Cue up SGN #8!

The phonecall from Dr. Ram was good and I'll be going in for my 8th cycle tomorrow :) Surreal being happy about being able to continue on such a perilous/ambiguous path but I live in the moment these days! The unofficial word on my PET/CT by the way is still stable with improvement in some areas. I'll take it...

I'm getting really excited about going Up North :D It's a bavarian atmospehere at this place called Boyne Resorts and found out they do have a killer hottub! The drive itself is fun as you slowly get out of the city then more and more trees and less and less houses... I've got some pretty sweet skiing gear that I've been accumulating the last couple of years and haven't really been able to use. I'm counting on getting a "boost" from my infusion. It's happened a couple of times after I got the drug and hoping this is one of those times. If this happens and my legs are strong enough I'll be doing some snowboarding. If I have decent energy and weak legs I'll probably just ski. If both my legs and energy are shot I'm hoping they have downhill tubing as all I have to do is sit on my keeshter (sp?!) and laugh my ass off while I slide down the hill.

Good times!

Happy New Year!!

Getting a Grip :)

So I read my rant last night and it's not as bad as I thought it was after I wrote it. It's seems strange to me that I put my thoughts out there as I never really was one to open up about things before I was diagnosed. I'm actually proud of myself as I think it takes guts to share this kind of stuff, especially in a society where it's not exactly the norm for men to share their feelings on things. Like I've said many times before, it's good therapy for anyone going through life threatening illness. Hell, I think it's helpful for anyone who's going through anything stressful. I've gone to therapists when I lived in Seattle and here and can say I never felt as good walking out of their offices as I do when done blogging.

I had my PET and CT scans a few hours ago and glad to be done with em. Here in Detroit, I have to have two separate scans as they don't have a PET/CT machine at my center. I was spoiled in Seattle as all my tests were done in one building on one machine. It usually took a little under two hours whereas here I have to go to two different buildings and it takes over 4 hours. I suppose I'll find out if the news is bad via telephone call telling me not to come in for infusion on the 30th. There would have to be clear cut evidence of at least 20% growth of existing lesions/tumors or multiple new areas of disease. I'm cautiously optimistic...

So if things work out, I'll be getting SGN-35 #8 Wednesday morning. Then, I'll be jumping in a car to drive up to Northern Michigan to go skiing for New Years, ha!! I have no idea how I'm going to ski with these weak legs but will figure it out when I get up there ;) If I can't ski, maybe I can find a hottub somewhere. I've always loved soaking in a hottub outside in the dead of winter. It's great when you step out of the tub with all the steam coming off your skin! It's going to be cool being up north, hope we get some good snow.

Tomorrow I'll be getting together for dinner with the other half of my family and will be joining my stepbrother Chris. Just wanted to wish him all the best as he prepares to leave for Afganistan on January 9th.

If I can't post till after New Years, Happy one to you! Here's to good things to come in 2010...

Chris

Maddening!

2:22 a.m.

Being deprived of sleep... I can understand why this is one of the more effective interrogation methods. Combine this with constant physical discomfort or pain and you can pretty much get people to dish... Case in point, me constantly spilling my thoughts out into the blogosphere, ha!

I feel sometimes like I'm losing my grip on this reality. I was just sitting here thinking how long it's been since I've felt like "myself" and wondering if I'll ever truly be at peace with all of this...

I also realized how irritable I've been (for me at least) for the last x number of months. There are so many things that I used to just blow off... It seems like work now to do this and it seems like I'm always compelled to speak my mind or prove a point that I would previously (before dx) just let go. It's a burden and I need to figure out a way to squash this. Books haven't helped (only temporarily) and I don't feel like adding any more medications to my already overly toxified body. Case in point, I probably shouldve taken a sleep med tnight but was afraid to do so after I've been having to take more pain meds as usual due to the fibromyalgia and neuropathy that has peaked the last couple of days. All I can think about is I don't want to end up like Heath Ledger or Michael Jackson although I'm sure I have a long way to go for this to happen.

Anyway, when I say it's a challenge to manage a situation like the one I'm in it's about as big as an understatement as
one can make! Thus, my renewed quest to keep my life as simple as possible... Is this possible? I guess time will tell. I go back and read my previous posts and it seems like when I'm sleeping ok and relatively pain free I'm more at ease which I guess is easy to figure out. I look back with amazement how simple my life was when I didn't have the burden of this disease haunting me, crazy. I had no idea how good I had it! Perhaps there will be a day where I look back on days like today and think the same thing and that scares me... Did I mention how messed up cancer is?!

So I'm going to post this now (without proofing) and sure I'll regret it tomorrow.

Maybe with this off my chest I can get some rest...

Bye Bye Hair...

Well I was notified over Christmas that the hair I waited so long to grow back has decided to say Adios again. I knew it was happening after noticing it in my sink everyday down in Florida. However, it's not very ofter that I look at the top of my head so I guess I really didn't know the extent till now. Good thing I live in a warm climate ;)

Maybe I'll ask for a rug for my birthday, ha! Or, I'll just whip out Chili's dog clippers and shave it off again. Good times...

