Happy Holidays & Best wishes for the New Year

Hello to all my friends and followers of my blog.  I’m feeling great, my hair is growing back, and I’m officially in remission.  As this year draws to an end, there is much to reflect on.  While it’s easy to think only of all the bad stuff that happens to us, we often forget the good fortune we have just to be here and be able to celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of a new one. 

It’s taken quite a bit of soul searching and an Al-Anon meeting or two for me personally to finally reach a conclusion for this and next year; “The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with all the rain.” It’s better to focus on what’s in front of the boat of life than to constantly keep looking back at the wake.  After all, the wake is what we leave behind, and it doesn’t propel our boat forward, it always holds us back. 

Now don’t think I’m getting all philosophical here; my new year’s resolution is just to try and remember that it’s time to move forward with my life, and work hard not to keep looking in the rear view mirror.

I’ve met with and spoken to every one of my blog followers this past year and I want to personally thank each and every one of you, especially my loving wife Theresa, for your support, your encouragement and all the laughs we have had together this year.  I took all of you and all your prayers to get me through the darkest of times and you have taught me that the light at the end of the tunnel is in fact “NOT” the headlight of an oncoming train!

Best wishes to all, this is my last post till next year!!

 …..Ken & the Red Dogs!

(ps: run your mouse or double click on the picture of Santa for a surprise!)

Numerous Studies Force ACSM To Change Exercise Guidelines For Cancer Patients

With several studies showing the positive effects exercise has on cancer patients, the evidence continues to grow.

  mesothelioma. The patient’s doctor should also advise them on which types of exercise they should do and which types they should avoid according to the particular type of cancer they have.

The new guidelines put forth by the ACSM were due to the numerous research reports that showed evidence of the many positive effects that exercise has on cancer patients. Along with the significant benefits of reduced risk of reoccurrence and death, additional benefits included improved immune system, a decrease in nausea, less fatigue, decrease in body fat and increase in lean muscle mass. Patients also reported an improvement in mood, self-esteem and sense of control, all contributing to an overall improved quality of life. Participants of some of these studies also noticed a decrease in depression and were able to sleep better. Work capacity also improved with patients having the ability to work longer without becoming exhausted. All cancer patients who have not been advised to exercise should discuss this with their physician so a tailored exercise program can be provided based on personal abilities.

Gobble Gobble

Hello to everyone, I wanted to wish everyone a happy and healthy Thanksgiving to you and your families. Here in our home we have a lot to be thankful for this year.

I’m officially in remission and feeling better than I’ve felt in quite some time. I’m continuing to build my strength back up; the Red dogs are forcing me to walk them every day! I think they are getting in shape faster than I am! I go back to Dana-Farber tomorrow morning for follow up testing and to discuss my starting a Chemo maintenance program.

All tied up at Home!

Hello to all, I wanted to update everyone on my progress. I’ve been home from the hospital for 62 days now. My numbers continue to improve at each follow up visit to the Dana.  Overall I feel pretty good, I’m still having some side effects from the chemo; my hair is slowly growing back, I’m starting to shave now every day and I’m still searching for the rest of my taste buds, However, my sense of smell and taste are getting better every week. I’m having an occasional itchy evening; my entire body will get itchy as if I was dipped in poison ivy! Every once in a while I’m still getting some neuropathy in my feet and toes, thank god for the meds!

My biggest problem now is that although I feel well and I’m working to get back my strength, I still can’t go out to restaurants, stores, malls, movies, fly on a plane or anywhere there’s a large group of people. My immune system is still not recovered enough for me to venture out into the general public. Anywhere there are people in a confined space I still have to wear a protective mask.

Anyone who knows me will understand that if I can’t get out soon both the “Home-Depot” and the “Bertucci’s” in Swampscott will be filling for bankruptcy! I’m now able to drive and eat take-out food, so let me know if you know where there’s a Home Depot or pizza place with a “Drive-up-window”!

That’s all for now…

Chemo Ken & the Red Dogs

Everyone reunited!

Hello, I hope everyone got through the hurricane with little or no damage. In Lynn we just had rain and a lot of leaves a few branches here and there, we were fine. It was also the 1^st weekend we were all back at home! Theresa picked up Quinby on Friday and brought him back home; boy did he grow in just 6 weeks.

I spent Monday at Dana-Farber going through some tests to see how everything is going. Last week my Doctor had my PIC line removed and stopped the antibiotics that were potentially slowing my recovery.

Well I have good news! Actually great news, my white cell count has jumped way up in just a week; I’m now in a safe range! My platelet count was up as well, this was all great news. Going forward, I only have to go every other week for testing, I’m glad the Monday, Wednesday & Friday testing is over. On my way to recovery! Still waiting for my taste buds to return, getting a little better every week.

That's all for now....

Ken & the Red Dogs (No more Chemo for Ken!)

Don’t forget to check my main blog for all my updates at:

http://chemokenandthereddogs.blogspot.com/

Nothing Tastes Good

Hello to everyone out there, I was released from the hospital back on Wednesday the 17^th, just over a week ago. My stay in the hospital was in an isolation pod as my immune system was knocked down to 0% by the chemotherapy. The risk of infection was very high and I was required to wear a mask and gloves to walk outside of my room, albeit only for a restricted walk 20’ to the left or right of my room. While in my room, all my visitors were required to wear a mask and gloves, I wasn’t allowed to have contact with anyone for fear that I would pick up some bacteria. I was in strict isolation except for all my friends from the PACU! Thank you to everyone who came to visit me.

