Nice Day for a Scan -- Or Radioactive Man Strikes Again

Update--I had a very nice scan experience. I was able to use some of the lidocain that they give me in Oncology on my arm approximately where I thought the IV would go for the CT scan. It's a numbing lotion that I use prior to chemo. The CT technician was surprised to see that I had a numb spot on my arm all ready for the IV. After he gave me the IV, he asked if it hurt. I said that I didn't feel a thing. He thought that was really cool. I also asked why the CT scan machine tells you to hold your breath during parts of the scan. He told me that when you breathe, your diaphram caused your liver, lungs, and parts of the intestine to move. So, holding your breath caused your inner organs to be more still and therefore results in a clearer CT scan picture. Neat stuff. I think that was my 4th CT in the last year. They have something like 50X the radiation of an X-Ray, so I'm something like 200X more radiated than a person would be from an X-Ray. Stand back--I'm probably radioactive. Does anyone have a geiger counter?

Original Post--I'm off to work today and will then go for a new CT Scan. Looking for no new cancer...

Another Good Week...No News...

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Uneventful Day at Chemo

I had a relaxing day at chemo. My dad and brother brought lunch and
ate with me. It was Steve's first time there and I think that he was
pleasantly surprised that it wasn't a horrible process. We got to talk
a bit about our upcoming trip to Isreal. Overall, it was a nice day.

Tim Rosenbloom
Work: tim_rosenbloom@chino.k12.ca.us
Personal: mr_rosenbloom@mac.com
(Sent from my phone)

Happy Thansgiving to All (Greetings from Lake Arrowhead)

Doctor Visit and Chemo

I visited with my oncologist today (he's not the doctor in the photo--that's Doctor Erica). He said that we're doing great. He's cleared me for a possible trip to Israel early next year.

After a visit with him, I went for a very relaxing day of chemo (relaxing because I slept all morning in an I.V. induced Benadryl stupor). After that, I've assumed the official after-chemo position the couch in front of the TV.

Best wishes to all,

Tim

Lake Fulmor

Today we took my mom up to Oak Glen. It was nice there, but it's
towards the end of their apple season and things were winding down.
So, rather than go home, we headed up to Idyllwild. The attached pic
is from Lake Fulmor (minutes from Idyllwild).

I'm doing well. I have some wicked mouth sores today (side effect of
chemo) and have sore forearms (probably chemo too). Other than that
I'm doing very well.

Best wishes to all,

Tim

Great Weekend

After a great Halloween weekend, I'm off to work this morning. This great pic is all our Halloween Star Wars crew. I'm working the camera in this pic.

Date with a Hair Salon

Looks like it's time to get a haircut (but probably not the one in the picture). By far, my easiest and hardest cancer-related decision was to resume my Erbitux. It's the medicine that causes the face rash. While it is a targeted medicine (goes right to the cancer cells), it has the unpleasant side effect of giving me a wicked face rash. I resumed that medicine on Wednesday. Starting yesterday, I saw the first signs of the rash. Today, my electric razor drew blood from my cheek for no apparent reason (the rash tends to make me bleed from my face for very minor bumps and touches). Eesh--I have to admit, it really bums me out. But, at least it's killing cancer. The rash doesn't hurt, it's just really unpleasant. When it gets bad, it makes my face feel dry and yucky.

Good news--Steve encouraged me to go with him to a book talk at his temple last week. We met a Rabbi who wrote a book about cancer. He had rabbis (mostly) who have been touched by cancer write chapters about their experiences. It's a great book and is called "Life, Faith, and Cancer" (by Rabbi Douglas J. Kohn). I read the 1st 2 chapters last night--good stuff.

My finger neuropathy is really being a pain, so my boss was kind enough to order me voice recognition software for my computer. If you see me talking to my computer, I'm not going crazy--I'm just using an alternative to the keyboard. My typing has gotten really bad due to me being unable to feel my fingertips properly. I can't wait to try the new software out. I should have it in a couple of weeks.

Of other news--Robin is getting over her cold, I'm working today, my dog is doing well, and I'm going out to eat sushi with an old friend today.

Best wishes to all,

Tim

Tough Week

Hi All,

Well, it's been a long week. I'm doing well and Cleo is doing great. She doesn't even seem to know that she had throat surgery. She does seem to like being a house dog instead of an outside dog.

It's been a tough week for Robin. Not only is she dealing with a husband with cancer and a dog who had throat surgery, but we also found out that her dad has early stage throat cancer (I think esophageal cancer). It's stage 1 or 2, and we're sure that he'll kick it's butt. She also had a tragedy hit home this week. Her friend Kirstie was at church on Sunday and had a massive stroke in her brain stem. She was 39 years old and seemingly healthy. Kirstie passed away on Wednesday shortly after her family remove her life support.

That's quite a combination of things to have to deal with. Needless to say, Robin has a lot on her plate. She's been amazing and strong, but please keep her, Kirstie, and her family in your thoughts and prayers. It's very much appreciated.

Who, Me?!?! And Dog Surgery...

Cleo had her surgery on Saturday night and is doing very well. I'm fine too and have chemo this week. :)

Spot Remover

Happy Saturday to all of my friends, family, and blog readers. This post has taken me a little time--I had to decide whether to post and if so, how to do it. I got my most recent CT Scan results. They were not exactly what I was hoping to see, but they did have some happy results.

They said that I have an "unremarkable...pancreas, gallbladder and adrenals...as well as the bilateral kidneys. When dealing with cancer, unremarkable is a good thing. They also said that I have "a 3-4 mm low density lesion in the dome of the liver" which hopefully is just the previous spot that was on my liver (we thought that it was gone, but perhaps it was just hiding during the last scan). They also found a "3 mm lung nodule seen in the right lower lobe" and that they question the "significance" of it. Hopefully, it's nothing.