C'est la vie

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to my few loyal readers! It's nice to be home after two years straight of being in treatment and not able to travel. This time last year it was just my Mom, my cousin Kenny and me out in Seattle. While we had a great time, it felt like I was in jail or something not being able to do what I wanted...

Yesterday I hung out at my Mom's and the family all came over for dinner and to exchange gifts. It was nice to see everyone and just relax (although I was super tired from not being able to sleep the previous night from muscle aches). Today was nice too hanging out at my Dad's although I had to cut it short due to radiating shooting pain in my arm and hand. We were watching the latest Star Trek movie and I felt like there was acid flowing through my veins in my right arm. Yes, Santa brought the SGN-35 pain back just in time for Christmas ;) He also brought me a painkiller which I just took and will hopefully take a nice nap.

It was interesting last night watching this special on CNN called the history of Jesus. I had no idea that Christians didn't start celebrating Christmas until 400-500 years A.D. It was also interesting learning about the brutal Titus and the Nostic scriptures that were found centuries later. If anyone has a chance to watch that program On Demand or something, I recommend it.

So it's time to go down for a nap and let this pill hopefully work it's magic. Counting down until Monday where I go in for my all important PET/CT scan. I'll be finding out if my disease is stable or better so that I can continue on the trial. I've been thinking about my options lately if the scan is favorable... This pain is getting unbearable and seriously starting to hinder my quality of life (after the first week of infusion). I read a post by a fellow Hodgkins survivor/friend who said that she was going to ask her doctor if she could take a break from the trial and go back on at a later date for compassionate use as she too is suffering from debilitating side effects. Like I previously stated, there's a new drug getting ready to start here at Karmanos called RAD001. I was thinking that I could possibly stop the SGN-35 trial and get on this other one. I'll only do this though if I have the option of getting back on SGN as the overall response rate for RAD is 50% and obviously the most important thing right now is managing the disease (even if it means permanent nerve damage). I know this sounds crazy but such is life with refractory cancer, you just don't have many good options.

Anyway, seems like this has turned into sort of a bummer post but I have to get this stuff out or it eats away at me... Other than the obvious, life is good however and I'm just glad to be alive and feel relatively well (I stress relatively).

I hope that whoever reads this has had an enjoyable holiday and thanks to everyone who has been so caring and supportive to me, you know who you are :)

Peace



Santa brought Chili the biggest rawhide I've ever seen! Thanks Uncle Tom / Aunt Linda!



Blurry but funny :D



My new stepniece Maddy and Elmo!

Tis the Holiday Season!

My Delray family, from left Elise, Ramil, Dan, Celia :)

I'm starting to feel it! Even though I'm living down in the tropics, I'm starting to get into the holiday spirit. People here in Florida seem like they go over the top when it comes to celebrating maybe because it's not so "Christmasy" here without the cold weather and snow. I was out at this local pub last night and people were coming in dressed in holiday outfits, santa get ups, crazy Christmas hats etc... It was funny and festive and everyone seemed to be in a good mood :)

I've really been enjoying the outdoors too having been fishing, snorkeling and today surfing! They were all fun with interesting little things happening during each activity. First, there was the noseeum attack at John Pennekamp State Park in Key Largo FL. I had just finished an awesome snorkeling session where I had a chance to swim with a huge school of parotfish right off the bat... The rest of the session was all gravy including the boat ride back which was awesome as the sun was setting. It got weird from here... I was in the parking lot getting my stuff together when all of the sudden I started feeling little pricks on my left arm. I looked down and there were a couple of these tiny bugs with wings. I started to swat the things off and before I knew it, I was covered... I couldn't get them all off of me and had to start the car and drive so the wind would blow em away. Unfortunately, the damage had been done... I counted last night and I have over 80 super itchy bites all over my arms, legs, chest, neck, scalp (somehow) and face. In fact, the other night I was awaken a couple times because I was so itchy, man... It's 4 or so days later and I'm still itching but think the worst is over.



These are almost as itchy as when I had the "Hodge Itch"



The boat ride out to Pennekamp State Park snorkeling



The "pigeons" at Pennekamp State Park, ha!



Pennekamp State Park lagoon

Went out fishing the other day and it was really fun too. The seas were 2' or less and I was on a 50 something foot party boat. It was a little crowded with 18 people but still managed to catch 10-12 fish and a couple of keeper Mutton Snapper. I didn't think I was going to make it out as my buddy and me were sitting up top and all of the sudden the aluminum supports holding up the canopy snapped and one of the rods fell squarely on my arm, yikes! That was pretty painful and they had to pull out the first aid kit and bandage me up. Playing hard! There was an old guy next to me and I thought he was dead as he laid on the deck motionless... I think he was looking for a big payday after finding out the thing didn't even touch him, funny. So needless to say, I really worked for my dinner on this fine day :) Good times!



Mmmmm, Mutton Snapper!



The fish look small but they're legal, 16". I caught larger Red Grouper but they have to be much bigger to keep. That little white spot on the collar of my t-shirt is from a bird who was having target practice out on the water, lol.

