The Real Deal on My Cancer

Here is the real deal on my cancer:

Once cancer has gone to the lymph nodes, it is pretty much in what is called Stage IV. This is not as alarming as it sounds. What needs to be taken into account is what is called the tumor burden; i.e., how much spread there has been. Given my case, the spread appears at this point to have gone no farther than the lymph nodes and, although there are several (don't know an exact number at this point) nodes affected, the important thing to remember is that the cancer has shown no evidence of spreading beyond that point.

I am being treated with Erbetux (weekly) and Platinum 5FU every 3-4 weeks. It is the Platinum 5FU that takes the 96 hours. The fact that I stay in the hospital longer than 96 hours has to do with the fact that kidney function and magnesium levels need to be watched very closely. Since my living and travel arrangements are not optimal, the doctor feels that it is worth it to keep me here a couple extra days whenever I have the Platinum 5FU treatment. I am not going to argue that point with him.

Since this is my first Platinum 5FU (I just love putting that 5FU suffix in there), I will not venture to say anything about side effects. Anything I could tell you would be more adequately covered by looking up on your search engine of choice, Cisplatin. Most of the material I have found does not cover my particular type of cancer, but the doctor has told me that there is relatively new evidence of this stuff work in squamous cell carcinoma, which is my particular type of cancer.

My mental health status has not been the best as of lately. I have been leaning way over toward the depressed side with some episodes of mania which tend to manifest themselves in speed talking sessions in which I talk and talk, going from one subject to the next, all of which culminates in my completely running out of things to say. Then it is back to the more familiar depression. I am being treated for this, but it, like cancer itself, can be described primarily as an annoyance.