Round 1, Cycle 2 Down the Hatch...

Yesterday I was able to have my third chemo treatment which is the start of my 2nd cycle, each cycle is 2 treatments. Right now I am actually feeling ok, which is nice. I felt like complete crap yesterday when I got home from my treatment but I just crashed on the couch and laid low. Yesterday my blood tests showed that my white blood cell count was low again, but high enough to have my treatment. Three weeks ago it was at 400, yesterday it was at 1000, and the doc would like to see it above 1500. Because I have lower white blood counts I will be getting a "booster" shot to elevate my count. I think the name of the shot is Nulesta, and apparently this makes my bone marrow create more white blood cells. Because of this, the nurse was telling me that I will feel sore in my larger bones for the first few days after each shot. Each shot will be given to me the day after each chemo treatment.

When I had my check up with the doc yesterday he was very please with my progress and is very excited to see that the lump on the left side of my neck appears to be so small he can not feel it, and the cluster on my right side of the neck has been reduced significantly! I will have a full body scan next month to get a better idea of how everything is going. This is all great news and it just shows that my body is reacting very well with the chemo treatment. I will still continue the same schedule and I will most likely follow up chemo with 4 weeks of radiation.

This past weekend I had family in town from Spokane, and it was great seeing everyone, especially my grandma. I was happy to see her make the drive over the mountains to come visit. It just tells me she will be just fine to fly down to New Orleans next April for the wedding. My uncle helped my install the A/C unit in the family room, my aunt cooked up some delicious enchilada's, and my grandma brought over her famous biscotti's. It was really nice just being with the family. My parents even washed and waxed my car, I can get used to all these perks ;)

I am really excited for the 4th of July, and I really hope I am feeling well. My buddy and I have acquired a full arsenal of fireworks. It is great having the best hookup for the best fireworks you can get your hands on. A friend of ours is a wholesaler for the fireworks you can't buy at the local stands. I think we have about 250 artillery shells, 5 cakes and a bunch of other crap. Sorry to ramble about my 4th of July stuff, but as you can tell I am pretty pumped! I will be careful, and you can guarantee that because I am not allowed to drink alcohol...

Besides all that, I am just trucking away, and I now only have 9 treatments left to go! If I can stay on schedule I will be done with chemo in early November and hopefully be done with radiation before the end of the year! I know the schedule and the way my body reacts is out of my hands, but with the booster shot, I am really hoping that we can stay right on path. There is nothing more that I want is to be done with the treatment, but I know the only way I will get healthy and be able to live a long healthy life is to go through this. So, I have no problem going through treatment for 6 months, and if I have to do it again in the future...Well, I will cross that bridge when I get there.

For me it is so easy to motivated and to stay positive because of the people who surround me. I must thank each and every one of you for following my journey, sending me notes, calling me, texting me, and stopping by. I have so many things to look forward to in the near future and I am so excited for all of it. I know there will be more ups and downs along this path, and I still have a ways to go, but if I can continue to feel this good, then I will have no problem kicking the shit out of this cancer! I am just happy that we found the lump when we did, and that there is a cure for this crap!

I didn't have a picture to post of myself, so I decided to post a picture for all you Obama lovers!