Cancer In College... And I Feel Great!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!!

2009-03-28T10:53:00.003-04:00

Happy Birthday To Me!!!!

As of yesterday I am 1 years old!!!

My new marrow has been doing it's thing and keeping me cancer free!

:-)

Fin.

2009-02-25T18:44:00.003-05:00

Hey Everyone,

Yesterday marked my last Rituximab treatment.
YIPPE!

I'm home free!!
However, since the Ritux kept my B Cells depleted, I'll still get IVIG until those numbers come up.

I can't believe it's almost been a year since transplant.
That is just completely ridiculous.

I think it's time to finally close this blog for good.
I'll write a more appropriate post to finish this bad boy soon.
But for now it's hasta la pasta!

Ohhh That's right... I have a blog!

2008-11-09T19:47:00.003-05:00

Ok, please don't feel neglected. I did forget about updating you, but I did NOT stop loving you!

So It's been six weeks, and here we are. Not a whole lot of new stuff to say.

Oh wait... yes there is... I STARTED WORKING!

Yup! I just finished my first week of work at Morgan Stanley. They found a Pre-Trainee position for me, and I'll stay in this position until August when I start the training program.

I'm really excited. I get a good vibe from my colleagues and it will also give me a lot of exposure and insight into the Morgan Stanley Infrastructure.

The days are long... My commute is 2 hours door-to-door, but I'm surviving. I was able to tether my cell to my laptop, so at least I have full internet on my laptop for the absurdly long train ride. It not only makes the ride go quicker, but also allows me to be productive in that off time.

Other then that, still working on the Christmas Show! We put up the lights today, and now we just have to wire them up.

Well that's it for now. Try not to hate me and I'll try to write more often then once a month.

AMAZING NEWS!!!!!

2008-09-23T14:08:00.002-04:00

So when today began, I thought it would just be a usual Tuesday...

Go to Sloan, get my bloodwork, joke with the nurses, see the doctor, and then finally head on home. However, I had no idea what was in store for me!

So we all know that last week I got my T-Cell count back. Well there is also another test they do. They look at your PHA level. This tells them how well your immune system in functioning. You could have 500 T-Cells, but if you have a low PHA level, then their not really doing anything.

That level didn't come back until today...
Well, my PHA level is 233,395!
THAT'S A NORMAL PHA LEVEL

What that means is I've been given the green light to start living my normal life! However, until I get a few more T-Cells the doctor wants me to steer clear of sushi. But in the meantime, that means I can go back to work, and do all those other wonderful things!!

So I gave Morgan Stanley a call, and pretty much let them know I'm ready when they are!
Hopefully with the turmoil of the market, they can still find a place for me! :-)

Until next time sports fans!

My Weekend Out...

2008-09-22T00:22:00.003-04:00

So I should be in bed... but I can't sleep. That's what I get for taking a nap at around 3 o'clock today. In the mean time, I'll write about my awesome weekend!

So yesterday, two of my WONDERFUL friends got married!
That's Mr. & Mrs. Dan Spadora right there!

So now you may be thinking, "Gee Nick... you don't have your 200 T-Cells, how did you attend a wedding?"

Well, I asked the doctors and they gave me the OK! They understand that they can't keep me in a bubble forever and that it wouldn't be fair to keep me away from an occasion such as this.

It was a beautiful ceremony, and one rockin' reception with great food and great friends! We had quite the Marist contingency and we partied well into the night.

On a more personal note, it felt so good to just be "normal" again. To re-enter the real world... even if it was just a quick furlough. Now originally, I thought the experience would feel like a tease. Only giving me a small glimpse of what life will be like once I'm back to 100%.

However, it had quite the opposite effect. It really gave me renewed strength. It produced the same thought with a totally different meaning. This IS what awaits me... I'm so close and nothing can stop me now!

Look out world, here I come!!

Results...

2008-09-16T14:58:00.002-04:00

The Results Are In!!

I've made it to
160

Not too shabby, considering last month they only went up 9.
Hopefully this means by next month I will surpass the 200 mark!

Still Nothing...

2008-09-12T19:50:00.001-04:00

As of 5pm... still nothing!