So, here's the plan--we wait until my next CT Scan to see if there are any changes (growth, shrinkage, or disappearance) in the areas indicated above. Waiting's not fun, but a person can only have so many CT Scans without having enough radiation to glow in the dark and set off Geiger counters.

Of other news, my dog, Cleo will be having her surgery on Saturday Oct. 18. She'll be in the doggie hospital for a day and a half. Bowie (our Boston Terrier) has promised to do his best to be a good nurse while Cleo is healing. Also, I'm getting older (it beats the option of not getting older!). I'm turning 38 on Sunday and plan to celebrate with some family. Cheers to all and please pass the spot remover...

Tim

Don't Put Your Electronics in the Washing Machine

While I was doing my laundry today I discovered my personalized flash drive in the dryer. It went through a wash cycle and a nice hot drying. Much to my surprise, I plugged it into my computer and it worked perfectly. The only noticeable difference was a nice clean exterior and an air of Downy freshness.

I'm doing well and have chemo this week. I have a vet appointment for Cleo for another consultation. I see my doctor next week. My final note for the night--I set up a Facebook account. It's totally cool and is much better than I expected. Really neat stuff.

Trip to the Vet - Updated 10/1/08

UPDATE--It's a fatty tumor (not cancer), but because it's on her throat, she will probably have to go to a specialist for the surgery. The surgery will probably be her Hanukkah present this year.

--------------------------------------
Robin realized this morning that Cleo (my 6 year old black lab) was coughing. Fearing that something was caught in her throat, I took her to the vet. The vet looked down her throat and it was clear. While feeling Cleo's throat, she felt a mass somewhere by her thyroid. That was enough to prompt some x-rays. The x-rays revealed a mass that is beginning to choke off her trachea and is therefore causing the coughing. They did a biopsy and the results should arrive in a few days.

The vet said that it could be one of 2 things--a fatty mass (a growth of sorts) or doggie cancer. Fortunately, the x-rays didn't show that it has spread anywhere. We won't know anything until the tests come back.

I have to say that it was particularly tough for me to hear. It's bad enough that I have cancer--but to hear that my dog may have it too was really hard to hear. I was an emotional mess after the vet visit. This dog has been my buddy and companion. She was an absolute terror when she was young and my father in law warned me that a lab doesn't get "good" until they're 2 or 3 years old. He was so right. Fortunately she and I both survived her early doggie childhood. Now she's older and mellowed out a lot. She's a great dog and has really developed a great personality with age.

I'll post to the blog after I hear from her vet. Also, I'm doing great and have a CT scan schedule for Monday. It's a routine cancer-patient thing. We'll be looking for no new cancer. It's a no-news-is-good-news kind of thing.

Luxury of Getting a Haircut

After several months of having a wicked face (and head and shoulders and chest and arm and leg) rash, I was finally able to get a haircut! Woohoo! It is so nice to be able to do that. However, the chemo has thinned my hair bigtime, so it was time to get it cut really short. Here's me with my new cool short haircut.

Business as Usual

It's Monday and I'm working today. I'm looking forward to a nice day at the office. We spent the weekend in Idyllwild with Steve and Nancy. We really enjoyed watching the squirrels and blue jays play.

I'm back to chemo this week and meet with the doctor prior to that. I suspect that he'll put me back on a weekly chemo schedule. We'll see what he says and go from there. While the break has been nice (every other week for the last month or so), going back to killing cancer weekly is a good thing too. :)

Best wishes to all,

Tim

Mr. Magoo

What can I say, I've had a craving for some vintage Mr. Magoo cartoons lately. Maybe it's from all of those movie nights at Susan and Frank's house when I was a kid.

In my search for Mr. Magoo, I found a great video where Mr. Magoo gets checked out for cancer. It's fantastic. Click here to see it. It's from 1960, but is still very relevant (and worth having a peek at).

As for me, I'm doing very well. With the lighter chemo schedule, I have more energy and feel more like myself. I'll go back for chemo next week and will meet with the doctor then. I expect that he'll restore my weekly chemo schedule, but still without the drug that causes the neuropathy and susceptibility to cold. I'll keep you posted.

One more thing. I just learned about a little boy with cancer. We've been asked to keep him in our thoughts and prayers. With all of the people who have done the same for me, how could I say no to that. Here's a link to his website: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/coleruotsala

Best wishes to all,

Tim

Man in the Mirror

It's so nice to be off of the Erbitux. My face rash is going away quickly. I've actually been able to shave and I'm just about ready to get a haircut. Both of which haven't been possible with the face rash that I've had.

I'm back for chemo this week on Wednesday. I had a great week off of chemo last week. Work is great and is keeping me very busy, and my family is doing fantastic.

I'll put another update up next Monday or so. Best wishes to all.

Tim

Tour of the Kaiser ER

Erica picked up a small cough (probably due to congestion) on Thursday. By Friday, I had a mild fever. Unfortunately, it lasted until Sunday. I suspect that it was either the same illness that Erica had or it was due to the inflammation/rash on my face (due to the Erbitux that I no longer take). My chemotherapy guidelines say that if you have a low grade fever for 2 days, you have to call in and probably go to the ER to be seen. So, we called the Kaiser nurses and they cordially invited me to come tour the ER.

The nurses and doctor were fantastic. I've come to expect nothing less when I visit Kaiser. During my 6 1/2 hour visit, they took a chest x-ray, tested my blood, and looked for everything. I came out just fine. Just to be safe they gave me 2 antibiotics via IV (one of them was one of those super-duper antibiotics) and one antibiotic prescription to take home. I figure with that many antibiotics, I should probably go eat some sushi or something that could possibly have bacteria. With all of those antibiotics, bacteria doesn't stand a chance in my system now. Maybe this is the time to eat at a restaurant that has less than an A rating! Just kidding--no unsafe food for me.

I'm feeling very well and am doing great. My fever is gone and it's back to life as usual, except that I'll give myself some extra time to rest.

