My oh my .............. Hair

Terrible time

After having done the CT scan + blood test + chemo and rested for a day, it was back to office mainly to fill up my time sheet and have a team discussion on Friday.

High fever came and persisted so it was back to Pantai on Saturday for a blood test. Guess what? There were traces of dengue anti bodies. This meant that I had dengue recently which I din even know!

Then came the severe side effects. Lots of wind. Kept burping and farting. Diarrhoea attack. Body aches. Fever. Severe fatigue. Like a zombie. Half dead. Was in bed most of the time.

Couldn't report for work and even had to miss one ACM which was important for me to attend.

Images of CT scan

The tumour on my right lung.

Day 210 (Week 31)

After a 6-week break, I am resuming my chemo treatment but using another drug called TAXOTERE. CT Scan showed that the tumour grew to about 5x6 cm. Cancer marker at 222 U/mL.

After chemo, while standing up and getting ready to leave, i noticed blood on the floor, tray and over my left wrist and sleeve. Apparently, blood was still oozing out from the vein used fot the IV! Nurse Margaret cleaned up the mess.

My usual session took a twist this time round with the doc saying prayer in our presence. He also asked me to read "Psalm 1-21" of the Bible which was supposed to be my assignment for the next 3 weeks...

By the way, I have been taking Porcupine bezoar (in capsule form) for the past week. This "powder" apparently works miracles and is very expensive. Thanks to Arthur (my boss) who bought them from a friend and FOCed to me. Shhh.... don't tell the doctor.

So How?

Got a call from the clinic to see Dr Daniel yesterday. I was told that the ALK mutation tests turned out negative which means that I will not be able to take the targetted drug XALKORI.

So chemo remains the only option but this time on a different drug called TAXOTERE. Side effects will be severe, such as hair loss, numbness of fingers, fatigue ...

Question is when to recommence my chemo. Doc says it's ok to take a chemo break till after CNY.  So we agreed to start again on 19 Feb. Have to take a CT scan as well.

So God help me.

Day 168

Supposed to have my 9th chemo session but the cancer cell has grown in size and re-appeared in the x-ray. Cancer marker increased from 34 to 47 U/mL.

@$&#%^*!?! Bloody hell!

Doc says there is no point in continuing with the ALIMTA infusion as the cancer is now able to resist the drug. Have to try another drug and to do that, need to undergo a further test called ALK Mutation. This drug is called XALKORI which targets the cancer cells and destroys them.
It is in tablet form so no infusion required.

Day 147 8th chemo

The cancer marker went up to 34 U/mL (normal range 0 to 35) although the x-ray didn't show anything visible. Anyway, went ahead with my chemo.

Day 126 X-Rays

Yellow = Tumor (which is now barely visible)
Blue = Fluid (now completely disappeared)

Day 126 7th chemo

No significant change in the size of the tumor noted. I guess that will remain for a some time until the good Lord decides otherwise. Poof! Vanish just like that - now how wonderful would that be!

Blood test showed that white blood cell count doubled. Cancer marker remains the same at 19U/mL

This time, the chemo lasted only 10 mins cos the drug used was only Alimta (the other drug Cisplatin was dropped). Also had a booster jab of Vitamin B. Together with the steroid pill taken earlier, I actually felt as strong as a mule since.

Will update this on a less frequent basis from now on.... Cheers!

Guolin Qigong

There was a celebration that was showed on Chinese television in the eighties. To an outsider it looked just like any other Chinese wedding.  But this gathering was quite unique.  Every person present, including the bride, the groom and their celebrant, the page-boy and every single wedding guest had recovered from cancer through the practice of Walking Qigong. The page-boy survived leukemia, the bride breast cancer and the groom lung cancer.  Their love affair, which took its first step in a Walking Qigong therapy group, walked all the way to the altar.

(Source: http://www.qigongchinesehealth.com/walking_qigong).

The above qigong was founded in China by one Mdm Guo Lin who was cancer stricken. Refusing to concede defeat, she researched and devised a way to deal with the cancer which she called the New Qigong. Some called it Walking Qigong and Anti-Cancer Qigong. Now popularly known as Guolin Qigong, it has millions of followers all over the world.

I have heard and read about this powerful qigong therapy and will be signing up for lessons soon. No harm for a 4th stage cancer patient like me to try in addition to the Baduanjin Qigong which I am practicing now. I know will benefit from this.

Cheers.