I guess I'll be waiting over the weekend for an answer.

BOO!!!

Waiting...

2008-09-12T10:18:00.001-04:00

As of 10 AM no T-Cell results.
Each time they do this test, I swear it takes longer.

Hopefully something by the end of the day!

The Look On His Face...

2008-09-05T12:28:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was quite the long day for me!

I was up bright and early to get to Sloan for 8 AM.
The day started with a PET Scan, continued with some IVIG (passive immune system), and ended with a CT scan. I left just in time for rush hour... 5pm!

It only took me 2hr 15mins to get home... oh How I love the LIE!

My route home takes me up the FDR Drive and across the Triborough Bridge... which is where today's story begins!

Somehow, my EZ-Pass fell off the dashboard and landed under the seat. Unfortunately, I don't realize this until I'm sitting at the toll booth and wondering why the gate isn't lifting! As I frantically look for the EZ-Pass a TBTA Cop (Tri-Borough Transit Authority) makes his way over to my car. This is not an unusual occurance. EZ-Passes with a weak battery usually need to be scanned manually in order for them to work.

Now the TBTA cop looked like a young guy... maybe 23ish... and seemed new on the job. As he's waiting for me to hand him my EZ-Pass, this little thing attached his belt starts Beeping in a high-low type fashion. (An Alarm) He removes this device from his belt and his face drops. His expression was confusion with a little bit of fear mixed in.

What was that beeping on his belt? It was a Radiation Detector! That's right folks... I'm radioactive!!! As you recall, I had a PET scan earlier that day. For a PET Scan they inject you with a radioactive sugar, which the machine is able to read. It's a great way for the doctors to observe metabolic activity in your body. The downside is... YOU'RE RADIOACTIVE!! In a post 9/11 world, especially near the bridges and tunnels, law enforcement is pretty keen on trying to make sure nobody sneaks a dirty bomb into the city.

I could tell from the officers face he was thinking the following: "They told us when this thing beeps, it's detecing radiation... but it's never done that before... holy **** what did I just find? Is this guy a terrorist?"... So on and so forth. The TBTBA officer nervously asks if I have anything in my trunk. I think for a second and realize what he's holding in his hand must be the radiation detector. I ask him, and he confirms it. I chuckle and respond "Oh Don't worry... It's just me!"

This doesn't ease his fears. I then show him my hospital card, bracelet, and the medical wrap on my arm from where the IV was. At that point, he wasn't sure what to do. I could see him looking around for any colleagues near by that he could flag over... unfortuntaely no one was close enough. He reluctantly allowed me to continue and I laughed the entire way home.

Anyways... thats my funny story for the day.

My Day At Sloan...

These scans were the routine PET/CT scans that make sure I'm still cancer free. For those of you who have never had a CT scan, you're usually required to drink oral contrast... ONE LITER of oral contrast! After almost two years of dealing with these scans every 2 months, I guess you could say I used to chugging back the stuff. They try to make it palatable by mixing it with Crystal Light. Needless to say, I shudder whenever I just see a crystal light package.

Now you also need to drink the contrast for a PET scan. Usually, we're able to schedule the scans back to back so I only need to drink the nasty stuff once! Unfortuantely, yesterday I wasn't that lucky. The PET Scan was in the morning at 9AM, and the CT Scan was in the afternoon at 4pm. So yesterday I was force fed 2 Liters of Raspberry Crystal Light. I still cringe just thinking about it.

Other then that, everything went off without a hitch, and I'm doing fine!
Next week we have another T-Cell Count! Look for results on Friday!

Another small project

2008-09-02T17:42:00.003-04:00

I just finished another small project...

See for yourself!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXmfulpGIJc

It's been a slow month...

2008-08-27T15:29:00.003-04:00

Well... It's been a slow month. The usual routine...

Tuesday - Sloan Check-up @NYC
Thursday - Sloan Lab Work @Commack

I've been trying to get myself into a better schedule. Earlier in the summer I was waking up between 10 & 11 every day. I've finally gotten myself alive by 8 on a daily basis.

I'll keep this 8 o'clock schedule for about a week... then try and push it back to 7. Eventually get it to 6 in preparation for me having to enter the "real world."