Best wishes to all,

Tim

Chemo Changes

I met with my oncologist today (we're very fond of him). He pulled me off of the Oxaliplatin because it causes nerve damage after you've had enough of it. He feels that 11 courses of chemo (22 weeks) is plenty and I'll get no more of that one. That's a good thing because it's the one that makes me unable to eat, drink, or touch cold things. Since I love cold drinks on hot days and I'm a fan of ice cream, I'm happy to see that one go. Also, my fingers and toes have a little less feeling in them, which hopefully isn't permanent.

He has temporarily pulled me off of Erbitux because my face rash has become quite bad. What can I say, I'm ready for a break from that one too.

To replace the Oxaliplatin, he's started me on Irinotecan and has given me some Ambien to help with not sleeping well. I hear that Ambien can cause people to do things at night that they don't remember and daytime amnesia can happen if you get up after sleeping less than 8 hours. So, if I call any of you in the middle of the night or first thing in the morning and then don't remember doing so, please feel free to nicely hassle me about it. No fair making things up! ;)

Best wishes to all,

Tim

20 Year Reunion

I went to my 20 year class reunion on Saturday. It was at the Queen Mary (and no, we didn't see any ghosts!). Robin and I stayed overnight, so that we could just relax and enjoy the time. It was a fun getaway. The picture is from breakfast the day after the reunion. It was very nice to see so many of my friends in one place.



I'm feeling great--just tired from time to time. I have a big week at work this week. It's my last week to finish the prep for my big project at work. So, Monday and Tuesday will be very busy for me. After that, I'll have chemo on Wednesday, so I'll probably resume work on Friday or Saturday.

Have a great week,

Tim

Loving the Olympics and Doing Well

Hi Everyone,

I'm doing well and have been really enjoying watching parts of the Olympics. My only complaint is that I continue to be very tired from the chemo. The tired part seems to be getting worse. I assume that the more chemotherapy chemicals that you have inside of you (over time), the more tired you get. I think that I'll start updating my blog weekly (around the beginning of the week) because of being tired. Other than being tired, I feel great. Oh well--I can live with tired. But it does frustrate me sometimes because I'm used to be very active. I have to say that Robin has been really great about helping with household things that I usually do. She's become well acquainted with our lawn mower and string-weeder. Throughout this whole thing, I've learned what a great partner I have.

My brother Steve was kind enough to send me a message that I'll share with you:
We learned about it from a 12 year old that is at our Synagogue. Her Mom and Grandfather had cancer and she wanted to join the fight. Even if anyone can spare a dollar, every bit helps.

If you want to sponsor her the link is http://my.walkintheparks.org/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=485510&LangPref=en-CA.

I think that fighting children's cancer is a very worthy cause cause, so we sponsored her for what we could. I think that it's truly amazing what kids can do. I used to have my students recycle cans and bottles from home and then we would donate their proceeds to various charities. Given the chance, children can accomplish fantastic things.

Best wishes to everyone and I'll post again in about a week.

--Tim--

Tired Week

Hi Everyone,

Sorry for being such a ghost and not posting (or calling or coming by or emailing) much. I've been very tired this week. Since I didn't have chemo on Wednesday, I took Erica on a short fishing trip Wednesday evening. It went from 5:30 to 9:30 pm and was her first experience on a fishing charter boat. She absolutely loved playing with the bait tank. She just kept catching sardines and the occasional tiny squid in the bait net. She also found a play-friend who was probably just a bit older than she was. We had a great time but didn't catch any keeper-fish. She also got a bit of an upset tummy towards the end of the trip.

Besides the upset stomach (Erica, not me), we had a great time. It was a great daddy-daughter outing. I paid the price for it the next day--I was so tired! I'm feeling much better today and am unofficially working from home. :)

Next week is a big chemo week followed by another week off of chemo. So far, my face rash is getting a little better (everywhere but my face). Hopefully that will continue to improve.

Best wishes to all,

Tim

A Little Less Chemo

Hi All,

After my oncologist visit today, the doctor saw my Erbitux rash (face,
scalp, shoulders, arms, and legs). Because the rash is really going
strong, he's decided to give me a little break from Chemo. Instead of
going every week, I'll go every other week for the next month. It will
be a very nice break for me. :)

Tim Rosenbloom
Work: tim_rosenbloom@chino.k12.ca.us
Personal: mr_rosenbloom@mac.com
(Sent from my phone)

A Few Favorite Randy Pausch Quotes

Nearly every Sunday morning, I wake up before Erica and Robin. I drink coffee, usually cut some coupons, often make breakfast for the ladies, and watch CBS News Sunday Morning. Today, they had a feature on Randy Pausch. He really seemed to have a way of putting things in perspective and of shining a new light on everyday events. I thought I'd share a few favorite quotes:

• It is not about achieving your dreams but living your life. If you lead your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself, the dreams will come to you.
• Never underestimate the importance of having fun. I’m dying and I’m having fun. And I’m going to keep having fun every day, because there’s no other way to play it….Having fun for me is like a fish talking about the importance of water. I don’t know how it is like not to have fun…
• Never lose the child-like wonder. It’s just too important. It’s what drives us. Help others.
• I’ve never understood pity and self-pity as an emotion. We have a finite amount of time. Whether short or long, it doesn’t matter. Life is to be lived.

Happy Sunday. Best wishes for keeping your karma clean, having fun, living life, and walking around with some child-like wonder.

-Tim-

Lunch, Meeting with a Surgeon, and Dinner - UPDATED 7/25/08

We had a great trip to LA today. We had a nice lunch at NBC (the dim sum restaurant, not the studio). After that, we met with a veteran surgical oncologist. He was very helpful. He said that the current plan of chemotherapy is the right plan. He said that I should do it for at least 6 months, but a year would be best. He re-iterated that we assume that the chemotherapy is working until we see proof otherwise. He said that a surgery now would be unwise because it would just result in more chemo (more if they find cancer and more if they don't so that we can kill what they don't see). So, the plan is more chemotherapy and to keep killing cancer. I'm really happy to finally be able to put an end date on the chemo. As much fun as it is, getting to the end of it would be nice too. I probably won't miss the face rash and other amusing side effects. Now I can say that we're planning to do chemo for a year and we'll go from there.