Which brings me to todays surfing session. The air temperature was actually colder than the water. I had to bust out my wetsuit and glad I did because it was still a little chilly with it on. It was really beautiful out on the water, wow. Even though I didn't catch any waves, it was great just getting exercise paddling and as you'll see by the pics, the sky was unbelievable :) I borrowed my buddy's board and thinking of getting my own now after such a great experience out there.



Some guy catching a ride on the inside at Delray Beach



The "natural area" between A1A and the ocean at Delray Beach



The sky was beautiful this evening, imagine looking up at this from the water!



You really forget about all of your worries when you're out on the water, at least I do... So glad I feel good enough to be able to do all this stuff and hope I can for at least the rest of this winter.

As far as how I'm feeling, it's been pretty good so far after my infusion which was 10 days ago. I haven't had the the muscle aches except for here and there in my arms and hands. My back's been feeling ok (actually no pain after a drink). In fact, without sounding cocky because I'm sure I'm wrong, but I think my disease is minimal right now. Hoping I'm right and it stays this way until my PET scan on the 28th. One thing that seems to be getting worse though is the neuropathy as my hands are getting pretty numb. In fact, I had a hard time putting the hook through the sardine when I was fishing. I'm still able to type and play my guitar so that'll be my baseline. If I can no longer type or play, I'll have to get off the trial. I plan to ask for a new medicine next time I go in called Lyrica as some of my Hodge collegues have reported success with it.

That's it for now, hope to post around Christmas.

Happy Holidays Everyone!!

More Relaxing...

So I've been back down for a couple of days and thankfully I'm much more relaxed. Also, the pain is pretty much gone which is great. I know that the drug really works as I can feel a major difference in my back pain and my side where my disease mostly is. It's weird too that the muscle aches go way down during the first week as if they're brought on by the drug leaving my system or something. I think the cancer gets active again during the last 7-10 days of my infusion schedule as the drug starts to leave my system and this contributes to my back pain etc... Who knows, just trying to enjoy a couple days of feeling better. The neuropathy is still there though so I have to keep my eye on that.

By the way, wanted to put a Chanukah song up for the large Jewish population down here! I like this one almost as much as Adam Sandlers Turkey song, ha! Went down to Ft. Lauderdale last night for the annual boat parade on the Interoastal. It was pretty cool. There were some pretty heavy rains so it was funny wathcing all the people out partying on their yachts then having to duck under cover when the sheets of rain came down!



This was the house across the canal from where I was. The owner apparently did it all himself while running a dental practice. The electrical bill is $100 a day!



One of the bigger decorated yachts...



Another



The Simpsons/FOX channel yacht

My place is done for the most part. Just need to finish off the hole in the kitchen wall project and maybe get a tv stand and other knick knacks. I even have my screen porch habitable which is an accomplishment. The only thing missing though is Chili who I decided to keep up in Michigan with my Mom and Rich. Miss that little stinker :(



Shot of my living room. All second hand furniture except couch covers and rug. Had to get into the Christmas spirit too with the icicle lights around the ceiling :)

Looking forward to warm sunny weather this whole week! Crazy, I just left Michigan a couple of days ago and it was in the teens, ouch! Sorry to all my friends and family up there who have to put up with it. I've got an extra room down here if anyone wants to come visit!

See ya :)

SGN-35 #7

So I had my 7th infusion today... I talked with Dr. Ram and he's concerned about my muscle aches and neuropathy. He told me if it gets any worse I may not be able to continue on the treatment as the neuropathy can do permanent nerve damage. He said the muscle aches would eventually go away though. Of course none of this will really matter if after my PET/CT scan my disease shows to be progressing.

If any of these scenarios happen all is not lost... The plan then would be localized radiation then on to another trial that's getting ready to start at Karmanos called RAD001. It's shown to have an objective response rate in Hodgkins of 50%. Not great but not bad. I have no idea what type of side effects or how often I'd have to have treatment but will do some research.

I'm going to do my best not to think about any of this as I'm leaving to go back to Florida tomorrow and just want to enjoy myself.

The scans are on the 28th and if all's well, my next infusion of SGN-35 will be on the 30th.

Hoping to be able to go into the 2010 with some decent news...

Ah, Internet Access...

So nice to switch on my computer and know I can instantly get on the internet! I didn't really like my post last night as I was half asleep and not very coherant. I think my blogging is a little rusty ;) Anyway, the thoughts I have on South Florida didn't come out as eloquently as I'd like them to. So, I will expand on this at a later date after I've lived down here a little longer. It's definately worth writing about...

Anyway, I snapped a couple shots of the outside of my place for S and G's. Once I'm done with my projects in here, I'll post some pics of the inside.

Cheers :)



Shot of the common courtyard in my Quad



My wreath looks strange with the palm trees...




The pool!

Howdy

Well, it's been a while since I posted, sorry. I just today was able to get my internet going and have been super busy working on my place. It's starting to come together though and feeling more comfortable here every day.