Day 105 x-rays

Yellow =Tumor; Blue = Fluid

Day 105 6th Chemo

Update:  This is the 15th week. Not much changes this time round. BP is still high at 145/80 (+ - 5%). Must monitor for a while to make sure it doesn't go up further.

Good news:  Tumor size remains unchanged but cancer marker further reduced from 50 to 19 U/ml? Just have to remain hopeful that it will not grow, only shrink. This is supposedly the final chemo session and the critical period is over. But to control the cancer, I will have to undergo "maintenance" for so long as the tumor is still there. That means chemo for life unless (correction : until) a miracle happens... And when that happens, the doc said I will be interviewed by The Star!

"Maintenance" in my case, means still undergoing chemo but this time with lower dosage and only one drug will be used i.e. Alimta. The other drug Cisplatin will be dropped.

Not so good news:  Cost-wise, it's going to set me back by RM10k per chemo (once every 3 week). That excludes consultation and other fees that private hospitals love to charge. Sigh.... How to retire like that!? Must consider other options. 

God throws me challenges every once a while. This is not going to be any different. I will not buckle.

Day 84 X-Rays

X-rays of my lungs at various stages:
Yellow = tumor
Blue = fluid (now completely disappeared)

The bottom pix is that of a set of healthy lungs - just for comparison purposes.

Day 84 5th chemo

For the past 3 weeks, I have been eating well and exercising regularly. Bowel movement was frequent, almost daily. No more fever or cough. Joint pains reduced. Shortness of breath minimal.

This is the 12th week. My blood test report shows that the cancer marker reduced from 120 to 50 U/mL The normal range is 0 to 35 U/mL. I am reaching there...

The doc said that I am one of the few patients who have responded so well to chemo (wonder if he says that to most of his patients!?). He is very positive about the progress.

Tumor size has slightly reduced. No measurement was noted in the radiology report but the doctor estimated it to be 3.5cm x 2.6cm (previously 6.2cm x 3.6cm).

I am happy with my weight gain. It was 58 kg on my 1st visit to the clinic, then 55 kg, 56 kg, 57 kg on each subsequent visits. Now at 61 kg. Before cancer crept in, I was at 68kg. But I don't think I want to reach there. 65 kg is my target.

The dietician came over smiling and extending her 4 fingers in mid-air signifying a 4 kg gain (in 3 weeks). She said "no need to see me again since you are eating well and gaining weight"!

Alarming to note that my BP has been steadily climbing for the past weeks. I monitor my BP daily which registers about 120-80 or thereabouts. But lately it is hovering at about 150-90. This morning it was 166-89. Doc says to continue monitoring for the next 3 weeks.

My daughters still don't know about my illness and I don't intend to worry them lest it may affect their studies. Will do so much later, I guess, at an appropriate time

I am now undergoing chemo while blogging this post:

Would love do it with Guinness. But green tea will do for now. Cheers!

Day 63 4th chemo

Today's chemo is gonna take about 4 hours. Which gives me ample time to update this blog. Had I not done my x-Ray and blood tests and urine tests one day earlier, it would have taken the whole day today given the long queue of patients.

My x-Ray report is very short. The size of tumor has further reduced from 6.8cm x 4.4cm to 6.2cm x 3.6cm. The rest of the lungs is clear (meaning fluid in the lungs has disappear).

Blood tests and urine tests reported are normal (save for some red flags which are not alarming). Cancer marker reduced from 310 to 120 U/mL.

This means I am responding well to the prescribed drugs. Actually, I was expecting a much better improvement. Especially when I feel good (unlike the last time). So initially, I was a bit disappointed.

But come to think of it, improvement has been astounding. Before chemo, the tumor was a sizeable 10.3cm x 7.8cm. Now it's 6.2cm x 3.6cm. Which means the size of the tumor has in fact reduced by about 70%!

Two pictures tell two thousand words. So here goes...

X-ray of healthy lungs:

X-rays of my lungs. Yellow = estimated size of tumor. Blue = estimated amount of fluid

The dietician saw me in the cancer ward and chatted with me. I told her that I am not quite satisfied having gained only 2 kgs for a 6 week period. Surprisingly, she said "very good already"! Her target for me was actually to prevent me from dropping below 55kg!

Btw my weight according to clinic's scale showed 57kg and and not 60 kg when I last weighed myself at home. Perhaps, it's time I buy a new scale, digital one for that matter?