While in the hospital, unfortunately I did pick up some bacteria from my own throat, resulting in uncontrollable tremors and a high fever just below 104*. It was a scary time; they medicated me then iced me down until my fever was under control. This set my recovery back and delayed my release.  When I was admitted on July 25^th I counted the time by the weeks, by August 10^th I was counting the days, then in my last week I was counting the hours. After my white blood cell count hit 1,000 along with several other pertinent blood counts, I was released. When Theresa pushed me through those exit doors in a wheelchair, it was my 1^st time outside of the isolation ward in close to a month, I was ready to jump up and run down the stairs to the outside.

At the time of my release it was decided, that an IV antibiotic would be more powerful and protective than oral pills, so the hospital sent me home with an infusion line in my arm for daily injections of antibiotics. After 3 follow up visits this past week, my numbers continued to improve until yesterday, they dropped down below my Monday numbers, it was decided that the IV antibiotic may be the culprit and the decision was made to end the IV antibiotics and remove my line today.

I’m very happy to be home, however, I’m still mourning the temporary loss of my taste buds. One of the chemotherapy drugs they gave me was metal based and it damaged the lining of my mouth and throat and has resulted in almost all foods and all scents smelling and tasting like wet dirty metal.   i.e. Eating a burger and fries then washing them down with a milk shake tastes like I’m eating my car muffler and washing it down with 10W40 motor oil! Need I say more?

Theresa has been experimenting with foods to find the things I can eat that bypass the bad taste and smell. While the list is currently very small, we continue to figure out things I’m able to eat or that we can smear with an ungodly amount of “HOT” sauce to dull and trick my taste buds and nose! My doctor advises me not to try any of my favorite foods right now as this condition may leave me with a bad taste and a bad memory of those foods making them undesirable to ever eat again in the future. It’s a long story but, I will never be able to eat or be near another Popsicle as long as I live!

So anyone who knows me will understand why all the Italian restaurants and pizzerias in my area will be filling for bankruptcy if my condition doesn’t improve quickly! “God save Bertuccis”!!!

That’s all for now…Chemo Ken, and 1 of the red dogs (#2-dog to be retrieved this weekend) Hurricane Quinby should hit Massachusetts just before Irene hit’s!!

Don’t forget to check my main blog for all my updates at: http://chemokenandthereddogs.blogspot.com/

Day 23 at Brigham & Woman’s Hospital - Finish line in sight

I received the approval to leave the hospital tomorrow! I’m looking forward to being back home, to say the least! Nothing can quite describe 24 days in isolation. I’d love to tell you that the food was good or bad, however, I don’t have any taste buds left so I can’t taste anything, plus I have no sense of smell, both my taste buds and my nose were damaged by the Chemo. I can tell you what the food looked like but unable to write a NY Times food review. I’m told that both my senses of taste and smell will return after I return home, boy that stinks!

I can’t wait to be home with Theresa, she has had to wear a mask every time she visited me. Although she did peak thru the glass doors in my room without her mask just so I remember what her warm smile looks like. It will be a wonderful day when we all get back home together; we still have to go get the Red Dogs. I have to say that both of our dogs have received the warmest loving care possible and have forged new friendships and family friends.

Murphy is on the south shore and Quinby in Pennsylvania. I have been getting a number of reports that Murphy has found a friend in her new buddy” Louie” the Golden retriever where she is staying. They are both red and look like twins, I couldn’t tell them apart from 10’ away! They have been having a great time playing together in our friend’s back yard.

Quinby (the puppy) however, has been terrorizing his new little friend “Peppie” (a King Charles spaniel) and taking a swim or two in my sister in law Donnas’ koi pond; He will surely be full of energy when he returns. Not to mention he has developed into quite a swimmer over the past month! It’s going to be a challenge keeping out of the pond across the street!

That’s all for now I’ll post another update after I get back home.

Chemo Ken

Brigham Hospital Stay- Day 19

Hello to all my friends, today is day 19 in the hospital, I haven’t been able to write lately do to my health. My recovery was going well until this past Sunday (8/7/11); I was hit so fast I didn’t know what happened.

I was last Sunday afternoon when I started to feel cold (you all have to ask Theresa about this; Normally the Polar Bears and Eskimos feel the cold before I do!). Even after raising the thermostat up to 75*, I started to tremble. Within minutes I was shaking more and more it turned into uncontrollable tremors. The Nurse covered me with hot blankets. By now my temperature had gone up to 102, within hours it was up to 103.8 degrees. At that point I started to hallucinate.

The tremors continued most of the night during which time the Nurse packed me in ice, covering me with bags of ice to drop my temperature. In the morning I started to come out of it, my temperature started dropping, and the tremors subsided. Turns out I had gotten bacteria into my blood via the port in my chest. With my immune system close to 0% my body needed heavy doses of anti-biotics to fight this off. It was Thursday before they could get my temperature under a 100* and Friday morning before my temperature was back to normal at 98.6*

Quite a week, as it setback my recovery by 4-5 days.  My White cell count remains low at .07%; for release they need it to rise back up into the thousands before my body will be able to fight of any infections.

It’s Friday morning at 6:30am and my morning blood tests just came back, my white blood cell count went up to .13% it’s nearly doubled since yesterday (.07 up to .13).

I’m continuing to fight this Cancer and I’m determined to beat this and go on to bigger and better accomplishments in my life.

Thank You,

Chemo Ken…

That’s all for now, Don’t forget to check my main blog for all my updates at: http://chemokenandthereddogs.blogspot.com/

Day plus 4

Hello to everyone, sorry it’s taken me so long to update you on my progress. I was admitted to the Brigham & Women’s Hospital last Monday the 25^th. On Tuesday and Wednesday I received high dose Chemotherapy for two days. I’m still feeling the side effect a week later and expect it will be several more weeks before all side effects subside.

It’s been 4 days since I received my stem cell transplant; I guess I thought it would be done with a little more fanfare or brand new high technology. Alas, no band, no music, no doctors with long blue gloves.  I waited with anticipation for the moment and then the nurse walked in with a small bag that looked like a little baggie full of ketchup! It was my frozen stem cells from cryogenics; she put them in the sink to defrost! A short time later she hooked me up and it was all over in a half an hour, very anti-climatic.