It certainly is different here in Florida... While the scenery and weather are beautiful, it's taking me a little longer to get used to the "attitude" of the some of the Northeast transplants and the retirees with all due respect. It's weird, people are moving at such different paces, I need to find the happy medium. I also have to figure out a way to avoid the superagressive young drivers and the overly defensive older drivers. I'm getting better at yelling obsenities out the window and getting quicker and more clever with my "bird". The other day I flipped it out of my moon roof for extra added effect, ha! It's actually nice to release tension this way, funny. Maybe the New Yorkers have it all figured out. Just let it out and you'll feel better! This includes the car horn which gets used more than anywhere I can remember living. I still tend to believe avoidance is the best policy but that's just me. I mean, do you really have to sneak into that void one lane over going 75 miles an hour just to gain 5 seconds on your commute? And if the person behind that void decides to speed up, should they be subjected to every expletive in the book and 10+ second honk? I'm not so sure but I grew up in the Midwest...

I was thinking the other day, I kinda know what the retired folks are feeling as they enter into their "golden years". There is a sense of entitlement (as there should be) with these folks as they have paid their dues so to speak. I have to admit I selfishly have also felt this sense of entitlment with what I have gone through and with the possibility that my days may be numbered (relatively speaking, I know all of our days are numbered). I also find myself moving at a slower pace, making sure I'm taking all this in.

I have been working pretty hard though for a refractory cancer survivor! Case in point; I found this old oriental type rug at this resale shop I've been frequenting called Faith Farm Ministries. It was sitting out back and I asked the guy what they wanted for it and he said $10! I thought to myself I can't go wrong, it's only $10 right? So, the guy loaded the thing in my car and I took it home thinking it just needs to be cleaned and I've got myself $500 rug. Big mistake... First, I spread it out in the green area adjacent to my condo. I mixed a concoction of pine sol, amonia and baking soda thinking this would kill the germs and any odor it had. So I scrubbed it down with the solution and rolled it back up. I failed to take into account how heavy a wet 10x13 rug is when wet! It was heavy enough when it was dry... So, I managed to somehow drag it into my place and get it unrolled into my living room. That alone was enough to fry every muscle in my body. I had rented a rug doctor and proceeded to extract the moisture and then do two passes with the rug doctor solution. To make a long boring story short, the experiment didn't work! I think some dogs or cats decided to make this carpet their urinal and the thing stunk up my place something awful. I had to get it out here pronto, nasty! Live and learn I guess...

I also decided to cut a hole in my kitchen wall, ha! Still working on that one... I have found some good deals that were keepers (on furniture and such) though. I bought a couch and a loveseat for $20! I used the rug doctor to steam clean em and found some decent couch covers at Big Lot's. Old couches are always more comfortable aren't they? I also found a couple of dressers and some end tables for cheap. I broke down and bought a new rug for my living room from Target. The only thing I need now is a coffee table and possibly a tv stand and I'm good to go.

So, I fly out of here Wednesday morning and have treatment in Detroit on Thursday. I then fly back down here Saturday the 11th until Dec 23rd. It's all fun stuff from here on out as my place will be finished for the most part. Actually I don't mind working on my place but maybe at a slower or more infrequent pace. I've noticed that since I've been sick I need to have order in my surroundings maybe to compensate for the disorder that's going on inside my body (and sometimes my psyche). I already feel more at peace with everything pretty much in place here. As for my body, can't always say the same unfortunately. It's day 18 of my infusion schedule and the body aches are in full effect. I also feel like the lesions on my spine might be getting worse as my back is extra sore. Hoping this is just from me working around here though of course. I have a required CT scan on the 30th and should know more then.

Strange, when I don't write this stuff down, I don't think about it as much. Maybe there is something to be said about going balls to the wall. Oh wait, I already wrote about that before ;) Well, this next experience down here will be more outdoorsy stuff if I have my say (the weather hadn't been cooperating the 4 previous days to this one). Really quick funny story, I decided to go use the pool today to take advantage of the sunshine. So I float down to the bottom of the pool poroise style with my arms at my sides while having my eyes closed. Next thing I'm shocked to feel my chin scraping the bottom of the cement pool, ouch! So now I have a nice little raspberry on my chin, ha! Good excuse to grow a beard or goatee if I can get enough hair to grow on my face (the hair growth has been thinning out since SGN-35, in fact, my legs are skin only now, weird). Anyway, this should add to my nice collection of scars I've accumulated over the last couple of years. You can actually see one on my forhead of the below picture when I got sunburned in Death Valley. I of course have the scars from the biopsies and port placement/removals on my chest. There's a nice one on my arm from a battle with Chili and waiting to see what this turns out like on my chin. For whatever reason, I tend to scar really easily these days... Who needs tattoos right?

Anyway, time for some rest. I'll try and post some pics of my place and scars (ha!) next time.

Later-

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just wanted to have an excuse to post with Adam Sandler's Thanksgiving song in the background ;)

To all my friends and family,

Thanks!!

Me n Chili driving...