On a side note, I've decide to start something productive...
Next Sunday (Sept 7th) I start an EMT Course! It's every Sunday until March. This is something I've wanted to do for a while. Even if I don't have the time to join a volunteer corps afterward... it should be some pretty useful skills to have!

New Picture!

2008-08-08T22:19:00.002-04:00

As you can see from the top of the page... there is a new picture!

We have a T-Cell Count Meter!

The Middle of the chart shows 200, which would be what I need for the doctor to start lessening restrictions. The end of the chart would be 400, which is considered the low end of normal.

Results...

2008-08-08T16:16:00.002-04:00

Well my T-Cell went up... just not as much as I had hoped.
They are at 107.

So In one month they went from 98 to 107.
But in the two months prior they went from 0 to 98.

I don't know why they've slowed, but the doctor's say that it's normal because of my age.
::Sigh::

Keep on truckin...

No Results...

2008-08-07T14:59:00.001-04:00

Results aren't back yet... check back tomorrow! :-)

Oops... Small Mistake...

2008-07-31T10:02:00.005-04:00

Hello Hello!

So does everyone remember the "growing clot" I had in my chest?
Because of that little stinker, I've been taking blood thinners for the past three weeks.

Well, last week my doctor wanted to do an echocardiogram (Ultrasound of the heart) so we could get a clearer picture on the clot and make it easier to track it as time goes on. Well, when they did the echo, they didn't see anything! Nothing at all!!

Hmm...
So now they took my original CT scan (where they thought they saw the growing clot) and brought it to another radiologist. He looks at and determines that there was never a clot to begin with!

So in one corner we have a radiologist saying there is a clot and in the other corner, a radiologist saying there isn't a clot!

Now what?
The tiebreaker is now a TEE. A Transesophageal Echocardiogram. When you get an echo, they place the probe on your chest and move it around. However because the ultrasound has to travel through your chest wall and muscles and all that, you can only get a certain level of clarity... which is usually enough.

In a TEE, they actually place the probe down your throat and look at your heart from the opposite direction. This provides them a clearer picture of certain areas of the heart.

A cardiologist performed the TEE yesterday. I was put under anesthesia, so I didn't feel a thing.
The procedure took about 30 minutes and when we were all done...

drum roll please...

NO CLOT!
There was nothing there! Everything looked normal and I am able to stop taking the blood thinners! Thank God!!!

So I guess an "Oops" is in order for that original radiologist. But really, it's better to be safe then sorry. What if the second guy was wrong? So now we can be sure I am clot free and continue the road to recovery...

Sneak Preview...
T-Cell Count next week, I should have results by the 7th!

Quick Hello

2008-07-23T14:11:00.005-04:00

Nothing new to report... just saying hello!
I'm doing great and keeping busy.

We won't check my T-Cells again until the beginning of August... so until then I just keep truckin' along.

I setup a page dedicated to my past and future Christmas light displays.

Have a look!
http://christmas.romanelliupdate.com

Fruits of my labor...

2008-07-14T23:29:00.004-04:00

So as I mentioned in a previous post, I've been toiling away at a personal project of mine.
Behold Unity Messaging:

http://www.unity-messaging.com
My fully hosted, complete messaging service!

I offer the ability for any type of organization large or small, (business, non-profit, church, school etc) to send E-Mail, Text Messages, and Phone Calls to all their users.

It's the perfect way to get out a message for whatever the case may be. Important Homeowners Association meeting coming up? Perhaps the time to the little league baseball game has been changed! Use Unity to let everyone know! E-Mail, Text Messages, and Phone... it has it all covered!

I'm really proud of it and was great way to not only keep me busy, but also keep all my skills sharp, as I still won't be starting work for a few months.

Anybody you know might be interested? Feel free to let them know!

Take care,
Nick

If It's Not One Thing...

2008-07-09T21:19:00.002-04:00

...It's another!

Tuesday was quite the long day for me. I was at Sloan by 7 AM. I had my CT scans and my PET Scan. After those were all finished i had to get my IVIG (Passive Immune System.) It was a very busy day. I finally left the city at round 5 o'clock and it only took me a glorious 2 HOURS to get home!! Ohhh how much I love the LIE.

