Another day, another $6 grand or so

Round III is behind us, so far so good, totally uneventful just like my prior round. Obviously everyone's experience with treatment is different, but knowing what to expect helps more than anything, it keeps me from being paranoid or stressing over minor details. The other thing I've learned is that having coffee in the morning is a big help, the diuretic effects gets things flowing and keeps me peeing like a racehorse every 45 minutes or so. That's a good thing, otherwise the IV liquids stay in my system and I end up feeling stuffed and uncomfortable. That was Round I.

Too much detail? Perhaps.

Tonight I feel great though, still enjoying all the hype surrounding UCLA's Final Four status....both Scott and Alison have suggested I take more of an active media role in promoting UCLA's case as the true sympathetic favorite left in the tourney, despite all the gushing over Mason's improbable berth and LSU's proximity to the Wrath of God. Personally I think this is a great idea, there should be more of me in major media outlets in general, and with my current ailment I'm all the more sympathetic. Just look at how miserable I am:



That's us at Seth's birthday party Saturday night. What's in the cup? Warm milk. Leave me alone.

There is a God, and apparently He reads this blog

Yeah yeah it's been forever. Sorry.



Just as I demanded in a previous post, the Bruins are on their way back to the Final Four for the first time since 1995, when, oh yes, they won their 11th NCAA title, by far the most of any school in history (Kentucky is second with a mere 7). A record of Cal Ripken-esque proportions.

They beat Memphis last night to advance, but really Thursday night's game against Gonzaga (they came back from being 17 points down, and finally went ahead with 9.2 seconds left) is what made me realize that the Lord himself must be watching out for me, and is likely wearing blue and gold while doing so.



So I'm happy. And I feel totally fine. UCLA plays LSU (who beat Texas yesterday, sorry mom) next, and I'm sure the entire world will be rooting for them, because their school got pummeled by Katrina and they're so inspiring and blah blah blah. JUST REMEMBER THIS: there is a young man out there battling cancer who would like nothing more than to see his beloved team make it happen, because really, who knows what may happen tomorrow.....

(and yes, I mean me)

Actually this is what will happen tomorrow: Chemo Round III. Wish us luck, hopefully this one will be as easy as the last and I'll be fully able to scream my head off like an ass during the championship games.

The really perplexing thing is that my brackets aren't doing that well in my office pool. I don't get that at all.

And I didn't win Powerball last night. Again.

The Jerk Store called, they're running low on mass-murderers and hypocrites

(That's a Seinfeld reference, Mom. Seinfeld was a popular 1990's television show.)

It is a gorgeous day in our Nation's Capitol today, sunny, 60 degrees, getting up to 70 later on....it's so nice out I think I'm going to stroll down to my office and start trying to catch up on the mountains of work I've been neglecting this week. I shudder to think what awaits me, but hopefully the quiet of a Saturday afternoon will make it a little more bearable.

But because it's the office, I must procrastinate as long as possible, hence a quick update.

Two things from today's paper which caught my attention: one, Slobodan Milosevic has made a big splash on day one of NFL Free Agency by turning up dead. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy, Slobodan amigo you got off lucky.

Second, this story about made me fall off the couch. Claude Allen was the point man at the White House for a wide range of domestic policy campaigns that I find, well, dumb, and generally had a long history of being a self-righteous a**hole who found himself in a position to affect massive amounts of domestic spending on various ideological crusades. Before the White House he was a senior political appointee at HHS, where he was the guy who had the CDC remove all mention of safe-sex materials from its website, and vigorously went after wacky AIDS-advocacy organizations that suggested using condoms might help prevent infection, because Mr. #1 Target customer apparently knows better than medical professionals how to combat disease. I would love to hear his insights on cancer. Maybe he could help me with my Rituxan bills.

He was also among the leading advocates within the Administration for the quintipling (or whatever) of federal funding for abstinence-only education (which doesn't work, and has never seemed to work, say my communist friends who deal in trivialities like facts). I don't claim to be an expert on abstinence-only, but Christopher is, and as such Christopher dealt with Allen here and there. His impressions were not favorable, but damn, who would expect the guy to be a petty criminal? Unbelievable.

He was even nominated by the President to be a Federal Judge on the 4th Circuit in 2003, though those damn Democrats in the Senate asked too many questions ("Has he broken many laws lately...?") and his nomination was withdrawn. For Heaven's sake, where do they find these guys?

I know, before I go too over the moon with schadenfreude (it's not like he shot a guy in the face and neck with a shotgun, right?), it's obviously very sad that such a succesful and I'm sure well-respected individual within his community would have such issues that he would feel above paying for his purchases like normal folk. The guy needs some help. For he and his family's sake I hope he gets it, and, should that help arrive in prison, I hope he thanks his lucky stars that this great nation has a public health infrastructure committed to helping people who need it, despite his best efforts.

Jerk. He's the reason we all have to wait in those stupid lines to have our receipts checked at Target.

Gale Norton also resigned this week, but that of course has nothing to do with the years of rampant impropriety at the Interior Department involving Casino Jack Abramoff and his boys. I don't really have much to say about that....but of course Gale knew nothing about the shenanigans being carried out under her watch. Of course not. Everyone in this Administration is squeaky clean.

Chemo Part Deux

This last Monday brought Round 2 of Chemo, and I have to say, this round has been great, I could do a thousand of these. Aside from the usual fatigue I haven't had any of the side effects of round one, no real discomfort whatsoever. My only aggravation has been from the acute cabin fever that's set in after lying around all week, but I think it's been worth it, since I can move and everything this time. Major bonus.

On Wednesday I got fed up and finally broke out the razor to get rid of the shedding animal on my head, it took some doing (about an hour probably), but I am now sporting the full Lex Luthor look, which I am much happier with. Very aerodynamic. I'll put up a new picture or two shortly.

And that is everything I've accomplished this week. Really, I am going nuts. Today I'm going to try to occupy myself a bit by writing a bit more, and I may get lunch. Big day. Wish me luck.

Mange

So the hairloss hasn't proceeded as dramatically as I initially expected. While it was pretty alarming to have the first few clumps come off in my hand, a lot of my hair is actually showing some admirable resistance....for once....so instead of a nice clean parting of ways, I look like I have a serious case of mange. Terribly attractive. Here's the current status:







Can't see much from the front, I pretty much look like me. From the back though, what can I say. I look like a damn leopard.

So yeah, I'm wearing a lot of hats these days, and lately a lot of UCLA hats, because as we all know, the Bruins clinched the PAC-10 this week, and if there is any justice, will give me at least a Final Four performace to cheer for over the next month.

As long as we're on the topic of hair, I've finally posted the pictures from our head-shaving fiesta of three weeks ago, so you can all see how badass I looked with a mohawk.

Josh and Steph were kind enough to host the event, and Josh even went so far as to shave his head himself, which I'm not sure counts because he actually looks pretty good without hair. To repay their hospitality we drank a lot of their beer, and Edward got friendly with Farley (the dog). Enjoy!

It Begins

Mark this date -- 17 days after round 1 of Chemo, my hair has begun falling out....

I shaved it before chemo, almost three weeks ago, so I have about a quarter inch of fuzz up there now, which is quickly bailing on me. So weird, running my hand over wipes it right off. It's like a Nair commercial without the Nair.

The timing is a bit unfortunate. I'm sitting at my desk at work, and OF COURSE I didn't bring a hat today. Looks like I'm going to have to sport the au-natural chemo look for the rest of the afternoon. Otherwise I'm not so bummed about losing my hair, it was on its way out before the chemo, and what little I had before will likely grow back.

I just wish it could have been a bit more subtle. Cancer is so inconvenient.