My white blood cell count continues to drop; it’s expected to be down to 0% within a few days which will leave me with a non-functioning immune system. Meanwhile, back in my blood, my stem cells are rapidly circulating preparing to rebuild my immune system. It’s an amazing phenomenon that they instinctively know where to go and what it is they are supposed to do.

Today is Monday August 1^st; this officially leaves me with about 2 more weeks to go. I have some strict dietary restrictions so that combined with a less than excellent kitchen results in meals that appear to have been cooked in a nearby nuclear reactor until all remnants of germs, taste and flavor are completely removed! As of today, the sign I have on my door is offering $50 for the 1^st person to smuggle me a Bertucchis Pepperoni Pizza! I believe it will be up to over $100 by next weekend. Knowing my plight, I believe they are holding out waiting for me to raise the rate to $200!

This morning my Doctor confirmed my suspicion that my taste buds are once again failing. Each day narrows down the things I’m able to eat that don’t taste like cardboard. My Doctor told me not to eat anything I like because I’ll never want to eat it again when I leave!

That’s all for now, I’ll keep everyone posted as the week unfolds.

Chemo Ken

Don’t forget to check my main blog for all my updates at: http://chemokenandthereddogs.blogspot.com/

No Jive, Live, from the Brigham

Hello to all my friends and followers, today is my second day in the hospital at the Brigham and I wanted to give everyone an update.  Yesterday was check in day, most of the day was getting settled in my room and filling forms, shaking hands and finding drawers to unpack and store my draws.

Today my pre-transplant chemotherapy started, it was a full day of High-dose Melphalan Chemotherapy.  My previous Chemotherapy was specifically targeting my myeloma cancer cells by interfering with the division of cancer cells, and when they can't divide, they die out. It selectively kills cells which are dividing rapidly, as cancer cells tend to do. The high-dose Melphalan is the most common chemotherapy regimen used to kill residual myeloma cells just before stem cell transplantation.

Tomorrow will be more of the same to prepare me for my stem cell transplantation on Thursday.

That’s all for now, Chemo Ken...

Note: The Red dogs had to be separated during my hospital stay. They are in good hands with relatives and very special friends.  We did receive an e-mail today from “Murphy” asking us if she could stay with our friends for the rest of the summer; we suspect it’s because of her new boyfriend “Louie”.

Don’t forget to check my main blog for all my weekly updates & cartoons at: http://chemokenandthereddogs.blogspot.com/

Hello to all my friends and followers!

Hello to all my friends and followers, today is Sunday July 24^th my last day before entering the hospital. Tomorrow starts my final step in a long journey towards recovery; my stem cell transplant will require a 3 week stay in the hospital followed by 100 days of recovery at home.

I’ll be staying at Brigham and Women’s hospital in Boston for my transplant and recovery; I’ll let everyone know the details on visiting hours, etc.

While there I plan on rating the food for them (No green Jell-O for me!). I’ll have to get used to the old 19” TV mounted strategically on the ceiling at an ungodly angle, how do I feel the nurse will ask? “Fine except for a stiff neck”!  Ha ha… I hope to be able to post up dates every other day if possible.

Theresa and I just drove around the waterfront in Swampscott and Nahant and saw one of the most beautiful sunsets we had ever seen, we believe this was a positive sign from God, who else could paint a sky like that!

Above all I’ll try hard to maintain a sense of humor and stay positive…

Don’t forget to check my main blog for all my weekly updates at: http://chemokenandthereddogs.blogspot.com/

Chemo Ken and the Red Dogs

“Real Men” don’t need signs!

OK now, all you guys out there let’s all admit it…sooner or later we all hear that familiar voice in the car say “Honey (or insert...”significant other”, hey you…etc!) I think the sign back there said turn right up ahead”. Come on now, real men don’t need signs! “Take a right for Topeka”, sounds to us like “hea… how about a beer and can I buy you a new speaker”! Men are just born with that natural innate sense of direction, a GPS system build right into our brains. That is, until the battery dies when we are about 17yrs old!

After that, we all fall back to our other god given brain tracking system; you know it’s the “I know how to get there” instinct. We all possess this instinct, we are like a Cherokee Indian tracking a buffalo across the mountains, we don’t need no stinkin maps, we don’t care what the GPS say’s, forget what that sign back there said, detour ahead bridge out, sounds like “Don’t detour me, don’t you think I know where I’m going”? “You know, that’s an old looking sign and besides I’ve been this way before”! “That’s right I never told you, it was when I was a kid, I was with my parents”.  It’s like men just always know which way to go and exactly where to turn. ” You can make a u-turn up there”, is just a phrase not in our vocabulary and just cannot be fathomed by our brains.

So, that brings us to this past weekend in Vermont, and to my crusader like quest to find a short cut home through the mountains and streams after a day of swimming with our two soaking wet dogs, a sunburned wife, three empty water bottles, and four soaked towels; as we departed from the secret swimming hole that only the locals can find. Forget the locals, I can find a way to shave 10 or 15 minutes off the way home. That is, I can find a shortcut that you Theresa couldn’t possibly know about, through this dense forest around the many lakes, streams and mountains, and boulders, on this unpaved dirt road with little or no cell service and despite an argumentative cyber voice from my GPS telling me to make a u-turn ahead. “Listen to me honey, that “DEAD END” sign in front of us is old and contradicts the GPS map”, plus “I learned to drive on dirt roads like this”. What could go wrong? I’m turning left here not right”.

