My Cancer Victory.com

06/06/2021

Yesterday, June 5th, marked 24 years since my mother died of cancer. When you fight the same disease that killed your mother it occupies your mind.
Ironically today, June 6th, is National Cancer survivor day. I was going to write “I did nothing special” while sitting in my apartment in Tokyo while working on my 12th Olympics after my 4th bout of cancer but it didn’t seem right. It wasn’t my intent to brag saying that but a realization. Then I remembered something I told my father on the phone and mentioned in an online cancer group about 12 years ago. “Cancer is going to be a chapter in my life and not the whole story”. I get credit for that online. Google it. I did tonight and found the website Parade put me at number 70 on the “101 Inspirational and Uplifting Quotes to Encourage Hope in Cancer Patients”. I got beat out by the likes of Mother Teresa, Psalm 46:1, Franklin Roosevelt and Winnie the Pooh. However I did finish ahead of Helen Keller, Maya Angelou, Thomas Edison and Martin Luther King. I know it’s a joke. But still there I am. Something I spoke 12 years ago lives on. A cancer survivor in its own right.
Maybe this is the ding I leave in the universe that Steve Jobs spoke about. Or more importantly maybe I am honoring those who have and will leave before me. Like my mother. Either way I’m ok.

https://parade.com/1178471/michelleparkerton/inspirational-cancer-quotes/

02/23/2021

All is good but back in the chair today. I get an immunotherapy chemo treatment every 2 months to keep the bad stuff away.
The tube hanging out of my shirt has a needle on the other end that goes into my port. The port is a bump under the skin in my chest. That port has a line into a vein. That line goes all the way into a chamber in my heart. That’s the most efficient way to get the drug all through my body.
There’s your cancer trivia for today. We’ll play again in 2 months.

12/26/2020

Life is good. Merry Christmas!

12/22/2020

Coke, Doritos and Demirol. Must be a Chemo Tuesday. It’s like Taco Tuesday but with Gazyva.
The Benadryl will kick in soon and I’ll sleep a bunch. I was just joking with the head nurse that they probably take pictures of me while I sleep and post them online. Some possible hashtags included;

10/27/2020

I swear I’m smiling under the mask. It just doesn’t show in my eyes. 😄 I know the reason I’m here isn’t good but the folks here are so friendly and happy. When you have to sit in the chair you just make the best of it. It also makes me feel good to be doing something to keep it away.
Happy Tuesday everyone I’m going to take my Benadryl nap now.

10/26/2020

Life has been good. Life just like many of the rest of you. I got to coach my son's cross country team again which was cool. Tomorrow I go for a maintenance chemo. Not looking forward to it but look less forward to cancer coming back so we roll with it.
This popped up on one of the cancer groups on Facebook. It's not really for everyone but maybe there is someone out there that needs it. It's a Charlie Brown show where one of Linus's friends gets Leukemia. There maybe someone out there that could use it so I thought I would share,

VHS transfer

10/06/2020

Been a long time since I posted. The cancer is what we call NED, no evidence of disease. I'm clean but still doing maintenance treatments to keep it that way.
Why am I posting? It was 9 years ago today that Steve Jobs died of cancer. I was getting chemo when a friend called and told me. It was also 9 years ago today that my friend Cam from the Vancouver Olympics was getting a new heart. Cam had cancer years before so we kind of bonded. Cam died later of cancer that was allowed to reappear because of the immune system suppressing drug needed for his new heart to work.
In 10 days it will be my mom's birthday. She's been gone for 23 years.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. For some of us it's always cancer awareness month. It's also cancer awareness week and day. There is not a day it does not enter our mind. We look in the mirror and see reminders. We do our best to close our mouth but hints sneak out. That extra little bit of sadness, frustration and even happiness. Nothing is taken for granted.
I know a good writing should have a conclusion. Wrap up all the thoughts and clarify the point. I don't have one. I just felt the need to let you in the corner of my mind. I guess also in a way to let Steve Jobs, Cam, Mac, Stewart, Josh's dad, Suz, Mom, Uncle Marty, Uncle John, Grandpa and Grandma Mazur and all the others know they are not forgotten. I do my best every day to know how lucky I am.

09/02/2020

I’m selling my droid. Works great, just updated its firmware and memory. Selling because we got a cat and they don’t get along. Make me an offer.

It’s actually the machine that pumps the tiny amount of radiation in me for my PET/CT scan. It’s not much radiation unless you’re the guy who has to inject radiation all day so they invented this machine.
Expecting good results today. It’s just a “routine” scan for me.

08/20/2020

I was first to the chemo room this morning. The chairs are arranged like that for distancing but I got my pick. Looks like I may be the last to leave too.
I don’t think anyone can ever say they enjoy chemo but you can say you enjoy doing something about a problem.
Again, as far as we know there is no cancer. This is to keep it away. This is my choice in life. It’s the same choice a lot of other people have to make. Unfortunately there are a lot of folks who don’t get that choice any more.

08/20/2020

I've been busy. Busy with mostly good things.
I have been, at a minimum, walking 1 mile a day since January 1st. Some days I get to run. That's what has me so excited and sorry this may be long.
I had a goal of doing a mile under 9 minutes before my next chemo. I knew it would be hard but I had till September 10th. So last Thursday I went and saw my oncologist because I am not satisfied with my energy levels. He agreed to look into some things in my bloodwork. We know I have the bloodwork of a cancer patient in treatment but he agreed to look deeper. HOWEVER he also told me studies showed that the maintenance treatment I am doing shows better results and is approved to do every 2 months. So treatment got moved up to what is now tomorrow.
So I ran last Monday in my neighborhood, with some hills, and did a mile in 9:37. That meant I had 2 days to take 37+ seconds off to meet my goal. I knew it wasn't realistic but I also knew I could find a flatter place. Sooooo this morning I hit the track at the high school. A nice flat rubberized track. Temps were better and humidity not too bad than we have had lately. I walked a half mile to warm up, took my asthma meds and gave it my best shot. Whatever it was it was. You don't always make goals but you keep going. You try again.
I knew I needed to do better than 2:15 per quarter mile. First quarter was 2:12. I thought to myself it would be tough to make it if that stayed my pace. No break at the ¼ mile mark with an ever so slight increase in my stride. Half mile was 4:20 something. All I cared was that I was under 4:30. I took a very short walk to catch my breath and then took off. I matched my old pace and then on the back stretch increased my stride ever so slightly again. I have no idea what my split was at ¾'s but it was under the math I had been doing in my head. I took about 5 or 10 walking steps then took back off again. When I was about halfway through the final turn I opened up. It was hard but I told myself to just go like hell and accept whatever it was. I was never so happy to hear that ding in my headphones telling me I was done. I looked down and saw I was under 9 and tried to breath. It wasn't till I walked a bit before I could look at my phone for my official mile time, 8:28. I almost cried. Hell let's by honest I kind of did but just a little. I could not believe what I did.
Tomorrow is chemo. Friday is rest, but I will still walk my mile both days. Saturday I don't know what I'll do but it will be the official start of me going after sub 8. I have only done that one other time since high school.

06/02/2020

Maintenance treatment today to keep the bad cells away.
I have 75mg of Benadryl in me going to see how long I can stay awake. 😄

03/10/2020

Hello old friend.
Getting a maintenance (chemo lite) treatment today to make sure it stays away.