Letters From the Chemo Lounge

I started this letter on Monday, the 1st day of a 3 day session of Chemo. I had planned on finishing it on Tues or Wed, but here it is Sunday, a full week from the beginning. I've heard that the Chemo and Radiation effects are cumulative, but I didn't expect it to be this bad. It has been a very bad week. I have lost another 5 lbs, down 20 lbs since I started my adventure. Eating is still very difficult and of course nothing taste good. Add to that no appetite at all and you have the secret to losing 20 quick pounds.

As of this week I am half way through my Chemo. I will finish by the 1st week of July. Bob came with me on Monday. I told him that he doesn't have to come but he insist, especially on Mondays which is my long day. The Gypsies were playing on Monday, so I told him to go play golf but he is as pig-headed as I am. I have to admit though, that I do enjoy his company. My daughter, Anne, joined us for lunch and we had a good time. She also visits me on Wed.

The good news is I only have one week left of radiation. It has been quick and easy, but it has been every day. It will be nice to be able to get away for a couple of days if we want, or, just lie around and not worry about going out to the hospital at 3 pm every day. Hopefully, some of the side effects that I have suffered from the radiation will start to diminish in a couple of weeks. The biggest problem has been my throat. It's has been very difficult and painful to swallow. Even liquids are painful. I have to sip very slowly. I'm really looking forward to the day that I can actually enjoy eating again.

Our hope is that by late July or early Aug, GA and I can get away for a little golf excursion to Idaho for a week or so and maybe forget about this for a few days and pretend every thing is back to normal. It would be nice.

Until next time,

Ron