Luckily I was at Sloan long enough for them to give me all my test results the same day! Still no more cancer! Everything is great!!

Except we have a new little problem...

If you remember, since I started treatment I had a mediport put in my chest. Essentially, it's a central line. When they took it out to put in a temporary triple line for my bone marrow transplant, they noticed that the vein it was in was all clotted up... this happens from having a line in for an extended period of time... no big deal.

However, on this latest round of scans they noticed that the clotting grew.
Medical term: Thrombosis
There could be two reasons for this: 1. Once the clot forms, it's easy for the clot to grow, and may just be a one time thing, or 2. I have a genetic defect which causes clotting.

They took some blood to run the genetic tests, but those won't be back for two weeks. In either case, I've been put on blood thinners and that will do the trick. However, if it is one of those genetic defects, I might have to be on the blood thinners for quite a while. It's one shot twice a day... no big deal.

But all in all, no cancer is the most important thing!

I Should Play Lotto!

2008-07-03T23:48:00.002-04:00

So It's 98 days post transplant and I get a call from the doctor.
They took my T Cell count on Tuesday, and the results are back.

So how many do you think we got? 60 days ago, it was at 0. How many could we possibly get.
Well guess what... we got 98!!!! WOOT!!! Not Too Shabby!

I need at least 200 for the doctors to start lifting the quarantine, and those could come as early as the end of this month, but even if it's the end of August... we're in great shape!

So 98 T-Cells at 98 days post transplant... Today's July 3rd...
7 3 9 8 - Win 4

I'm playing lotto tomorrow... Hey! Ya never know :-)

Oops...

2008-06-20T19:40:00.003-04:00

Sorry Sorry Sorry...

I know I have this thing called a blog and I'm supposed to update it... but I tend to forget.

Which is maybe a good thing. I forget because there's not much to write about.
The doctor's are still happy with me, I feel good... and I'm even getting some hair back!

Next week we'll be taking our second T Cell count. It's only been three months, so I don't expect anything. (Hopefully we get something better then zero!) I don't expect to see any significant numbers until the end of August (6 months)

Other then that, I've been spending time working on a programming project for my little consulting business. It's about 75% of the way there and hopefully can make me a little money this summer.

I've also started planning for this year's Christmas display! I hope to improve on the techniques I used up at Marist last year and create an unforgettable display for the neighborhood!

Until we meet again!

Hello Hello..

2008-05-30T12:15:00.003-04:00

Just a quick note to say hi! It's been two weeks, and even though there's nothing to report I can't leave everyone hanging!

I'm feeling good and the doctor's are happy. I'm still on house arrest (more or less) and we'll probably take the next T Cell count in a few weeks. Not too hopeful for anything amazing since the last count was 0. I need at least 200 before they start taking away restrictions.

But I must be off... it's the girlfriend's birthday weekend and I have many things to tend to :-)

Till next time!
-Nick

P.S
Tuesday I'll be at sloan all day for my monthly IVIG (Passive Immune System) expect a longer post then!

Day 50!!

2008-05-16T12:08:00.003-04:00

I know you've all been wondering where I've been, but I just wanted to wait until day 50 to make a post. I don't know why, it doesn't have any real significance, but it is a nice big round number!

Everything is going well, I'm still feeling great and the doctors are happy. I started coming down with a sinus "thing" earlier in the week, but since starting antibiotics it has resolved.

This entire week has been "Senior Week" at Marist. Essentially one week long party. I felt bad that my friends wouldn't be able to celebrate it with me, so I made a life-sized cardboard stand-up and sent it to them! Needless to say, completely inappropriate pictures will soon follow. :-)

Tomorrow will also be Marist's Commencement Ceremony. This year they'll be broadcasting it over the web, so my parents and I will be able to watch.

This morning I also got an unexpected surprise. At around 11 AM the phone rings. The caller ID says "Marist College." I'm wondering who it could be. Is it someone from the Music Department, someone from the school of computer science... no... It was President of Marist College, Dennis Murray.

