tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73207472759145111382024-03-19T00:51:30.576-05:00Ball(s) to the WallLiving with T.C.Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963782823917192797noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320747275914511138.post-91954877340060821232011-06-29T16:12:00.000-05:002011-06-29T16:12:22.946-05:00Life in RemissionHere recently my life has been relatively boring (hence why there hasn't been a blog post in over a month). I have seen my oncologist once, as well as my surgeon in the past month and have received good news from both regarding my tumor markers. They are still going down. I also had a CT scan back on the 15th and it showed no abnormalities, also good news. So, as far as my physical health goes, I'm in pretty good shape. My mental state on the other hand...<br />
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When I was told the good news back in April I thought I would just jump back into the swing of things, get back in shape, back to work, actually enjoying married life, and being thankful everyday for being a survivor. Unfortunately, that's not the case. I haven't worked since December, the job I did have before I got too sick to work is still out there, it just doesn't have benefits. And given my current state, we need benefits. So, I've been applying for everything I can possibly think of in the Murray area with no luck. I thought I had a job at the hospital here in Murray with the marketing department. Even made it to the second interview and felt pretty confident about it but, alas they went with someone else. Being jobless weighs on you. I wake up every morning and am in a constant state of cabin fever. I mean, a house can only be so clean. It's driving me nuts.<br />
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I'm also having difficulties sleeping at night. I'll go to bed around midnight, and have no trouble falling asleep. But, around 3 am I'll wake up for no apparent reason and not be able to go back to sleep until 5 sometimes 6 am. I've tried sleep aids such as Unisom, and Midnite. I've even tried taking Melatonin. I don't eat too late, and it doesn't matter if I've worked all day or just laid around. I don't sleep. The only other thing I can think of is stress. But how does one de-stress?<br />
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I think overall, I'm just having a difficult time being happy. So much has changed in my life since cancer that I have a difficult time remembering what made me happy before I was diagnosed. I look at things differently now. I want to be carefree and live life day by day, but it becomes difficult when you're an adult. When you don't have a job, the bills still show up, and they still get have to get paid. You start to figure out what you can do without real fast. All of the sudden, New York strip steaks turn into Sirloins. Sirloins then turn into ground beef (although I do grill a mean burger).<br />
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I am by no means inviting you to a pity party thrown by me. I'm not like that. Ever since I have started this blog, it has been a healthy way for me to express what is on my mind. I like to think of it as my therapy and you are my couch.<br />
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I'm going to close this post today asking you to keep my grandfather in your thoughts and prayers. A few weeks ago he went to the doctor because he had lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time. Well, long story short, there is a possibility he might have some form of cancer. He has been a role model and mentor to me for as long as I can remember and he is a loving man of God. So, please remember him and your thoughts and prayers. Until next time...Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963782823917192797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320747275914511138.post-64104528582950440012011-05-10T18:50:00.000-05:002011-05-10T18:50:46.942-05:00This Time One Year Ago Today...I was sitting in a hospital room at Jennie Stuart Medical Center in Hopkinsville, Kentucky scared out of my mind watching the second of three drugs go into my body. I had arrived at the hospital at 8 am and was brought to my room shortly after that, but it took forever before I was starting chemo. I was a nervous wreck; Was I going to feel the medicine being administered? How soon after was I going to be sick? Does it hurt? All of these questions were running through my brain as I waited for the nursing staff to get started. It also didn't help that it was my first time ever spending the night in a hospital. I didn't know what to expect. The funny thing about that though is that I was afraid that the food would be terrible and I wouldn't be able to eat all week. But, the food issue resolved itself around lunch time when the nurse said I could have food brought in.<br />
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But, most of that was me just trying to think of anything to keep my mind off of what was about to happen... 12 weeks of chemotherapy. Looking back at it now, that cycle of chemo over the summer was gravy compared to the last cycle I went through. But, I didn't know that then. I was just bracing for the worst. So, finally, around 2 pm the nurse came in to access my port. Now let me remind you that my port had never been accessed prior to then, so I had no idea what to expect. WOW! That was excruciating! The area around my port was still tender and she gripped around the port to make sure the IV was inserted dead center and she bore down and jammed the needle in. Not gonna lie, almost cried. But following that they were able to start fluids as well as give me a little pain medicine to ease the nerves.<br />
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After about an hour, they were able to start the first of the three medicines; etoposide. I remember sitting there as they got it ready to go and watching medicine drip down until it reached my port and thinking, "here we go" as it entered my body. I felt no effects immediately and all of the sudden I felt relieved about the whole situation. The etoposide lasted an hour and then it was the cisplatin. That was the one the doctors said would possibly make me ill. They got it hooked up and 3 hours later, it was done as well. The last of the night was the bleomycin. When they brought it in I said, "is that it?". It was just a syringe with what I thought looked like around 120 cc of fluid. Not anything like the other two. But upon further investigation I found out that the Bleo was the most potent of them all. The nurse started the push and a out ten minutes later I was done for the night.<br />
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I was starving by the time I finished so I asked for a dinner plate. They brought it in and it was some kind of salsbury steak, rice, and carrots. I scarfed it down and sure enough about 30 minutes later, I got sicker than I had ever been in my life (at least I thought so). But the nurses got in and were able to get the nausea under control and allow me to rest comfortably.<br />
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It's weird thinking that it's been a year since I started chemo. With all the event that had happened within the year it definitely seems like longer. But, I just felt like reminiscing and felt it would be appropriate to share it with you all as well. I'm definitely beginning to feel more and more like myself. I went out last Friday and played my first round of golf since the surgery. Didn't play all that well, but it sure was fun to get out with my friends and have a normal day. I've been able to get back out and start mowing my own lawn again, which is great as well. I've greatly appreciated everyone who has chipped in to help out, but there is something about being able to mow my lawn myself that is just satisfying. Well, I won't bore you anymore tonight. Have a great evening and God bless.Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963782823917192797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320747275914511138.post-64285439505078069422011-04-27T22:18:00.000-05:002011-04-27T22:18:23.345-05:00Paul, We've Got Good News..."Your tumor markers have dropped to a normal level." Praise God! That is what I finally heard at my doctors appointment yesterday. After over a year, I can finally say that currently, I am cancer free. It's hard to explain the feeling that rushed over my body after my surgeon gave me the news. Not to mention when I broke the news to Dianne. All we could do was just stand there, laugh, and hold each other. We can finally begin to start living a normal life again. After I talked to Dianne I had to call my parents and let them know the news. My mom was ecstatic but telling my dad was the icing on the cake and what broke me to tears of joy. Hearing his voice and the relief he felt, as well the burden that had been lifted from him was incredible. I just want to take a moment to thank everyone for all their prayers and support. I couldn't have done it without you.<b> It just proves that there is power in prayer</b>.<br />
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When I got the diagnosis back in November, I was told I was in the 5% range of being cured. And while my tumor markers aren't back to 0, I am still in the normal range (normal being 0-10). And my numbers are expected to continue to drop. When I went through chemotherapy over the summer, Two months after chemo, my numbers were back in the 3000+ range. It's been over two months this time around, and with chemo and my RPLND, I am at 5. That's pretty amazing! For the first time ever I'm looking forward to meeting with my oncologist on May 19. I'm prayerful and confident that when I go back and get my lab work done again, I will be down to 0.<br />
