I am a bit early (or late) for making this post. My next oncology appointment isn’t for another week or so, and I don’t get another CT scan for another four weeks after that. The good news is this chemotherapy drug (Afinitor) seems to be working quite well. It has kept everything stable for about six months now, which is within the expected effective working range of 12 – 24 months. The only side effect I have noticed is a sore in my mouth that lasted for about 24 hours. Other than that, I have tolerated this “poison” better than any other chemo I have tried in the past.
I will still post again when that appointment comes due along with an honest explanation of what the CT scan and blood labs show. If you read my Facebook posts, you know I was at the hospital last Saturday. This was not one of my typical ER visits caused by a pain crisis or any other side effect from cancer. Sonja called the infusion lab and my oncologist because I was living on Carnation breakfast drinks due to nausea and diarrhea. It is so hard to troubleshoot these symptoms because there are so many variables. These symptoms can all be caused by the Afinitor, cancer, my diet, or just the ordinary flu (except I had no fever). It was such a huge help that I think I will use the infusion lab more in the future. I should have known to ask about it because I used to get a bolus of fluids and on the days I flew from Indy to Denver to see Sonja. I would bet if you think you are drinking enough water, you probably aren’t. I immediately felt better after a bolus of fluids and Magnesium.
The main reason for this post is to ask you all a couple of questions. The first is on the frequency of my posts. I have generally posted when I see my Oncologist or when something comes up that I either feel strongly about or I think you would be interested in reading about. Would you like to see more frequent posts or are they just fine the way they are. The second question is in regards to the merchandise. I have had numerous requests for some JUKEMO gear. I have one order of shirts already ordered and received. My plan with merchandise is to order what you would like (shirts, sweatshirts, hats, etc.), then give 50% of the profits to LiveStrong to help people living with or surviving cancer. I ask because merch is not cheap! For example, to get 24 hats will cost me $29.99. Yeah! So I would probably sell for $34 – $35, which is pretty steep. I am still shopping for other custom clothing sites and I am not trying to make a living on all of this merch. The mission has been and always will be to document my journey with cancer with the hope that it may lend some guidance or support for someone going through similar circumstances. I have been fighting this for thirteen years now, and if my journey can help someone, then it is worthwhile.
So if you have a minute or two, leave a comment on Facebook or post to my blog site, and I will evaluate and see what I can do. I am redesigning the website with a few new features and I hope to have the commerce page included. I look forward to hearing your input!
Until next time, Just Keep Moving. #JUKEMO
KG
Post as much or as little as you want brother.
I’d definitely would buy a hat or shirt or both!