Adcetris: The second cycle Day 18

I had the surgery on my elbow on Tuesday afternoon. I regret not having the forethought to video it. Dr Stu cut a large almond shaped section out, about 40mm long. There's seven or eight stitches. I'll be leaving them in as long as possible to ensure that the skin knits properly this time.

I must have stressed the wound somehow on Wednesday because it wouldn't stop bleeding until Thursday morning, soaking two lots of dressings and leaking onto the bedsheets. That reminds me... I must check my blood counts!
I got a blood test on Thursday just in case my platelets are low. I'm sure someone would have phoned if they were.  ;)


No problems with any side effects of adcetris at this stage of the cycle. It seems a shame to be going from feeling really good to feeling fairly crappy again after I get the third cycle on Tuesday afternoon, but it's a small price to pay in the scheme of things. I've been feeling so good lately that people have commented on it. There seems to be a real spring in my step. I'm no longer hobbling around like an old man.

The lump on my jaw however does bother me, it might be getting bigger it's hard to say.. I should really measure it I guess. It feels like It's about 12-15mm.
I have an ultrasound tomorrow morning, hopefully that will isolate what it is or isn't. I'll post what results I can glean from the technician.

Last night I attended the Hutt Valley Motorsport Club's annual prize-giving. I was pleasantly surprised to take away four trophies, I was expecting just one.
I won the K.M Archer Cup for fastest time of the day at Hillclimbs, The Debreceney Cup for sealed events over 2000cc, The Freeman's cup for best results at hillclimbs and the Regal Jewellery Cup for fastest time of the day at Mount Victoria hillclimb.

Not bad when you consider that I spent a great deal of last year in hospital, was pretty much an invalid and missed several events as a result! To say I'm pleased would be an understatement!  :)

..Ron

Day 15 of cycle two.

Sorry for the long break in updating.
Not a lot has happened healthwise. Here's an overview of the last five days..

The lump on my jaw is to be given an ultrasound scan on Saturday morning. Like myself, my GP had no firm idea what it might be. Could be a cyst, a reactive lymph node, a blocked saliva gland or a completely new type of tumour.. Personally I don't think an ultrasound will tell us much more than whether it's a lymph or parotid (saliva) gland. I think a biopsy might be needed to be conclusive.

I've been fairly well the last few days, however I've been plagued by diarrhea. A combination of the adcetris and antibiotics. I finish the antibiotics today.

This afternoon my other GP, Stu, will cut out the scar tissue on the "thing" on my elbow and stitch it up. I'm hoping that will be the end of it. If it doesn't heal this time things could get messy, I'll be running out of skin on my elbow to cut out! ;)

I've been busy sorting out a new layout in my workshop now that the Toyota has gone from the corner it was occupying. I've built a workbench out of left over timber from Sarah's workshop build and apart from having to buy the four posts for the legs, it's been a cheap exercise. I had a quote of $425 for a professional kit-set workbench to match the other four I have but I just couldn't justify the expense.

I've also nearly finished repairing my old drill press. It's 30 years old but in very good condition. It's been stuck on low speed for the last twenty years after someone tried to adjust the speed with the motor not turning. It's a fun thing to work on. Very "old-school" in design. It runs two pulleys that are of a variable size. By turning a knob you change the pulley size. The two halves of the vee in the pulley get closer together of further apart effectively making them bigger or smaller.

Anyway, it was totally seized up. I've stripped and cleaned it. Repaired the stripped gear and re-attached the tiny little chain that moves a big mechanical pointer that shows the rotational speed of the chuck. It's like a big meccano set. fun fun! :)

OK must go, I have a Nissan Skyline on the hoist waiting for a new rear muffler.

...Ron

But weight...There's more! Day 10

Following yesterday's post where the news was all about what ails me, here's some good news..

Today I cracked back into the 70kg weight range! It's taken a long time but in the last two weeks I've gained 2kg's! Yahoo!! I'm now 70.2kg and rising. That can only mean one thing.. the hodgkins is no longer sapping my energy. I've really struggled to regain the weight I lost early last year, no matter how much I ate. My goal weight is just 5kg away at 75. I'll need to make sure most of that is muscle. The reduced prednisone will help in that it too is no longer sapping muscle mass as much.

My back injury appears to have healed. It's taken about six weeks but it no longer aches either during the day or at night. The debilitating left flank muscle pain has gone too.
Yesterday's body and headaches have not materialised today either.