Well I’m back in the D after some serious driving the last couple of days. I decided to follow my GPS route instead of taking the standard I75 all the way up and it’s a much nicer drive plus a lot faster. I think I did the whole trip back in less than 20 hours which is cookin! I also had my first incident driving which is pretty good considering I've driven around the country a couple of times since June. I was in Ohio and they were working on the freeway and got caught in the left lane next to a line of semi trucks. I couldn't merge in when the lane ended and smashed into all of the orange barrels knocking my side mirror off and almost giving myself a heart attack. Luckily I was ok and unfortunately didn't have a chance to get the licence plate of the truck that cut me off. I have to say the incident did wake me up though as I was starting to feel kinda tired prior to that happening. I think I'll be flying down to Florida from here on out...


Chili "getting low"...

I’m here at Karmanos for my 6th infusion, waiting for the required pre-infusion blood draw. It’s amazing how every time I come for these (and most of my past appointments) I’m the only person my age in the place. I mean, 90+ percent of the time it’s mostly older people waiting in these chairs. I was having a conversation with a woman who has incurable breast cancer and she was talking about how “God meets you where you are”, interesting… She was also preaching how we’re the one’s controlling what’s going on with our survival, basically our attitudes. I agreed with her it’s important to keep a positive attitude but challenged her by asking how someone in a third world country could “control” their survival with a positive attitude. I guess I get tired of cancer cliché’s sometimes…


Took this at Delray Beach G.C. Amazing how something seemingly dead (palm tree) sustains and supports new life (young banyan? tree)...

The infusion was a success (although very long) and I’m here back at the house the next day completely exhausted! Feels like I haven’t slept in weeks. I don’t remember feeling this tired but probably because I was that tired before (thus not remembering!) if that makes any sense.

So, I think I’m going to spend the day in bed today, just seems like the thing to do. I know the energy will come back and I’ll be able to enjoy the weekend. Hard to believe I’m going to be home for the Holidays this year! The last two have been spent out in Seattle completely sick and not able to travel due to treatment. Should be nice to see the family :)

That’s all I have energy for right now! Took me two days to write this, jeez…

If I don’t post before Thanksgiving, happy one to you!

Re-Connected :)

Shot of my walk down to beautiful Delray Beach FL

Wow, what a nice surprise. Just got back to my place after watching some football with friends and decided to give my computer another try after not being able to connect for 4-5 days. Success! I'd been using the "beachbum" signal which is the only unprotected signal in this complex and for some reason it wasn't available lately. I obviously haven't had a chance to get Comcast over to hook up my internet :)

Anyway, now that I have a chance, just wanted to say that things are going well and I'm really enjoying SoFlo! The weather has been so nice the last few days and I've been getting out everyday doing something fun. I've been able to take a bikeride to the beach, do some surfing (body and longboard), play golf, hit an art show, try some great bars/restaurants in between working on my place and resting, ha! It's really nice here...


The sand is really soft


The water is nicely blue and warm


There's some really sweet looking birds here too!

I've still been really achy all over and numb in my extremities but it makes it so much easier to deal with being active. I think the worst of it is over too... I've noticed that the "discomfort" peaks 6-7 days away from infusion and gets a little better as I get closer to Tx day. I have to drive back to Michigan on Tuesday so hopefully I'll be good by the time I have to drive.

My place is coming along... I've pretty much got it all re-painted but I've still got a ways to go before it's comfortable here. I think I have a line on some couches through my buddy which he'll let me use and a futon leftover from an estate. The other stuff I can fill in next time I'm down in December and it should feel pretty homey here by then :D

So like I said, I'll be leaving Tuesday and will be staying in Michigan through Thanksgiving and up until my next infusion on December 4th. I'll be doing one more drive down here probably on the 6th of Dec. and stay down here till just before Christmas. After that, I'll be commuting through the air as the drives are a little tough on the ole back. Not to mention, my car has 130,000 miles on it now and don't need it breaking down mid route.

I would like to send out prayers for Jeremy from Brooklyn and the Hodgkins board who just found out his stem cell transplant failed and also has refractory Hodgkins. He's going to be doing Bendamustine (trial) and hoping he gets relief from his symptoms quickly. I know how awful a time this is for him and his wife Maggie right now. Here's the link if anyone feels like leaving a positive comment.
http://forums.lymphoma.com/showthread.php?t=44792

Hope all's well with everyone!

Take care, Chris

Yikes!

Wow, just posted a few hours ago how the muscle/joint pain hasn't been that bad and here it is 4:57 in the morning and I've been awaken by burning 6-7 pain in my arms and back... I think the fishing trip is taking full effect. This is pretty harsh. Just took two pain meds and praying this goes away and I can go back to sleep.

What the hell!

I should've remembered, the last week of my infusion schedule is always the hardest and sure enough, my next infusion is 7 days away...

