Tag Archive: chemo

The Big C – Chapter 6

joe September 3, 2026 0 Family Cetuximab, chemo, praise

Here it is, hot off the presses. Dosage for the “bad” drug (Cetuximab) was cut in half because of the rash that was popping up all over my head, neck, and chest area. The documentation they gave me before the first infusion, and online is very clear. So I was seeing lots of zits on my face, scalp and neck. It was weird, but before I could see the rash, I felt it with my fingers on my bald spot on the 6th or 7th day after that first treatment. I communicate almost every other day with my Oncologist, and she got my messages with attached pictures. Cutting the dosage in half only got a 25% reduction in the time, so it was still six hours at the Cancer Center.

They also did not give me an infusion of Benedryl before the Cetuximab, so mostly I was awake throughout the process. They skipped that because it was a published precaution with the first Cetuximab infusion. A precaution for anaphylactic shock and possible cardiac issues. Sitting in that chair was hard. Even took a couple of stand up breaks just to keep my body flexible.

The ointment they gave me for the rash was like what it feels like to put an alcohol wipe on a little scratch. Well, imagine that feeling on the front of your scalp (my bald spot) down to your eyebrows and the arch above your nose, and then on your nose, cheeks, jawbone, behind ears, back of head and top of neck – all at once! Treating each area individually to spread out the “burning” would have been a very long process (hour or more). Takes about 5 minute to apply and 30 minutes for the stinging/burning to go away. Also learned that best applied 1-2 hours before going to bed, because laying on side brought back or irritated the sensation behind ears and top of neck. GOOD NEWS! There is an ointment that DOES NOT sting, and will pick that up this afternoon from the drug store.

Current published schedule has me on the two-week cycle through the end of October. Hopefully by then my Surgeon in Sacramento and my Oncologist in Vacaville will have communicated and we can get the three surgical procedures completed sometime in October or November and recovery in December. That would be: Sigmoidscopy, Resection of the colon (and maybe removal of the tail of my pancreas), and reversal of the Ileosomy.

These rounds of chemo are making me more tired, but my body still wakes me up between 5:30 and 6:30 every morning. Just my natural alarm clock. I do find myself on most days taking a nap before dinner and sometime after dinner. My sleep trigger in most cases is “Oh good, the news is starting.” ZZzzzzz.

I remain thankful everyday for the doctors, nurses and technicians God has put in my path. HE gets all the praise for the improvement in lab results and the concern that they show for me and my treatment.

The Big C – Chapter 5

joe August 20, 2026 0 Family Cetuximab, chemo, FOLFIRI, NorthBayHealth

Met with my Oncologist on Tuesday and she is very pleased with my progress. There is a thing called “CEA” or a Carcinoembryonic Antigen test which is a blood test that measures a protein marker often elevated in colorectal and other cancers to monitor treatment effectiveness. In December of 2025 it was at 170. By February it was down to 93.6 and at the last test, it was 9.1 – an indicator that treatment is working.

Well, session 3 is done. In at 11 a.m. and out at 5 p.m. The cocktail now consists of 4 drugs plus the 3 before and the 1 after.

The session started with liquid Benedryl. WOW!! That hit me in less than a minute as it dripped for 30 minutes. This was in addition to the 6 pills to combat nausea they had already given me. From what they tell me, that put me in a total sleep state. I don’t remember much about the infusions. Then came the new drug that can cause problems, along with making my skin like a teenager. “Watch for rashes on your face and chest (like zits).” The doctor and pharmacy set the infusion for 2 hours followed by an hour of monitoring my body’s reaction to the Cetuximab. Once my body had survived with no adverse effect, they started the drips of FOLFIRI. That done, it was time to install my little lemon pump for the Fluorouracil. The pump will be removed on Friday.

My sessions start on Tuesday with getting my labs done so they know how to mix the cocktail and my body’s status. Then on Wednesday it’s back to the NorthBay Cancer Center for the infusion and installation of the pump. 46 hours later I have to be back at the Cancer Center to have the pump removed and my port closed.

We stopped on the way home to pickup some Panda Express, drove home, ate and I slept for an hour or so, and then at 8:10 p.m. WHAM! The electricity went off, right in the middle of the Valkyries game. Out came the lanterns. Finally at 10 we all decided that the power wasn’t coming back, so Kevin and Laurie went to bed while I slept in the recliner. With the Lemon pump in my Louis Vuitton bag, I can’t sleep in bed. The power finally came back on at 5:39 a.m.

In my recliner again tonight and then tomorrow make the trip to Vacaville to get the pump disconnected and some “retail therapy” for Laurie.

Still have the “flu-like” symptoms, headaches and joint pain, but no nausea – otherwise, I still have energy and most mornings am up about 6 a.m. and doing all kinds of things around the house. Drive to the local stores and to Vacaville or Fairfield for appointments.

Stay tuned…

The Big C – Chapter 4

joe August 14, 2026 0 Family, General chemo, FOLFIRI, NorthBay Health

The weeks keep rolling by in my journey through chemotherapy. After my transition to NorthBay Health and Dr. Powers, she submitted specimens to FoundationOne for CDx testing. They specifically look to see if a patients tumor does or does not have mutations in the KRAS and NRAS genes.

Testing revealed KRAS and NRAS wild-type status and a PIK3R1 mutation; “Wild-type” means these genes work normally and are not locked in an “on” position that causes fast, out-of-control tumor growth – a good thing

Because of those results, my next “cocktail” of Chemo will change. She explained that she will add Cetuximab to the FOLFIRI, because it is beneficial only in RAS wild type disease and should improve response, duration of response, and overall survival. The result could be that with improvement (reduction) in the size of the tumor(s), chemotherapy could be discontinued and we would continue Cetuximab alone.

Still not having any problems other that the “Flu-like” symptoms, joint aches and hot flashes. Those hot flashes were not due to the weather the past few days.

Still on a semi-liquid diet, and not able to eat anything with strings, seeds, skins, peels, or leafy. Skins and peels have to come off before eating. Amazing how many foods are stringy, even after you peel them. Have discovered that seedless watermelons DO have seeds and watermelon is kind of stringy. I carefully pick out the seeds with knife and fork and cut it into little (1/4″) cubes and chew it. Get lots of flavor, but sure wish I could put a big chunk in my mouth and chow-down.

Back to missing being part of the Worship and Tech Teams at Windborn Church. Tuesday we will find out how long the Doc thinks she will continue the new regimen. My surgeon in Sacramento wants to do a sigmoidscopy and then a few weeks later do the originally planned resection of my colon. At the same time he would undo my Ileostomy and I would be able to start with semi-liquid and progress back to regular foods. Can’t wait!

Stay tuned…