Update on oggbashan's health

[Blind_Justice]

This morning I had a haircut and beard trim. Although my hair is still very short it is growing, even one the part that has been bald for over a decade. It was straggly in places. The amount cut was very small compared to before chemo and I had it drastically shortened before that started but why, when I lost hair after the first two sessions of chemo, is it growing again?

Just some grim and lighthearted conspiracy theory here: Maybe the chem cocktail meant to fight the tumor has some regenerative properties? You're secretly part of a pharma test group - I mean, if you're about to leave this mortal coil, you could at least partake in some on-patient research, right? Dead men tell no tales of medicinal malpractice after all.

You keep showing them, Mr. Ogg! Future generations of oncologists will read about your case and be amazed.

 

[oggbashan]

Just some grim and lighthearted conspiracy theory here: Maybe the chem cocktail meant to fight the tumor has some regenerative properties? You're secretly part of a pharma test group - I mean, if you're about to leave this mortal coil, you could at least partake in some on-patient research, right? Dead men tell no tales of medicinal malpractice after all.

You keep showing them, Mr. Ogg! Future generations of oncologists will read about your case and be amazed.

They do seem to be struggling to understand. I am the first ever case of Lambert-Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome they have ever had, and I don't fit the text books.

The speech therapist has already shared her recordings of my speech difficulties with her colleagues and has had hundreds of responses, most of which are WTF?

 

[TarnishedPenny]

They do seem to be struggling to understand. I am the first ever case of Lambert-Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome they have ever had, and I don't fit the text books.

The speech therapist has already shared her recordings of my speech difficulties with her colleagues and has had hundreds of responses, most of which are WTF?

A measure of the man - even why he's supposed to be dying, he's teaching doctors.

I'm looking forward to being able to send you a Christmas present this year, Og of Bashan. Confident about it. Tell me I'm wrong in November and we can raise a glass in memory of earlier pessimism.

 

[oggbashan]

****!

I went for a pre-chemo check today. Although most indicators are good, if not very good, my white blood cells and immune system are compromised. The next chemo session has to be delayed for a week and I have another pre-chemo check next Thursday. I already have an appointment next Thursday and we collect grandson from school that day. Timing will be critical.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

****!

I went for a pre-chemo check today. Although most indicators are good, if not very good, my white blood cells and immune system are compromised. The next chemo session has to be delayed for a week and I have another pre-chemo check next Thursday. I already have an appointment next Thursday and we collect grandson from school that day. Timing will be critical.

 

[yukonnights]

****!

I went for a pre-chemo check today. Although most indicators are good, if not very good, my white blood cells and immune system are compromised. The next chemo session has to be delayed for a week and I have another pre-chemo check next Thursday. I already have an appointment next Thursday and we collect grandson from school that day. Timing will be critical.

Well, if 'timing' is the most critical worry ... I'll say congratulations are in order! Thank you for the positive update, Ogg.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

It’s been a week, Ogg. How are you?

 

[oggbashan]

It’s been a week, Ogg. How are you?

Another pre-chemo check this morning. The indicators they get immediately are all good - Blood/Oxygen still 100%; temperature OK; breathing OK; blood pressure 135/65 . I wait to see whether the blood tests show white blood cells recovering. No phone call = OK for last chemo session on Monday after CT scan on Sunday, but scan might be delayed until after chemo.

PS: Weight has gone up by one kilo since I started chemo, probably a little more, maybe a kilo and a half, since I was weighed with my coat the first time. That isn't supposed to happen either.

 

[Tio_Narratore]

Another pre-chemo check this morning. The indicators they get immediately are all good - Blood/Oxygen still 100%; temperature OK; breathing OK; blood pressure 135/65 . I wait to see whether the blood tests show white blood cells recovering. No phone call = OK for last chemo session on Monday after CT scan on Sunday, but scan might be delayed until after chemo.

PS: Weight has gone up by one kilo since I started chemo, probably a little more, maybe a kilo and a half, since I was weighed with my coat the first time. That isn't supposed to happen either.

Keep throwing those plot twists at them, Og. And be sure to give them a surprise conclusion!

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Another pre-chemo check this morning. The indicators they get immediately are all good - Blood/Oxygen still 100%; temperature OK; breathing OK; blood pressure 135/65 . I wait to see whether the blood tests show white blood cells recovering. No phone call = OK for last chemo session on Monday after CT scan on Sunday, but scan might be delayed until after chemo.

PS: Weight has gone up by one kilo since I started chemo, probably a little more, maybe a kilo and a half, since I was weighed with my coat the first time. That isn't supposed to happen either.

Good to hear Ogg.

