Not a creature was stirring . . .

especially Toad!

It is Chemo Tuesday and staying true to his modus operandi, Johnny is sound asleep. He woke a few minutes ago to have a snack and to tell me that he is feeling "pretty good". Makes me happy when he says that!

Yesterday we went and had our little chat with Dr. Ansari like we do every other Monday. He is very happy with the CEA level, which is holding steady at 3.4. To Dr. Ansari, this is a "normal" level. Although normal doesn't mean Johnny is cancer-free it does mean that the chemo has done as much as it could possibly do. Now the only thing left in order to properly kick cancer's booty is to surgically remove any little bits that may be left over.

Dr. Ansari had previously talked to us about a surgeon at IU Med Center named Mary Maluccio. However, after talking with her and finding out that her specialty has primarily moved in the direction of liver transplants, he has decided that Dr. House is the best match for us. I have actually heard other physicians speak of Dr. House and that makes me feel pretty good. I swear if he walks into the exam room with a cane and a limp, we are high-tailing it out of there! I really can't stand that show AT ALL! Although, the outcomes are usually pretty good, so I should be encouraged by that -- right?

Johnny talked to Dr. Ansari about all of his remnant effects from the chemo. His feet are BAD, not in a terribly painful way, but numb and super cold all the time. His hands seem to have improved since he started taking the Neurontin. He is having occassional nosebleeds, but these have never been unstoppable, just annoying. Another thing we have been noticing is his loss of body hair. Weird. He hasn't lost any of the hair from his head (Insert your own bald joke here) but his back hair is almost completely gone (and the heaven's parted while the angels sang) with the exception of that cute little chia pet that lives above his butt. I think that is cute, so I hope it doesn't fall out. His legs look like he is suffering from mange. One whole side of his leg is completely smooth as a baby's butt, but then he has a horse's mane running down his shin. Totally bizarre hair patterns on his legs. And his mustache has only about 36 hairs left to it. He told me last night that he is shaving it off. NO!!! Most of you know that Johnny has only been mustache free TWICE since I have known him. Once for a Halloween costume (Mr. Clean -- which incidentally was the first time he ever shaved his head and then never grew it out again!) and the other time was because he lost a bet to his minor league baseball team. I don't like it when he doesn't have a mustache. Not. one. bit. I hope it will eventually grow back in. I agree with Johnny, it does look a little sparse!

His blood pressure continues to be high, but since this is the last session we are just sticking with the 10 mg of Amlodipine (Norvasc) and watching to see if it comes down and stays down without the chemo on board.

When they accessed his port yesterday the darn thing was really being stupid. It wouldn't allow them to draw from it, so to speed things up Johnny had to have labs drawn from a vein. That isn't the worst thing, but the port was designed to eliminate the need for additional sticks. When they attempted hooking up the chemo, it still wasn't working. They ended up accessing the port a second time with a different needle and that seemed to do the trick. After being there for almost two hours he was finally infusing for the 12th and FINAL time!!

Even though chemo is just the last thing on the planet anyone would ever want to do, I have to say there is an element that we are going to miss. We have made some dear friends with whom we sit and pass the time. May finished her chemo in November (Hi, May!!) and we are keeping in touch via the blog and Facebook. She had colon cancer, too. Another dear friend that we will miss is Carol. Carol has breast cancer and is a joy to talk with. Her protocol for chemo is quite different and has a longer time between sessions, but will also have to go longer until she has completed her entire gig. (Hi, Carol!! I hope you found the blog easily!!) Carol told us she isn't really in to technology, but likes to keep in touch via email so that is what we are going to do!

I will also miss spending an entire day with Johnny every other week. I know I still have some quality/quantity time coming up with his surgery, but I never have enough time with him.

The rest of the time at the infusion center yesterday was pretty uneventful (thankfully!). Once we got home, Johnny headed to bed and I tried to get things organized for Christmas. I still haven't wrapped anything, mostly because I just despise wrapping. Yuck. Tonight my plan is to sit in front of the television (something I never do) and wrap away until the wee hours of the night. I have to get as much as possible done tonight because I'm on call tomorrow (Wednesday) and Thursday is already Christmas Eve! As Charlie Brown would say: Aaarrrrrrgggghhh!

I'm looking forward to Christmas this year like crazy. Funny how a little perspective check like cancer can make the reason for the celebration of Christmas seem so much more important than the gifts. I like that.

Off now to wrap the presents while my Toad Prince sleeps in heavenly peace.