After that we stopped by Phillipe to grab a French dip to bring home for a celebratory dinner. If you haven't been there, you definitely should. It's nearly across the street from Union Station in downtown LA. Supposedly, it's the birth place of the French dip. The restaurant turns 100 years old in October and they still have 9-cent coffee. My grandparents literally used to go on dates there. Also, Huell Howser visited there and did a TV thing about them.

Bad news--I read this morning (7/25) that Randy Pausch passed away. He was the guy who was on Oprah and who wrote "The Final Lecture". He truly was an inspiration. Thanks to the internet, you can see his Final Lecture here.

Also, just a reminder to everyone--be sure to back up your computers often. It would be horrible to lose pictures and music that you store on them. They all break--both PC and Mac. I say that because my work laptop died yesterday. Thanks to being completely anal about backups, I lost only 3 things that I purchased from iTunes the day before. All of my work files, family photos, work photos, music, videos, etc. were just fine. If anyone needs information about backups and backup drives, I'd be happy to answer questions or make recommendations. External backup drives cost around $100 (give or take) and can really keep you from losing important things.

Sunday Morning

Good morning everyone,

I've had a very good week. My work project (big and ongoing) really started to come together this week. On Tuesday, I worked until 11 pm and emailed gradebooks to 36 teachers. It's just the beginning of the project. That was most of one school and I have 30+ more schools to go. This project will really get big around the first week of September when all of our schools start for the year.

I've been very tired this week and spent most of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday relaxing on the couch. Other than being tired, I still feel great. I also took a little time out on Wednesday to visit a few tattoo parlors with my cousin Jef. Did you know that Corey Miller from LA Ink (TV show) has a tattoo parlor in Upland? Coincidentally, they're across the street from what used to be the bar and grill that Bill Kinison had. Bill is Sam Kinison's brother and was the person who performed my wedding ceremony.

I didn't end up picking that particular tattoo parlor, but did find a nice one very close by my house. They met all of my requirements for safety and cleanliness, and were very nice. My only complaint is that it was very warm in their shop. I ended up getting a Superman Logo tattoo (very similar to the photo that I put on this page) on my arm as a physical reminder that I can handle all of this chemo stuff (man of steel reference). I got a little light-headed due to the heat, still air, and chemo-therapy combination. After a break or two and a cooling fan brought in, I was able to get the tattoo finished.

Next week should be business as usual. I work on Monday and Tuesday. I have a short chemo on Wednesday. On Thursday, I meet with a surgeon to determine if and when it might be necessary to have a peek inside of my body to see how my cancer fight is going. I'll post details sometime shortly afterward.

Have a wonderful rest of the weekend,

Tim

Good Morning

Hi Everyone,

Today is Wednesday July 16, 2008. I'm doing very well and have chemo scheduled today. This is my full day treatment where I get to bring the portable IV pump home. Also, I'm hoping to talk with my doctor about my recent CAT scan results. I'll post more information to the blog tomorrow or later today.

Best wishes to all,

Tim

News from the Surgeon

I received a call from my surgeon today. He is the one who first read my original CAT scan and said that he thought that he saw a small cancer spot on my liver. He looked at my latest CAT scan and said that the spot on my liver is gone. I interpret this to mean that the chemo is working. It truly is great news.

This does not rule out the possibility of another surgery. I need to discuss it with my oncologist and see what he thinks. The surgeon did tell me that if he does do a future surgery that it will not be laparoscopic--it would be a full blown surgery. This is because he would like to remove any cancer that he sees. It's his opinion that taking aggressive surgical action would give me more time. He also cautioned me that with such a surgery, I just may wake up with a colostomy.

We'll consult with my oncologist and ask for a second opinion and will then weight our options. I suspect that my oncologist will infer that the chemo is working and that we should continue doing it until I'm not able to take more of it. I also think that we'll probably end up waiting on a surgery. Regardless, I'm thrilled with the good news and will sleep well tonight.

One more thing--I asked the chemo nurses about dying my hair today. It's starting to really thin on top and Robin would like for me to cut it short and style it or something. The nurses said no dye. Also, I asked them about getting a superman tattoo (I feel pretty super when I feel good). They also nixed the idea of a tattoo. Perhaps that part is open for negotiation. I'll have to talk with the doctor about that one. Is anyone up for a trip to the tattoo parlor?

New Car and Today's Update

Thanks to lots of help and suggestions from my family, I found a great car. Steve suggested that I look at the Chevrolet HHR and I finally did on Monday. It turns out that it was the last day of their 0% financing offer. Mark Christopher Chevrolet's Internet and Fleet departments were great to work with--no games or BS. It really was a sharp contrast to the treatment that I had at Shaver Jeep. They were total shysters. I love my new red HHR. It reminds me of my PT Cruiser that I had a couple of years ago.

As for my treatment, I haven't heard any results from my CAT scan last week. I'm sure that they're coming soon.

I worked Monday & Tuesday, and woke up early to mow my lawns this morning (before the heat of the day). After that I hit the couch until chemo. I'm currently in the chemo chair waiting for my benadryl to kick in. It always gives me a good nap. I still feel great except that I get tired easily.

No Offense to Car Dealers...

For anyone who hasn't gone with my brother Steve to buy a car, I highly recommend it. He's a much better salesman than I ever was. He seems to understand the car dealer games and really enjoys playing them right back. Quite honestly, those things are not my strong point. I can teach a child to read, but I certainly can't haggle like Steve can. One of the highlights of my weekend was going car haggling with Steve. I learned some valuable car buying information that I'm going to share with all of you. You never know when you'll need it.

