Wonderful news! And now on to the long road to recovery.
I understand your fears and anxiety, the hopelessness of depression. I have been sitting on my lanai the past weeks re-writing/editing my manuscript. This chapter, the deep darkness, the hopeless feelings encompassing my life when I was suffering with major depression so many years ago, a place I never want to be again.
You are coming home! Home! You will feel so much better living in your own space, your comfortable space where warm weather, sunshine and outdoors will help. I know you will feel mentally healthier soon. You're on an uphill swing! Hopefully your little bumps in the road are few and swallowing will become second nature soon!
Best to you and please let me know if I can help in any way.
We are all empathizing with you! A few years ago I had a piece of my tongue cut out, and soon found out you can do nothing (eat, drink, speak) without intense pain. And that was without any throat problem. Ugh! Hope to see (and hear) you soon!
Phew! That was a scary title for a second! I hadn't read the last one and was like WTF happened?! Great prognosis, happy to hear, and looking forward to another update as your mouth improves!
Amazing Buzz! Thank you for sharing your story and yourself in the process. What an incredible thing you’ve been through and how wonderful to come through relatively unscathed AND have the support of your three special ladies, friends and family. I agree. It’s important. Very important.
I wish you more ease and grace as you navigate the coming days, weeks and months.
Now, Buzz, you fully understand why I gladly accepted my oncology nurse's insistence that I have a port installed after the first of six months worth of chemo required by the clinical trial I had volunteered for at Dana Farber in hopes the resulting research would help future victims of non Hodgkin lymphoma.
Your series of essays about your insights and travails during your cancer treatments will most likely help your patients and people far removed from your medical practice in Hawaii.
I cannot express how proud I would be if you were my family doc.
So glad to hear the ordeal of the treatment is over but it will take a while to get over the after effects. I can relate to having a PICC line put in after being wheeled to radiology to meet two individuals in lead lined radiation proof garments. The removal process was more of a quick surprise when it was pulled out in the Dr's office in seconds. Well done for having the tenacity to put pen to paper even at the worst moments , something I am sure will be of great help to future patients. Looking forward to your return to Hawaii . All the best
Congratulations on reaching this important milepost...certainly harrowing but you did it....I admire the positive and thoughtful approach and sharing your ups and downs, friends help divide the burdens and magnify the joys....these things have the ability to enhance our approach to life and others....so happy for you and your family...
I’ve read your log with great interest - and look forward to every chapter. Yours is a journey I hope not to take - but reading it gives me hope all the same. I encourage you to keep writing from time to time - I expect all of your life experiences will be seen through a different and possibly less varnished lens, Mahalo
Congratulations Buzz, you made it through. I have my final radiation therapy this afternoon with chemo ending last Tuesday. It’s quite an accomplishment and I appreciate the words of encouragement you provided about 6 weeks ago. I still have a couple of weeks of real challenges coming up due to the mouth sores. I thought I knew pain when I blew out my back in an accident about 20 years ago. It was constant as well but corrected by surgery. There is not one position or remedy where my mouth isn’t painful. I thought I would skate through, as a week ago I was still eating solid food. It came on with a vengeance over the last week. If there is one piece of advice I would give to anyone facing a head and neck cancer treatment it would be to get the feeding tube and a picc line. Trying to keep your weight on without torturing yourself is pointless. Think of swallowing shards of glass. I to, had trouble with the Cisplatin, not only an occluded vein in my right arm early on but elevated creatinine levels in my kidneys will see me at the clinic receiving fluids several times a week for several more weeks.
I do feel a sense of accomplishment though. I know it wouldn’t have been possible without the exceptional care provided by the team at MD Anderson. More so than anyone though I owe so much to my wife Charlene, keeping up with my schedule, medications , acting as a chauffeur, running to the pharmacy almost daily and still going into her office in her spare time is nothing short of amazing. I’ll be thinking of you Buzz, John in Montana and others as I ring the bell this afternoon
Hoorah!
All done.
At the end all I could taste was chocolate..maybe chocolate covered cherries?