I'm weening myself off pred at 1/2 a mg at a time. I think 1mg drops are just big enough for my body to throw a bit of a tantrum, as it did earlier in the week when every joint hurt. Yesterday I dropped by 1/2mg and didn't have the same problem.

I had a road trip to Whanganui today to pick up some parts with a friend of mine. It made for a nice relaxing day. Probably just what my body needed.
Yesterday I played on my lathe for the day making some alloy suspension parts for my Toyota race car. I found it really cathartic, I'd hardly call it work. It's probably what I needed as I go through the worst of the chemo side effects. If a pattern has emerged it's that the second week from day 6 to 10 seem to be the hardest. Should be all good from here..  We hope!

PS: No signs of the major adcetris side effects yet such as Neuropathy.

Adcetris: The second cycle. Day 9

I spoke too soon! Over the last couple of days I've developed a slight stomach ache with the occasional sprint for the toilet. The headache has returned and the ringing in my ears is getting louder. I also feel kinda dull.. a bit like having a headache in your whole body.. it's hard to explain.

Oh and not only have I re-broken the rib on my right side after a really big cough last week, but on Saturday I was doing some repairs to Sarah's car, leaning on the seat and pulling on a bracket when a rib broke on my left side! The pain was indescribable! It now just feels like I have runners stitch, so not too bad.. I hardly notice it most of the time but if I move around in bed at night both ribs make clicking sensations.

I've also started myself on a course of synermox (penicillin) as I've had a lump come up on my jaw just below the left ear. It hurt for the first few days when it popped up two weeks ago and now it's painless. The side of my face is quite swollen and I'm looking a bit lop-sided. I've managed to get an appointment with my GP but that's still two days away on Friday afternoon. Hopefully it's just a blocked saliva gland and nothing nasty. Sometimes I feel like I make one step forward and go two steps back!

I've run low grade fevers for the first week of this cycle, they now appear to be declining. It's hard to tell for sure as I'm also taking paracetamol for the joint and muscle pain and that's masking the fevers.
There's no persistent cough still, however I do need to cough constantly to clear my chest of the considerable amount of phlegm that builds up. The itch is thankfully still gone.

Now that I no longer have to take medication in order to get to sleep, I'm falling asleep almost instantly and even when I wake during the night I fall back to sleep very quickly. ..Sooo good after several years of really crappy sleep, or being so knocked out by sleeping pills that half the next day is a write off.

I'm booked in with my GP for minor surgery next Tuesday. He's going to cut open the "thing" on my elbow and stitch it back together. It's actually closed up quite a bit in the last few weeks so I'm fairly sure it will heal up nicely once the scar tissue is removed.

Well that's about it.. all my aches and pains. Other than that I'm in really good shape and have been working both in the workshop and out and about.

I'll post an update after seeing the GP on Friday re lump on jaw.   ..Ron

Adcetris the second cycle, Day-5

I'm feeling pretty good. Either that or I'm getting used to feeling like crap.
So far I've had no real problems with stomach ache this cycle, also no headaches to speak of.
As I sit here I feel perfectly well, not a hint of feeling "poisoned" let alone nausia. My back is aching slightly and to be fair by the end of the day it will probably be quite uncomfortable, but that's not unuasual for me even if I wasn't having treatment. I think half the planet suffers from back pain!

My knees are stiff and sore as is the rest of my body, as I've mentioned previously I think that's related to weening off prednisone rather than being adcetris related. (OK.. maybe there's just a little bit of muscle/skeletal pain that just might be drug related.. but it's minor at this point in time).
There's still that ringing in my ears (tinnitus) too but I can live with that.

Oh! I nearly forgot.. A couple of days ago I thought I had a chest infection or similar. I went out and bought $20+ worth of cough syrup and Vicks Vaporub (to make an inhalation to clear my chest) and the next day it was all back to normal without using any of it!  ..Typical! but a good thing I guess :)

On the work front I've been busy trying make up for the year lost to ill health, with most of 2011 totally unproductive due to either being in hospital or just too weak to work.
I've been working on developing a new profile for my "Flextech" brand of silicone turbo-charger hose.
Yesterday the printers delevered the new packaging, so I've bagged up a few items for display and I'm very pleased with the finished result! Now I just have to get out there and start selling more so I can eat!  ;)

Friday I stopped in at the panel-beaters and checked out progress on the Toyota. It's coming along nicely and the guys working on it are really keen. It's good when you get work done on something and the people doing the work are almost more excited about the job than you are!  :)

..Ron