I was totally taken back. He wished me well on my recovery and expressed his condollences since I won't be able to attend graduation. He also said that he'll be giving me a shout out in his speech! What a nice guy!!

That really made my morning!

All is well...

2008-05-06T12:50:00.002-04:00

As the title states... all is well!

I'm looking good (when do I not?) and feeling good!
Yesterday I even went to the driving range! This time I didn't go crazy and I feel fine today.

All the scans came back and they look great, nothing there! The doctor is happy!
We got my first T Cell count back and the number is... zero.
No worries, it's what we expected. The count was only taken at 30 days out, and because of my age it will take a while for that number to come in.

Other then that I'm 2 take home finals and one 20 page paper away from graduation!
YIPPE! Time to get back to all that.

Preventitve Maintenance...

2008-04-27T21:24:00.003-04:00

I certainly have a busy week ahead of me.
Besides the remaining papers that need to be written, I have a few long days at Sloan.

Tuesday, I'll be at Sloan getting a medicine called Rituximab. It's a monoclonal antibody which is used to treat B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

But Nick, I thought all the pre-transplant chemo and radiation got rid of your cancer?

That's a very good question! While we have no reason to think the cancer is back, this is being done as a preventative measure. This medicine specifically targets B-Cells (a type of white blood cell) and triggers the cell to die.

Why do we want to do that?

Because my cancer was a B-Cell cancer, the thought process is to suppress the B-Cells in my body for a little longer and allow the donor marrow to get stronger. The hope is that any of my body's own B-Cells that were left will be eliminated allowing only new donor B-Cells to grow.

We'll do this once ever other month... not sure for how long

On Tuesday, my doctor will also do our first T-Cell count!
It will only be 34 days out, but what the heck.

Thursday...

On Thursday we have my first set of scans since transplant. Hooray Hooray!

Busy week ahead, so in preparation it's time to get some sleep!

I Love The Marist Music Department

2008-04-23T20:58:00.003-04:00

So this past Sunday was the Spring Music Concert up at Marist.
I was floored when I heard they dedicated the concert to me!!

Here's a page from the program...

(Click the image for a larger version)

One week...

2008-04-20T18:15:00.003-04:00

So I've been home for an entire week...

Things are getting better every day. A full night's rest every night for the past 6 nights has certainly helped. My appetite is certainly improving, however my taste is still lacking. Little by little!

Because of the beautiful weather I've been trying to go for walks, and Friday morning I hit the driving range. Being a bit too ambitious, I got myself a large bucket of balls... which ends up being 135 golf balls. Ya know, you don't realize how many 135 golf balls is until they're staring you in the face. I certainly bit off more then I could chew. Not realizing how much energy I didn't have, I had to take a break about every 10 balls. None the less, it was good to get out into the fresh air.

Yesterday morning when I woke up was a different story. Those golf balls did a number on me. My legs, back, side, shoulders, neck, and arms were KILLING me. Soooo sore. haha, serves me right. Next time perhaps a small bucket of balls. :-)

I'm also making a pretty good dent in my coursework and writing a paper as we speak. So before I get too distracted, let me get back to that.

Hasta la pasta!

Home Sweet Home!!!

2008-04-14T18:12:00.003-04:00

I'm writing this post to you from the comfort of my own home!!
That's right! at 18 days they let me out for good behavior!

It feels so good to here. My couch, my bed... my everything!

So what lies ahead?

I'll be returning to Sloan twice a week for checkups and such and trying to get back my energy. (This includes my appetite.) I also have a huge buttload of coursework I have to get done, after all I still plan to graduate!

My immune system is still weak, so now I'm only in a semi-quartine state. I can go for walks outside, but crowded public places are off limits. People can come visit, but only a few at a time and they gotta be super healthy. Things will remain this way for a while, at least until June when they recheck my immune system. Unfortunately, after puberty the immune system isn't able to reconstitute itself as quickly. These restrictions may very well last in september, perhaps later! But as my numbers improve (they check every 2 months) they'll lift restrictions.

Other then that I just want to thank everyone again for all their thoughts, prayers, support, and encourgament through this whole time. It's been such a blessing!!!