So let’s go on to my 1 ½ hour shortcut that took us over a road that I can barely even begin to describe to you, but hey, I’ll try.  First we went up a hill steeper than the main face of Mt Everest, actually that was 40 or 50 hills or more in total, then throw in the 10” to 15” boulders, expertly placed by mother nature in the middle of the road, the trees, shrubs and wild unidentifiable growing things that covered the 6 to 7 foot wide so called road we were on, and the tire ruts from army tanks or something very big and heavy. Then there was the mud, pools of water with unknown depths across the road, (held my breath on these), besides, come on now, we have our bathing suits on and the dogs are already wet.

This was basically a road that an army tank would have struggled to make it through; I believe they would have gone to the right.  But, so what, my expertly build SUV was born for “off road” four wheeling adventures like this. At least that’s what the car salesman told me at the showroom when I bought my sparkling new Acura MDX, you know the clean shiny SUV you always see at the front of every valet parking lot, but  alas, not very often in the off road TV ads!  So on with the story, as we passed the last sign of life, which was 25 or so locals having a barbeque and pig roast in front of their “double wide”. I chose to ignore the ten or so 4X4 pickup trucks parked in their driveway, you know the ones you always see with their frames jacked up 2 to 3 feet higher than normal with tires higher than the roof of my SUV and covered with the obligatory mud.  We drove by them smiling like a couple of hyenas in the zoo determined to press on into the unknown, they stopped their music, put down their beers and looked at us like an alien space ship had just landed in the road in front of them, their jaws dropped when they saw us and knew where we were heading, they were speechless as they all stared at us with our cute little shinny black city slicker SUV, and of course I gave them a nice big wave as we passed. Looking in my rear view mirror I saw them all texting on their cell phones, I thought they were sending a picture to friends of the new Acura MDX model, It wasn’t until an hour later I realize they were really calling 911 and telling the Sheriff to bring a chopper and search dogs!

Well, let’s just say it was a very treacherous road with about 6 or more miles of treachery ahead before we came to the inevitable “DEAD END”, where a rock slide and avalanche from around 1950 had ended the road forever. It was then that I said, “OK, OK, you’re right, let’s make a u-turn and go back”.  Oh my god, go back over the past 6-8 miles that I didn’t think I could make it through coming in, you mean I have to do it twice!!! Alas, on the way back as we passed the locals at the Barbecue, this time they waved and smiled at us as they saw the mud on my truck, they saluted us with their beers raised high. However, we looked back at them this time, and we were the ones shocked and bewildered with blank stares on our faces. Even the dogs had their paws over their eyes at this point; we had to check the filling in our teeth when we got back. Shortly thereafter, I got out of the truck as we came to the 1^st paved road we saw, bent down on my knees and kissed the pavement…..The End…

Now  on to my health: the past week I was preparing for my stem cell harvest by getting daily shots of Neulasta at home (Thank you to Theresa and Jolene for giving me those shots, I couldn’t give them to myself!). The neulasta was intended to raise the amount of stem cells in my blood until they are overwhelming in numbers. The body doesn’t’ normally have this many stem cells in the blood so I experienced a number of side effects last week, as noted below. I’m here all day today at the Dana-Farber on a dialysis machine. This machine separates all the stem cells from the regular red & white cells and the platelets in my blood. The goal today is to collect as many as 8 to 10 million cells for my stem cell implant next week and freeze enough for an additional transplant if I have a relapse in the future.

Last week, I experienced some side effects from the Neulasta such as, headaches, lower GI discomfort and severe lower back pain. I’m happy to say that all those symptoms are gone today.  My stem cell counts were off the charts this morning so everything is a go for my harvest today. I’m told that I will feel noticeably better tomorrow after all the stem cells are all harvested. 

That’s all for now, don’t forget to check my main blog for all my updates at: http://chemokenandthereddogs.blogspot.com/

Boston Bruins acquire Corvo from the Hurricanes – Mahican Indians acquire Chemo Ken from the Dana Farber Braves!

In an unprecedented trade, the Mahican Indians announced this afternoon that they went outside of the tribe today when they traded “Little running Nose” for “Chemo Ken” of the Dana Farber Braves. The Mahican’s said they needed an experienced “firewalker”!

No, No... This is really true, come on now… it has to be... to make this week’s story work! 

Oh well, on the health and feeling well front, I rated a 3 to 4 on the “frowning face scale” at my vital signs check-in this past week.  My Neuropathy continues to attack my feet …night and day. I have now gone from 100mg a day of Neurontin to 1,200mg a day, and I’m still feeling the fire, flames  and burning in the soles of my feet and toes. Thus…the new job as the Mahican’s “Firewalker”, I’m a shoe in (so to speak!). Rumor at the Indian camp is that if my feet get better, they may burn me at the stake!

The Neuropathy is getting to be old news, the pain of the week is  now the beginning of my bones aching deep down inside, it feels like sharp pains coming from the core or bone marrow of my left leg, hip and lower back. This is where I suffered my injuries in my ski accident last year. It seems that the chemo is attacking my weak spots so it’s going after this past injury. It’s weird but now my leg, hip and back are starting to feel exactly like they did after my surgery. This was the exact same feeling that I had when I came home from the hospital. Hopefully this will all be over within a few weeks after my transplant.

Speaking of the transplant, I went for Chemo last week but my weekly Velcade injection was cancelled by my Doctor. He felt that considering my neuropathy and bone pain, if given a Velcade infusion, the risks would outweigh the results. So that pretty much ends my regular weekly schedule of Chemotherapy injections. Now I’m in preparation mode for my Stem Cell harvest, scheduled for 7/18 & 7/19. Followed by my admission to the hospital on Monday 7/25.