Uggghhhh

Settling In

So I've been down here a few days now and it's nice to be in South Florida! There's been some winds and spotty showers as result of Ida but the weather is still nice :) I went out fishing yesterday on a commercial boat and there were 6-8' waves! I managed to avoid getting seasick but only caught one fish for my efforts (red grouper, under legal size). My buddy Danny got a couple of Mutton Snappers though and gave me one to bake tonight (whole fish, skin and everything) and it was delicious :p

Since it was a little rainy today, I decided to paint my place and glad I did. The tenants I had living here must've been Pittsburgh Steeler fans because the place was painted yellow and brown, nasty... I picked a nice soothing color called Pueblo which I've used before in Michigan. I'm starting to feel at home :) I've also managed to find some deals at the resale shop and pretty much have my room furnished now. I'll keep adding stuff as I find it for the living room and 2nd bedroom. It's nice to be able to finally live in my place down here!

I feel a little bad for Chili as I think she misses her grandparents up in Michigan (she was pretty spoiled ;). I need to find out where the dog parks are around here so she can meet some friends, ha!

Speaking of friends, it's good to be around a couple of my oldest buddies, Dan and Ramil. We pretty much grew up together in Michigan and they've been down here for over 10 years now. I would come and visit but it was tough to just hang out due to busy schedules etc... These guys are like brothers and I can walk over to Dan's and ride my bike over to Ramil's or drive 5 minutes. He actually lives with Dan's brother who happens to be a great guy too.

So the plan from here is to continue to get my place setup the rest of this week and then enjoy the weekend. I kind of feel like I'm working again, not a bad feeling ;) I've got to start driving back up to Michigan by Tuesday so I can make it to Karmanos next Thursday afternoon for my 6th infusion. My muscles and joints don't seem to be as sore but my back is pretty sore and I've got constant neuropathy now in my fingers and feet. In fact, it's hard to feel the keys as I type this. Even though this neuropathy is pretty uncomfortable, I'd rather have it than the muscle/joint aches. I've pretty much accepted that I'll have to deal with these kinds of issues for the rest of my life. It's all about how you manage it however and like managing the mental aspect, the key is staying busy ;)

So the plan for tomorrow is to ride my bike to the beach in the morning and take a swim in the ocean :D I'll come home in the afternoon, finish painting then take a nice nap. I'm fitting in with all the retirees down here, ha!

Hope to post some pics next time of my place and some stuff around town.

Shaka :)

Just Another Day in Paradise!

I remember going on a fishing charter here in South Florida a few years ago and this was the answer I received when I asked a mate on the fishing charter "Sea Mist" after asking him how he was doing! You could tell he didn't have a whole lot but got to go out on the ocean everyday and do what he loved... I think he also said it a little tongue in cheeck as things arent exactly perfect here but could be a lot worse let me tell you.

So the ride down to Delray was really fun! Had a chance to stop in Nashville which was pretty cool. I had no idea how big of a city it is! Forgot they're home to two professional sports teams the Predators and Titans. It's really clean there and you could tell the music scene looms large based on driving down the streets and hearing live music pour out of the venues.



An Elvis sighting in Nashville!



Nashville also feels and looks like a big city which it is...

I then made a stop in Chattanooga as Nashville really wasn't accessible to park and hang out due to having all my stuff (including my bike) strapped to the outside of my car. Because of this I decided against crashing in Nashville and "Nooga" seemed perfect. I'm really glad I did because I had the best BBQ meal of my life at a place called "Sticky Fingers"!! I was convinced by one of the patrons to order the combo platter which consisted of a half slab of ribs and 5-7 of the meatiest chicken wings I've ever had. You get to pick your favorite sauce and I was advised to get the dry rub and then try the different sauces for dipping. It was out of this world!
After this huge meal, I had to crash and found a hotel and did just that.



The best Damn BBQ I ever had!!

The next day I decided to make a stop in Savannah GA. What a great place! I guess the best way to describe it is with a word I don't use very oftern, charming ;) There's tons of history here and the people are really friendly. The trees are great too! I guess they shot one of my favorite movies in parts of Savannah, Forest Gump. Remember when Forrest was telling his story to those folks on that bench in the park... That was Savannah :)



Ah Savannah, where Forrest said the famous line, "Life is like a box of chocolates..." How appropriate ;)



Me and my date Chili at the famous Vinni Van Coco's pizza in Savannah!



Mighty kind of a Savannah artist to display one of his "Chili originals" outside his shop, ha!

From Savannah, I decided to check out another great old American city St. Augustine! In fact, "St. Auggie" is the oldest city in the U.S. Hell, they even have an old fort there! Also had a chance to say hello to fellow Hogdkins survivor and friend Anastasia. She is just finishing up treatment and looking forward to good news on her post treatment CAT scan of NED! Go Anastasia!



The beach in St. Auggie



They have an old Fort here the Spanish used to use when they controlled Florida in the 1600's



Great old Church in St. Augustine FL

So this brings me down to my new digs here in Delray Beach Florida! I've been busy getting my place together and it's starting to come along. I'm sure I'll find some time for fun this upcoming weekend when the weather starts to cooperate a little better. It's supposed to be sunny and 80 by Thursday so I've been using the windy sometimes rainy weather to hit all the resale shops looking for furniture to outfit my condo. I'm thinking I may go all out and actually put a pool table in my living room to go along with my bachelor pad theme, ha! We'll see... I'm here until early next week some time where I'll have to drive back up to Michigan for infusion 6 of SGN-35. There starting to accumulate (the cycles) pretty quick.

