Difficult week on new chemo

Monday started off great.  I received my chemo and took home a pump that continues to pump 2.7 ml of chemo an hour over a 48 hr period. Thank God for the portable take home pump because a few years ago patients would have to spend 2 days in the hospital.  When I left Swedish in Ballard I felt great.  They fill you up with steroids and other stuff that make you feel great.  I felt so good I was flying around the house cleaning up everything in site and finished a couple small projects.  It wasn't until we were headed back to Swedish to return the pump that I started to have pain on my right side below the rib cage where your diaphragm starts.
When we I saw the nurse I explained the pain to her.  I had just eaten lunch before we left and drank 32ozs of fluid, so I thought it was gas rather then my liver. Since i didn't have any breathing issues they instructed me to call if it gets worse. While the pain never got worse, the only way for me to make the pain subside was to lay on my left side.  On my back or laying on right side was extremely painful.  The pain I was feeling wasn't a side effect of the 3 chemo blend that was pumped throughout my body.  So later that evening i called the after hours nurse.  15 minutes later my Dr called me.  Told me its possible there may be a blood clot or possibly the chemo was killing the cancer in the liver which will cause the liver to fight, which causes pain or its just a side effect from chemo. Thursday afternoon almost 30 hours after pain started I called and spoke to my Dr.  He scheduled a CT scan to rule out a blood clot.  Most of Thursday afternoon was spent at Swedish waiting for a CT scan. I finally got my CT scan around 5pm.  My Dr and his nurse stayed late waiting for me and the results.  Good news is there was no blood clots and liver and lung looked normal.  So this must be some strange side effect or its possible but unlikely the chemo would work that fast to kill the cancer.  My Dr sent me home with a prescription of pain meds and had his nurse follow up with me on Friday.

Friday morning came and I still felt sick with a sharp pain in my right side.  Finally it was around 10 am I took a couple pain meds in addition to the medical marijuana and i finally started feeling better.  Thank you Jesus!  Because having to lay on your left side for 48hrs sucks.  I stayed on top of the pain med cocktail and felt good enough to sit upright and could get up and move around for a few minutes without any pain or discomfort.  The only issue I had was constantly going from hot to cold.  One of the side effects from this new chemo is it causes you to be extremely sensitive to cold.  Anyway I finished up Friday on a good note.  Able to go to bed at 9pm and sleep through the night.  Something I wasn't able to do for a few days.

Today, Saturday I woke up feeling the best I've felt since Monday.  The pain in my side is pretty much gone and my nausea is also almost non existent.  I realized these past couple of days just how sick chemo can make you.  Ive seen my Mom & my Mother in law go through chemo and how awful it was for them at time but until you go through it you have no idea how bad it can make you feel.  I said to myself "If your mom can do it, so you can you!"

I'm truly thankful for my amazing family and friends who send messages of encouragement and help out any way they can.  Never underestimate the power of love!  It does wonders to ones soul.    

Thank You!

Thoughts of treatment on Tues Dec 16th

So far side effects of this chemo are minimal.  I am feeling the cold sensation they spoke about but so far not nearly as sensitive as describe.  I am still able to drink cold beverages which was something I was told to stay away from.  My wife says I feel as good as I do from the steroids and meds they fed me to help with the side effects.
When I left yesterday with to go IV pump, nurse said this was the biggest dose she had administered. Ive heard that every step of the way.  The Dr who preformed colonoscopy said that was the biggest tumor she had ever seen on someone as young as me.  Then the radiologist was freaked out about the amount of radiation that my oncologist wanted to prescribe.  I told my Dr I wanted to avoid surgery in the rectum if possible so he prescribed along with the radiologist an amount that would be equivalent to having surgery.  At one point my radiologist told me he had been thinking of me before he fell asleep. Worried that about the possible permanent damage that could happen to me. I was like whoa!  Look I knew and signed off on all of those potential side effects but like I told you before I'm all in.  I'm young and strong and I don't care that the odds are against me. I'm going for it!! This is a fight to the death and I appreciate my oncologist fighting for me to get the large doses when others may think he is going outside the box but so far I have handled the larger doses with very little side effects.  That may be because my body is strong but I also believe it has to do with all of the prayers and positive thoughts my family and friends send my way.  Never doubt the power of prayer.  I'm not going to let this get to me.  Cured or not, even in death I will win because of how I live out the rest of my life.

First Round of Chemo and Radiation

I started chemo and radiation the second week in September.  6 weeks of Xeloda and Radiation. Then I had 8 weeks of chemo (Xeloda) before I had a pet scan and CT scan on Dec 5th.  The Scan revealed that the cancer in rectum has shrunk tremendously and the cancer in lymph nodes had been resolved. YEAH!!  Unfortunately the metastatic cancer in liver grew by a small amount and found a new lesion that lit up on right lung. Disappointing news. :`(  So next up is the big guns.  Treatment called the fulfox which is a combination of 4 chemos.

Intro about me

My name is Bill Walters and I am the Pooper Trooper.  Owner of PooperTrooper.com a dog waste management company.  I am starting this blog as a way for me to catalog my events and to keep my family and friends updated about my current treatments and condition.  Maybe what I write will help those in the future who have to walk the same road I have to. I love music and without it I am a walking dead man.  I also love going to Seahawk games, craft beer, wine and spirits.  This is the first time writing in a long time.  My grammar and spelling isn't the best but hopefully my updates will be informative.

Day I found out I had cancer

It was just a regular day in June until I went to use the bathroom.  I soon realized the toilet bowl was full of blood.  My immediate reaction was to take a picture and send to my wife because she thought her day was bad, so I was going to one up her with my photo.  Soon we were off to the emergency room where a Dr told me I needed to get a colonoscopy and cancer at this time was the farthest thing from my mind.  I had to wait almost 5 weeks for my appointment because my only available day was Monday since one of my employees had quit I had to do those jobs and train the new hire.
When I awoke from the colonoscopy I knew something was seriously wrong when I saw several vials full of samples and the look on the Dr's face was one of concern.  She immediately told me that I most likely had cancer and that it was the biggest tumor she had seen in someone my age.  I immediately went for a blood test to check my CEA level and a cat scan.  Having just gotten a physical three weeks prior this came as a complete shock to me. I went home in shock and wondering just how bad my cancer is. Couple hours later my phone rang and I was told that there was a lesion on my liver about 2.5 inches in size and there were several smaller lesions and a couple extremely small lesions on the lung.  Ok, Now I am FREAKING OUT!!  When I heard this I was speechless and felt sick to my stomach.  Suddenly the only thing that matters in your life is your family and friends.  Of course the soonest you can get in to speak to an oncologist is a week!  Waiting to see the Dr was painful.  I cried a few times that week.  Thought of all the things I want to see and do in the next few years. Things like seeing what happens to your nieces and nephews.  I'm too young to die in the next few years.  I met with Dr Tolman.  Thank God for him.  I believe he is a perfect match for me.  He answers all my questions and is great at explaining things and told me what lit up in lungs is debatable whether its cancer or not. I was upset because I'm only 46.  They don't recommend a colonoscopy until 50.  My Dr assured me that most likely my cancer is genetic and the unfortunate thing about colo rectal cancer is, by the time you have symptoms its too late.  I am lucky enough to have a very aggressive form of cancer. Not! :)  He put me in a positive attitude and besides he used to play trombone and bass, loves to ski and drink craft beer and he was happy to give me a medical marijuana prescription the first day I met with him.  I left feeling very positive about my future even though the odds of a full recovery of stage 4 colorectal cancer is 10% at best.  Against all odds, I like my chances!