Update on the “BIRDS”…as it turns out, the birds decided to nest in the highest most farthest away and hard to reach, out of the way corner of the roof (now doesn’t that just figure!). Using their surgical tools, they skillfully cut a hole through the soffit into the attic. This gives them unrestricted access to Theresa’s winter clothes, yum yum…my old books, yuck, argh…tastes bad! Several of them were recently spotted flying away from the roof with tinsel stuck in their tails and trailing from their feet! Now we had a handyman type friend come by to climb up to that corner of the roof and fix everything. When he arrived, he and I stood there for a couple of minutes looking up at the corner from the ground, speechless as we crained our necks, cracking our knuckles, made a clucking sound or two followed by a few hmm’s and then an ah ha or two. Finally looking down and facing each other he said, “Hell I’m not climbing way up there” “I’m scared to go that high”. Me too I said! We both agreed, we will take climbing lessons sometime in the future but for now we’ll have to sub this out to a fearless ladder totin roofer!

That’s all for now….Chemo Ken and the Red Dogs

Dentist revives cancer patient with Portuguese sweet roll!

Hello to all my friends and followers, I resumed my chemotherapy treatments yesterday at the Dana-Farber Cancer center. My white blood cell count is back up to a normal range as a result of the Neulasta injection last Monday and I was able to receive my regular weekly chemotherapy infusion today.

The past two weeks have been quite difficult because of the ever increasing side effects of the chemotherapy drugs.  My sleep continues to be short, interrupted and restless; I’m now using Ambient on a regular basis in order to return to a more normal 6-8hr’s of sleep each night.  I’m starting to experience disruptive and more significant bone pains in my legs, hip and back and this contributes to my sleeping problems.  

I’m also experiencing an ever increasing degree of Peripheral Neuropathy in my feet and hands.  The neuropathy starts as a tingling and numbness of my feet followed by burning sensations, shooting pains, throbbing, aching, and a feeling of “frostbite” or a “walking on a bed of coals” sensation on the bottoms of my feet. This is quite disruptive to my sleeping and by the end of each day it causes a high degree of discomfort when walking. I was prescribed a new medication to relieve the neuropathy at my visit yesterday. Today it feels like I’m walking barefoot over a bed of glass.  It’s very uncomfortable to say the least.

Last week was quite a week, besides the medical issues, things at home weren’t as quiet and restfull as expected. It all started when a bird somehow made his (or her’) way into the house, then flew into the downstairs bathroom and sat there on the edge of the tub staring at me just before he went into an atomic burst of energy and flapped and threw himself up against the windows and then started bouncing from wall to wall. No...No…really this is a true story! After that the bird entered an opening in the wall beneath the sink. There’s a large “I forgot to Patch” hole surrounding the water pipes going to the sink. This began his multi day exploration of our walls and ceiling. It was the bird’s edition of where’s Waldo, or perhaps where in the world is “Mr.  Starling”. 

First he went up the wall crawling east across the kitchen ceiling then turning west back in the opposite direction until entering the walls of the 2^nd floor bathroom all the while announcing his progress by squawking, clawing and pecking his way through wall by wall from floor to ceilings and up and down stairs. Quite a startling event when sitting on the john and then hearing something in the wall next to you start chirping and trying to peck and crawl its way through the wall (cured my constipation)!! He then proceeded to climb up the ceiling to the 2^nd floor, (east again) into the ceiling of the 2^nd bedroom (west) and then back south west to the entry hallway wall and then straight up to bird heaven. Woossshhh…

And now to the Portuguese sweet roll…

This past weekend, Theresa and I travelled to Connecticut to go sailing with our friends Debbie and Jack. On Saturday afternoon I started to feel dizzy, a bit confused (Come on now... hold back the jokes) and then became completely disoriented and was slumped over the table trying to regain my composure when our friend Jack (aka-the “Dentist”), rushed out from the kitchen with a “Portuguese sweet roll!  Oh if only all my meds tasted as good as that roll! In a couple of minutes I felt fine and quickly returned to normal. This was a very sudden and odd feeling even more surprising was just how fast it ended. As it turns out, I experienced an imbalance of blood sugar due to a less than balanced breakfast.

That’s all for now hoping for a better time of it this week. Thank you for all your e-mails and phone calls of support.

Chemo Ken…and the Red dogs

Hot Diggity Dog -Time to Barbeque!

It’s that time of the year! Hot dogs beware…

I was off last week to rest up for my next Cycle of Chemotherapy starting today. Theresa and I fired up the grill and enjoyed some quality time together in Vermont.

I went to Dana-Farber early this morning to resume my chemotherapy treatments, thus starting my 6^th and final cycle of infusions.  As it turns out, my white blood cell count was low; this lowers my body’s resistance, affecting my ability to fight off infections. Since Chemotherapy lowers my resistance even further, my Doctor made the decision to postpone my Chemo today giving my body a chance to build my white cells back up. Instead, I received an injection of Neulasta which promotes the production of White Blood Cells; they also postponed my chemotherapy to next Monday 6/20.

That’s all for now…

Chemo Ken....

Chickens and a Brush with the worse job!

This week is my week off to rest up before starting the next Chemo cycle. I'm getting closer now to stem cell collection and then my stem cell transplant.
This week I had my whole dental office working on me to get my teeth ready to be the poster boy for “CREST TOOTHPASTE’! Can’t have any possibility of a dental infection after my transplant.

I'm feeling much better now having found the cause of my lightheaded/dizziness to be the Velcade infusions. I’ve been off Velcade now for two weeks and feel much better. I’ll need to resume the Velcade again in my next round of Chemo as we need to keep the pressure on the cancer cells until my stem cells are collected, although it will be at a reduced dosage. I won't chicken out on the medicine knowing that it will help me in the long run.

That’s all for now…thanks for checking in with my blog.

Chemo Ken & the Red Dogs

Let the summer begin!