With that said, I'm still doing ok except for the same ol same ol. In fact, I woke up at 3:30 this morning and couldn't go to sleep so I thought doing a post might put me to sleep. Weird when you feel the creative juices flowing...

More on Florida and it's goings on's down the road...

Sorry it took me so long to post :)

Preparations

So I mentioned I was going to post the results of my last PET/CT scan and decided that I really don't care what the report says. I mean, it's all about how I'm feeling and lately I've been feeling pretty damn ok (good would be the next step)! It's a lot to say that I feel "ok" with what I've been through in the past and how I've felt the past two years. I still deal with the same aches and pains but think I've learned how to manage them now and haven't let my life be affected by it.

As a matter of fact, I think I'm ready for another adventure! So, off I go tomorrow down to Florida :D I have an empty place waiting for me and the weather here isn't getting any warmer. The leaves are off the trees and it's time for me to go, ha! I of course will have to come back every three weeks for the SGN-35 (God willing) but that's no biggie. I think I'll do the first couple driving then when the airfares go down after the holidays, I'll start flying back and forth.

Even though I've lived in Socal for a couple of years, I've always wanted to live in Florida in the winter (since I was a kid!). It's much warmer there in the winter (both air and water) and the surfing and fishing should be off the chain! Plus, two of my really good buddies live down there so I'll have a good support system already in place.

So I think my body has finally gotten used to Eastern time again, whew! I felt like a zombie for a while during the day when my body was telling me I should still be sleeping. People complain about jetlag when coming in from the Western time zone which is 3 hours, but Hawaii is a whopping 6 hours! Thank God for Ambien...

Just wanted to say how grateful I am to be able to do all of this stuff... I played my cards right when I was working to have benefits that would allow me to maintain a decent lifestyle if I ever got sick. Granted, this only lasts till next October and I'll deal with that scenario when it comes but this has been great! Of course, not to mention the fact that I'm still physically able to get out and do all this stuff, what a blessing.

I've decided that I have to keep myself as busy as possible to keep my sanity! The busier I am, the less time I have to sit around and think of potential gloomy outcomes down the road. I still have my moments from time to time where I get freaked out having refractory cancer and thinking about friends like me who have passed but for the most part I keep this in a sealed container in the back of my mind. One thing I can't control however are the crazy dreams I've been having! I don't know if it's from the treatment or what but I have been in some horror flicks lately in my dreams, yikes! A couple of times I had to look around when I woke up just to make sure I was still here in my room and not some dark far away place. Maybe the sealed container gets opened when I'm sleeping and the demons come out to wreak havoc! All I can say is that sometimes it's nice to wake up ;)

Anyway, time to jump on the list of errands I've got written down... Just want to say time to make like the birds and fly south!!

Moving Forward!

So, as I mentioned, I'm back from my two week trip. It was awesome! Southern California was great as always. Had a chance to catch up with some friends, play golf twice, see some great live music, hang out on the beach and do some exploring. Hawaii was out of this world! What a beautiful place... Stayed on the island of Oahu the entire time and it was non-stop action! Got a chance to surf three times in Waikiki and managed to get up a few times! In fact, I had the longest ride of my life of about 10 seconds which for me is huge :). The beaches there are incredible. Went snorkeling a few times and two out of the three had a chance to swim with giant sea turtles! That was probably my favorite thing, those turtles are so cool. Also had a chance to hang out with my cousin Jeff who just moved there from Michigan and teaches 8th graders at a charter school. I'm really proud of him as the job he's doing isn't easy and he's putting in some serious hours to try and make a difference in these kids. He stays at a great place with a nice patio where we played darts and listened to music. His buddies have a place on the beach and we went there one night for a party and had a blast. We also did some cool stuff up at the North Shore visiting Sharks Cove and a couple other great beaches which the names I can't remember. The best meal I had was actually from a roadside grill trailor where I had a fresh grilled mahi mahi bowl, yum! It had fresh grilled fish over brown rice with pico de gallo, sour cream and avacado. Funny, with all the fancy restaurants in Waikiki that my best meal would come from a roadside grill trailor, ha! Anyway, loved the North Shore and little town of Haleiwa (sp?). We also saw a great reggae band up there on night called Dub Conscious.

All in all it was a fantastic trip! I wish I could walk out to the beach right now and take a swim in that warm clear water! I'll settle for Florida however and will be making plans to move down there soon...

As for my other stuff (yeah, gotta talk about the stupid cancer stuff) things are looking ok. I just had a PET/CT scan and the nurse just came in and told me that they're going to mix up the SGN35 for infusion! This means that my disease is stable or better. I'll find out exactly where it's at a little later and will mention that in my next post. I'm just grateful I can continue on the trial and will keep the faith that the disease will be kept at bay.

So, that's pretty much it for now. Thought I'd post some shots from the trip. Mahalo!