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Even though I may very well be done with cancer, I plan on keeping this blog up. Because, I believe that being a cancer survivor is just as important as being a patient. Not to mention the fact that there are alot of things in my life that have changed because of cancer. I won't go into details know, but I'm sure it will come up as life goes on. Well friends, it's been a wonderful evening after having dinner with friends I haven't seen in years. By the way; Happy Birthday Brian Jennings. And all that being said, I leave you with this;<br />
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"Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His mercy endures forever."<br />
<b> 1 Chronicles 16:34</b>Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963782823917192797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320747275914511138.post-19913446009085669272011-04-18T16:25:00.000-05:002011-04-18T16:25:08.293-05:00It's Been a While...So I'm pretty sure it's been about a month since I have really been on my computer, much less have I sat down to blog. Having a smartphone almost eliminates me needing to get on a computer most of the time. But, nevertheless here I am attempting to get back in the groove of things again. The last time I was on here I was discussing my upcoming RPLND. The procedure went extremely well. They were able to remove the tumor as well as salvage my kidney. I was extremely happy to hear that. But I'm not gonna lie, I had never been so nervous about anything since having been diagnosed. On a good note though, the morning I was leaving my doctor came in to give me some news regarding my tumor markers. He informed me that they had dropped by over half since the surgery and that was exactly what was supposed to happen. He then went on to tell me that what should happen from that point on is that the numbers would continue to drop to a normal level. We'll find out in 8 days...<br />
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You would think that after hearing news like that you would overjoyed. I have had the hardest time being optimistic. I don't know why. Is it because I thought I had it licked last summer and it came back to punch me in the face later? Is it Satan trying to have me doubt God's healing power? Or, <b>WAS</b> it just me being a "negative Nancy"? I'm sure you noticed I just bolded and capitalized the word "was". Reason being;<br />
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I had fallen into a funk a few days after returning from the hospital (hence why there has been no updates in a while). You could almost say I was in a borderline depression. I was in pain, I couldn't really eat, I was still getting nauseous, and I was having a hard time sleeping at night. I was frustrated with the way my life was going. Last Wednesday I decided I would go to All Campus Sing at Murray State. It is a competition where different residential colleges, independent divisions, fraternities, and sororities sing on the steps of Lovett in hopes to win a cash prize. It was really nice to get out of the house and see old friends and listen to some music. That night I kept thinking about how much different my life would be at this point had I not been diagnosed. Of course the next day I was back to my old depressed self, until Dianne talked to me and gave me some good advise. She told me that she could be depressed as well, but she makes a conscious decision not to. She said she has to high of hopes for the future to continue to let cancer bring her down. That made so much sense. I remember thinking to myself, "why didn't I think of that?"<br />
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So that's where I am today, I'm feeling better everyday, getting my appetite back, and haven't been sick in almost a week, and am not going to let cancer own me.<br />
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"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." -Philippians 4:13Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963782823917192797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320747275914511138.post-20764224065854984012011-03-18T22:14:00.000-05:002011-03-18T22:14:37.558-05:00Paul, We've Got Good News...I have faith that is something I am going to be hearing a week from today. My RPLND is next Thursday. I won't lie to you, I'm incredibly nervous. Nervous of what, I really don't know. I guess it's the fact that when you're under, you have absolutely no control of anything, and that is a scary thought. Not to mention the fact that this is a 4-6 hour surgery, and that is going to seem like an eternity to my wife and family I am sure. On a positive note though, I have almost a full week of relatively nice weather to hit as many golf balls as I possibly can before I head to Nashville.<br />
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I got to spend the entire day outside today working on the yard. It was AMAZING! Normally I would have dreaded going out to rake up a winters worth of leaves and picking up debris, but I loved it. I even sprayed the front yard for weeds, as well as fertilized. Hopefully it will green up and be ready for summer. Today was the first day in months I didn't feel like I have cancer. I got out, broke a sweat, did some manual labor, and bought a wheel barrow. Today was a good day.<br />
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Please continue you keep me in your prayers that God will watch over the surgeons next week as well as heal the cancer from my body. This has been my prayer and I have faith that it is going to work. Good night friends.Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963782823917192797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320747275914511138.post-25426611288569116802011-03-09T15:25:00.000-06:002011-03-09T15:25:49.104-06:00Long Time No SeeSorry it has been so long since I have posted on here. It has been a rather interesting month, to say the least. So, I finished my last cycle of chemo back on February 11 and was very relieved of that. Unfortunately, I was back in the hospital in Murray on Monday the 14, Valentines Day for blood complications and wound up spending 2 weeks there because they couldn't get my platelets up. But they finally did and I am back home still battling nausea and general weakness and fatigue, but it's getting better.<br />
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I did meet with my oncologist on Monday to discuss how successful the chemo was and unfortunately it was not 100% effective. My tumor markers are currently at 12. The doctors had hoped it would have dropped down to a normal level but they didn't. Fortunately, they are going to move forward with the surgery which will take place on March 24. The surgery is called a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retroperitoneal_lymph_node_dissection">RPLND</a> which if you click the link, it will tell you all about it. I'm pretty nervous about it, being it's the biggest surgery I have ever had, and their still not certain if this will knock out the cancer, but I keep praying that it does.<br />
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Which is what I'm asking for from you today, prayer. I've been reading alot about prayer here recently and I need prayer now more than ever. I have had a very difficult time praying to be healed, afraid that I might sound too selfish. But I have read that there is nothing wrong with praying to be healed. So if you're reading this, please once you get done, just take a few minutes and pray for His power to heal me be done.<br />
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I will post as often as I can between now and the time of my surgery. Thank you for all of your support.<br />
God Bless.Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963782823917192797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320747275914511138.post-18659610369107455502011-01-31T20:53:00.001-06:002011-01-31T21:22:07.445-06:00A bit of PC TC history... Part 3My apologies for taking an entire week off. I wasn't feeling that well once I made it back to Murray, and of course once Wednesday rolled around my fever was back up and I was on my way to Murray-Calloway County Hospital to get my blood counts back up. Fortunately, we were there before my white blood count bottomed out so I was discharged Saturday evening. I spent yesterday with Dianne. We had an always enjoyable lunch with friends, went to Office Depot, and just got to enjoy the day being married for once. Alright, let's go back to April...<br />
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On April 16, 2010, me, Dianne, and my parents went back to Hopkinsville to meet with Dr. Franke, my urologist and surgeon to get the results of the surgery. I was a combination of anxious and nervous as we walked into the office. As we sat in a tiny conference room, Dr. Franke explained to me about what the biopsy showed and what all it meant. I must admit, I didn't understand half of what she was saying, but then she said the word I wasn't wanting to hear, Chemotherapy. As soon as she said that I knew my life was heading for a radical change. Dr. Franke said that this was going to be our last visit together and that she was referring me to the local oncologist across the street (at the hospital) to further assess my case. She assured me that they were very good doctors and that I would be in good hands. So I left with an appointment card to meet with an oncologist on April 30.<br />