I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend! We spent the weekend in Connecticut visiting friends and relatives. On Friday night we joined Matt and Maureen for a barbecue. On Saturday Christine and Ron invited us for a great Italian meal. Steve and Josephine were kind enough to let us stay with them in Branford Ct; we toured around the Branford waterfront and had lunch at an outside marina restaurant before driving home.

I ‘ve been feeling better and better each day, now that my Doctor took me off the Velcade infusions and cut my Dexamethasone in half down to 20-mg a week.  This reduces my visits to the Dana-Farber to 1-day a week. It’s been 10-days now since the changes in my medications and my lightheaded dizziness is almost completely gone. The past weekend is the best I’ve felt in over 2-months. My blood testing results from last week came back this morning and my numbers look great, many are at or very near normal counts.

I finish my 4^th cycle of chemotherapy tomorrow and then have next week off to rest. I’m scheduled to start my dental exams today in preparation for my stem cell transplant. All dental issues or potential problems need to be rectified before my transplant to eliminate the potential for any oral infections. I start my 5^th Chemotherapy Cycle on Monday June 13^th.

Chemo Ken and the Red Dogs…

Rocking and Rolling!

Good morning, today is Wednesday the 25^th; I’ve had a rough time of it these last two weeks. Just sitting here in my old rocker!

This cold really put me down and out on my back. The dizziness and light headed feelings were at an all time high, many times I felt as if I would certainly faint and have a bad fall. My heavy cough scared away even the bravest and surliest of the other cart pushers at the grocery store (not a complaint, I view this as an advantage to secure a quick and favorable position in any checkout line!). This past Monday we visited with my doctor he decided to remove one of my 3 chemotherapy drugs to see if it was responsible for my side effects, the dizziness and light headedness was becoming a concern.

We then met with a nurse from the transplant group to review the details of each step leading up to my stem cell transplant and subsequent hospitalization.  Before we start I have to have a complete dental check up to repair or replace any fillings, cavities or teeth that could pose a problem or befome infected during my hospital stay.

The process will begin on Thursday July 7^th with a mobilization Cytoxan chemo treatment. This will be followed by 9 days of Neupogen injections (given to me by my own NP, Theresa!) all this will lead to my 1^st stay in the hospital on Monday & Tuesday July 18 & 19^th in order to harvest and store my stem cells.

They have targeted Monday July 25^th for my sten cell implant  i'll be admitted to the transplant unit at the Brigham for 18-days until Thursday August 11^th. During this stay my immune system will be knocked down to 0% in order to kill off any and all remaining cancer cells. My contact with visitors is encouraged from 1pm to 9pm, however, this will be limited to 1 at a time and they will be required to wear a mask and gloves.  Anyone who has cold or other symptoms of an illness or who has been near anyone who is sick will not be admitted due to the danger of my contracting any illness, even a common cold could prove fatal when I’m in this state.  All my food will be specially prepared and sterilized in the basement (without windows) in the gulag of the Brigham, not exactly Wolfgang Pucks restaurant; all condiments have to be in sealed pouches.  I suspect this rules out anything from Bertucchi’s or the Napa/Sonoma Valley area!

This will all be followed by a 100-day Roman Feast, starting with my 10-favorite pizza’s, then featuring lobsters, clams and mussels from the un-sterilized ocean!!!  Detail to follow....

Cheers………..Chemo Ken



Looking for a Sign!

Hello everyone, I’ve been a little behind this week in updating my blog. I have this week off from Chemotherapy in order to regain my strength for the 4^th cycle starting next Monday 5/23.

Unfortunately, my immune system has been declining with each successive treatment cycle.  I caught a cold last week which has felt more like the plague!  I’ve been pretty sick now for over a week with a never ending cough and just overall body aches and pains.  I’m on my 3^rd box of Kleenex and my ears are ringing like the bells in Saint Mary’s Church tower!  Today is the 1^st day I’m starting to feel a bit better, I can see signs my health is slowly improving. It’s been 7 days now since my last chemo infusion, I’m usually back to my old self by now, perhaps the next cycle will be a bit better than this one.

That’s all for now, rain has finally stopped, yesterday we saw a large wooden boat go by with 2 of every animal in it, wow that was some rain storm last night!

Cheers… Chemo Ken & the Red Dogs

Finish Line in Sight!

Hello and welcome to Friday the 13^th, for all those who are superstitious … I don’t believe in all that hooey; oopss...just a minute, let’s see 1^st, I have to lower my left leg over the side of the bed and tap it three times...there... oh... now I have to light a white candle in the North window of the house..And... Then…walk backwards to the south window and tap my left foot two times…there done for this 13^th now I'll have good luck!!

Yesterday I finished my 3^rd round of Chemotherapy.  All my test numbers look very good and as a result, my Doctor will administer only 1 more Chemo cycle and then it will be time to prepare for my stem cell transplant!

The finish line is finally in sight! Next week I’m off for a week of much needed rest.  I start back on Monday May 23^rd with my 4^th cycle. I’ll keep everyone posted as my test results continue to come in.  After the 4^th cycle I’ll have 3 or more weeks of rest and then they’ll harvest my stem cells and make plans for my implant. Should be sometime in early to mid July, definitive dates still TBD. Will require a 2 to 3 week stay in the hospital...but…the...good news...It will be at the Brigham! I can sneak out to see all my friend there!  Ha ha, they will probably have me handcuffed to the bed! Oh, well...then you can sneak me in a pizza...I’ll trade you for a green Jell-O!

All of my side effects are now under control with the one exception being the light headedness and dizzy feeling I get when standing up quickly or walking up a flight of stairs. My Doctor suspects it’s a side effect of one of the Chemo drugs. Right now I’m feeling a little tired out due to a bad cold, looking forward to next week to rest up.

That’s all for now…

Chemo Ken and the Red Dogs….

Kleenex and Clouds!

