Ric is now finished with his second round of chemo.  He is feeling the side effects still...meaning he is a bit nauseated, having loss of appetite, tiredness, and still those darn headaches.  He still has the feeling of the "plugged ear", but now his right ear feels plugged all the time.  The doctor's don't seem concerned at this point.  We will make an appointment with our family doctor to see if this can be resolved.  Hope it can, because it is quite a nuisance. 

With Ric feeling not so good these past few days he has not exercised as much...not to mention our weather has been very cold.  Today the weather just warmed up considerably so Ric got out for a walk which made him feel better, otherwise he has been in the house doing the stair climber...which is good for him as well.  Something is to be said for the fresh air when out exercising, I believe it can really change ones mood!

We will be watching the big game on TV this weekend...GO RIDERS!!!!  or should I say RAIDERS??

Ric's Pic:  Just My Imagination - The Temptations

We returned from our trip this week and really enjoyed the get away. Coming back from the desert to full-on winter was a bit off a shock though.
Had blood work done on Wednesday and the doctor's appt on Thursday. The main discussion point was the results of the MRI done a few weeks back. It turns out that every thing looks clean. As the doctor says, he sees nothing in there but a big hole where the tumour was. This was good news to hear.
The issue remains with my right ear being "plugged up" which at times can be quite uncomfortable and sometimes painful. The doctor wasn't concerned with it and says that it should "go away".... Perhaps a separate issue to the treatments, etc..  It's been coming on with more and more frequency for a couple of weeks now and is normally always there lately. Surprisingly, the air travel didn't seem to make it too much worse. It didn't help of course, but the sensation is basically the same as though I just landed in a plane without my ear popping. We'll keep an eye on it and discuss it again next month. The doctor did put in a referral to an Ear/ Nose & Throat doctor which could take several months, but at least I'll be on the list if need be.
Started up the chemo again last night for the next five days. The dosage stayed the same this time and we may be increasing it a bit next time depending on how I handle this round. ie: tiredness/ nausea, etc.
If the Riders don't win on Sunday, I expect my nausea to increase accordingly..... I'm confident that all will work out favourably though.

Ric's Pic : The Four Tops - Baby I Need your Loving

Ric has been free of meds for 2 days now, and is feeling okay.  He did not "crash" this time from going off the Decadron.  He is getting more eardrum discomfort these days.  It kinda feels like ear pressure and popping sensation.  It can be uncomfortable at times.  We will ask the doctors what this could be from...as we all can speculate.  He still continues to get mild headaches the odd time, but not as much as recently was the case.  Ric is still continuing to get some form of exercise every day.  Today was too fresh for Ric to walk outside, so he used the stair climber, in the warm house!!  We all got our flu vaccine yesterday, so we can try to keep any sickness at bay.

Ric's Pic:  The Commodores - Easy

It seems as though a headache is just "around the corner" for Ric these days.  They come and go frequently.  We do get tired of talking about these headaches...as they are just mild, and short lived.  We think they could be due to still taking the Decadron...and coming down from the Decadron.  He will be done taking the Decadron on Sunday, so we will see what next week holds.  Maybe soon Ric and I will no longer have to talk about them, as he will be headache free!  Ric went for lunch with some friends yesterday, and had a nice time.  Of course he had the hamburger and FRIES!!!  You all know if I was there...he would not have ordered such artery clogging choices.  Oh well, boys will be boys!

Not much planned for the weekend, just some yard clean-up...before the snow flies.  Wish you all a great weekend.  Don't forget to turn back those clocks...unless you are in Saskatchewan!

Ric's Pic:  Chaka Khan - Ain't Nobody

Another day with a mild headache...hope that this will all settle down after Ric stops taking the Decadron.  Went for a walk this morning, Ric continues to sing out loud.  Ric is keeping me busy...he always wants to go somewhere, and since I am his wheels...It is all okay though, as we get to spend a lot of quality time together, regardless of where we go.  Look at me getting all sappy!!  We have a slow week this week. No doctors visits, etc., at most we will attempt to get our flu shot over the next couple of weeks. 

Ric and I are planning a little getaway to Phoenix this month, should be fun.  My parents are going to come up and watch the kids for us.  We are very excited about the trip, and have a lot planned (or should I say Ric has a lot planned).  It will be nice to get away.

Ric's Pic:  Earth, Wind & Fire - September

Went for the MRI on Saturday and it went well. I did have to have an injection of "Contrast", which is used to react with the blood and provide better clarity to the tissue, blood, scar tissue, etc. when they look at the images. No big deal although the actual injection was a bit uncomfortable this time.
Will find out the results at my next doctor's visit Nov 18.
The last couple of days, I've continued to experience some low level headaches that come and go. I was talking to one of the nurses today about a refill on one of my meds and asked her about this. She believes it could be part of the adjustment to the decreases in the Decadron dosages, but to keep an eye on it and advise if any problems. At this point it's not a big concern, so I'll see how it goes over the next while. I will be done the last of the Decadron on Sunday. Hopefully with better results than the last time I came off it.
The other remaining medication is my anti-biotic and I will be done that this week also. They have decided not to refill this one for now and wait to see how the next round of blood work looks. So far there have been no concerns with any of the blood values throughout so they're not concerned at this time.
Tracy gave me another "haircut" to bring the length down to a more or less consistent length with the patches where the hair is still slow to grow back.

Ric's Pic : Jean Knight - Mr. Bigg Stuff