Till next time!

Tick Tock!!

2008-04-13T13:02:00.002-04:00

Hey sports fans!

Everything here has been going great.

THEIR SENDING ME HOME TOMORROW!!
(knock on wood)

Today they've disconnected me from everything so I'm a free man!
I still don't have much of an appetite, and so I've been dropping weight. Doctor wants me to drink 3 liters of anything with substance (read: electrolytes) to try to offset the not eating.

Mom is bring me a few chicken cutlets from home today, maybe that will peek my interest!

Other then that, I've been feeling good! just generally tired. That's a combination of everything going on plus the not eating, but with time everything will return! Energy and Appetite.

It's funny, I've been here since March 27th. Looking back, that time has flew by! But knowing I'm going home tomorrow is making this weekend take forever! I'm so close!!!!

Rough Night...

2008-04-10T17:53:00.002-04:00

Hey all

Had a bit of a rough night last night. Spiked a small fever with a headache and some vomiting. But my fever didn't go above 38.5 C so the doctors aren't really worried.

Besides, the nurses tell me you can't go through transplant without spiking a fever at least once!

Other then that I've been feeling pretty exhausted and spent most of the day in bed. However over the past hour I've been feeling increasingly better and more lively. Feeling more normal :-)

While this energy lasts I thought I better update my adoring fans.

Have a great night!

There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow

2008-04-08T18:58:00.002-04:00

...Shining at the end of every day!
There's a great big beautiful tomorrow.
And tomorrow is just a dream away!

(That was for all my Disney fans out there)

So today was another good day!
We got the full dose of the IVIG without any reaction. (score!)

My doctor also started stepping me down on some meds and moving others to pill.
We are on quite a roll.

On another note, I've started to eat and drink more and more. Unfortunately I really can't taste anything. The mucositis has messed up my taste buds big time. Ya know how you feel when you drink coffee that's too hot? I essentially feel that numbness 24/7. No worries, normal taste will return within a few weeks.

All in all we're doing well!
Thankfully, I only have one more dose of benadryl scheduled for 8 o'clock tonight. So I thought I would use these few precious moments of lucidity to update my blog!

I just wanna thank everyone for all their encouragement and support through everything.
Your cards, your blood, and especially your prayers have really helped to ease these rough waters for me and my family!

The Record...

2008-04-07T12:35:00.002-04:00

Just a quick note...

I just saw the doctor and pleaded with her to let me out for good behavior :-)
She said her "record" to send someone home is 19 days post transplant.

Let's make or break that record!

In order for me to go home I have to be off all my antibiotics and pain meds, sustain these blood counts without any help, and most importantly be eating and drinking. As long as my counts stay on the right path we'll begin to peel away the antibiotics tomorrow.

We Have Lift Off!!!

2008-04-07T08:50:00.003-04:00

BAM!!!!

Ladies and gentlemen... Today's Counts...
::drum roll:

White Blood Count - 7.1!!

Now that's what I'm talking about!
The rest of my counts are ok too!

Back to sleep for me. I can't wait for the doctor to do rounds this morning. Let's get me home!! :-)

Houston, We have counts!

2008-04-06T10:43:00.003-04:00

Hey everyone!

My counts are on the move!

My White blood count has moved from .4 to 2.5 today.
It may be a fair assessment to say I'll have some full strong counts in by Wednesday.

When I see the doctor tomorrow I'm gonna ask her what I need to do to get outta dodge!
In the mean time my 10AM dose of benedryl is telling me it's time for a nap.

Adios!

Chugging Along...

2008-04-05T08:59:00.003-04:00

Hey Everyone!

Today starts dose #3 of the ATG. It should be an uneventful day as I met the second dose with no problems or issues.

Now more important issues...

White Blood Count:
Thursday - 0.1
Friday - 0
Saturday - 0.4

See it!!! It's starting!! The numbers don't lie people! I also feel the marrow working. I've been on the GCSF medication and I'm feeling some bone pain in my lower back and legs. All signs point to new growing marrow!!

Keep on Truckin...

2008-04-03T15:37:00.002-04:00

Here we are, Thursday! So far so good.

