Cancer Update

It has been a while since I have written a cancer update. so here it is....

Oct. 4: I was put on a new chemo drug. It is in pill form and I take 4 pills (once a day). So far I have not had any side effects other than it has turned my hair (and facial hair) a weird blondish/white color. (As a result I have decided to grow out my facial hair so that I can look like a bald, homeless santa clause).

This drug I am now taking is new. It was just FDA approved to be used on patients with soft-cell cancers (which is what I have). So my doctors have me doing a lot of random test to monitor its effects on me as a precaution.

Since taking the drug I have had:

1 Brain MRI

3 EKGs

2 days of 24 hour urine collection...This is fun because you have to stay home all day and pee in a container...during the 24 hours you must keep the container in the fridge to keep your pee from spoiling. Who knew pee could spoil?

1 Heart Stress Test...this test was one of the crazier medical test I have ever had. Most traditional stress test involve you running on a treadmill while you are hooked up to all sorts of monitors. Well mine was very different.

It involved a 50 minute MRI...during the first part I would have to hold my breath for 20 seconds while they did scans. (This kept my heart from moving and getting a better image). I would do several of these until a half an hour had passed. During this whole time I was hooked up to a heart monitor.

After the 30 minutes, I was taken out of the MRI machine and the gentleman conducting the interview then informed me that I would be injected with a substance (I think it was very similar to adrenaline) and that after he injected it it would feel like I had just ran a marathon and would be very short of breath.

He proceeded to inject me and within 10 seconds my heartbeat rose from 86 bpm to 144 bpm. It was a crazy feeling, because I was still just laying completely still. I was very tired and VERY short of breath. During this time I was again had to hold my breath to do a few more scans.

Then I was taken out of the MRI machine again and received the antidote to the original injection. It was a fun way to start my day at 7:30 in the morning.

Well that is the update...I have a appointment the day before Thanksgiving to get the results!

My Mother's Day...I mean Labor Day weekend

Last Friday I went home for my routine three months scans and everything was relatively stable and it was a good visit with my doctor.....unfortunately the medical fun of the weekend did not end there.

I woke up in the middle of friday night with HORRIBLE side pain. I did my usual routine when I am awoken with bad pain; I took some Oxycodone and a long hot shower. This usually alleviates my pain allowing me to drift back to sleep. However, after repeating this process three times I could no longer handle the pain and was pacing around my room taking deep breaths to occupy my mind.

So around 1:30 a.m. and awoke my parents and told them that I needed to go to the E.R. because I was near tears due to the amount of pain I was in. My dad woke up and drove me straight to the Children's Hospital E.R. it was a very LONG ride as I tried not to pass out due to the amount of pain.

Once in the E.R. I could no longer hold in the tears and I started to break down and go into some form of early shock (this is a non-medical diagnosis)....the E.R. people, realizing what I was going through put me in a room right quick and within a half an hour I had Morphine flowing through my veins. This dulled the pain and allowed my body to relax.

After watch reruns from the Republican National Convention on FoxNews I was discharged and was home sleeping in my bed around 6 a.m.

The Story continues....

SATURDAY

Often times my extreme side pain has been caused as a result of constipation. Trying to eliminate this as a cause for the pain I awoke around 8 or 9 a.m. and drank about 8 ounces of prune juice and went back to sleep. Around 3 p.m. there was still no bowel movement and so I got out of bed and drank ANOTHER 8 ounces of prunes juice (by this point the "High" from the Morphine had worn off and my taste buds could better discern what it was tasting and drinking....not very enjoyable). Prune Juice is some nasty crap.

Anywho, after sleeping some more I pooped up a storm that a mother potty training their youngster would be thrilled with (and concerned due to the amount deposited into the "John").

The Story continues....

SUNDAY

I woke up and my mother informs me that my wonderful doctor (she is always aware of my situation) had called and said I could come in a do a intense Chemo treatment in hopes of shrinking the cancer in hopes of reducing the pain. (All the time spent on the toilet the previous evening didn't solve me pain...although I did feel 50 pounds lighter).

I decided against my better judgement to go get some I.V. chemo. I have not had I.V. chemo for at least a year and a half so I knew my body was not use to it and that my world was going to be rocked once again this weekend.

I got chemo, Morphine, and watched hours of diners, drive-ins, and dives to pass the time in the hospital.

The Story continues...

MONDAY

I awoken from my drugged induced sleep to see my mother on her ipad by my bedside....this is when I turned to her and wished her a Happy Mothers Day....(I had been under the influence of Morphine for the better part of the weekend). She informed me that it was only Labour Day and we laughed about it.

The Story continues....

Fast forward to today...Saturday...I am nearly pain free (no side pain just bone and joint pain synonymous with I.V. chemo), but things are improving and I am back at school getting caught up and living life!

I meet with my Utah doctor on Monday to set up the new treatment game plan from here on out....

The Story will continue....

Trip to Canada...cleaning the airport?