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I know had 14 days to relax before meeting with the doctors, so I thought. On Saturday afternoon I got a call from my dad telling me he thought I should go ahead and finish the semester. I was kinda blown away. I had already stopped thinking about school for about a week and packed my books away (I was moving out of my apartment in May). Honestly, I had just planned on playing golf while I still could and hang out with my friends until I moved back home. I was almost arguing with him on the phone why I shouldn't finish school and how I was so far behind. But, by the end of the conversation, I was going to try and finish out the semester. So I unpacked my books, made a list of everything that I had to make up, saddled up and got myself caught back up.<br />
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On April 30 it was back to Hopkinsville to meet with Dr. Gajera, my oncologist. When we walked into the office, I was looking around at the different people who just looked sick. They almost had a blank stare about them as they waited for their name to be called. I was thinking to myself how long it was going to take before I started looking sick? How long before my hair fell out? Would it all fall out at once, or was it a process? I was soon going to find out. They called my name and we were taken back to a sterile pink-walled exam room. Hung on the walls were posters of different types cancers and how they affect the body. After about 20 minutes the doctor came in and sat down. He discussed with me exactly what was going on with my body. He talked about testicular cancer treatment and how technology has come a long way and that testicular cancer is very predictable. Therefore, the treatment has been honed in to almost an exact science on how to cure it. The chemotherapy was going to be a 12 week process treated with BEP, which is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleomycin">Bleomycin</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etoposide">Etoposide</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cisplatin">Cisplatin</a>. The 12 weeks would be split into four, three-week cycles. A cycle would consist of 1 week in the hospital receiving treatment for five days. Then each Monday the next two weeks, I would stop by the hospital for an outpatient treatment of Bleomycin. But, he said since I was young and the Bleo was hard on the lungs, he would only do the bleomycin for the first cycle (3 weeks). He also said he wanted me to get a port for the chemo. I had no clue what he was talking about. He informed me that a port was a device that was implanted in my chest, accessed by IV in order to administer the chemotherapy. He explained that the chemotherapy would be hard on my veins, and that the port was the easiest way to go through chemo. So, I left the doctors office with two appointments. I was getting my port placed on May 4 and starting chemotherapy May 9.<br />
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More to come...Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963782823917192797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320747275914511138.post-4326092538404554832011-01-23T21:55:00.000-06:002011-01-23T21:55:19.677-06:00A bit of PC TC history.... Part 2Well, I'm back out of the hospital, sitting in Princeton at Dianne's parent's house realizing that I meant to post on my blog yesterday. Sorry for the delay. I just kinda get in a daze when I leave the hospital and inevitably forget to post a new blog. I'm feeling pretty good at the moment, just some typical leg soreness and nausea. I hate the way I just mope around the house making people take care of me, but I guess it's for my own good. My Dr. at Vandy pretty much told me to be ready to go to the hospital again for blood issue stuff but I hope to beat that this time. OK, so now I'm just wasting time so, here we go...<br />
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After getting back home and letting reality set in, I had a better grasp on what was going on, and I could mentally prepare for what was about to happen. In one week I was going to be laid out on a table and going to have half of my manhood removed (at least that's what I initially thought). But, the orcheictomy, was the most important measure in finding out exactly how far the cancer had progressed, or if it had even progressed at all.<br />
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So, during this week of waiting, I was also in my last weeks of school, considering graduation was just around the corner. So I had another decision to make. Was I going to fight to finish school this semester, or was I going to take it easy and do it all next fall. After speaking with my parents at the time, it looked as if I was going to take a medical leave for the rest of the semester and focus on figuring out what was going on and get it taken care of. The next day, April 2, I went to my professors and brought them up to speed on the situation. They, for the most part were very sympathetic of the situation and wanted to do whatever they could to help out. I did have one professor that was going to make me either finish the course or fail, but I figured one failed class wasn't going to hurt anything. <br />
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So after a week of prepping the early morning was here. I'm about to go under, and get this going for sure. I rode down with Dianne, and my parents as well as hers were following close behind me. When we arrived at the hospital, I didn't know if this was going to be an outpatient surgery or if I was going to be spending the night to get my bearings on track. But shortly after getting checked in, they brought me back to prep before the surgery, where I was able to take my dad with me. That helped a lot, it was really nice to have my dad back there to kind of just talk me out of the fears I was having (which honestly weren't that many) but none the less it was still nice to have him there. After I got prepped and ready for the surgery, Dianne got to go back there and different relatives came in and wished me well prior to surgery. About 45 minutes after that, Dr. Franke (my surgeon) came back and wished me well, followed by the anesthesiologist to prep me for surgery.<br />
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After getting prepped by the anesthesiologist I was on cloud nine. I don't really remember anything from this point on, but Dianne did say I was taking orders from all the nurses because we were going to <a href="http://www.pattis-settlement.com/">Pattis</a> after I got out of surgery.<br />
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The next thing I remember is sitting in recovery after surgery and the nurse telling me I had to pee before I could go home. That was the last thing I could think about doing, all things considered. I had just had my left testicle taken up and out toward my stomach, I didn't want to pee. So, I asked the nurse for a sprite. 3 Sprites later I was ready to go. My dad helped me outside the room where there was a restroom for me to utilize, unfortunately, there was also a nurse sitting outside my room that I had apparently shown my whole butt to and politely reminded me that my gown was open. But, I peed, which wasn't pleasant, and now I could go home. <br />
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The ride home was fine, the kept me pretty out of it until I got to Princeton (it was easier to do alot of the healing related things at Dianne's house considering it was central and her dad was a doctor and mom was a nurse). When I got back to their house, I went and laid in her parents room for a couple of hours, got sick, and then stumbled into the sun room because I could hear that my parents were still there. I hung out with my folks for a while, and then stumbled my way back to bed where I pretty much stayed for the next three days.<br />
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I would venture out every once in a while. My biggest complaint was not being able to play golf. Prior to my surgery, the Dr. told me it would be a few weeks before I would be able to go out and golf again, so of course, this frustrated me to no end. But, I was able to go outside and sneak a couple of chip shots in every now and again. But, we were getting close to the 16th of April and our first meeting post op to find out the results.Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963782823917192797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320747275914511138.post-77406612093008232382011-01-20T20:19:00.000-06:002011-01-20T20:19:46.410-06:00A bit of PC TC history... Part 1As I promised yesterday, I'm going to give you the first part of how I discovered I had TC. I will try to keep it as brief as possible, but I also want you to know how important it is to act fast. Because TC can spread like a wildfire and I have the perfect example which I will compare to later on. But first, part 1.<br />
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It was the end of March 2010 and Dianne and I were spending the weekend in Nashville with her parents looking at wedding dresses (YAY! <--- Obvious Sarcasm). We were staying in a hotel called the Indigo which was a really nice hotel. But as I was taking a shower before we went out to dinner I noticed that my left testicle was swollen. While I was freaked out a little, I tried to not let it ruin the weekend.<br />