• When a car is on one of those ads for a ridiculous price, it's important to first make sure that it's there. Then can go in, test drive it, and start the haggling process. However, the car dealer will inevitably try to add a markup for something. In my case this weekend, it was a markup of $3,000 for an auto alarm, Auto Armor (or something similar), and lifetime oil changes. Since my brother installs alarms and I used to detail cars at Crown Toyota (years ago), neither the alarm nor the Auto Armor were worth a penny to me. As for the lifetime oil changes, the car dealer was in San Bernardino (and was a Jeep dealer). There's no way that I'm going to San Bernardino for an oil change--even for free. So, the $3,000 markup was pretty much worth nothing to me. While the salesman and finance guys were nice, I'd prefer to keep that money.
  
• But, guess what? If you want to finance a car through a Jeep dealership in San Bernardino, they won't sell it to you without that markup. Doesn't that seem shady? It does to me. However, we found a loop-hole that was shared by an inside source.
  
• The loop hole is that if you get them started haggling and then tell them that you want to pay cash for the advertised price, they have to sell you the advertised car at the advertised price (no markup). Otherwise it would be false advertising. The trick here seems to be to get them interested in you AND make sure that they actually have the car in stock. Then switch to cash (come pre-financed and with a check) and buy the car.
  
• I should point out that besides wasting a tremendous amount of my time, they did give my wife and daughter soda and a free hot dog.
  

Good luck. If you already knew about this, then you are a step ahead of me. If you are a car dealer or car salesperson, I wish you happiness and prosperity--just not at my expense.

Good News (Genetics)

We just met with Dr. Ahmed in Genetics. Based on current science and
medicine, there is no gene that I have (related to cancer) that will
be passed to Erica. She will still have to get a colonoscopy at 27
years old. The meeting was very good and I have been dismissed from
any further genetic testing.

Tim Rosenbloom
Work: tim_rosenbloom@chino.k12.ca.us
Personal: mr_rosenbloom@mac.com
(Sent from my phone)

Back from a Week Off

In case you haven't noticed, I've had a week off from nearly everything (except chemo of course!). The reason that I haven't posted any blogs is because I thought that the Inspiration posting and the Who Are You postings needed a little time. They were just so cool that I wanted to keep them at the top of the list for a while.

Also, we spent the week at Silver Strand State Beach. We did some motor home camping with Robin's parents. It was great. One one side of the campground is the beach and the other side is the harbor. The beach provides the usual beach entertainment (boogie boarding, sand, surf, etc.) and the harbor side is very calm water (great for Erica to swim in). Erica learned to boogie board and has become quite the shell collector. She also has a knack for "rescuing" live sand dollars ("Daddy, I'm rescuing them!"). We just arrived back in beautiful Riverside about 3 hours ago.

As for this week, I have quite a schedule. Monday is a work day for me. I'm happy about that. I really enjoy my job. I also have Angels tickets for Monday's evening game courtesy of Sam and Mona. Thank you Sam and Mona (and Cindy too)! I can't wait to go. They're great seats. On Tuesday I have a full day of chemo (8ish to 2ish). Wednesday I'll be tired. Thursday is a Genetics appointment and a CAT scan in the morning, followed by a visit back to Kaiser to remove my portable chemo pump. The Genetics appointment is a follow up from a previous appointment. We're hoping to hear that it's not possible for Erica to inherit cancer problems from me (to the extent of modern medical knowledge). The CAT scan is to hopefully "see" my cancer so that we can tell whether or not chemo is working. If we can't see anything, then I will schedule a laparoscopic surgery to let my surgeon peek inside and see how it's going. I'd prefer the scan. Friday is the 4th and I'll be tired from the week.

Have a good week,

Tim

Inspiration Strikes Where I Least Expected It

To everyone who commented on the last blog post--thank you. It was great to see some of you getting your names posted. I know that you get a lot out of reading the blog and I have to tell you that I get a lot out of your comments and emails.

This has been one heck of a week for inspirational stories. I have 3 inspirational stories to share. The first one came when I was tired from Chemo. I sat down on the couch and was channel surfing. Nothing was on, so I had to settle on Oprah (nothing bad meant about Oprah). Well, she had a show about people with cancer. Unfortunately, I missed her first guest so I went to her website. She had Kris Carr on the show. Kris Carr is an actress/model who was diagnosed with liver cancer. She had something like 24 tumors on her liver. She made a documentary of her cancer struggle, starting with day 1. The movie was aired on TLC and was called "Crazy Sexy Cancer". It's very positive and uplifting. She also wrote a book called "Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips". I've rented the DVD and bought the book. She has even gone on to create a really cool website community. She seem to be winning her cancer through diet and lifestyle. It's a direction that I've said all along that I'll switch to. I'm not quite ready yet, but major diet changes are certainly in my future. Also, Oprah also had Professor Randy Pausch who was talking about his "Final Lecture". Wow--more inspiration, but I won't talk about that one here or now.

Story 2 comes straight from Craig's List. Who would know that I would find inspiration there?!?! I was looking for a bicycle for myself and wanted a nice, used mountain bike. I used to ride a lot in college (you would too if you had a Yugo!) and was ready to get back on 2 wheels. Also, Robin and Erica have new bikes and I wanted to be able to cycle with them. I found a bike on Craig's List and arranged to meet "David" to see his bike. While we were haggling about his bike, I mentioned chemotherapy. He asked about what type of cancer I had. It turns out that his mother has been battling colon cancer for 5 years. She spent 1 year at stage 3 and 4 years at stage 4. Erica and I were invited into their house and got to meet his inspirational mother. I can't even begin to tell you how amazing it was to meet someone who's survived 5 years when the doctors have told me things about the "textbook average" of 2 years. As if that weren't enough, David told me that the bike came with lifetime tune-ups. It was in need of one, so I took it into Sports Chalet. Unfortunately, Sports Chalet told me that they didn't do lifetime tune-ups. I called David and asked him about it. I had no doubts about his honesty--I just wanted to see if I had missed something. He surprised us by catching up to us while we were shopping. He gave me a $20 refund on the bike (presumably for the tune-up that I had to pay for). Much to my surprise, when I went to pick the bike up from the shop a few days later, it turns out that he payed for the tune-up too! I truly got more than the bike from David and his family. Not only were they inspirational, but showed me kindness that most people don't show to strangers.

My final note of inspiration this week came at Erica's school. I stopped in for a few minutes as I often do. I was given an envelope and opened it. It turns out that it was a gift card from the promoting 6th grade class. The card said that they had recycled cans and bottles and used the money for our gift card. I am always impressed at the kind things that kids will do if given the chance. Also, there were several years that I had my 4th grade and 6th grade classes recycle and we donated the money to charities (mostly tsunami aid and hurricane aid). If I'm not mistaken, some of these graduating 6th graders were my 4th graders in one of the classes were we donated to charity. It makes me feel impressed by their kindness and proud that I may have influenced them positively.

That's it for now. Oh, I'm doing well too. My heart has been warmed by this inspirational week. My body is tired from the chemo, but I still feel very good. Also, I nearly forgot to mention that Erica came to chemo with me last week (for the first time) and was impressed by the great nurses (who brought her warm blankets, graham crackers, and juice).

Update Coming Soon

I have a truly inspirational story that will be blogged soon. I'm just
waiting for more comments on the last entry. I'm doing GREAT.

Tim Rosenbloom
Work: tim_rosenbloom@chino.k12.ca.us
Personal: mr_rosenbloom@mac.com
(Sent from my phone)

Who Are You?

I know that there are a lot of you who read my blog but don't post comments. Can I talk you into just posting your name once (first name and last initial for those of you who want to remain mostly anonymous or are under 18)? I'd like to see just how many people we have on here and I'm curious as to who you are. I've made it very easy to post a comment--you don't even need an account now. Just click on the "0 Comments" button and leave you comment. Don't forget to include your name as part of the comment. For example, "Hi from Tim R." would be a perfect comment. Even better would be to include what part of the world you're in (for example, "Hi. This is Tim R. from California."). You get the idea. After you type your comment, you can check the box that says "Anonymous", which only means that you don't have an account. I'll approve your posting and you'll see it appear within a day or so.

Thank you,

Tim

Hunting Photos

Our hunt was for feral pigs and some exotic animals (Rambouillet and Barbado). The pictures are for those who like hunting photos. They're not particularly graphic, but if you don't like hunting photos, don't click on the link below. For what it's worth, I consider hunting the same as eating free range animals. I don't buy into complaints about hunting from meat, fish, and chicken eaters. Make no mistake about it, any meat that we eat had to be killed at some time. With that said, on to the Hunting Photos.

The Worst Sunburn!

At Robin's beach party last weekend, I got out of the car and put sunblock on Erica. Then I put sunblock on myself. Well, I missed my sandaled feet. I can honestly say that I have the worst sunburn that I've had since I had sun poisoning as a kid. It's a funny sandal pattern and hurts! I won't make that mistake again. The chemo made me extra sensitive to the sun and it combined with a beautiful sunny day and very white skin. Ouch!

I went out hunting yesterday, but it was not a really hard hunt. I did realize the effect that chemo has had on me. I went scrambling up a hill chasing after an animal, only to find exhaustion once my adrenalin stopped at the top of the hill. I literally had to sit down for about 20 minutes to wait for my head to stop spinning. After that, I took it much easier. It was an eye opener for me, because the only problems that I've had so far are just fatigue. This was my first time with dizziness and feeling that I just may pass out from doing too much.

Between this and the sunburn, it seems to be a good lesson about listening to my body and being a little more respectful of the chemo. However, I'll keep living life as normally as possible, just being mindful of my situation.

Dad's Posting

Tonight it is my turn to make the posting in the blog while Tim is resting after a busy day including a visit to the range to sight in his gun, his normal parenting responsibilities with Erica and his day of Chemo.
Tim should be fast asleep right as I enter this posting to his blog as he will be up in the wee hours of the morning to fill his roll as the hunter in the family. He will be bringing home the bacon as well as other parts of the wild boar that he hopes to bag.
We will plan to serve wild sausage and wild pork chops and ribs at the Fathers day BBQ. Thanks to my loving son the hunter.

We are very proud of Tim and the way he is setting such a great example for all of us to follow as he stays committed to beating the cancer and still keeping the rest of his life in the proper prospective

From Tim’s Dad

Happy Feet

I had a great weekend. We went to the beach to celebrate Robin's birthday. I did make one big mistake though. Somehow, I forgot to put sunblock on the tops of my feet. Because of that, I have very unhappy feet. They're sunburnt and sore! If you see me at work with sandals on, now you know the reason!

Other than that, I feel great. I'm still getting tired easily, but am feeling well.

Steve's Colonoscopy

Good news! Steve's colonoscopy came out clear--no cancer or problems.

Tim Rosenbloom
Work: tim_rosenbloom@chino.k12.ca.us
Personal: mr_rosenbloom@mac.com
(Sent from my phone)

Steve

I just spoke with Steve. I was wrong --they are giving him a
colonoscopy and not a sigmoidoscopy. That's a good thing because it
looks deeper inside.
Tim Rosenbloom
Work: tim_rosenbloom@chino.k12.ca.us
Personal: mr_rosenbloom@mac.com
(Sent from my phone)

Go Steve Go

My brother, Steve, is having a sigmoidoscopy today. Unfortunately,
this is the procedure that they don't knock you out for. I'm not sure
why they didn't give him the full colonoscopy where he gets completely
knocked out. I just can't wait to hear that he has clean results.

About me, I just met with my doctor. We joked about the difficulty of
my particular cancer. He suggested that I should have picked an easier-
to-see variety. He's great to work with.

Because my cancer is invisible, we have to schedule a laproscopic
surgery to literally look inside. We're going to contact the surgeon
to get that scheduled. I'll have to go off of chemo for a little while
before and after the surgery.

