On February 4th 2010 I was diagnosed with colon cancer. I was completely stunned. I'm starting the "Scope That Colon! Initiative" to help others feel more comfortable dealing with this disease.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

A condom ??????

Well that got your attention, right? I'll explain that in a minute.
Anyways, I meant to post about my trip to the oncologist sooner, but then yesterday I came down with a crappy sinus infection that I had to get rid of ASAP, so there was alot of calling around to my team of physicians ( that sounds good...) and a visit to the doctor's to get the right anti-biotic.

Chemo starts on the 22nd on a program called Folfox. I won't bore you right now on what the medicines are, But let's hope they do their job. The program consists of me going in on Monday for about 4 hours then they'll send me home with a small pump that will give a steady low dose of more chemicals. Then after 46 hours, I'll get it unplugged and be good for another week and a half.

Couple of side effects I may have to deal with though.
One is nausea. They'll give me medicine to combat that and they assured me there won't be any vomiting. Good to know....
Another possible side effect is a reaction to cold. I guess some people experience "pins and needles" feeling when they touch, breath or eat cold. Looks like my summer plan of drinking beer and eating ice cream while sitting in an air conditioned room will have to be put on hold. Good news is that the feeling can be counteracted by touching or eating something warm.
The last one (well almost the last one... wait for it...) is that mouth sores are also a possibility. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm EXTREMELY susceptible to canker sores, so that one's pretty much a guarantee... which really sucks.

I guess I'm doing ok with all of this. I think the longer I wait, the harder it gets. But in the end, this will make me a stronger person, our relationship stronger (like that's possible...) and gives you an appreciation for what you have.

Oh yeah, the condom thing (which could be filed under "side effect")... Well we're reading info about the chemo (OK Connie was reading) and it mentioned you should use a condom while "making love" (as my wife like to call it... I prefer a couple of other terms) so the partner doesn't recieve any of the chemicals. That's something I never would have thought of.
Well that's it for now, I have to run to CVS just in case Connie has a change of heart....

1 comment:

  1. Todd
    I'm sorry to hear you are having to go through this. As far as the mouth sores, I found that Peridex solved my problem during chemo. The generic is CHLORHEXIDINE 0.12% RINSE, and it comes in a 473 ml bottle. Your doctor or dentist prescribes it. It costs only about $4.00 and is originally used for peridontal disease.

    Good Luck

    Charles Hull

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