to ask for Mom to have a full and complete recovery from her cancer.

It's important that you avoid Mom if you're sick (or think that you might be sick) and that you wash your hands if you are going to come into contact with her (this means you G.E.) to remove any bacteria. Also, kissing should really be avoided so if you receive an "air kiss" next time you see Mom don't think she's gone all Hollywood on you, she's just trying to avoid your nasty germs.

Again, thanks to those who donated to my Sister's walk. Aunt Roberta will also be walking this weekend. We're hoping that their FoMmie t-shirts arrive in time for the walk, but I was just informed that there might be a small issue...something about a child labor shortage in Malaysia (of course I'm kidding...in actuality we sourced the shirts from Bangladesh...kids work cheaper there).

Hopefully, next week will see a return to positive news.

Faithfully,Corey

P.S.
Mom's had a hard day, so won't you please make her evening a little better by sending a few words of encouragement?