They told my wife she would lose weight when she started to take her Hep C meds about 10 years ago. Well, the exact opposite happened and she gained 30 pounds.

Once the virus was eradicated and she was off the meds, she had to diet to loss the weight. It would seem the the virus was keeping her weight down.

 

[Vix_Giovanni]

Another pre-chemo check this morning. The indicators they get immediately are all good - Blood/Oxygen still 100%; temperature OK; breathing OK; blood pressure 135/65 . I wait to see whether the blood tests show white blood cells recovering. No phone call = OK for last chemo session on Monday after CT scan on Sunday, but scan might be delayed until after chemo.

PS: Weight has gone up by one kilo since I started chemo, probably a little more, maybe a kilo and a half, since I was weighed with my coat the first time. That isn't supposed to happen either.

yes, keep throwing them plot twists! Sending a big hug.

When I was a kid, my grandmother and family friends tenor Greg Kunde and late Eileen Dugan were all going through treatment at the same time and came to my parents’ house for a breakfast. They forged a close bond there, and for a long time, it was a recurring tongue-in-cheek anecdote that the three of them were gaining weight when they’d been hoping to lose a few pounds.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Another pre-chemo check this morning. The indicators they get immediately are all good - Blood/Oxygen still 100%; temperature OK; breathing OK; blood pressure 135/65 . I wait to see whether the blood tests show white blood cells recovering. No phone call = OK for last chemo session on Monday after CT scan on Sunday, but scan might be delayed until after chemo.

PS: Weight has gone up by one kilo since I started chemo, probably a little more, maybe a kilo and a half, since I was weighed with my coat the first time. That isn't supposed to happen either.

Go, King Og!

 

[yukonnights]

Another day of good news! But then, you do owe us a lot of good news after frightening us all so much in the first place ~

 

[oggbashan]

Another day of good news! But then, you do owe us a lot of good news after frightening us all so much in the first place ~

And myself.

 

[Handley_Page]

And myself.

Be assured of our thoughts & Prayers, Ogg.

 

[JKendallDane]

Very happy to read the good news, Ogg. Keep using that same plot line for us...okay?

 

[YoursSINSerely]

Wishing you all the best, Ogg!

 

[oggbashan]

Thanks for the good wishes and prayers.


This morning, I walked, with my 4-wheeled walker, to the local shops - a mile round trip. That is about my limit on uneven pavements. Around a local tourist site with well-surface paths, I can do nearly two miles. With my walking stick I can do about 30 yards. Without it? About 30 feet.

 

[markelly]

Hope...

OGG you are the man.

My thoughts are with you every damn day dude.

 

[PrevertOne]

Oh geez.

Good grief, I didn't know. Big prayers to you Oggbashan. Courage and fortitude.

 

[oggbashan]

Scan this morning - Yes, on a Sunday!

Parking easy, little traffic and seen on time. (I had to arrive an hour before the scan to ensure I had enough liquid, then an injection of iodine; about ten minutes for the scan and ten minutes recovery time. Scan scheduled for 11.15 and driving out about 11.40.

Last (of six) chemotherapy sessions tomorrow.

 

[ChloeTzang]

Scan this morning - Yes, on a Sunday!

Parking easy, little traffic and seen on time. (I had to arrive an hour before the scan to ensure I had enough liquid, then an injection of iodine; about ten minutes for the scan and ten minutes recovery time. Scan scheduled for 11.15 and driving out about 11.40.

Last (of six) chemotherapy sessions tomorrow.

Hey, a big hug, Ogg.

 

[Recidiva]

Ogg, you are my hero.

Again. Still.

Be well.

 

[oggbashan]

Last of six chemo sessions today. As on previous times, they had difficulty finding a vein to put the cannula into. It took an hour before they found a machine to detect a vein and a skilled operator.

My veins are large enough and in good condition - just deep inside my arm.

Now I wait until early March to see the oncology consultant to see where we go from here. In the meantime, I see the neurology, geriatric (sorry - care of the older person!), and orthoptics specialists all of whom will say - see oncology!

If that isn't enough I go to the foot clinic tomorrow and my physiotherapist next week. I have told rheumatology I don't want an annual review of my ankylosing spondylitis which hasn't changed for a decade. That would have meant yet another long drive to a hospital outpatients' clinic to be told 'You haven't changed!' I know that!

PS: Two of the usual side-effects of chemotherapy are nausea and loss of appetite. I still have, unopened, the nausea pills given to me after the first session. This evening, to celebrate the end of this set of chemotherapy we went to a local restaurant for a three-course meal. Loss of appetite? No.

 

[Handley_Page]

Ogg, your words merely prove to us what most of us have deduced for ages;
you're a giant amongst us