Did You Ever Think Life Was Gonna Be This Way?

Today was a biweekly doctor visit and infusion day and I also watched one of my favorite movies, so I have OSO MUCH to tell you, I can barely (am I the only one who just got my own pun?) stand it.  BUT! Before I regale you with stories: we have some grammar-ing to do, America, and I have chemo brain, so if I don't blurt this out at this very moment, I may forget to discuss it for weeks.  I know the Republic is on the brink of collapse and everyone is getting their nuclear bunkers ready, but let's consider the TRUE CRISIS FACING US RIGHT NOW: the bi/semi prefix crisis. It's very clear in my own head: generally speaking, "semi" (as in semiweekly) means "twice in a" and "bi" (as in biweekly) means "every two." That's just how it works.  Can we all just agree to this and stop feeling befuddled by whether a bimonthly suubscription means you get something every other month or twice in a single month? I can only take so much confusion a

“[M]y experience this year was, well, a bit of an adventure. By which I mean (cover your eyes if you’re pure of heart and vocabulary) that it turned into a clusterf*ck.”  - me, about 700 words from now    Hooked, aren’t you? I know. It’s the American way.  We all love disasters - and near disasters are even better! Read on... About two years into my diagnosis, back when I still read all of my email every day, I stumbled across a notice for a conference taking place at my cancer center. They were training people to become advocates for the colorectal cancer   (CRC) community. Specifically, they were going to teach people about the latest research developments and innovations related to CRC. This sounded awesome - a conference that would help me be more pro-active, knowledgeable, and engaged in the research and development of the innovations that were saving my life? Sign me up! The only problem? It wasn’t actually a call for participants - it was more of an announcement

It's been a busy time over here at DrJ Central. I have so much to tell you that I'm going to write two posts today! This one is about skincare while in treatment. See, I started my new chemo regimen, which is a combination of Irinotecan and Vectibix. I think I explained this last time but just in case you're tuning in only today, here's the down-low: Irinotecan gives you all the "typical" chemo side effects - hair loss, nausea, tummy troubles, fatigue. It's an oft used first (in Europe) or second (in the US) line therapy for colorectal cancer patients. I used it very briefly four years ago, and it was a successful cycle for me. At the time,  I only had a couple of tiny lung nodules after treatment and so we just watched for several months. At that time, I also took Erbitux, a biological agent rather than a chemical (chemo) therapy. It's very similar to the panitumumab ( Vectibix ) that I'm taking now. The side effects for this one are really fun: