Chemotherapy, Part 1: June 2007 Archives

My hair started coming loose on June 19. That is, it was there, attached to my head, but barely. Since then I have tried to deny the progression of this particular side effect, but it was only a matter of time before that would become impossible.

The following clickable pictures show how my hair gradually disappeared as I was pulling it out. I am now more bald than I have ever been. There are very few people that I keep in regular contact with that knew me when I was bald before. It didn't quite look like this. I look...older.

To see the video accompanying these photos, click here. You should find the rest of the parts in the links at the sides. If anyone can help with the bad sync job between the audio and video, please do.

Wow, I feel a lot better. Physically, I feel fine except for one small thing: Candida albicans. All up in my mouth. I wish I had taken a picture of it at its worst. It devastated my tongue (especially the back), throat area, inner cheeks, pretty much everything. But it was nowhere near this bad (warning: graphic).

For those of you not familiar with Candida albicans, it's a yeast infection. Like the ones down there. But it's in my mouth. EWW!

UPDATE: I may have spoken too soon about being perfectly fine...ugh.

Now that I am armed with Nystatin and Magic Mouthwash, this C. albicans is quickly losing its bid for control of my mouth.

A week ago I felt hopeful, confident and happy. Now I am sore, weak and in pain. These fucking side effects are for the birds. As of this morning I have lost 23 pounds, and about 7 since last Thursday when the chemo started.

Some people have asked about how I am doing. Here's a rundown.

Wednesday the 6th: PICC line insertion. It was fun at the time. Yulblog. I was there. Several of you saw me. I looked pretty good, didn't I?

Thursday the 7th: Chemo. It was placid and tranquil, like a clear lake on a sunny afternoon. But seriously, it was perfectly fine. Rose and Sujerin were there. It took all day, but it was a nice day. They gave me my bag of 5FU, which fed a me constant stream of it over five days.

Friday the 8th: Woke up feeling like a million bucks. By 10:30, I felt like $10 000. But the day went fine. Sebastien was in town from Manila! The three of us checked out one of the Fringe Festival shows and then hit up Mile End, where we were commenting on other patrons. We were the only people there over 30. Or even close.

Saturday the 9th: I worked until five. Then it was tea with Sujerin, Sebastien, Rose and Petunia. I continued to feel more or less fine. I had a wonderful time. I then got a call from one of my drunken nephews who were in town and wanted to party. I told them that I would meet them for breakfast in the morning.

Sunday the 10th: Walked and walked and walked and walked. Walked to breakfast, then to Tam-Tams, then home. Which is alot when you're doing chemo and with a child that doesn't like walking that much. I was tired, but again, fine.

Monday the 11th: My boss is too sick to come to work, so I am trying my best to keep things under control so we can deliver the game. I feel less fine, but I can work. Food starts to taste REALLY bad. Here's where I pretty much stop eating.

Tuesday the 12th: Same thing. I start to feel more weak, and food tastes worse.