Tim Rosenbloom
Work: tim_rosenbloom@chino.k12.ca.us
Personal: mr_rosenbloom@mac.com
(Sent from my phone)

How Am I?

People keep asking me about how I'm doing and how much more chemo I have. They also ask how I know whether or not the chemo is working.

1. I'm doing great, but am getting more and more tired. For example, after my last big treatment, I spent Friday and Saturday on the couch.
   
2. As for the rest of the questions, I have a doctor appointment on Wednesday. I'll ask him all of those questions. What I know now is that I have chemo scheduled weekly through August 20. They seem to keep adding to the list all the time. Since my cancer seems to be invisible, it's hard to say whether it's working. Right now, we assume that it's working as long as nothing new shows up on my reports. However, early conversations with the doctor were about doing a laparoscopic surgery to actually look inside of me and to really see what's happening.
   

Now you know what I know.

Guess Who Went to the Vet Today...

Bowie had quite a day today. He spent the day at the vet. He started off with a special bath for his mites that he's been battling. Then he went under anesthesia and had the following done:

• He was neutered.
  
• He received his rabies shot.
  
• He was micro-chipped.
  

He's still pretty disoriented due to the anesthesia but he's doing well. While he was there, he was kind enough to poop on the floor, so I scooped up the evidence and had them test it for Coccidia. To his benefit, it came out negative. So, he has now beat Giardia and Coccidia. All he has left is to beat his mites and to heal from being neutered. For now, he'll sleep well tonight and will have some pain meds tomorrow if he needs them.

Tuesday - Work Day

I'm feeling well and back to work today.

Feeling Better

I woke up with thoughts of work projects racing through my brain. I literally felt compelled to get up and start emailing a few things. It was such a nice change from the last 2 days of waking up feeling exhausted. It looks to be a nice day.

We went out last night and had dinner at California Pizza Kitchen and then saw the new Indiana Jones movie. Both were very enjoyable and both came courtesy of the wonderful staff at Wickman. Thank you. We really needed the outing and it was great to just grab gift cards to do it. Happy Memorial Day everyone. Don't forget to put those flags out...

Another Sleepy Friday

Friday was another sleepy day for me. I think that the Fridays where I have the fanny pack just tire me out. It's Saturday now and I'm feeling great--although still very tired. I think that the tiredness is similar to the day after doing a marathon (except without the black and blue toes!).

Thursday's Plans

Hi Everyone,

My plans for today are to go meet with a STRS retirement counsellor to inquire about the disability things that the offer. It sounds like if I'm disabled (or partially) for a year, I might quality for some disability benefits from them. Then afterwards, I'll be going to Open Enrollment. It's especially important for me this year because I'm going to change a couple of things and maintain my Kaiser. I want to make sure that all of the necessary T's are crossed and I's dotted. I'll be wearing my chemotherapy fanny pack and my iChemo t-shirt, doing chemo in style the whole time (by the way, in case anyone is confused, the picture isn't me--it's actually just the body double that I used for my professional wrestling career a few years ago).

I'm doing great today. I had chemo yesterday and then had a great dinner at my dad and Joanne's house. It was nice to just relax over there. As an added bonus, some of Joanne's family were there (John, Tom and Marcia, and Irene). It was really good to see them.
Have a good day.

Tim

No Gnews is Good Gnews and Bowie Beats Giardia

I spoke with Bowie's vet today. He has officially beat Giardia. He appears to be quite happy with the results. Also of news is that I completed a full work day today. I'm tired and am going to plant my bottom on the couch and watch some tv now, but it was really nice to have a full work day. I have chemo tomorrow. It should be business as usual:

1. Take Erica to school.
   
2. Arrive for chemo by 9 and start my benadryl IV by 9:30.
   
3. Asleep by 10 due to the benadryl. I'll have a nice nap.
   
4. Wake up by noon and work on my laptop.
   
5. Have lunch with my wife.
   
6. Finish by 5 and go pick up Erica.
   

I'm feeling good and have no changes to report. Like Gary Gnu used to say, "No Gnews Is Good Gnews."

MMMMM - Ice Cream

Since I often am unable to have cold foods, I took a trip to Cold Stone yesterday. Fortunately, I'm hoping to maintain my weight or even gain a few pounds, so I got to go with a nice big scoop. Yummy!

PS--I'm feeling very good. Still tired, but still not getting sick.

Beach Camping Photos

Our beach camping photos can be seen at http://web.mac.com/mr_rosenbloom/Tims_Site/Beach_Camping.html

Be sure to see the 3 movie clips on the page.

Bowie Having A Net Nap

Starting the Fire

Our Campsite at 6:30 a.m.

We're Here

We made it to the beach. Chemo went well and we're still setting up
camp. The spot is beautiful.

Tired and Going Camping

Since I'm feeling good (just a general tired feeling), we're going beach camping at Doheny today. Robin will leave after Erica gets out of school and I'll leave after chemo. This photo is a shot of our actual campsite. We can't wait to get away. This one was planned way back in January. We'll have our guard dog Bowie with us to protect us from aggressive seagulls and pelicans.

Rip Van Winkle

I must have had a very successful treatment this week. I say that because I was exhausted all day Friday. I literally spent all of yesterday resting on my couch. During my last doctor visit, he said that it's normal to be tired and said something about blood cells being sucked out of bone marrow (or something like that). I also read something early on that said that it's quite normal to be tired and just to recognize it as part of the process of the treatment. So, hopefully I'll have more energy today. If not, then I'll just relax and enjoy knowing that I'm tired because my body is busy killing cancer.

Ribbon Colors for Cancer

I was looking at some cancer shirts and found that a lot of them have ribbons on them. I did a little looking and found the following:

• Blue Ribbon is for Colon Cancer (this would be my color).
  
• Black Ribbon is for Melanoma (my dad's color).
  
• Pink Ribbon is for Breast Cancer (Irene beat this one!).
  