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When we got back to Murray, I could tell that it was even more swollen. I explained to Dianne what was going on, and she urged me to talk to her dad who is a doctor. I called him on March 30, 2010 and as I explained to him what was going on he very firmly said, "you need to see a urologist tomorrow". He put me in touch with a urologist in Hopkinsville, Dr. Franke, who was able to see me on April 1. Dr. Franke was a female doctor, but I was told she was one of the best. As Dianne and I walked into the doctors office, I tried to act as if I wasn't nervous for Dianne, but I had never been more nervous in my entire life. The wait in the waiting room was probably only 20 minutes, but it seemed like an eternity. They called my name and I sprung out of my chair and looked at Dianne smiling to give her some reassurance that everything was going to be ok, even though I had no idea if they were or not. As I went back they did the typical height and weight check as well as getting a urine sample. I was then brought back to the exam room only to wait some more. She came in within a few moments of me being brought back. The first thing she asked me to do is drop my pants, and this is when I knew from here there was no turning back. Hope for the best, expect the worst. After she did a physical examination, she decided I needed an ultrasound. So she gave me the ultrasound and explained to me that the scenario didn't look good so she wanted me to go across the street to the hospital to get blood work done and they would give the results to Dr. Franke as soon as they were available. As I made the walk back over to Dr. Franke's office, she sat us down and explained to Dianne and I the situation. She was almost 100% sure that I had testicular cancer. Luckily, I had already expected the worst. Unfortunately Dianne hadn't and it shook her up pretty bad. Dr. Franke then explained to us that I needed to have a radical orchiectomy (a fancy way of saying left testicle removal).<br />
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The drive home was excruciating. Having to call my parents and explain to them what was going on was painful. It was so hard for me to tell them that I had... cancer. I was too young to have cancer. I had too much going for me. Dianne and I were both about to graduate, were in the middle of planning our wedding and I had a job waiting for me. Now what were we going to do? Were we going to have to put everything on hold? Only one person knew. <br />
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To be continued tomorrow...Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963782823917192797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320747275914511138.post-18123900551230462152011-01-19T18:59:00.000-06:002011-01-19T18:59:45.091-06:00"I've got to admit it's getting better, a little better all the time"Well here I am at Vanderbilt for round 3. But, for those of you who haven't seen the news on Facebook; my tumor markers have dropped from 380 to 66. Once again another significant drop. My oncologist also explained to me that since my numbers are responding so well, I will not need to undergo stem cell transplant chemo. She did say that I will have to have surgery post chemo, which I was prepping for from the beginning. I asked how much the tumor had shrunk, and she said that it had shrunk 1cm in 2 dimensions (not sure what that means). I then was curious as to why my numbers dropped so much, yet my tumor barely shrunk at all. She explained that just because the numbers are dropping, doesn't mean that the tumor will shrink at the same rate. She believes that the bulk of my tumor is made up of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teratoma">teratoma</a> (only look up if you have a strong stomach) which doesn't respond to chemotherapy. But overall I am excited about what's to come.<br />
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Knowing that this could all be behind me by summer is a great feeling. The thing that excites me the most is being able to have a normal life. Being able to golf whenever I want to, live a normal life with my wife and finish working on my house is awesome. I also can't wait to figure out God's plan for me. In reality, that is really what excites me the most. It's funny, my dad was with me on Monday when I found out my tumor markers had dropped substantially yet again, my dad gave me a hug and whispered to me, "you see, God has some big plans for you". I have no doubt that he does, and I cannot wait to find out.<br />
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I guess I will go ahead and give you a preview about what tomorrow's blog is about. I've never told you all about me finding out about cancer, or my treatment over the summer. So, I would like to tell you about my experience over the summer so that you can have as the late Paul Harvey would say "The rest of the story". Good night and God bless.<br />
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My title was taken from The Beatles "Getting Better" from <i>Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band</i>.Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963782823917192797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320747275914511138.post-34849014198647750202011-01-14T11:47:00.000-06:002011-01-14T11:47:35.248-06:00Prepping for Round 3...Well folks, I'm headed to Nashville on Monday to start my 3rd round of chemo. And after this past week and the fact that my parents are coming in this weekend couldn't pump me up more. This week has been amazing. I have felt well all week, therefore I've been able to spend time taking care of paperwork that has needed to be done for weeks, cleaning my office, getting the garage ready for the arrival of my toolbox and most of all, getting to spend quality time with my wife.<br />
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It seems like lately, everything Dianne and I do together involves something with cancer, bills, or something else that just leads to stress. This week we got to just have fun and enjoy each other. We have been working through a devotional and Dianne has been getting caught up on her photography as well as getting her office/ studio in order. It has been nice just to spend a week doing normal things. It makes me feel less sick.<br />
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My parents are coming in this weekend to do a couple errands and help out around the house. I can't wait to see them, because that means that I get to hang out with little sister as well as Lucy (her new puppy). My parents are so awesome. They're coming in to paint our dining room as well as install better lighting in the garage. I'll be glad when I can supply them with an adequate bed to sleep on. But, I suppose their air mattress will suffice :-).<br />
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Well, I've had a few requests regarding me posting some wedding pictures, so I'm gonna close this post with just that. You all have a blessed day.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp8ZK3RlNaQHRcO0QX8UhWkKfVH6d1y23Jha6mg_SHRDGLx1c6FZnW9M113yDOgRIzERMIJyXe4baHyAiP0uqY11gMCNsi0JlxPwDNi7m40oPWhOUDaPq7tcF_hAXbb6v8a4M_8Yc96Pk/s1600/166357_578806066187_34602294_33443616_7063492_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp8ZK3RlNaQHRcO0QX8UhWkKfVH6d1y23Jha6mg_SHRDGLx1c6FZnW9M113yDOgRIzERMIJyXe4baHyAiP0uqY11gMCNsi0JlxPwDNi7m40oPWhOUDaPq7tcF_hAXbb6v8a4M_8Yc96Pk/s400/166357_578806066187_34602294_33443616_7063492_n.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963782823917192797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320747275914511138.post-59039703681568634632011-01-09T21:35:00.001-06:002011-01-09T21:49:58.644-06:00Hey, there you are...First off, I'd like to apologize for my 9 day hiatus. But, unfortunately it was not under the best circumstances. This past Thursday morning, I was hospitalized again for blood complications. I won't go into too much detail, but it wasn't as bad as the last time I was hospitalized. Luckily, Dianne and I were on top of it and the second that my fever started to get weird, we went to the hospital.<br />
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I got admitted to the hospital here in Murray. Which was nice because Dianne could sleep at the house at night and I wasn't so far away from everybody. It made being in the hospital a little more homey. Besides, Murray- Calloway County Hospital recently had a renovation, and their rooms are NICE!<br />
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But getting back, my WBC (white blood count), was 0.3, which was next to nothing, again. We were fortunate that since we have already been down this road before, we were able to get right to fixing the problem. So I spent all of Thursday, Friday, Saturday and most of today; getting blood transfusions, fluids, antibiotics and a number of other medicines.<br />
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So here I am on 9:30 on a Sunday night posting you all on my happenings. I'm feeling much better now and thankfully I have a week here at home to FINALLY catch up on things.<br />
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Wish me luck...Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963782823917192797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320747275914511138.post-44041213350783529692010-12-31T13:14:00.000-06:002010-12-31T13:14:21.307-06:00Midday blogging...I figured since I was too tired to blog last night. I would blog this afternoon and that way I would be fully alert. Of course the UK vs. U of L game is on but that doesn't really distract me too bad. I came across a couple of websites this morning that had alot helpful information. The first site is <a href="http://stupidcancer.com/">stupidcancer.com</a>, the site is "founded by and for young adults affected by cancer, i[2]y- The I'm too young For This! Cancer Foundation- is the nation's largest support community for the next generation of patients, survivors and caregivers between 25-4. This next site <a href="http://planetcancer.org/">planetcancer.org</a> has just recently joined the forces with the LIVE<b>STRONG</b> foundation to "combine resources and efforts to reach and serve young adults with cancer.<br />
