When Everybody Knows Your Name

I don't know what makes Barb and I such memorable characters. But everyone at the Health Campus knows us well. We don't formally have to check-in. We just show up. They see us, and instantly tell us that they'll let the nurses know we're here.

I don't know if that's a good thing. I'd rather be well known at something other than a medical facility. We are there often enough that I often ask when we'll be getting time-cards.

Into next week we will still need to make daily appearances. Radiation to my spine continues every day into next week. Injections of Interferon continue on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

From my past experiences with radiation, there will still be some time to expect results even after the treatments are finished. The radiation will slowly poison and kill the cancer in my vertabrae. There is great hope that this will unpinch the nerves that are causing me pain. But there is no guarantee.

One thing I learned this week was that the length of time it took to diagnose my pain problem certainly had a bad overall affect on things. While the cancer was eating away at my vertabrae my pain was first diagnosed as a strained shoulder muscle, then a rotator cuff issue, then a pinched nerve, before finally an MRI was ordered and the problem was found.

It was a little odd because one thing I've noticed since I was diagnosed with cancer was that cancer gets blamed for everything. Before cancer came to town no doctor would ever blame a sore shoulder on cancer. But after it was diagnosed, if I sneezed it seemed to be blamed on cancer.

For some reason, (bad luck?) the doctors weren't guessing cancer as the cause. The problem now is that the vertabrae is run down enough that I have now been instructed to not to any heavy lifting - ever again. The fear is excessive pressure would crush the damaged vertabrae and cause me some REAL problems.

So much for the big, stupid, male gorilla activities around the house. Barb is now officially the man and the woman of the house. I guess I join Freckles with a status of "pet."

The Interferon injections will continue for weeks yet before the doctor will consider it a complete "cycle." The side-effects of Interferon are listed as flu-like symptoms. I've been feeling those symptoms more and more. The question, though, then becomes do I have flu-like symptoms or do I have the flu? I don't know. Lately Barb and I have been awfully "sniffly."

Once the cycle of Interferon is complete we'll be heading up to meet with doctors at Sloan-Kettering. They don't want to meet with me until I've finished a cycle of treatment. They want to see me with a "clean sheet."

Barb was dedicated to raking leaves yesterday, although I asked her not to worry about them. She has enough going on. I figured in this economy I'd be able to find a teen somewhere in this town who would appreciate 10 bucks an hour for raking. But she went at it - 11 big bags sitting out by the back alley waiting to be picked up.

She is the beauty, the brains, and the brawn of this house.