For a more detailed set of descriptions you can click here.

Invisible Cancer

The results of my PET scan are in. Just like the CAT scan, it shows no
cancer. There is also a blood test for cancer that I get weekly. Like
the other two tests, it shows no cancer. Unfortunately, this does not
mean that I don't have cancer. It just means that my cancer is very
hard to detect.

The results of the PET scan reinforce our previous plan of continuing
treatment and then having a small laproscopic surgery to literally
"look" for cancer. Until then we will assume that the treatment is
working well and that all of the thoughts and prayers are working
wonders.

Tim Rosenbloom
Work: tim_rosenbloom@chino.k12.ca.us
Personal: mr_rosenbloom@mac.com
(Sent from my phone)

How About Me?

I want to let everyone know that I'm doing great. Chemo is treating me well so far. Basically, I get a little more tired that usual. I have another big chemo treatment tomorrow. After the big treatments, I find that my fingers get a little tingly and I'm very sensitive to cold. Starting tomorrow I'll be avoiding cold things for about a week. In preparation for a week without cold things, I've been on a daily dietary regimen of eating ice cream and enjoying ice-cold beverages.

Sick as a Dog

Erica and I took Bowie to the vet yesterday. It turns out that he still has Giardia. He also has Coccidia and some sort of mite (not contagious to humans). Each ailment is relatively minor and none is life threatening. He's begun treatment for each one. He has a great personality and we like him so much that we've made the decision not to return him to the seller. So, like any other member of the family, he'll take his medicine and go to the doctor as needed. :)

Bowie Arrives

"Bowie" arrived today. Erica and I picked him up in San Diego this morning. He seems to be quite happy (I'm not sure why he wasn't smiling in the picture!). We took him to Petco and bought him lots of goodies. He appears to be very new to a leash and collar, so training started the moment I put the collar on him. He's adorable and has a wonderful personality.

UPDATE--He also seems to like to poop on the carpet. Hmmmm--we'll have to work on that!

GREAT Results Are In For 1st Genetic Tests

We just met with Dr. Ahmed (Genetics). He's awesome. He told us that
my HNPCC screening was negative, indicating that I don't have one form
of genetically sharable cancer. The other test they'll do now is an
FAP screening. It's the other form that can be passed genetically. A
negative result on that will indicate that there is no known genetic
link (to the extent of modern genetic scientific knowledge).

UPDATE--I almost forgot to explain the photo. It seems that the Genetics department moves around a bit. Last time we met with Dr. Ahmed, he was in the OB department. This time they had him stationed in Pediatrics. So, I got to watch part of a cartoon and then go into a hospital room that had a bed painted like a sleeping lion. :)

Business as Usual

So far this week seems pretty routine. I'll work 1/2 day Monday and 1/2 day Tuesday. I'm thrilled to be back to work. I love seeing my coworkers and really enjoy my job. Beyond my light work schedule, I have the usual this week (blood draw on Tuesday and chemo on Wednesday). We're looking forward to Sunday when we pick up our new dog. We appreciate all of the name suggestions. I think that Robin is leaning toward Bowie because she's a big David Bowie fan and she's been dying to name something after him.

Radioactive Man

After my PET scan today, I'm radioactive. I'm supposed to try to stay 3 feet away from people that I'll have a lot of contact with for 24 hours. Other than a setting off geiger counters, I feel quite normal.

PET Scan

My chemo went very well yesterday. I had no problems. I did notice an increase in the neuropathy (my fingers are tingling as I type). It started when I touched a cool door knob on the way out of the doctor's office. This is expected and is a normal side effect of the medicine. If you see me with gloves on, it's because I'm avoiding touching cold things.

I have a PET scan scheduled for this afternoon. I'm excited about it. So far, my cancer has been undetectable except through very invasive means. The only way they've seen it is through biopsies, a colonoscopy, and actually seeing my insides during my tumor removal surgery. It doesn't appear in a CT scan or in the typical cancer detecting blood work. The doctors do keep watching the CT scans and blood work to make sure that they don't start showing cancer (which would indicate cancer growth). My hope for the PET scan is that it does show existing cancer but no new cancer. If it shows up, it would be a good way to measure the success of treatment, which is very important for my chemo.

Chemo Day

Today is a chemo day. I'm looking forward to an uneventful and relaxing day in the Oncology Department. I'll be there from 9 am until somewhere around 5 pm. Also, the graphic next to this posting is from a shirt that I ordered. I put in for some really cool cancer shirts (and even a hat). I can't wait until they get here. If you'd like to see some of the cool cancer-wear, you can see the website that I went to here.

Also, please keep the names coming for our new puppy. We should have him a week from Sunday.

All Work and No Play / Name the Puppy

Monday was a very important day for me. My doctor put me on disability for the rest of the calendar year, but stipulated that I can work 1 - 2 days per week if I'm feeling well. I was able to work about a 1/2 day Monday before getting tired and needing to go home. I'm back at work again today for another 1/2 day. My plan is to work most Mondays and Tuesdays (hopefully full days). The rest of the days will be sick and disability days.

Also, after a nice long after-work nap, we drove down to San Diego to visit a puppy who needed adopting. We'll be bringing him home about a week and half from now. He currently has giardia and we're waiting for his anti-biotics to work their magic. He has a wonderful personality and we're looking forward to seeing him play with Cleo. If anyone can think of a great name for this little guy, we would appreciate your ideas. He's a pure bred Boston Terrier.

First Night of Passover

For the last few days, I've been struggling with an acne-like rash (looks like TONS of pimples on my neck, back, face, ears, scalp, and chest). I have to admit, it's pretty frustrating. The doctor and nurses assure me that it means that my Erbitux is working. They tell me that it's a good sign. I found a link that explains why. Click here to see it.

Regardless of whether it's a good sign or not, I find it strangely significant that I wake up on the morning of the first night of Passover covered in what easily could be called boils. I guess it's a good reminder for me to remember Passover this year.