bulltalk.65

Glad to hear she is doing good. I know the chemo is off the hook horrible. That's a hard decision to make and I don't envy her having to make that choice. I did the same the first time around and chose to not do it but after finding the second large tumor I felt I didn't have a choice at that point. Hind sight is 20/20 though, that chemo bout killed me... In my first 6 month run of it I lost 91 lbs, it was the every other week regimen and usually lasted 48 to 51 hours long on a portable pump, the first 5 hours at the infusion clinic then home to finish the last 45 hrs or so. It would take a week to get back to feeling better just to have to start the next round the following week.. it sucked to say the least, not eating, vomiting and being sick 5 to 7 days a week, couldn't taste food and any that I did consume came right back out. I read Joes story (link you sent) and the canine med was/is interesting. I have not tried that as of yet but plan to just for the hec of it, cant hurt that's for sure. One thing I do know for fact is that the chemo strips your immune system and eliminates all forms of vitamin and minerals so the supplements during treatment and off treatment is a must. Every month my blood work comes back as Vitamin D deficient so I do 5000IU per week (one pill weekly). If I miss a week my blood work shows it. kind of weird but I guess that's one of my physical flaws.. The other primary thing that is a must do, is to stay positive. Use every means possible to stay upbeat, it really truly helps. I used an old trick some one taught me 30+ years ago and that's subliminal suggestion, leaving little sticky notes every where with positive suggestions. I had/have them on everything from the bathroom mirror to my work bench to my dresser drawer and computer screen... It works.. 😉 Please keep me updated on how she is doing and if you ever need anything let me know, I'm more than willing to pass on any personal advice or just positive energy. It can be trying at times for both spouses so it never hurts to have extra avenues of support.. 😉 p.s. during my first year I bought a ton of books on the subject including diets and supplemental stuff, I can send them your way if you like, just let me know..

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the thoughts... Tinhorn, I promise not to do that again, just get caught up in the life drama and forget about other important things..;) It really is a pain in the arse dealin with all the doctors, blook work, scans etc etc but I guess this will be in the cards for me... Im a fighter though so I wont go down easy that you can count on...;) Gary, how is the wife doing?

Hey guys, Sorry for the long lapse in updating you all. At this point in my life I try to put full focus and attention on the health situation and kind of leave everything else to the back burner. I cant remember where I left off with you all but ended up having cancer show up in my thyroid this time. Since it was concentrated to the right side the doc wanted to hold me under anaesthesia during surgery so they could do a fast lab/biopsy on the left side. They couldn't get a result back so was under for just over 3 hours. The surgery went well but being held under for some odd reason didnt set well this time. Some how the anaesthesia built up in my lungs so I was a bit of a sick mess for about 7 days after the surgery. Wife said I smelled and tasted like a medicine cabinet. Started feeling better and somehow ended up with an infection in the incision on my neck so was back in the hospital for 4 days. Got released and wasnt feeling right but thought it would pass but nope, somehow ended up with a bleed from medications so was anemic to the point of passing out any time I tried to get up. Ended up goin back in and having transfusions, 4 pints. So, after a couple rough months Im back up and runnin..😉 Hope to find everyone here doin well, Ill try to get in here more consistent and am going to start back in on gettin a video cam build goin here shortly...

Hey Tinhorn, I will do a post for a check in. Doin ok although had a rough couple months. Gary (ghoot) emailed me recently but I can't remember if it was before or after my recent surgery. But I am doin ok right now and am up and moving around and ready to get back in the swing of things..

