De-Toxified

Well, 72 hours later, I can smooch The Wife again. 
   
Had my first infusion of Opdiva Monday and was told that as it is processed outta my system, I should take care to not contaminate anything with fluids, waste, etc. coming out of my body as they can be hazardous to others due to the strength of the drug.
   
Funny how the more restricted you are from something, the more you want it ain't it??

Forger's Hammer

(Cross posted from my ACS blog)

How and when did you learn about your cancer?

 

First time in 2010 when I developed gross hematuria and stoppage of the urethra by clotting. Resolved by partial nephrectomy, upper part of right kidney.
   

RCC 2, Electric Boogaloo was found in NOV 2016 when I had a CT to check for a bowel obstruction and a mass was found on my right adrenal gland. Later biopsy confirmed that fact and that it had spread to the surrounding lymph nodes.
    

Follow up full body bone scan and full thoracic CT and abdominal ultrasound confirmed that it was contained to that area

 

What types of treatment(s) have occurred?

 

   Started out on Vorient @ 800mg/day and soon developed all but the worst symptoms. Over the course of the next 1.5 mos. stepped down the dosage 200mg @ a time 'til I was @ 200mg/day which I tolerated pretty well.
    

 Stayed on that for a couple of months and even started to get some small amount of shrinkage, but last month went to the ER for severe abdominal pain and CT showed some regrowth.
    

 So Doc Onco said to stop Votrient and started me on Opdivo, had my first infusion Mon, 03 JULY.

 

What have been the most important things that have helped you through your survivorship?

 

   Most important, My Wife. Without her, the rest seems pointless.
VERY close second, the AMAZING folks @ SEMO CTC for their care and emotional support and SEMO Hospital for their assistance which lifts a Jupiter sized burden of worry from our shoulders and allows us to concentrate on my getting better.

 

What have you learned from your experiences that you would like to share?

    

Laugh.
Especially when things seem darker than a Black Hole, laugh.
During my first round with RCC, being to find the humor in the situation was just as valuable as the medicine in my recovery from surgery.
 

When My Wife had endometrial cancer, the clots that it threw off that caused her stroke and the loss of half of her left foot, the resulting amputation and recovery and rehab, the 1000+ miles a week, M-F every week for 6 weeks for radiation, when we woke up crying at the thought of the trip to St. Louis, finding the humor in the situation and laughter at some silly joke re-torqued the mind to get through one more day...
 

When I was Dx'd again w/ mRCC and told that this is literally the fight of my life, there is still humor to be found if you're willing to look for it and laugh at it.
Laugh.

 

My Journey

 

I hope to slay this dragon, the dragon may slay me, But I REFUSE to let the sumbitch take who and what I am!!

IT'S ALIVE!!!!

RETROSEXUAL CODE

A Retrosexual, no matter what the women insists, PAYS FOR THE DATE.

A Retrosexual opens doors for a lady.  Even for the ones that fit that term only because they are female.

A Retrosexual DEALS with IT, be it a flat tire, break-in into your home, or a natural disaster, you DEAL WITH IT.

A Retrosexual not only eats red meat, he often kills it himself.

A Retrosexual doesn't worry about living to be 90.  It's not how long you live, but how well. If you're 90 years old and still smoking cigars and drinking, I salute you.

A Retrosexual does not use more hair or skin products than a woman.  Women have several supermarket aisles of stuff.  Retrosexuals need an endcap (possibly 2 endcaps if you include shaving goods).

A Retrosexual does not dress in clothes from Hot Topic when he's 30 years old.

A Retrosexual should know how to properly kill stuff (or people) if need be.  This falls under the "Dealing with IT" portion of The Code.

A Retrosexual watches no TV show with "Queer" in the title.

A Retrosexual does not let neighbors screw up rooms in his house on national TV.

A Retrosexual should not give up excessive amounts of manliness for women.  Some is inevitable, but major reinvention of yourself will only lead to you becoming a frou-frou little puss, and in the long run, she ain't worth it.

A Retrosexual is allowed to seek professional help for major mental stress such as drug/alcohol addiction, death of your entire family in a freak tree chipper accident, favorite sports team being moved to a different city, favorite bird dog expiring, etc.  You are NOT allowed to see a shrink because Daddy didn't pay you enough attention.  Daddy was busy DEALING WITH IT.  When you screwed up, he DEALT with you.

A Retrosexual will have at least one outfit in his wardrobe designed to conceal himself from prey.

A Retrosexual knows how to tie a Windsor knot when wearing a tie - and ONLY a Windsor knot.

A Retrosexual should have at least one good wound he can brag about getting.

A Retrosexual knows how to use a basic set of tools.  If you can't hammer a nail, or drill a straight hole, practice in secret until you can - or be rightfully ridiculed for the wuss you be.

A Retrosexual knows that owning a gun is not a sign that your are riddled with fear, guns are TOOLS and are often essential to DEAL WITH IT.  Plus it's just plain fun to shoot.

Crying - There are very few reason that a Retrosexual may cry, and none of them have to do with TV commercials, movies, or soap operas.  Sports teams are sometimes a reason to cry, but the preferred method of release is swearing or throwing the remote control.  Some reasons a Retrosexual can cry include (but are not limited to) death of a loved one, death of a pet (fish do NOT count as pets in this case), loss of a major body part.

A Retrosexual man's favorite movie isn't "Maid in Manhattan" (unless that refers to some foxy French maid sitting in a huge tub of brandy or whiskey), or "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood."  Acceptable ones may include any of the Dirty Harry or Nameless Drifter movies (Clint in his better days), Rambo I or II, the Dirty Dozen, The Godfather trilogy, Scarface, The Road Warrior, The Die Hard series, Caddyshack, Rocky I, II, or III, Full Metal Jacket, any James Bond Movie, Raging Bull, Bullitt, any Bruce Lee movie, Apocalypse Now, Goodfellas, Reservoir Dogs, Fight Club, etc. etc.

When a Retrosexual is on a crowded bus and or a commuter train, and a pregnant woman, hell, any woman gets on, that Retrosexual stands up and offers his seat to that woman, then looks around at the other so-called men still in their seats with a disgusted "you punks" look on his face.

A Retrosexual knows how to say the Pledge properly, and with the correct emphasis and pronunciation.  He also knows the words to the Star Spangled Banner.

A Retrosexual will have hobbies and habits his wife and mother do not understand, but that are essential to his manliness, in that they offset the acceptable manliness decline he suffers when married/engaged in a serious healthy relationship - i.e., hunting, boxing, shot putting, shooting, cigars, car maintenance.

A Retrosexual knows how to sharpen his own knives and kitchen utensils.

A Retrosexual man can drive in snow (hell, a blizzard) without sliding all over or driving under 20 mph, without anxiety, and without high-centering his ride on a plow berm.

A Retrosexual man can chop down a tree and make it land where he wants.  Wherever it lands is where he damn well wanted it to land.

A Retrosexual will give up his seat on a bus to not only any women but any elderly person or person in military dress (except officers above 2nd Lt).  NOTE: The person in military dress may turn down the offer but the Retrosexual man will ALWAYS make the offer to them and thank them for serving their country.

A Retrosexual man doesn't need a contract -- a handshake is good enough.  He will always stand by his word even if circumstances change or the other person deceived him.

A Retrosexual man doesn't immediately look to sue someone when he does something stupid and hurts himself.  We understand that sometimes in the process of doing things we get hurt and we just DEAL WITH IT.