Hello to all….today is Sunday afternoon and I’d love to tell you the sun is shining and everything is flowers, chirpy birds and music! But, after two days of constipation, a night of rain, and now a scratchy throat, runny nose and an ever deepening cough…..there just is now way around it, I feel like “Crap”.

But tomorrow’s another day! Off to chemo early in the morning, I’ll be finishing my 3^rd cycle next week.  If my results continue to improve, I could be completely finished with my Chemotherapy as early as the week of June 2^nd!  Next Wednesday we are meeting the Stem Cell transplant team for the 1^st time so we can start to prepare for my transplant sometime around the end of June or the beginning of July.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and Happy Mother’s Day!

Chemo Ken and the red dogs…

All's well in Mudville!

Just wanted to check in with everyone to let you know everything is status quo for now.  I completed my two Chemo infusions on Monday and today, I’m off until next Monday. Side effects still persist; however, my sleep is improving with use of med’s. 

My laboratory tests continue to show my body is responding well to the chemotherapy as my test results improve with every infusion cycle. This gives me an optimistic outlook for my recovery and remission.  Next Wednesday will be my 1^st introduction and meeting with the stem cell transplant team.  If I continue to progress at the current pace then I should be able to undergo my stem cell transplant by the end of the summer.

That’s all for now….Happy Mother’s Day to all you Mom’s out there!

Chemo Ken & the red dogs!

Tippy canoe and Ambien too!

Hello to all my friends, today is Sunday May 1^st my last day of rest before heading back to Dana-Farber tomorrow morning to start my 3^rd cycle of Chemotherapy.  After spending a week off in Florida, I feel rested and ready to resume my treatments.

Currently my health situation is as follows; 1^st and foremost, my taste buds came back over the past 2-weeks (Not sure just where they went?) Once I realized this, the 1^st thing I did was to run to the kitchen and make a Pepperoni, sausage and garlic pizza with gobs of cheese! Ah...to taste the finer things in life!

I'm experiencing three persistent side effects:

The 1^st side effect still is an unpredictable lower GI problem, while not cleared up completely, I’m now able to at least control my discomfort (my going and not going, that is) with the use of Colace and Metamucil, this is to help my train and all my packages arrive at the station On-Time! And Imodium for when I arrive at the station 10 times a day and each time I’m early (oh, and in a rush to unload all my packages! Get my drift…. If this continues you may want to consider buying some stock in Charmin.

The 2^nd is Insomnia; for this I’m recruiting the assistance of Dr Ambien and Mr. Lorazepam! The Ambien  knocks me out in about 15-20 minutes, and I sleep till 3-4am then in comes the Lorazepam and that carries me over till 6-7 am.

The 3^rd item, which seens to get worse every week, is the Neurologic side effects.  Just can’t shake this or get thru the day without experiencing these effects. I’m getting more light headed and dizzy every week. Whenever I get out of the car, walk briskly up a flight of stairs or stand up from a seated position quickly it takes all my strength not to faint/pass out and fall flat on my face. Everything goes gray, my head starts to spin my vision blurs my legs get wobbly and down I go, head down on the table and unable to get back up for 10-15 minutes.

Summary:  AKA…things I’ve learned…

·         You probably don’t want to be in the same bathroom line, before or after me! Buy Charmin stock!

·         No more Caffeinated coffee, tea or soda. But…Pizza and Italian foods are back! Red wine and alcohol are out, a glass of wine doesn't mix well with my medications.

Note: Although you can get a “DECAFFINATED” Venti, White Chocolate Cappuccino at Starbucks, it tastes like Milk of Magnesia...yuck…. Try Pepto-OhBismal with a shot of Jack Daniels.

I’ll end now with one last note, I want to thank Tony and Michelle for their hospitality and a wonderful traditional Italian dinner down in Sarasota Florida, we had a great time.

Well summer is almost here and I look forward to the day I can play golf again…hmm…  let me rephrase that (Too many of you know me), I'm looking forward to the day when I can learn how to actually "PLAY" Golf!  

So long for now…Chemo Ken!

Let the sun shine in...or..maybe not!

We are having very nice warm weather here in Florida. After 4 days now, I’m still struggling with the effects of the chemotherapy. I recovered quickly after my 1^st cycle but this time it’s taking longer and the side effects are limiting my activity and my ability to easily get around outside in the sun.

I’m having a bad reaction to the brightness of the sun, it’s impossible for me to go outside without a good pair of sunglasses at all times. Without them I’m close to being immediately blinded as I walk out the door; it’s as if I'm stairing directly into the sun, I get dizzy and my vision darkens and everything turns gray, I feel a vertigo type of dizziness.  Not to worry, I purchased a pair of “Moby the sunglasses” you know the ones that go over your eye glasses covering the side of your head, half of your ears and masking your eyebrows! They could double as a tinted windshield on a Volkswagen!  Since everyone here is over 75 and has their pair of “Moby’s”, I’m fitting in fine with all the locals!

Inside (out of the blinding sun) I’m still struggling with lower GI issues. Can’t seem to get the right combination of med’s to keep the log jam moving when it should and jamming when it shouldn’t!  NOTE: I’m speaking metaphorically here as my knowledge of the correct medical terms is limited, perhaps I can get some help from my friends at the PACU or the PATC !!!

Cheers….Chemo Ken

Happy Easter!

Best wishes to all on this Easter Sunday. Theresa and I are enjoying my week off from Chemotherapy down in sunny Florida. It’s been pretty quiet and relaxing here, and the weather looks much better than what the news is telling us about Boston’s weather!

My test results came back from my Chemo and the numbers look very good; my Oncologist has said I’m responding very well to the chemo treatments and many of my numbers have moved into a much more positive range. This is great news and leaves me feeling very optimistic for the future and end results of these treatments.

That’s all for now…..Chemo Ken

Headed in the right direction or stay to the right!