Wonderful news! And now on to the long road to recovery.
I understand your fears and anxiety, the hopelessness of depression. I have been sitting on my lanai the past weeks re-writing/editing my manuscript. This chapter, the deep darkness, the hopeless feelings encompassing my life when I was suffering with major depression so many years ago, a place I never want to be again.
You are coming home! Home! You will feel so much better living in your own space, your comfortable space where warm weather, sunshine and outdoors will help. I know you will feel mentally healthier soon. You're on an uphill swing! Hopefully your little bumps in the road are few and swallowing will become second nature soon!
Best to you and please let me know if I can help in any way.
We are all empathizing with you! A few years ago I had a piece of my tongue cut out, and soon found out you can do nothing (eat, drink, speak) without intense pain. And that was without any throat problem. Ugh! Hope to see (and hear) you soon!
Phew! That was a scary title for a second! I hadn't read the last one and was like WTF happened?! Great prognosis, happy to hear, and looking forward to another update as your mouth improves!
Amazing Buzz! Thank you for sharing your story and yourself in the process. What an incredible thing you’ve been through and how wonderful to come through relatively unscathed AND have the support of your three special ladies, friends and family. I agree. It’s important. Very important.
I wish you more ease and grace as you navigate the coming days, weeks and months.
Much love and many blessings to you!
Phillipa
Now, Buzz, you fully understand why I gladly accepted my oncology nurse's insistence that I have a port installed after the first of six months worth of chemo required by the clinical trial I had volunteered for at Dana Farber in hopes the resulting research would help future victims of non Hodgkin lymphoma.
Your series of essays about your insights and travails during your cancer treatments will most likely help your patients and people far removed from your medical practice in Hawaii.
I cannot express how proud I would be if you were my family doc.
So glad to hear the ordeal of the treatment is over but it will take a while to get over the after effects. I can relate to having a PICC line put in after being wheeled to radiology to meet two individuals in lead lined radiation proof garments. The removal process was more of a quick surprise when it was pulled out in the Dr's office in seconds. Well done for having the tenacity to put pen to paper even at the worst moments , something I am sure will be of great help to future patients. Looking forward to your return to Hawaii . All the best
Congratulations on reaching this important milepost...certainly harrowing but you did it....I admire the positive and thoughtful approach and sharing your ups and downs, friends help divide the burdens and magnify the joys....these things have the ability to enhance our approach to life and others....so happy for you and your family...
I’ve read your log with great interest - and look forward to every chapter. Yours is a journey I hope not to take - but reading it gives me hope all the same. I encourage you to keep writing from time to time - I expect all of your life experiences will be seen through a different and possibly less varnished lens, Mahalo
Congratulations Buzz, you made it through. I have my final radiation therapy this afternoon with chemo ending last Tuesday. It’s quite an accomplishment and I appreciate the words of encouragement you provided about 6 weeks ago. I still have a couple of weeks of real challenges coming up due to the mouth sores. I thought I knew pain when I blew out my back in an accident about 20 years ago. It was constant as well but corrected by surgery. There is not one position or remedy where my mouth isn’t painful. I thought I would skate through, as a week ago I was still eating solid food. It came on with a vengeance over the last week. If there is one piece of advice I would give to anyone facing a head and neck cancer treatment it would be to get the feeding tube and a picc line. Trying to keep your weight on without torturing yourself is pointless. Think of swallowing shards of glass. I to, had trouble with the Cisplatin, not only an occluded vein in my right arm early on but elevated creatinine levels in my kidneys will see me at the clinic receiving fluids several times a week for several more weeks.
I do feel a sense of accomplishment though. I know it wouldn’t have been possible without the exceptional care provided by the team at MD Anderson. More so than anyone though I owe so much to my wife Charlene, keeping up with my schedule, medications , acting as a chauffeur, running to the pharmacy almost daily and still going into her office in her spare time is nothing short of amazing. I’ll be thinking of you Buzz, John in Montana and others as I ring the bell this afternoon