Well, I must have been complaining so much about my headaches that Mary insisted I contact someone and get it looked at.
I will be having another PET/CT scan on Monday 10/3 and let's keep out fingers crossed.
Then I will see the oncologist at 1:00 on the same day. Mary's coming along.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Landerwood Drive
Today's walk was all the way up to Landerwood Drive which is two longish blocks farther than Knob Court which is how far I usually walk. The walk back was a bit more effort as some hill work was involved.
I had no chest discomfort in hiking up those hills even though I did not stop or slow down. I haven't gone that far in quite some time, so I feel that this is an accomplishment. Or a good sign.
Those leg exercises have been helpful.
I was having some neck/head pain this morning so I took a Skelaxin and two Aleve which eventually kicked in. It's just mild neck muscle discomfort now that comes and goes. I'm thinking I will never be free of this.
On a lighter note, Mary has been reviewing my "My Secret Lymphoma" book and has suggested that I include more about what went on at work when this was going on and maybe I need to tell the prospective reader more about how I made the transition from working at the office to working at home.
More to do on that. Not so close to completion after all.
I've downloaded kindle software to my PC to check the formatting after I convert my word document to the kindle eBook format. Kindle eBooks are readable on an iPad, iPhone, Mac and of course on Windows (which is where I keep my collection).
I thought I was so close to being done, but it has to be complete before I publish it.
I had no chest discomfort in hiking up those hills even though I did not stop or slow down. I haven't gone that far in quite some time, so I feel that this is an accomplishment. Or a good sign.
Those leg exercises have been helpful.
I was having some neck/head pain this morning so I took a Skelaxin and two Aleve which eventually kicked in. It's just mild neck muscle discomfort now that comes and goes. I'm thinking I will never be free of this.
On a lighter note, Mary has been reviewing my "My Secret Lymphoma" book and has suggested that I include more about what went on at work when this was going on and maybe I need to tell the prospective reader more about how I made the transition from working at the office to working at home.
More to do on that. Not so close to completion after all.
I've downloaded kindle software to my PC to check the formatting after I convert my word document to the kindle eBook format. Kindle eBooks are readable on an iPad, iPhone, Mac and of course on Windows (which is where I keep my collection).
I thought I was so close to being done, but it has to be complete before I publish it.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
A Note About Headeaches and Such
I have the funniest kinds of painful/tactile feelings in my head and neck and I'm not sure what to think. Is this the usual bullshit my neck gives me because of the stenosis and the dead tumor, or is it a problem?
I have been away from tumor-ville since spring of 2010 as noted in a number of PET/CT and later just CT scans. And I have been off drug treatment for over a year.
I should be fine, the way the drugs worked on the cancer, I should be low risk.
But every now and then I have a new sensation in my neck. The tissues that were hurt by the old tumor just below my skull on the right hand side of the back of my neck bother me. They still feel sore.
If I don't take some Skelaxin or more recently, some Skelaxin with Advil I get a headache; and it doesn't just go away with a little time. It gets worse.
When I do take some Skelaxin, I sometimes feel strange tactile sensations that wrap around both sides of the top of my head.
Most of the time it's just the neck muscles, and I'm really not worried about them, they've been acting up since the second Revlimid cycle over a year ago. It is that feeling that there is pressure somewhere in there, right under the back of my skull, or in my skull. That's what has me a little skittish.
Today, while driving to get some groceries, I had what I can only describe as a ghost tumor sensation under some of the muscles in the back right upper quadrant of my neck. It felt strange and then went away.
My headaches also get worse if I am under stress or if I spend too much time doing computer related work; they simply confuse things.
PS: I am scheduled to be PET/CT scanned in January and we will see then if this is my cancer come back or simply my very messed up neck.
I have been away from tumor-ville since spring of 2010 as noted in a number of PET/CT and later just CT scans. And I have been off drug treatment for over a year.
I should be fine, the way the drugs worked on the cancer, I should be low risk.
But every now and then I have a new sensation in my neck. The tissues that were hurt by the old tumor just below my skull on the right hand side of the back of my neck bother me. They still feel sore.
If I don't take some Skelaxin or more recently, some Skelaxin with Advil I get a headache; and it doesn't just go away with a little time. It gets worse.
When I do take some Skelaxin, I sometimes feel strange tactile sensations that wrap around both sides of the top of my head.
Most of the time it's just the neck muscles, and I'm really not worried about them, they've been acting up since the second Revlimid cycle over a year ago. It is that feeling that there is pressure somewhere in there, right under the back of my skull, or in my skull. That's what has me a little skittish.
Today, while driving to get some groceries, I had what I can only describe as a ghost tumor sensation under some of the muscles in the back right upper quadrant of my neck. It felt strange and then went away.
My headaches also get worse if I am under stress or if I spend too much time doing computer related work; they simply confuse things.
PS: I am scheduled to be PET/CT scanned in January and we will see then if this is my cancer come back or simply my very messed up neck.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Saw Oncologist Last Wednesday
I saw, my oncologist last Wednesday and I look pretty normal. He didn't even discuss my blood work. I complained about my headache, something Mary had put on the list for me to talk about (thank goodness) and he went over the original PET/CT scan which I didn't read closely when I first saw it on New Year's Eve 2009.
If I had read it I might have given up hope for walking out of the cancer hospital again and again. The cancer was much progressed from the November 15th CT scan that discovered the original tumor in my neck. By the time I was waiting for my first infusion it had wormed it's way around to the left "para-vertebral soft tissues" as well. The soft tissues within the spinal canal had increased uptake. "Numerous foci in the spleen". One in the liver, one close to the pancreas; and the list goes on.
What comes to mind when I look back on it is that I am glad I didn't read it. I didn't have just six. And the cancer was everywhere. If I had not been infused right then, it would have gone into my brain.
I would have been a dead puppy.
But what it looks like is the stenosis in my neck was probably there from years ago, but the tumor did things to my neck along the spinal column. I don't know why the Revlimid made the pain flair up, but I notice that the muscles that were damaged by the tumor are the ones that are a bit twitchy now. The pain is in the same place and sometimes it even bears a resemblance to the pressure I felt underneath.
It has been over a year since my last treatment with Revlimid. My neck still gives me headaches.
If I had read it I might have given up hope for walking out of the cancer hospital again and again. The cancer was much progressed from the November 15th CT scan that discovered the original tumor in my neck. By the time I was waiting for my first infusion it had wormed it's way around to the left "para-vertebral soft tissues" as well. The soft tissues within the spinal canal had increased uptake. "Numerous foci in the spleen". One in the liver, one close to the pancreas; and the list goes on.
What comes to mind when I look back on it is that I am glad I didn't read it. I didn't have just six. And the cancer was everywhere. If I had not been infused right then, it would have gone into my brain.
I would have been a dead puppy.
But what it looks like is the stenosis in my neck was probably there from years ago, but the tumor did things to my neck along the spinal column. I don't know why the Revlimid made the pain flair up, but I notice that the muscles that were damaged by the tumor are the ones that are a bit twitchy now. The pain is in the same place and sometimes it even bears a resemblance to the pressure I felt underneath.
It has been over a year since my last treatment with Revlimid. My neck still gives me headaches.
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