Painful Week...

It turns out that this was a pretty bad cancer week. I big the inside of my lip on Monday night. It was probably the worst that I've ever done that. On top of that, I got some pretty bad mouth sores. Both the mouth sores and the lip bite were on the same side of my mouth, so that whole side of my mouth was just one raw pain magnet. Ouch!

On a good note, I had a great time at The River. My in-laws have been inviting me to join them there for years. I finally took them up on it. We fished and camped in their motorhome. I was able to donate some of my extra money to the local Indian casino.

On Friday, I was fortunate to help with an event at Erica's school. I handled the tech end of things. The event was called the Wickman World Summit. Sixth grade students have partnered with a company called Kiva (www.kiva.org). Kiva is a non-profit that provides micro finance loans to individuals. For example, a goat farmer in Eastern Europe may need a small loan (hence the term micro finance) for more goats. This person can go to Kiva for that loan. Often loans are delivered by a courier on the back of a motorcycle to the recipient. It really neat stuff.

At this event, we connected via Skype to other countries. We spoke with Ghana, Azerbaijan, San Francisco, and a foreign embassy in Washington, DC. We used Skype for video chat and audio chat. Also, Jane Goodall and a woman in Thailand sent in videos that they recorded.

It was a truly fantastic experience.

The Mystery is Over

The first time I went on the Erbitux, I had a wicked face rash (just ask anyone who was at my 20 year high school reunion). I was red and my face felt crispy. The second time I went on it, my scalp was affected. It was yucky. Basically, my head was in a continual state of scabbiness. When the scabs came off, so did patches of hair. It wasn't much fun. I should note that it was NEVER painful--it was just irritating.

I've been wondering how this round of Erbitux will manifest it's side effects. I started back on it on Wednesday. I woke up today with a big nose-pimple (not a pimple with a big nose, but a big pimple on my regular nose). I also have little tiny pimples all over my bald head. So, it looks like this time it will be a head and face rash. Woohoo! There is a good side to this--they say that the rash is a sign that the medicine (Erbitux) is working. I'm not quite sure how this will play out with being bald and needing to shave my head. I anticipate that there will be a bit of an awkward phase (whether bald or with hair). Hmm--I like being bald, but maybe it's time for some funny hats or a rainbow wig. I wonder if I can find one of those Gallager hats that have the hair built in...

Long Time No Post

Hi All,

I've been busy lately. I hope you're all doing well. For the last month or two, I've scaled back one chemo drug. It's Erbitux--the one that causes the rotten face and scalp rash. I also switched to working only 1 day per week. The idea was to rest up a bit and get a little recovery time.

I meet with my doctor tomorrow and I plan to ask him to put me back on my Erbitux. It may be rotten, but it kills cancer and keeps me alive. So, Erbitux goes back on the menu.

All is good here. Robin and Erica are doing well, I'm enjoying work, and life is good.

More exciting blog post and Facebook posts to come.

Big hugs to all,

Tim