Still LivingSTRONG!

While I’m not 100% at the moment it doesn’t mean that the fun things have to stop. If the weather report holds up I hope to get in a short bike ride on Saturday morning before we head down to Seaside to watch my crazy cousin Alyssa take the polar plunge for Special Olympics. It looks like it will be a chilly morning but I need a ride so bad I actually HAVE screamed…. so, I’ll try to squeeze in a quick 20-miler or something like that.

I also registered for a couple of cycling events so that I could hold them out as goals to shoot for. One is the “Coast the Coast” event for Multiple Sclerosis. Amy and I will ride the tandem with our friend Missy Gervasini and her Missy Express team. Click here for my fundraising page.

And since Dan Nies has the ball rolling for Mintz’s Mentschen 2011 at Philly LivesSTRONG I also registered for that event. Click here for my fundraising page.

Here we go

OK, with treatments now happening every 2 weeks I better make this blog post quickly before the next one rolls around.

Tomorrow will be one week since the last treatment and I’m just about back to myself. We left Dr. Richards office last Tuesday and I remember my first thought being “yep, I remember this feeling. We’re definitely not in Kansas anymore”. This treatment was the first complete FOLFIRI protocol I’ve had so not only did it bring the much anticipated 5FU but it included the “FOL” (folinic acid/leucovorin) , the “F” (fluorouracil/5FU), and “IRI” (irinotecan/camptosar). Having the 5FU pump for two days wasn’t nearly as bad as having it for the 5 days as I did back in 2008.

I’ve been very tired and a bit on the green side. I can deal with those but what is of more concern is the affect that the 5FU is already having on my mouth. Oh well, nothing I’m not already familiar with and we’re all stocked up with “magic mouthwash” so I’m good to go. No joke, that’s what it is called. Go ahead and Google it.

Not much else to report on that I can think of. I’ll keep you all posted as best I can going forward.

Feeling very up

Gee, how time flies when you’re having fun. Tomorrow is treatment day and I’ll get to meet my old friend 5FU. I know it’ll do what it’s supposed to do and so I say “bring it on”.

The Cycle for Survival event was this past Saturday and it couldn’t have been timed any better. It fell at the end of a 2-week treatment cycle so I was able to take my turn as the last rider behind Grace Capato, Stephanie Tobler, Doreen Dunnigan, and Dan Nies as we split the 4-hour spin across 5 riders on one bike. I was feeling pretty good but didn’t expect the instructors to be as hardcore as they were. I hung in pretty well and felt quite badass while riding up out of the saddle. I totally enjoyed the chance to get some exercise and as you'd expect the energy in the room was amazing! There were 106 bikes so it was crowded and seriously pumped up. It all climaxed with a $4.2 million check presentation to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. They asked for patients/survivors to come up during the check presentation and that was an extra thrill for me to be up on the stage for. I have some pictures below from the event.

I had another terrific surprise at the event when I was able to meet Jennifer Goodman Linn. She is the 6x cancer survivor that started Cycle for Survival and in the 5 minute conversation I had with her I came away with a profound feeling of empowerment and positive energy. I’ve been reading her website and blog a bit today, http://youfearless.com/ . In a very short timeframe she’s given me a lot to think about with her “fearless” attitude. She is an amazing person and someone that I’m going to try and maintain contact with.

I look forward to doing this same event next year.

Presentation of $4.2 million to MSKCC

Heads down riding.... yes, I was hurting

Our team: Grace, me, Steph, Dan, and Doreen

Pre-ride quiet... 106 spin bikes

First one down

Treatment #1 for 2011 is in the books.

The discussion started, as expected, with a review of the information we received from Dr. Meng at MSKCC. Dr. Meng had agreed with the base drug we had planned, Irinotecan, but he took it a bit further by suggesting a protocol called FOLFIRI. And Dr. Richards was in complete agreement. The downside is that this brings us back to a drug, 5FU, that we used in 2008 and that is a bit on the nasty side. In 2008 I came home from each treatment with a pump to administer it over 5 days. This time it will be only a 2-day pump. Another downside of this protocol is that its standard is for a 2-week cycle instead of 3.

On the upside I’m confident that this will bring things back to where we need them to be.

Timing really couldn’t be any better for the Cycle for Survival event since it is at the very end of this 2-week cycle. I’m very excited for this and expect to have lots of fun with close friends while absorbing the good karma that I know will be flowing. I received an email today indicating that total fundraising for the event is now over $3 million. That is a record total for this event. Again, heartfelt thanks to all that have donated so generously.