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I've had so much running through my mind ever since I found out that my cancer had returned; do I want to start my own non-profit organization focusing on TC? Do I want to join an organization that is already in motion? Or, do I want to branch out into a totally new direction and go to seminary? Seminary is something that I have thought about here in the past week or so, especially in the field of youth ministry. I have always been good with the 12-18 age range and it makes me wonder if maybe this cancer is sort of a wake up call for what I should be doing. Or, maybe, I'm overreacting having had a pretty close call a couple weeks ago.<br />
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No matter what the plan is, I know that it is His will not mine, and I will support it no matter what.Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963782823917192797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320747275914511138.post-68665203884544990712010-12-30T21:01:00.000-06:002010-12-30T21:01:16.295-06:00I loathe the hiccupsI've had the hiccups now for roughly 8 hours now. This happened the last time I went through chemo, but I forgot how much of a nuisance they really are. Today was a really good day overall though. I've been doing physical therapy on my ankle. I'm walking around the floor (about 6 laps) I am also on a stationary bike for about 35 minutes. Also, I have few exercises that I am required to do.<br />
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I'm still going through my chemo right now, but my parents came to visit this morning. It was wonderful, as always. I haven't had any nausea today either. Well, this post is gonna be short and sweet because I can't keep my eyes open. I promise tomorrow wil be more informative and exciting!<br />
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GoodnightPaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963782823917192797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320747275914511138.post-13866207375476279652010-12-29T21:28:00.000-06:002010-12-29T21:28:33.925-06:00Orange Sherbet and "King of the Hill"I'm currently laying in my bed watching "King of the Hill" eating Orange Sherbet. I feel like I've been on cloud nine since yesterday, but I'll try not dwell too much on that, since that's all my post was about yesterday.<br />
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Today went well, I did get sick around 9:30 pm last night, but fortunately they got me good and relaxed with the use of phenergan (a nausea medicine that also has a relaxer in it). That being said, I probably didn't wake up until around 9 am, it was wonderful. The chemo has been relatively fair thus far, no major issues, such as vomiting constantly or not being able to eat. Actually, my appetite has been better since I've been here at Vandy.<br />
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I'm keeping a positive attitude throughout all this, especially after the news I found out yesterday. Prior to hearing the news I figured it was for sure that I was going to have to undergo Stem Cell chemotherapy. But, I am so thankful that isn't the case. It instills a new hope in me, and makes me want to work harder to overcome this. Today, I did about 6 laps around the hall as well as ride the stationary bike for about 30 minutes. I also had a physical therapist come in today and show me some exercises to help with my ankle. Overall it's been a really good day. I'm so thankful for those of you who have been keeping up with my blog. Please continue to check it out and invite your friends.<br />
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** Also, if you, or any of your friends have any questions regarding TC feel free to send me a Facebook message or email me @ corder.paul@gmail.com.**<br />
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Thanks and God blessPaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963782823917192797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320747275914511138.post-54180061272406423402010-12-28T20:45:00.000-06:002010-12-28T20:45:39.232-06:00Thank you God for answering prayersI found out the best news I could have possibly heard today. I went and spoke with my oncologist this morning and I asked her what kind of number she wanted to see at the end of my second cycle of chemo (which I'm currently prepping for). She said she wanted to see my tumor markers down around 300. Now, keep in mind that when I started chemotherapy, my numbers were in the upper 3000's so I had a pretty big hill to climb. I found out today though that after only 1 cycle, my numbers had dropped to 380. That being said, it looks like I will not have to got through stem cell chemo.<br />
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This is just proof that God does answer prayers. I have been praying constantly, and I know that I have a prayer army spread out all over the country lifting me up in prayer. So, I want to take a second and thank you, for everything you have done. I wish I could have the opportunity to meet the people (especially the ones I don't know) who have been praying for me. Maybe one day I will.<br />
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I am so thankful for what God has done for me. I know that sounds weird saying that I am thankful for cancer, but I am. Having lived with cancer the past 8 months has helped me to learn alot about myself. It has also strengthened my relationship with Dianne, and brought us both closer to God. Please continue to pray that God will lay his healing hand upon me and continue to watch over myself and Dianne.<br />
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I know tonights blog may sound a little jumpy, but I was given a pretty big dose of benadryl about an hour ago and I am struggling to stay awake right now, so, good night.Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963782823917192797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320747275914511138.post-82219653398521378032010-12-27T15:54:00.000-06:002010-12-27T15:54:33.893-06:00Back to the GrindWell folks, tomorrow I head back to Vandy for my second cycle of chemo. I will be arriving at 8 am to have blood work done, then at 10 am I will have a picc line put back in (that's what they'll be using to administer the chemo), after that it's back to a room for a week.<br />
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This is a big week because this week will determine whether or not we will continue the lower dose "salvage" chemo, or if we are going to have to move on to the stem cell chemo. I am praying with all my might that the numbers at the end of this week will be low enough to continue the "salvage" chemo. But, I also know that God is going to take care of me no matter what the numbers are, and those are some pretty good hands to be in. Please just continue to pray for me and keep thinking positive thoughts this week as I go in and kick butt this week.<br />
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I got to spend Christmas with the family, which was absolutely wonderful (as always). My little sister got a new puppy for Christmas. Lucy, is probably the cutest thing I have ever seen. She is a Scottie/ Westie mix, and she is perfect for my sister. My parents were really good to me this Christmas as well. They got me a really nice tool chest to put in my garage. Which is great because Di had a friend of mine build me a workbench for Christmas as well. So, I have alot of incentive to get well and start building things again. But, it was nice to be able to spend quality time with my folks and just sit around and talk. Not even talk about cancer or finances, just talk about anything and everything. That to me, made this Christmas the best ever in my book.<br />
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Well, tomorrow is a busy day and I still have to unpack from being at the folk's house this weekend. I will keep you all posted on how things are going tomorrow. Thank you all again for showing me so much support through this. Have a good evening.Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963782823917192797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320747275914511138.post-10930854736958675382010-12-22T16:11:00.000-06:002010-12-22T16:11:12.408-06:00It's beginning to look alot like Christmas...For the first time this whole month I am FINALLY starting to feel like myself again. And, Christmas is only 3 days away.I feel like a bad person not having posted these past couple of days, but honestly, I was out enjoying life. Yesterday, Dianne and I drove to Nashville under pleasant circumstances and met with our wedding photographers to look at our pictures from the wedding. Dianne also stopped by Vanderbilt Children's Hospital to drop off some toys for Christmas. She has become really involved in wanting to do volunteer work there. It makes perfect sense. She's so kindhearted when it comes to children and her being able to have the opportunity to help out while I'm stuck in the hospital is pretty awesome.<br />
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I'm going to be driving home to see my parents on Christmas morning. I always love being able to watch my little sister open her presents up on Christmas morning. It's very nostalgic watching the twinkle in her eye when she sees that Santa came. The unfortunate thing this year is that I'm not going to be able to go to my Grandma's house when the rest of my family comes over. Since being in the hospital last week, my immune system is still very weak and the fact that I have a very large family hanging out in a relatively small area probably doesn't bode well for my health. It's really sad, but that just means I'll have to do it even bigger next year.<br />