Getting ready to hack away at Torrey Pines in La Jolla ;)


"Hangin Loose" with Mike at Waikiki beach. The surf was really small on this day


Beautiful sunset at North Shore "Pipeline"


Getting ready to order a delish fish bowl at the grill trailor at North Shore


Mike and I at Hanauma (sp?) Bay, awesome snorkeling with the sea turtles!


Hanauma Bay!



Hanging out at Sharks Cove with my cousin Jeff, his roomates Lindsey, Amanda, Marie and buddy Mike


Jeff and I at the top of his secret hike in Wainaie


This was the view below!!

I'm Back!

Aloha Everyone! Just got back a couple of hourse ago and I'm extremely exhausted. My plan is to do an update tomorrow while I'm at Karmanos for my PET/CT scan then (hopefully) my 5th SGN35 infusion.

I'm hoping that I can detail the vacation and also talk about the cherry on top being stable or better response.

Time to get some much needed rest...

Mahalo

Waikiki

Just landed here in Honolulu and it's really beautiful... Socal was awesome! Had a chance to golf at Torrey Pines, saw some great live music and hung out with some great people :) I've got a few pictures but an internet connection has been sketchy and will have to wait till I post them. I'm feeling ok for the most part but struggling a bit with the back pain and muscle/joint soreness. Nothing that the warm waters of the Pacific can't heal ;)

Getting ready to head out and catch a reggae band and getting up tomorrow morning at 6 to go surfing. Can't wait to get out into the water!

More later...

P.S. Happy Birthday Dad!

Mahalo :)

Waiting For The Sun

Made it to L.A. in one piece! Can't get internet service so I thought I'd try my first post from my phone. Apparently it rained here today for the first time in a while. Sposed to be sunny tomorrow though :). My buddy's got a partial ocean view from his balcony and the beach is across the street. Life is good!

It's nice to be travelling again :)

The "Other Hollywood" ha!

Taken from the remake of "Red Dawn" shot and produced in Detroit

Right around the corner from Karmanos "on location"

As you may have noticed, I'm gradually doing a Motown theme with my music player in the spirit of spending a lot of time in the D lately (from the suburbs). I think a lot of these tunes probably still ring true today for many who are struggling in the city...

So I mentioned they're shooting the new Red Dawn movie downtown and sure enough there it was right around the corner from the hospital after I left my last infusion! They had Woodward ave. blocked off and there were quite a few spectators and police. I can't figure out how the city is making revenue from this though and probably need to do some research. In any event, it's pretty exciting for an industrial town like Detroit to have stuff like this going on and if nothing else infuses some energy and vitality downtown and the surrounding areas... I was surprised to find out how many movies have been shot here the last couple of years (in Michigan) when I did a Google search... Here's the list since 2007;

2007
•The Dread – Safe Harbor Productions
•Life Goes On – Orlando Entertainment
•Transformers – Dreamworks
2008
•Gran Torino – Warner Brothers
•Jumper – 20th Century Fox
•Prince of Motor City – ABC Television/Disney
•Semi Pro – New Line Cinema
2009
•All’s Faire in Love – Patriot Pictures
•America – Sony Pictures Studios
•Amsteroid – Odd Angle Entertainment
•Butterfly Effect: Revelation – After Dark Films
•Cherry
•Deadheads – FroBro Films
•Demoted – Parallel Media
•Gifted Hands – Turner Network Television
•Horse Crazy 2
•Hung – HBO
•Intent – New Castle Entertainment
•The Job – Kiki Goshay Productions
•Miss January – Gilbert Films
•Prayers for Bobby – Lifetime
•Red and Blue Marbles – Don’t Tread on Red
•The Steam Experiment – Cinepro Pictures
•Street Boss – Bierlein Entertainment
•Tug – TicTock Studios
•Virgin on Bourbon Street – Infra-Red Pictures
•Whip It – Babe Ruthless Productions
•Youth In Revolt – Dimension Films
2010
•High School – Parallel Media
•Offspring – Moderncine

It was funny (at the time) yesterday as my buddies and I were walking back to the car from the Lions game (Ford Field) and they were shooting a small isolated scene from the movie in the street. My friend Mike had been a little "overserved" at the game and proceeded to jokingly yell over to the scene "I need more emotion from you!!". He totally ruined the shot and you could see the director was really pissed and all the actors had a disgusted look on their face. We of course were cracking up and as I was walking by I condescendingly said "welcome to the D" (not sure why, that was pretty crappy...). I think we were taking out our frustrations on these innocent bystanders after another depressing Lions loss. I feel bad (more like a jackass) as we probably just contributed to the bad rep Detroit has, ugh...

So I mentioned the leaves are turning here and except for the rain and colder temperatures, it's really pretty (can I use that word and still sound masculine?! ha). Anyway, here's some shots I just took after a bike ride at Stoney Creek:





I took Chili to the park too and she was enjoying the scenery! Thought it was cool how I showed up in the reflection in the window and sitting here laughing at the expression on her face! ;)



So tonight I'm going to start packing for my trip :) Hoping that I feel good while away so I can take full advantage of this adventure! Looking forward to writing about the L.A.Hawaii experience...

Cheers!