June 22, 2006 - Day 2 - Week 12 - Side Effect or Side Show 

Today was a day filled with surprises, both positive and as of tonight neutral. When anyone asks I always request the bad news before the good news so here goes.

The bad news is that the legs remain swollen at the end of every day.  An extra round of blood tests and now today a scan of my abdomen has produced no clues as to why they continue to fill with fluid.  I thought that the fat leg syndrome might be a side effect of chemo therapy, but today what turned out to be a 3 hour side show was quite revealing.

After two hours on the internet last night I was self diagnosing myself and was convinced that the symptoms I had meant that I was now suffering from lymph edema.  This is a condition usually reserved for those more elderly than I, especially women.  The legs swell and remedial action only mitigates the suffering rather than curing the condition. I was imagining the worse, and yet today my team of doctors Piro and Prudente assured me that lymph edema would be unusual at this stage of the game. Radiation rather than chemo therapy has a causative effect, so I am cleared there and most often the swelling does not dissipate at night.  In my case there is a gradual process of swelling during the day and a gradual process of swelling reduction during the night.  Most unusual and thus as of tonight no definitive cause has been determined.

Does it hurt?  Not particularly, it is just uncomfortable late in the day and walking is less desirable than sitting on the couch with my feet up and having my slippers, pipe and supper brought to me on a silver platter.  Of course that is the usual end of the day routine at the Kreitlers – yeah, sure.  The legs become heavy and hot and elevation is absolutely necessary. Thankfully, the morning brings complete relief. Regrettably the process keeps repeating itself.

Tomorrow I am to go to the doctors again for some kind of heart exam that will determine how the old ticker is pumping.  If it is not doing its job the way it should be we may have discovered why circulation is less than adequate in my legs.

I thank my lucky stars that I did not have to travel to Houston, Boston, Chicago, New York or Seattle for my treatments; five cities recommended to me for their outstanding cancer clinics.  There is good reason to obtain treatment near where you live.

Now for the good news:   The unexpected scan today, which was mandated before I could leave the clinic, and necessitated canceling my luncheon, and I hate missing lunch, proved to provide a nice smile.  I needed a smile today and sure enough, the scan of the belly and below indicated that there is further shrinkage of the cancer tumors.  I had not been scheduled for another scan until two weeks elapsed after next weeks fourth round of chemo therapy.

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