7.01.06, Chemo Cycle #5 Begins

Today begins the fifth cycle of three-week chemo for me. Specifically I'm entering the second cycle of the second round. These terms are slightly confusing and yet important in terms of overall treatment plan. Practically it means I started with the Xeloda pills again this morning, and keep that up 2x a day for two weeks, will have infusions on Tuesdays (even on the Fourth of July, at 8 o'clock in the goddam morning), and then I believe they will "restage" me again after this cycle. (Need to check on the restaging however.)

The "restaging" makes me think, again, about all the euphemisms surrounding this bizarre process of diagnosis, treatment, ongoing care, death, "moving on." See there's another. Restaging, resectable, lesion, unresectable, palliative care, metastases, impaction, access and de-access, ablation, appreciation (as in "no abnormalities are appreciated"), un / remarkable, — [thus starts the blog to come]

Franky Scale: 7. Generally good, the yummy milk of magnesia smoothies, so much fluid intake that you could set your watch by my hourly pee breaks at night, a mouthful of senna every night, and mix that with a fistful of opiates each day to offset all of the above and achieve "balance." There's another word deserving of at least an entire post. Go in fear of anyone who advocates balance... balance is not "rage, rage" for example, for starters.

In terms of the NY trip so far, what to say: humidity, a lot of White People on LI, SUV's, princesses & royalty, Dada, Roux-rain & remembering, animal experiments & euphemisms, a stony brook . . .

More later, hopefully today, perhaps from the Holiday Inn Express if they have internet access...