I recently returned from a three-week trip to Canada. It was to spend some time with a friend from my mission, and to see his stomping grounds. I have A LOT of food places to blog about, but I will start with one of the more odd experiences I have had this summer. The first Friday I was in Canada I was volunteered to help my friend's dad clean the carpets at the Calgary airport. It was an interesting experience and another random thing to add to the "completed" side of my bucket list. 

Here is my badge...

and a picture of me with the machine I pushed for 6 hours around as we cleaned 8 air bridges.

It was a fun experience and another item to add to the randomness list of my life.

Trying to be more healthy...We will see how long it lasts

I am trying to be more healthy...I know all my traveling and eating might seem like I am doing the complete opposite, but since my birthday (June 23)...I have not consumed any soda. It is my first step of cutting out sugar and other unhealthy stuff that I eat (Apparently cancer loves sugar...so that means I should consume less). Once again, I am at the beginning of this process so all the unhealthy food I have eaten during my travels will still be blogged about.

However, I also am trying to "Go Green." You all know about this movement of using more organic/natural products..reducing one's own carbon footprint. This being said I decided to try this new toothpaste called Revitin.

I have used it only once so far, but I liked that it was not an overpowering of minty flavor like most toothpastes. It is a nice citrus flavor (It reminds me of some citrus flavored chewing gum). Anywho, it is an all natural toothpaste. 

If any of you have ideas of awesome "Go Green" products that I should introduce into my life...let me know buy commenting or emailing me. I am always open to suggestions. 

I will also be posting about my recent three-week trip to Canada. I am just spending today doing laundry, catching up on work and life, and letting my body reboot.

Thanks for reading...

Good 2 Go Taco

As some of your may already know I am a Food Network Junky....I got this next restaurant recommendation from Adam Gertler via the show Best Thing I Ever Ate--the episode is entitled "Hidden Treasures." (In case you would like to YouTube it and watch the segment. 

The restaurant is called Good 2 Go Taco, and its humble beginnings began in a gas station, Unfortunately it has moved locations to a new modern, hipster (no in a bad way), and bigger location to allow for a better experience for the customers. 

I orders two tacos: The Honey Bear and Paris TX

The Honey Bear

This taco starts with a flour tortilla topped with chile-honey bacon, scrambled egg, spinach, and goat cheese. This taco was very good and I am a sucker for goat cheese, but for me the bacon had too much honey on it; however, my father LOVED it and didn't think so...once again that food is like art and everyone has a different preferences and interpretations.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Bald Heads

I would have given it another half to full star if it had been more bacon taste than honey. 

Taco #2

Paris TX 

(This is the taco that was on the best thing I ever ate)

This taco is built on the same awesome flour tortilla as the previous, then grilled flank steak, egg, spinach, hash potatoes, and hollandaise. 

Rating 5 out of 5 Bald Heads

This taco was AWESOME! I crave it at least 3 mornings a week. I would contemplate moving to Dallas so that I could eat this taco everyday.

I am currently in Calgary, Canada and would love recommendations for place here, and I will be in Rhode Island and Maryland in August. Past your suggestions my way!

Annual Baseball Trip with Dad--Part Two: Dallas

After spending two days in the Houston Area my father and I drove three hours north to Dallas, Texas to concluse our baseball trip. We went to the Rangers Baseball Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Arlington is a city just outside of Dallas.

Here is a few pictures. 

The Outside

The inside

The view from outside was very impressive; however, both me and my father were disappointed with the architecture beauty on the inside. We were not impressed with the look or the food at this stadium.

However, Rangers Stadium did have the most expensive item I have seen at a ballpark so far. It is the called the Champion Dog and costs $26.

You would be surprised by how many of them they sell each ball game. You see people all over the ballpark carrying them and eating them.

A visit to Galveston Island

Galveston Island is about an hour or so drive Southeast from the City of Houston, TX. It was interesting to go see the "beach" at the Gulf of Mexico. I stuck my feet in the water and it felt like a jacuzzi. It was crazy how warm the water was.

We made a pitstop for lunch at the restaurant shrimp & stuff

I order this fish and chips and it was really good!

The fish was cooked wonderfully. the fish was moist and tender, and breading was crisp, flavorful, and not overly oily. 

I give the fish a 4 out of 5 bald heads. 

(I am a hard critic here because I grew up in San Diego where I have had many a delicious fish and chips).

I give the chips a 1.5 out of 5 bald heads.

The chips were nothing special. A step above the frozen one you can buy at the grocery store.

After lunch we went to and watched a short film about the great hurricane that destroyed Galveston in 1900.

Here are some pictures of the aftermath:

It was cited that it was the worse natural disaster in American history. You can read more about it READ ME PLEASE!

Afterward we drove to the Houston Space Center and took an awesome tour; followed by another baseball game. 

Pictures of Fiji

For those who don't know....I worked for about three weeks in Fiji during the month of June. It was terrifically awesome! Meet some amazing people, had a life changing time, worked hard, and got more mosquito/spider bites than I had gotten in my entire life up to that point.

