Day 26 Fatigue

YSL OTM TSY YSC (KL) LML LSL MS WMS TJX (JB) AL LCW (MLK) visited about 6.  It was after the AQEE held in Mlk.. Everybody looked good ;) chatted a bit and they left for dinner after about half an hour. I think they are enjoying crabs right now.

The effects of this 2nd chemo were worse than the first. Fever came one day earlier on Sunday. Again had to visit A&E. Was prescribed another set of antibiotics.

After that, i had no appetite at all to eat solids for the next 2 days. So it was fruits and juices and only today I managed to take in some porridge.

Qigong exercises suspended temporarily cos I didn't have the strength. Rashes didn't appear but fatigue really got into me. Very very tired what's more with the fever... 

On another note, EY Mlk will be having their annual dinner this Friday in JB. How I wish I could be there.

Day 21 2nd chemo

Quite surprised to meet Teh SH at Pantai this morning who was here for her check-up. Had a small chat on office and other matters only to find out that Chan LK will be having a surgery today to remove a growth in her throat. Wish her well soon.

Very happy to note that Doc said my body responded very well to the treatment. The X-ray showed that the tumor has shrunk considerably. The fluid in my lungs has also reduced much. Hooray! But don't understand why cancer marker increased from 325 to 360 U/mL when tumor has shrunk?

But one problem - I lost 3 kg since my last visit. Doc didn't like it and wants me to eat more than usual. Just have to force the food in even with no appetite he said. Any food at all, KFC la, McDonald, pizza, char kueh tiow etc.... Foodwise - no restriction at all.

I am taking no chances. I'll be seeing the dietrician afterwards to see how she can help. In my pink of health, I was 45 in body age (according to the new hi-tech digital machine in office) and 68 kg in body weight. It dropped to 64 kg when i took my weight the second time. Then it was down to 58 kg 3 wks ago and today down to only 55 kg. How disappointing!

My objective for the coming 3 weeks is to gain back the 3 kg that I lost during the past 3 weeks. And if possible, plus another 1 (or 2) bonus kg.

To my colleagues at their retreat in Genting, learn hard but also must enjoy a hand or two at the casino tables, ok? Who knows, maybe Lady Luck will shine on you to bestow you with enough $$$ for an early retirement...

Day 17 Feeling OK

Come Thursday will be  the 2nd session of chemotherapy. I pray that at least the tumor will have shrunk so I know that my condition has improved.

For the past week, I have been having fever in the evenings. Some times at night too. I will then try to  sweat it out. If sweat doesn't come and the temperature rises further, I will pop in two panadols. So far it has worked.

Rashes have begun to disappear. But i still feel tired most of the time. Shortness of breath has slightly improved. Cough and phlegm sill a problem although boiled ginger water seems to help.

Had wanted to start viewing my 3 Kingdoms DVDs which I bought one year ago but still haven't got round to it. Will do so soon, i hope. Also tried to learn Chinese chess via computer but the it always beat me at "easy" stage. Which means that I am still at  "beginner" stage! I gave up.

Was disappointed that LCWei lost his match yesterday. Sigh.... 

But happy that I finally managed to go through the complete Ba Duan Jin Qigong exercises this morning. Hooray! I am taking qigong lessons from one 90 year old Chinese master - via YouTube of cos. Plenty of such lessons. But somehow I just cannot trust those demos by ordinary looking fellas esp Caucasians in kungfu uniforms. So I prefer those tutorials by old chinese sifus with flowing white beard and those by Chinese shaolin monks!

Day 1 My illness

Friends, sorry for not keeping in touch of late. Feeling tired most of the time so I am mostly in dreamland. Having all sorts of dream.

My condition is known as Adeno-carcinoma. It started with joint pains and weight loss which led to doctor visits followed by blood tests, x-Ray and CT scan. Finally, a biopsy confirmed it to be cancer of the lungs. Cancer marker (CA125) was 325 U/mL. Normal range is 0 to 35 U/mL.

The specialists from the GH and 3 private hospitals in Melaka confirmed that it was not operable and recommended chemotherapy. Carol and I decided on Pantai Hospital for treatment.

Did the first chemo on 25 July. The oncologist is Daniel Wong a friendly guy who is very open, friendly and approachable. Likes to joke once a while which loosens me up. He diagnosed it as Stage 4 cancer whilst the oncologist at Mahkota graded it Stage 3.  Whatever la - it is serious enough.

A combo treatment of Cisplatin and Alimta was administered through intravenous infusion (drip). First few days of chemo was ok. Surprisingly. Joint pains were much recieved. Less coughing also.

Bought a comfortable reclining chair to prepare for plenty of rest ahead. Felt great for a while actually!

Then caught a fever on Day 5. Had to check in A&E Pantai at night. Did a blood test and ECG. Blood count was ok so need not be admitted. Apparently fever was caused by infection. Nothing to do with the chemo. Was also constipated. Body system is now shit! Bloody awful feeling.

Day 6 came the side effects. Rashes, itchiness, persistent ringing in the ear, fatigue, appetite loss. Nothing that i cannot manage, luckily. So not too bad actually.

Today is Day 8. Everything is fine except that I am starting to feel constipated again. Shit. But I guess it is when things go wrong with one's body, then one starts to appreciate the many little things the body does to maintain peace and harmony among its organs.

Nothing pleases me more these days than having a nice long fart once a while. The more pungent the smell, the more satisfaction i get. Gives me the feeling that my body's still working fine for now....!

For comparison:

Before, fav drink is Guinness
When cancer cells become alive, no more Guinness per doctor's advice