Hey guys, thank you for the positive wishes and prayers. Update: As of this past week we got our CT scan results back along with blood work. I don't remember if I had mentioned what was happening, I have a large bulge forming on my right side (where my previous surgery was) and had been thinking I may have herniated the mesh panel holding my right side together so that was the primary reason for getting in to see what was really going on since I have been having pain in that area again.. So, the CT results came back showing whats left of my colon, seemed to be ok. Colonoscopy also was good, no growth or anything inside, fact is showed the colon has healed up well and looked good. The issue looks to be on the outside area between the stomach and rib cage again, similar to the last surgery. So this coming Tuesday morning I will be going in for a PET scan, It is similar to a CT but the difference is that it will use a different chemical contrast. What that will do is basically high light any diseased/cancerous tissue by showing it as a bright yellow area in the imaging. After that, later this week, depending on how my oncologist wants to deal with things, I will do another external biopsy so another hole poke thru my side to take samples of the thickened/bulging area. The last surgery was almost 9 full hours on the cutting table at UCSF, it entailed making a cut from just under the belly button all the way around the right hip to within 2 inches of my spine (pics in here somewhere). What they did was remove a tumor that was between the stomach and the rib cage, it had attached itself in multiple places so after the main mass was removed they cut away the lining that holds the muscle wall to the rib cage in order to scrape it. They then lifted the femoral nerve from the pelvic bone to be able to scrape and remove the cancerous tissue from the pelvis. After all was said an done, they placed an 6"x18" mesh panel into my side to basically hold me together. So, hopefully we find that it is just thickening of the scarred area under the mesh and not new growth. If it is any type of cancer growth it will be back to the cutting room.. I'll know more after this coming Tuesday but thought I would drop in and let you all know what and where we are in the process. I will be back later this week to keep you posted. Thank you to all my hags friends for all the prayers, keepem coming because they work... 😉 George

Excellent, thanks Ralph. What is the timing on those go pros? are they a faster startup than the jazz cams/dxg's? EDIT: Whoops, just found a thread with the info, 4 to 5 second fire up.. good to know.

Thank You Tinhorn.. I know they are, the Lord chose some world class doctors for me so I know I'm in good hands. The hardest part is the mental aspect and getting through post op days and or weeks. But I am a tough ole boy so know I can get through it, already did twice so third time should be a cake walk.... 😉

Well, I figured I may as well update this. First I want to say thanks to you guys for chiming in, its appreciated. I guess Ill start with the good news. Im still hangin in and stayin positive. I will fight tooth fang and claw till I cant any longer.... 😉 Ok, the bad news. I had my follow up this morning with my local oncologist, my scans came back and showed a new mass forming on whats left of my upper colon and against my stomach. Although It is showing on the exterior this time and not growing from within and through the colon that they could tell. It also showed that my bladder is distended and my prostate is enlarged (I was wondering why it was hard to take a leak, now I know). So, I will be going in for a colonoscopy (just gotta love them) in the next few days to check the inside of the colon. Then I will have another external biopsy (stayed awake on the last one and watched the whole process) to find out whats up. Doc said, it would require another surgery if the biop comes back pos. Not looking forward to that if that's the case. So, I probably won't be on much over the next weeks so I can focus my attention. I am hopeful and stayin positive but asking you guys for some prayers won't hurt... Ill keep you all updated as I proceed through the next steps.. Thank you guys.. George

Right on, nice and clear. Is that one of the high end go pros or a knock off? Been searching for a lifetime it seems to find exactly what I want for vid cam, there is always something that makes it not work out, lens, hack etc...

Awesome video man.. hope to see a bunch more..

Yep, made it fine. That fire literally destroyed the whole town though. We drove up there a few weeks ago and it is an unbelievable site. Cars just literally melted in the driveways where it was in a garage, houses are gone except for chimneys standing, then it goes for acres or hundreds of yards with everything in its path gone then there will be a house untouched. Really crazy. There are still people living in vehicles all over in our town, parked at walmarts, home depots and any place they can just park to get by... Really Sad, paradise was a beautiful mountain town, completely gone except for few areas that it skipped over.

Hey guys, Just passing this on as I was unable to get back to some of you since last weekend (sunday). Xfinity/comcast modem went down and it took out our home network so lost all service including the wifi so was basically stuck in caveman days all week...lol.... They were finally able to get here today after 4-1/2 days without and get things all up and going with a new modem and network setup. I just replied to the last messages I received from last sunday to get caught up. It really is unfortunate how reliant we have become to the technology and when it is disabled it really puts a damper on doing a lot of what we are use to doing on a daily basis. Makes me think back to the old wall phone and 15ft curly cord compared to today's tech and makes ya wonder how anyone ever got along in the old world we were so use to for so long.....lol Anyway, just wanted to let you guys know, I got your messages and replied back tonight. Geo

I knew that... theres one on my bench... lol

what is a barlow?