Thursday, March 31, 2011

CHEMOTHERAPY-DAY ONE


I started chemotherapy to shrink the tumor at the junction of my stomach and esophagus. I was glad that Phil and Kim were there with me while I was connected to the various IV fluids. One of the drugs they gave me required me to be very well hydrated, so I started by taking in lots of fluids from the IV which goes via a needle into the port in my chest. I also drank about a gallon of water. I had to pee. When I dragged my tubes and IV pole across the small room, Phil got caught up in the tubing and accidentally pulled the needle out of my chest. Gitty, my fantastic nurse, was furious with Phil and shot him mean looks for the next hour. Luckily, she replaced the needle and the new set up worked better than the original. She and Phil made up. Not much later, we were trying to take a photo of all the water I was drinking and we knocked all the water over everything in the room. Thankfully Gitty wasn't there. It was a long day, but it was kind of fun. I'm on three different drugs to kill the cancer cells and two others that will help with the side effects. One of the drugs has to be pumped into me 24 hours a day, which requires me to wear a fanny pack with a pump that goes to my port (more on this in a later post). Afterwards, Phil and I watched American Idol and ate my new favorite ice cream, from Three Twins.

10 comments:

  1. you are all three brave heroes. xxxsusanna

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  2. Will you take a sharpee to the three twins label to make it look like you and phil and kim please?

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  3. Dave... Dan Ouellette here!! Very sorry to hear about the illness. Phil has been keeping me updated.

    Stay strong man... Had many close people in my family go through the process.

    Get better soon.

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  4. Dave

    Knowing you and Phil as well as i do, that scene in the room with Gitty cracks me up. I know that deep down you have always wanted to wear a fanny pack. I am glad that you had Phil and Kim with you on the first day of the chemotherapy. One day at a time. Speak soon.

    Chiefy

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  5. Your sense of humor about this is awesome. Keep it coming man! You have no idea how many others you inspire. And that ice cream looks good. Yum. I want some.

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  6. Looks good, Chemo-Sabe! I would totally chug that syringe full of whatever if you dared me to.

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  7. that gitty stuff cracks me up. isn't she that character on SNL played by kristin wigg?

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  8. Dude. Dave. This blog is amazing. You are amazing. Sending you a shit-ton of love from LA. We want you back out for AVLA asap. xo

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  9. Oh, man.

    I am so sorry to hear about this, but I have to agree, I am almost more sorry that I missed the entire Phil-Dave-IV-needle-Gitty moment from start to finish.

    I'm thinking about you, Davids.

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  10. maggie.danhakl@healthline.comApril 5, 2014 at 12:36 AM

    Hi Dave,

    Healthline just designed a virtual guide of the effects of chemotherapy on the body. You can see the infographic here: http://www.healthline.com/health/cancer/effects-on-body

    This is valuable med-reviewed information that can help a person understand the side effects they are experiencing from their chemo treatment. I thought this would be of interest to your audience, and I’m writing to see if you would include this as a resource on your page: http://eatdavelove.blogspot.com/2011/03/chemotherapy-day-one.html

    If you do not believe this would be a good fit for a resource on your site, even sharing this on your social communities would be a great alternative to help get the word out.

    Thanks so much for taking the time to review. Please let me know your thoughts and if I can answer any questions for you.

    All the best,
    Maggie Danhakl • Assistant Marketing Manager
    p: 415-281-3124 f: 415-281-3199

    Healthline • The Power of Intelligent Health
    660 Third Street, San Francisco, CA 94107
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