#BootStompCancer Day 71...Down The Stretch We Come

Hi again, everyone! Wow, weird to think it's been 23 days since I last updated you all on my situation. I'm sure some of you have been wondering how I'm doing after the infection that occurred before round three and how I handled the actual third round of treatment. In short, I'm doing great and this has been the best I've felt in over a month. For the more lengthy report, read on.

My last update was just before the start of round three of my chemotherapy and after my doctors told me I could resume a bland diet to test my stomach after the infection. While I was glad the infection was getting better, I don't know if it was the fear of upsetting my stomach, the infection, or the chemo, but I had no desire to eat whatsoever. I refused food for the majority of my third round, having maybe half a plate of mac and cheese at one point. Let me tell you, though, this round was different than my first two and the addition of Cytarabine made me even more nauseous than ever. Not only that, but it's a 24-hour infusion and I was being given five consecutive doses. That's 121 straight hours of chemotherapy!

For the two weeks I was in the hospital, I barely ate and it showed. Towards the end of round three the weight began pouring off. Whether from the infection or the chemo or the not eating or all three, I dropped nearly 14 pounds in two weeks. Not only that, but my lab results were again showing some unfavorable numbers. My creatinine level started to rise again, but nothing beyond concern, and my hemoglobin counts were a little low. I was a little concerned that I would forced into another elongated hospital stay but, after learning from my last post, I was more than content with staying until the doctors felt I was well enough to leave.

St. Patrick's Day came, my final infusion completed overnight, and I was anxious to hear what the latest blood work showed. My doctor came in and said everything looked good except for my hemoglobin. She asked me how I felt about going home and I responded with "How do you feel about me going home?". She then said that she felt fine about it after a blood transfusion and told me to hydrate like crazy at home and start eating. So, after the blood transfusion and a nice nap, I was sent home to try and resume normalcy.

Lots of naps courtesy of special drugs (Benadryl & Tylenol)

I took the day off from work on Wednesday, just to build my strength up before going crazy, and suddenly found my appetite starting to come back. I don't know if it was the chemo drugs finally getting through my system or not, but I suddenly wanted to eat again. It started out with half a bagel here, a cup of soup there, but since has picked back up to a near normal level for me. After a half-day of work that Thursday, and a positive check-up, I went full bore on Friday.

Not only did I go to work the whole day, but I was also able to make into New York City, despite the terrible weather, and be with one of my best friends from college, Mitch Merman, and celebrate his birthday (which is actually today. Happy Birthday, bud!). It felt great to be able to do that and the only setback that occurred from it was a very tired Christian. I took the rest of the weekend off and continued to build up my strength.

Over this past week, I have been battling a recurring cough and runny nose but that has been insanely minor compared to everything else. My appetite is coming back nicely, my strength is on the rise, and I've begun feeling like me again. While my weight hasn't been going up just yet, the rapid weight loss as stopped. To be able to have two weeks like I have has made me much happier than I was back in early March. It was only made better when one of my best friends from high school, Pat Benjamin, drove up from Baltimore yesterday morning to hang out. We played N64 for hours before going out to watch Arizona-Wisconsin. That made me feel more normal than ever and I can't thank him enough for doing that.

My dude Pat and I at BWW after a day of N64

Currently, I'm sitting on my couch getting prepared to watch day two of the Elite 8 and then later on WrestleMania. I'm also mentally preparing myself for the week ahead. I'm scheduled to begin round four of treatment on Tuesday. Now, I've been saying throughout this process that round four could be the last. I've been trying to stress the fact that that is a possibility and not a guarantee, just so everyone doesn't get surprised if treatment is prolonged.

This past Thursday I went through another PET scan and tomorrow I will have a CT scan done. These were two tests imperative to staging my cancer back in January and they will help us in knowing where the cancer is at now, if it's still there. If the doctors find no sign of the disease, this will be my final round of chemotherapy. If they find some signs of residual disease, there could be a couple options: surgery to remove the cancerous lymph node (if the doctors deem it appropriate) or a few more rounds of treatment. I won't know the answers to those questions for a few days and I'm going to take a couple days after finding out, good or bad, to digest it all before I make it public knowledge so please don't hate me if you feel I'm taking too long for my next post.

For now, I'd like to take a moment and share something special. As you all know, I've become a very close partner with the HEADstrong Foundation, helping them launch #ProjectGameday. I am very happy and proud to say that since it was launched in mid-January, #ProjectGamedy has raised more than $20,000 for cancer patients and their families! Of that, my supporters, you guys, have helped to raise nearly $5,000 of that and I can't thank you enough for it! As always, please continue to give whatever you can in terms of positive thoughts, hospital visits, or donations. A smiling face or a joke can make any cancer patient feel like a normal person. I love you all, I thank you all, and I'll update you when there's more information.