Good afternoon to all. Today is Wednesday the 20^th; I’m feeling much better after a rough start to this week.  All signs say that I’m headed in the right direction!  I’m going for my Chemotherapy tomorrow, this will complete my 2^nd Cycle of Chemo and I’ll be off next week to get a week of rest and recover from the treatments.

 Thank you to everyone for the calls and offers to help, they are much appreciated and came in handy on Sunday when I needed assistance.

That’s all for now… Chemo Ken…and the Red Dogs…

It all comes out in the "END"

Hello to another Monday!  I’m back at Dana-Farber for more chemotherapy today, now in my 2^nd cycle.  Not the best weekend, but at least I was able to get ½ a nice weekend in.  Saturday I was feeling fine, out watching a soccer game in the morning, great day…but then Sunday …. That’s another story.  I woke up early Sunday morning around 4:30am feeling pretty poorly; Upset stomach, indigestion, and severe constipation. Within a few hours I continued to decline until I was flat out on my back, or rather….firmly planted on the toilet seat for the better part of the day.

After a good night’s sleep I’m back on my feet today, my Chemo’s done for today and we just returned home, faster than the Boston Marathon!

Cheers…Chemo Ken

Donuts not Go nuts!

It’s good to have this week behind me, literally that is! This week hasn’t been as smooth as it was during my 1^st cycle of chemotherapy. Having a week off to let my body rest up was a nice break. Now that my second chemo cycle has started this week, all the medications are starting to catch up with me a bit.  My anemia has gotten a little worse, now I find myself short winded when walking up a long flight of stairs, followed by a dizzy light headed feeling; I’ve come close to fainting at times.  I’m also starting to have some tough nights due to an upset stomach followed by a round robin between diarrhea and constipation.

I think it’s important to maintain a solid positive attitude throughout this entire procedure. I’ve chosen to focus on the good that the medicines are doing and look forward to the end results of the treatments. I’m very optimistic about my outcome at the end of all of this, someone once said, “It’s better to focus on the donut rather than the hole”.

Cheers...Chemo Ken

Bye…bye….to Caffeine!

Well the time has come, after 30+ years of the caffeine rush it's over. Seems that 20mg of Dexamethasone and 4 cups of Caffeine = Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde Syndrome!

The day starts with kissing puppies & baby’s, then ends with choking the slow person in line in front of you at the grocery store!

My Doctor gave me a list of symptoms that indicates when you’re drinking too much caffeine. Thought I’d share them with you just in case you notice your experiencing any of them?

You know you're drinking too much coffee when...
...Juan Valdez has named his donkey after you.
...you can ski uphill.
...you get a speeding ticket even when you're parked.
...you answer the door before people knock.
...you just completed another sweater, and you don't know how to knit.
...you have to watch videos in fast-forward.
...the only time you're standing still is during an earthquake.
...you can take a picture of yourself from ten feet away without using the timer.
...you lick your coffee pot clean.
...you're the employee of the month at the local coffee-house, and you don't even work there.
...you've worn out your third pair of tennis shoes this week.
...your eyes stay open when you sneeze.
...you chew on other people's fingernails.
...the nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse.
...you can jump-start your car without cables.
...you have Styrofoam sofa covers.
...you don't need a hammer to pound in nails.
...you've worn out the handle on your favorite mug.
...you go to any kind of meeting, just for the free coffee.
...you walk twenty miles on your treadmill before you realize it's not plugged in.
...Starbucks owns the mortgage on your house.
...you've melted away your fillings.
...your face is on a Colombian postage stamp.
...instant coffee takes too long.
...you'd be willing to spend time in a Turkish prison.
...you go to sleep just so you can wake up and smell the coffee.
...you speak perfect Arabic without ever taking a lesson.
...your thermos is on wheels.
...your lips are permanently stuck in the sipping position.
...you short out motion detectors.
...you don't even wait for the water to boil anymore.
...you can play ping-pong without a partner.
...your nervous twitch registers on the Richter scale.
...your blood type is C₈H₁₀N₄O₂.
...you have monogrammed coffee filters.
...you drive around with a sign in your car that reads, "Coffee drinker on board."
...you made provisions in your will for your coffee supply.
...you took a second full time job just for the coffee breaks.
...your coffee mug has lip indentations on it.
...you've gotten this far in the list after just 30 seconds.
...you use coffee flavored mouthwash.
...your deep blue eyes are now shallow brown.
...you have your mail forwarded to a donut shop.
...you don't tan, you roast.
...you constantly speak like an auctioneer.
...your baby takes her milk steamed.
...your motto is "a cup a day keeps the doctor away."
...you don't get mad, you get steamed.
...you have "His" and "Hers" coffee makers.
...the Betty Ford Clinic opened a coffee ward just for you.
...you had to remove your car stereo to make room for your cup holder.
...if you had a nickel for every cup of coffee you drank, you'd buy more coffee.
...you carry a spare mug in your briefcase and trunk.
...when you hear there is trouble brewing, you say, "I'll have a cup
...your personal ad reads, "Coffee Lover. Must have own mug. Send photo of mug."
...you help your dog chase its tail.
...you registered for your wedding at the Starbucks.
...you carry a portable, battery-operated, coffee maker in your fanny pack.
...you soak your dentures in coffee overnight.
...you think the "free refill" is the greatest thing since sliced bread.
...your kids sing, "I'm a little coffee-pot, short and stout."
...your coffee mug is insured by Lloyds of London.
...you introduce your spouse as your "Coffeemate."
...you converted your car's radiator so you can brew up a pot while you drive.
...you think CPR stands for "Coffee Provides Resuscitation."
...you have a bumper sticker that says, "I break for coffee."
...at get-togethers you don't mingle — you blend.

...your first-aid kit contains two pints of coffee with an I.V. hookup.