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Well, Dianne's mom is making lasagna and it smells amazing so I think I might go lend a hand. This Christmas season, take a moment to sit down and reflect about what you're thankful for. I've been doing alot of that here over the past couple days and it really makes you realize what really is important over Christmas. It's not the presents, or the food. It's the little things. It's being able to be with your family, talking, playing games, just laughing. So, cherish the little things. Because at the end of the day, that is what really matters. God bless.Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963782823917192797noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320747275914511138.post-79472195413228694452010-12-20T02:06:00.003-06:002010-12-20T03:47:52.916-06:00"Long December"You would think having spent the past 5 days in the hospital, going to sleep when you get back home would be a breeze. But, alas I'm sitting here in the living room watching Sports Center on ESPN. For some reason I find it more comfortable to just be sitting, as opposed to laying in bed sound asleep. There are a million things weighing on my heart right now, and my brain won't turn off long enough for me to sleep.<br />
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I had never been so scared to go to sleep as I was on Wednesday night. When I got brought to the hospital I don't remember anything that happened from the time I was taken back to the ER room until I arrived at Vanderbilt. The one thing I do remember as I was making it onto the bed is telling myself not to fall asleep. I was scared that if I did fall asleep, I wouldn't wake up. I have too much going for me right now to have it end so soon. I'm a husband, a big brother with a sister that thinks the world of him, with another brother that couldn't call me every time the colts scored. I am someones son, grandson, friend.<br />
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But, it wasn't my time.<br />
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So I sit here tonight, writing to two, trying to put together exactly why (on a spiritual level) this happened.<br />
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I have always tried to live my life to be the best "person" I can be. I don't put on fronts, what you see is what you get. My wife and my family are the most important people to me, and I would do anything for them at the drop of a hat (they've been doing the same for me). The one problem that I have with myself, is that I continually tell myself that I am going to start spreading the word of God, and never follow through. When I started my chemo over the summer, I would sit in my room and think of ways that I could relate to different people through cancer, then show how God's healing power helped get me through my hard times. I thought about how I take my testimony to different places to help raise awareness for TC. But once I was told my tumors markers were (at the time) normal, I just put God on the back burner. It was time to get back to life.<br />
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I now know differently. I realize why I was given this wakeup call.<br />
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I was asked on two different occasions by two different men at Vanderbilt how I found my testicle had a tumor. And the fact that I got asked twice about my cancer in the period of 24 hours proves that God is using me to help raise awareness. And I have a strong feeling that is what I need to be doing with my life. I need to start an organization and have focus and support groups that are available at anytime to answer the questions that are specific to TC.<br />
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I am so thankful to be well again. It has been a long couple of weeks. Thanks to you as well for your prayers and support through this rough time. I plan to be back every day this week now that I'm well. So, until next time; "Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18<br />
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<b><u>DIANNE:</u></b> So it's Thursday night, a little past 10pm. Last time we checked in it was Monday and Paul was talking about what it was like coming off of chemo this go-round. At that time he knew he wasn't feeling as good as quickly as he had when coming off of chemo during this past summer. Well... since then things have certainly taken us for a wild ride.<br />
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The last couple of days, Paul just didn't quite seem himself. He was up and doing as much activity as we expected for his circumstances, but being at home with him he just didn't seem "right." Of course our parents were both talking with him over the phone and they all seemed to think the same thing to a certain degree. We questioned all the medicines he was on, and some of the dosages, wondering if perhaps some of what we were seeing were the more ill side effects of some of the medicines.<br />
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<u><b>PAUL:</b></u> During all of this I know that I wasn't always catching onto everything going on around me. Sometimes Dianne would talk to me and I didn't really know what she was saying. Imagine if you will the parents from <i>Peanuts: </i>"WhawhaWHAwhaWhaWHA?"<br />
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<u><b>DIANNE:</b></u> I couldn't tell to what degree he was "off" because even though it sometimes took him a minute, he was still coherent from what I could see. It was like I could tell he was a little zombie-like, but figured it was to be expected because of all of his medicines. After all, I'm the one who has been giving him all of that stuff. However, parents being parents, by Wednesday afternoon the four of them were starting to call each other, unbeknownst to me. But they love us, so I guess it's okay : ) <br />
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<u><b>PAUL:</b></u> If Dianne didn't know that was happening, I definitely didn't know that it was happening. Obviously though, I didn't want to go to the hospital.<br />
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<u><b>DIANNE:</b></u> Neither did I! And I say this knowing that it was oh, about 90% selfishness, but I didn't. I didn't want to go to the hospital knowing that even if it turned out to be nothing too serious that we would be stuck there. Even when it's a small thing, once you're at the hospital, that small thing grows exponentially. I didn't want to repack the bags I hadn't even gotten unpacked from returning from Vanderbilt last week, and then the stint at my parents' house. I wanted to be at home, sleep in my own bed, and for everything to be fine. I wanted to be able to take care of Paul. And let me say, that when you are put into a position to take care of someone else, it is <i>really </i>difficult to swallow your pride when you simply can't give them what they need. <br />
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<u><b>PAUL:</b></u> Sometime during the evening I realized enough of how I was feeling that I changed my mind about wanting to go to the hospital. I knew I really didn't feel good. My chest was really sore still. I had talked to a doctor at Vanderbilt earlier in the week about the chest pain but they mentioned the fact that I'd had hiccups so bad while I was doing chemo that it could be some bruising. Oh, and I forgot to mention that I fell down at 6 in the morning and twisted my ankle. I was up trying to get to the kitchen for some water and tripped in the dining room. So along with everything else, I couldn't really walk on my right leg.<br />
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<u><b>DIANNE:</b></u> Which was pretty crappy. I'm not exactly cut out to help lug Paul around if he's having a hard time walking. But, when we did decide to gear up and head to the Emergency Room, I asked our always <i>amazing </i>neighbors Jackie and Michael for a little help, and once I got a little overnight bag together, Michael came over to help walk Paul out to the car. This was especially good because it was getting icy outside by that point. We told our dog "bye" (again, our neighbors are awesome because they took her 'outside' and then got her situated back in the house so that we could be on our way), and then we were off to the Murray-Calloway County Hospital Emergency Room.<br />
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This is also where I will pretty much take over... because, well, Paul wasn't coherent enough to know what the heck was going on at that point. (And, they just came in to give him his bedtime meds... <i>nighty-night!) </i> SO:<br />
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We got to the hospital, pulled up to the ER patient entrance and popped inside to ask for help getting Paul out of the car and inside the building. They said they'd have someone right out. In my mind I simply expected the Brawny paper towel man (in scrubs) to be coming out ready to help. Alas, it was a very petite nurse... my brain apparently read all over my face as she said "yeah, people don't usually expect to see me when they call for help. It's okay, I'm used to it". <i>Whoops. </i> I chuckled and told her while yes, that was true, I was sorry for the 'look' hahaha : ) <br />