Anywho, here are some pictures.....

this is a picture of the resort that we stayed at for the first three days on the island of Waya Leilei. This island is about a 1 and half hour boat ride from Latoka (a city on the main island)

the huts that we slept in

on the morning of the last day we hiked to the top of this rock and had an amazing 360 view of the beautifully blue Pacific Ocean.

Our bus got stuck in the village that we were building toilets

here is a group working on a toilet. The Fijian in the forefront with the blue shirt is named Billy. He was a preacher at the local methodist church.

here is a tie that a good friend from Italy gave me. I wanted to give her a thank you shout out!

Summer Update

This summer has been absolutely amazing so far! I have been traveling, eating, serving, driving, flying, sleeping, and getting pretty gross spider bites.

So here is the update so far:

Driving:

Utah to Washington D.C.: aprox 2,122 miles

Utah to Phoenix, AZ: aprox 632 miles

Utah to Vista, CA (Roundtrip): 1372 miles

And countless driving around town and to and from airports.

Flying:

Dulles, VA to SLC, UT: 1,842 miles  Flight Time: 3 hours 39 minutes

SLC, UT to Long Beach, CA (Round Trip): 1188 miles Flight Time: 2 hours 23 minutes

Los Angeles, CA to Nadi, Fiji (Round Trip): 11,004 miles Flight TIme: 21 hours 5 minutes

Totals:

Driving: 4,126 miles

Flying: 14,034 miles

Flight Time: 27 hours and 7 minutes

There is the update of my traveling so far this summer. I still have Houston and Dallas, Texas; Calgary, Canada; Rhode Island; Baltimore, Maryland; and a road trip from Virginia to Utah before my summer will be over!

Also: My birthday was yesterday and I listened to my favorite song as a both reflected on the past year and planned for the upcoming one. Life is so EXCITING! even with cancer.

Here it is:

"Embrace the past so you can live for now!"

A Decade Since.....

This upcoming October will be my ten year anniversary since I was originally diagnosed with cancer. The ride that my life has been since that day has been better than any roller coaster you can ride at Six Flags, Knott's Berry Farm, and even Cedar Point. (Apparently ever world record involving roller coasters is there)

My hair, color of my skin, weight, eye brows, appetite, social life, brain, family, urine, vision, friends, dating life, endurance, and everything in my life has been directly or indirectly effected by cancer since that day.

However, this is not a time to be sad, but rejoice in the great things that life has to offer. One of my blog readers and friend, the wonderful Joy Jenkins, has decided to raise money( in my honor) to benefit the American Cancer Society. It is because of this society and their desire to rid the human race of cancer that I am still alive today and able to write these words.

My wonderful sister Emily made me an awesome tribute video to celebrate my 10 years of victory against cancer.

Please go watch it on YouTube at the link below.

Please Click Me

I would ask you to help me celebrate my 10 years of victoriously fighting cancer by clicking on the link below and donating to the American Cancer Society. I have never asked you, my faithful blog readers to donate money, and it is not in my personality to do so. But, this is to good of a chance to help a friend of mine raise money to fight the ugly desease that is cancer.

Click Here to Donate

Donate to celebrate my 10 years of victory, donate to prolong my fight, donate to help the millions of people out in the world that face cancer everyday. We (cancer patients) want nothing more than to be cancer free. It is a single small wish. We are tired of being sick. Help against the fight.

Here is a poem I often reflect on during my "down" moments.

"What cancer cannot do"
it cannot steal eternal life
conquer the spirit
suppress memories
Kill friendship
cripple love
corrode faith
shatter hope
destroy peace
silence courage
and invade the soul


and I add...It cannot and will not kill me. 


One dollar goes a LONG way. Please donate and spread the word!

How do you do it?

I am often asked the question, How do you do it?

This question is in reference to keeping up with the stresses and high demand of graduate school while fighting cancer.

My initial response is that I know no difference. Since I was 16 I have been fighting cancer and trying to live as 'normal' a life as I can.

During deeper contemplation on this question I asked myself, WHY DO I DO IT? I could easily coast through life with small aspiration and as long as I fought cancer no one could blame no for no having high asprations or expectation of myself. It was during this thinking that I was listening to one of my favorite artist Ian Axel. The song entitled 'Gone' started playing and I feel it best describes the WHY behind why I fight  so hard against cancer to extend my life and do not use cancer as a crutch to coast through life.

Here is the video of the song with the lyrics:

PLEASE TAKE THE 4 MINUTES TO LISTEN TO THIS SONG AND LISTEN TO THE LYRICS.....IT IS THE BEST WAY TO CONVEY THE "WHY" AND "HOW" OF MY FIGHT AGAINST CANCER!

I fight because I want to make a lasting impression on the world no matter how small it is, who doesn't. The harder you fight the stronger impact that you make. That is Why and How I do it?