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Anyway, got him in, took my handy dandy medicine chart (check out that post<i> <a href="http://paulcorder.blogspot.com/2010/12/guest-blogger-wife.html?spref=fb">here</a></i>) which has (much to my ego's approval) been very helpful to the doctors and nurses who have seen him, and provided a much simpler way of reviewing that critical information with people over and over again. They were concerned about the pain and nausea. He was given hefty injections of standard ER practice pain meds, and our old friend <a href="http://www.drugs.com/zofran.html">Zofran.</a> Right about the time they were doing this though, Paul became nauseated, and got violently sick, and following each bout, he did what my mind can only compare to seizures. I don't know if in fact they were seizures, I'm just saying that the type of shaking he was having looked like that.<br />
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This was a pretty big concern to all the medical team there. He was running a fever, throwing up, shaking, sweating, and had a sore chest and a swollen ankle. His biggest complaints were chest and ankle pain. They drew lots of blood for tests, and took him for a chest x-ray. They looked for things like pneumonia, which they said didn't seem to be an answer. However, with his level of dehydration, and that one of pneumonia's tell-tale signs being fluid in the lungs, they probably wouldn't ever see that sign because his body had no fluids to spare.<br />
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They also checked his blood counts. As I also mentioned in my previous post (<i><a href="http://paulcorder.blogspot.com/2010/12/guest-blogger-wife.html?spref=fb">here</a>) </i>the chemo hurts a lot of good healthy cells along with the bad ones it's attacking. So naturally, after chemo, those numbers are nowhere near what they should be compared to a normal healthy individual. Paul had some blood levels checked on Monday or Tuesday (can't remember which) and his white blood counts were, I want to say, around 500 or so. If you'll check out <a href="http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003643.htm">this handy page from Medline/NIH</a> you'll see that the numbers they indicate as being normal for this are <i>"4,500-10,000 white blood cells per microliter (mcL)." </i> Okay... well, they told us at the ER that his numbers were more like<i> 0.000nada.... </i>He basically had no immune system. Because of all of the other symptoms (fever, for one) they could pretty safely assume there was a pretty serious infection somewhere in his system. His lack of immunity makes him susceptible to becoming very sick, very quickly from things that might not even affect you or I. Although I'm not sure they should have necessarily told me this, albeit I DO ask a LOT of questions, they said that a big fear was that he could be <a href="http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/sepsis.html">Septic.</a> Not good. <br />
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They got to work pumping fluids and mega antibiotics into him through IVs. Then they started getting in touch with Vanderbilt. Because the more definite answers about his condition would come once they got results from his bloodwork back, (and that would be something around a minimum of 24 hours.) They wanted to prepare for all the worst possibilities, including things like kidney failure. Now I realize I'm throwing a lot of stuff out there without a lot of the conversation that went with it, but I'm still running on a quarter of a tank, and the highlights are about all I can give. I don't remember the "why" of all of these things, I just know they were brought up.<br />
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So, overall, they knew they wanted to try to get him to the much bigger Vanderbilt with the thought that they were better equipped to handle all of the "what ifs". They kept him on fluids, pain meds and nausea meds and prepared for ambulance transportation down to Nashville. I had only planned on a visit to our local hospital, so while they were waiting for transportation, I ran to our house and threw whatever into a bag, kissed the dog again and got back to the hospital.<br />
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Now, for those of you who have experience the joys of driving over the lakes on your was from Murray to Nashville or Cadiz, etc.- riding in an ambulance on that crap-tastic-ness is a whole other level of yuck. I was, however, happy that they said his condition was stable enough that I would be allowed to ride in the ambulance (up front.) I didn't want to be driving there in the middle of the night (I think we finally left around 1 am?) with deer and possible ice. So, even though that meant no vehicle once we got to Nashville, it seemed like the better choice. I got to doze off a little, Paul not so much. <br />
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Got to Vanderbilt and was brought into the Emergency Department here (approx 3 am). We had already been told that is probably what would happen because they wouldn't have an available bed (room) for him. We saw several different people (techs, nurses, doctors... you name it) right away, and they evaluated much to the same effect as they had in Murray. Again: fluids, antibiotics, pain meds, nausea meds, and so on and so forth. Stayed in this BIG room for quite a while (lunchtime or so?) just doing that. They were focused on keeping him comfortable and continuing to hunt for clues on the mysterious infection. Oh, and they did an x-ray on the ankle- not broken! So yes, hung out there for a while. Then we moved to what I shall lovingly call the closet. Where it should be illegal to have one person, let alone the point when it was Paul in bed, me standing up out of the way of the nurse so she could reach him, plus three doctors. Those doctors talked about things that could potentially be causing the chest pain, and also about how they wanted to do some more tests, but they would hold out until his kidneys were behaving a little more normally so as not to overload them with the chemicals involved in those tests. <br />
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We've been in the closet the rest of the day. We've seen a few different crews taking care of Paul, and his parents came in for a while this afternoon. They had to wait to make sure they could travel safely because there was a lot of ice where they live. We're just continuing to wait for better, more specific answers. Paul looks better than he has in days. Which is interesting, because that still isn't great. He still hasn't been able to eat, but no one here seems to have said much about it, so I guess the hydration issue really trumps the eating business. He tried to sleep all day, but in the ED, the intercoms are inside each room, so you hear every announcement for everyone for everything. However, they've kept up the pain meds and then tonight gave him something to help him rest, so right now he mostly sleeping soundly. <br />
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We were told by the trio of doctors that we should expect for him to be here for 3-5 days assuming he recovers in a good and timely fashion, longer if not. Hopefully tomorrow will lend itself to better answers, bigger (non emergency) rooms, and shorter blog posts : )Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963782823917192797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320747275914511138.post-15385066202763272662010-12-13T20:54:00.001-06:002010-12-13T22:17:40.949-06:00Back in Murray...Sorry about not posting yesterday, I've been pretty miserable since being released from the hospital. But, thanks to my awesome wife for keeping you up to date. Which, as you can tell, is a little more visual and descriptive than myself. So in retrospect, this past week wasn't too bad. I actually really enjoy being in Nashville. Vandy has it going on as far as care, they have the most attentive nurses I have ever been around, and you can tell they honestly care. Over the summer, I saw my oncologist once or twice a week, if I was lucky. I saw my Dr. at least 3 times a day last week. So, I guess if I had to be anywhere doing my chemo, I'm glad I'm doing it in Nashville.<br />
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I mentioned how I was unable to post on my blog yesterday, When I leave the hospital, my blood counts are extremely low and it usually takes a few days to bounce back (at least it did over the summer). I don't know if it's because I'm temporarily living in the frozen tundra, but nevertheless, it's COLD OUTSIDE! And I'm having a hard time with it.<br />
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So, I've been thinking about letting Dianne have a post once a week. Not just because I'm lazy, but I hope that there will be many people looking at this and it's very important to see other points of views during my treatment. Cancer doesn't just affect the person with cancer, I learned that quick. It affects everyone around it in many different ways. So I'd like to know what you think...<br />
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Post and let me know. Well friends, goodnight and I'll see you tomorrow.Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963782823917192797noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320747275914511138.post-74666844047655183292010-12-12T12:16:00.003-06:002010-12-13T22:19:47.918-06:00Guest Blogger: The Wife : )That's right. It's Dianne. So sorry to have missed Saturday here, but we're back! And we're coming at you from the comfort of my parents house. No more hospital.<br />
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Yesterday we were pleasantly surprised to have Paul discharged from the hospital on the date we originally anticipated (despite starting his chemo regimen a whole day late). He woke up and started his pre-meds pretty early yesterday, and they moved right along to ensure he'd be discharged in a timely fashion. Part of that was to help us avoid driving in what some of our fellow Kentuckians consider a blizzard:<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Ahem. Yeah. But, alas it <i>is</i> pretty. </div><br />
Other new developments include all of the medicines that Paul has learned to tolerate. Right before our wedding he started having severe pain due to what the doctors can only assume is the location of the tumors. So that is one thing that has just been something we continue to deal with on a daily basis. The upside of being in the hospital is that they are able to manage his pain much more efficiently through things like him having an IV, as well as just being able to regularly change and update his medicines and dosages. <br />
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During this trip, some of those dosages were changed. He is now able to use a longer acting medicine that he can take much less frequently and is his primary means of pain management. <br />
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Paul has also been on anticoagulants (blood thinners) since this summer. They changed some of that up this week with the pill that he on because they were closely monitoring his blood "thickness" while they were planning to remove his chemo port. He is now back on pills, as well as an injection, called <a href="http://www.drugs.com/lovenox.html">Lovenox.</a> He will have to have a shot in is belly twice a day for the next 10 days. Guess who does that? Yours truly. It's not too big of a deal, but I did it once with the nurse before we left for safety's measure.<br />
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He will also be on supersized antibiotic for the next 10 days, as well as a special steroid for 2 days. These both help to counteract all the mean aggressive things the chemo has done to his body this week. Right now, he's on the couch across from me just trying to sleep it off.<br />
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Also, he two medicines for chemo related nausea: <a href="http://www.drugs.com/zofran.html">Zofran</a> and <a href="http://www.drugs.com/phenergan.html">Phenergan.</a> These are both something he used over the summer with his first cycle of chemo. Nothing too exciting here. <br />
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Last but not least, he'll have one shot of <a href="http://www.drugs.com/neulasta.html">Neulasta.</a> This is pretty interesting stuff. It helps the body regenerate white blood cells after chemo since the chemo harms those good cells while trying to get rid of the bad ones.<br />
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Considering how much stuff he now has to keep track of, I drew up a little chart when we got home last night. This will make it a little easier for knowing when he had what, and when he is supposed to take it again. Why does the pharmacy not have some awesome print out of this? Better yet, why is there not an "App" for this? Sheesh.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I suppose that's all the big news since leaving. I'm sure as soon as Paul has rested and feels up to it he'll be back to let you know how he's doing. Thanks for checking in : ) </div>Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963782823917192797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320747275914511138.post-61639789167976066562010-12-10T21:45:00.001-06:002010-12-10T21:57:21.861-06:00Week one..... ALMOST DONE!!Well, today has been interesting. I had my "malfunctioning" port removed this morning. It was actually quite interesting. I spoke with the surgeon during the procedure about the Colts game since I was just given a local anesthetic. Definitely was a moment that I will never forget, just because of the sheer, awkwardness of it all.<br />
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Unfortunately, I'm now starting to feel some of the side effects of the chemo. I woke up this morning with severe pains in my knee and ankles. It has made it extremely difficult to move around. But, I did get Di back today, which always makes me happy. She is such a trooper, doing things for me constantly, never putting herself first (although she did just get a beautiful haircut). She's currently looking into volunteer work that she can do on the weeks that I am staying here. Mainly stuff in the children's hospital, she's such a sucker for kiddos. Here is a link to an event she is doing, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=170621842971493&num_event_invites=460#%21/event.php?eid=170621842971493">Help Bring Christmas to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital</a><br />
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This being my second time going through chemo, I'm really trying to do better about getting to know my nurses and doctors. I also ask numerous questions about my medication, just to make sure I am as schooled as I can possibly be. I have twice as many meds this time, compared to the last so I want to really know what everything does. I'm also realizing that I am rambling, therefore, I need to head to bed and get ready for another full day tomorrow.<br />
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LIVESTRONGPaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963782823917192797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320747275914511138.post-59987080674507544712010-12-09T20:21:00.000-06:002010-12-09T20:21:17.295-06:00Colts football and everlasting hiccupsSo, I have officially had the hiccups for around 24 hours now. Not going to lie, starting to drive me nuts. But, at least the *Colts just scored*. Everything went well during treatment today, and I am getting my port removed first thing in the morning (finally!!). This week, despite all the hiccups (no pun intended) has flown by. I think it's because of the fact that I have a new attitude, as well as a new found confidence in God to help me get through this. Philippians 4:13 says, "I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me" *Colts score again*. And through Christ and the support of my family and friends, I WILL beat this.<br />
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Well, have a good night and thank you all for your continued support.Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963782823917192797noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320747275914511138.post-956630812736905492010-12-08T23:34:00.000-06:002010-12-08T23:34:04.569-06:00So far, so goodOfficially through day 2 of my chemo for the week. On the menu today was ifosfamide and cisplatin. Both were a breeze. I find that the first week of treatment is always the easiest, because your body is equipped to handle it better in the early stages. You learn alot more after going through chemo once before. The two biggest things I have learned are; you can never have enough water. Water helps to keep you flushed out and gets those kidneys working overtime. Also, fruit, fruit, and more fruit. A good banana or an orange really helps to keep your energy up. I wish I would've done that over the summer. There's no telling how much better I would've felt.<br />
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I was saddened today about the death of Elizabeth Edwards. Edwards, who had been battling breast cancer since November of 2004. My prayers and thoughts go out to the Edwards family as they cope and deal with their loss. She made a statement in 2008, shortly after she discovered that her cancer was back. When asked if she was ready to go forward with her husband's bid for the White House, she responded; <span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"Either you push forward with the things that you were doing yesterday or you start dying," she said. "If I had given up everything that my life was about ... I'd let cancer win before it needed to."</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Dr. Lisa Carey, the oncologist treating Edwards, categorized the cancer as metastatic stage four cancer, largely confined to the bones.</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1pHqP4FZIt0/TQBlZ8uGtwI/AAAAAAAAABk/nnDFwbi2aLQ/s1600/testicle-exam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1pHqP4FZIt0/TQBlZ8uGtwI/AAAAAAAAABk/nnDFwbi2aLQ/s320/testicle-exam.jpg" width="246" /></a>Which leads me to my next point, early detection. I was fortunate enough that I found my lump very early. Di (my wife) came across a poster that deals with men and early detection of TC. I know it's something that guys don't take into consideration (I didn't), but it is vital that you check yourself frequently. There is no telling what kind of shape I would have been in if I waited to start self examinations. I was also fortunate that Di's father is a doctor and told me to get to the Dr's office ASAP. I still count my blessings for that.<br />
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Does anyone have any home remedies about how to get rid of hiccups? I have had them since noon today, and cannot get rid of them. Any help would be most appreciated. I've tried all the typical remedies; holding your breath, gargling water, etc. but, nothing is working...<br />
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If anybody following my blog ever has any questions regarding my blog, or wants to discuss cancer in general, feel free to comment, and I will get back to you as soon as I am able.<br />
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Thank you so much for all of your support, <b>LIVESTRONG</b>.Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963782823917192797noreply@blogger.com4