Today I'm getting the second dose of ATG (Anti-thymocyte globulin.) This medication is used to prevent transplant rejection. Just like the IVIG from the other day, there is the possibility of having a reaction to this drug. So with this drug I'm not just premedicated with benedryl and tylneoyl, but also with celebrex and steroids. All those drugs do wonders... on Tuesday when i got the first dose, I only ran a small (100.4) fever, so they were able to finish giving me the dose without any problems.

For the second dose, their infusing the medicine a little slower which should prevent having any reaction at all. All in all I'll receive this medication four times. Every other day since Tuesday (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Monday) Now, remember all those premeds I've been given to prevent against any reaction for this medication? Well, I actually receive the benedryl around the clock! Every 6 hours! They even continue the benedryl for 24 hours after the actual medicine finishes. So in other words, I have been and will be in a consistant benedryl comma until Tuesday.

It's amazing... 5 minutes after giving me the benedryl I can barely keep my eyes open. I'm finding this as a blessing in disguise. I've been having trouble sleeping and this pretty much keeps me napping for 18 hours a day.

Speaking of which, a new dose has just kicked in. So before I pass out onto my keyboard I must be off!

BUT BEFORE I GO...

We're starting to see some growth! Today I had a .1 white count. The doctor's say it will probably drop back down to zero tomorrow, but that means the process is starting. To further encourage my new marrow the doctors will start me on GCSF (Remember the medication to help encourage white cell growth) and continue that for next week.

Things are looking good people!

And now... Good night!

Bad Shrooms....

2008-03-30T17:03:00.003-04:00

Nobody likes a bad trip! hehe

Today was a little more exciting then I would have liked.
On the road map to recovery, I receive different medications to help my body in this time of a compromised immune system. One of this is known as IVIG (intravenous immunoglobulin). Essentially its antibodies collected from over a thousand blood donors and given to me to help create a temporary passive immune system. Just like when i get blood transfusions, they give me tylenoyl and benadryl to help prevent against any reaction.

Unfortuantely today, that wasn't enough. The ivig is infused over 6 hours. At about 2 hours into it I started getting the chills and shaking VIOLENTLY! Some seriously crazy shaking. All the muscle spazisms also induced a little spout of vommiting as well. They gave me some adavin to stop the vommiting and steroids to reverse the reaction.

After the meds and another little nap, I'm back to normal! They'll try to give the medication again in about a week. But this time they'll premed me with more stuff and infuse the medication at a slower rate. Those combined should lower the chance of having that reaction!

So for now it's back to normal, and back to bed!

Day 2

2008-03-29T11:44:00.002-04:00

So It's Day 2. I'm hanging in there.

Mouth sores seeming to be getting a little worse, but not worries I'll ask for some pain meds.
Also, I'm dealing with some constant diarrhea. Not a lot of fun.

But hey! It could be worse, so I'm not complaining!

Keep on keepin on! :-)

Transplant Time!!!

2008-03-27T23:30:00.003-04:00

Hooray! We did it! Transplant is finished!
Just as I mentioned before, it was quite uneventful.

Now we play the waiting game as the graph begins to come in.

Until then it'll be blood and platelet donations for me!

Almost There...

2008-03-27T14:45:00.002-04:00

So we're almost there!

Yesterday was not the funnest of days. My stomach was killing me, It was this pain that can only be described as extreme indigestion. Combine that with some cramping that you feel thorough your back and that about sums up my day. A little for vomiting, but as usualy, one spout of it and it disappears.

However, it was also time to move my central line. So I had a central line in the right side of my chest, giving the doctors access to three separate IV lines. Unfortunately, 1 line wasn't working and they had already tried "rewiring" the line last Monday. This meant a change of venue.

The placement of a new central line put its very "comfortably" in my femoral vein. For those less familiar with human anatomy, this places it nicely in my groin. Annoyingly close to all my "male parts" No worries though, this will only be temporary (2-3 weeks)

Today I woke up feeling more like myself. My stomach pain is subsiding with only a few pokes here and there to remind me it still exists. Just trying to relax until...

Transplant Today 6PM

Then it's just sitting back and recovering. So far so goo!

A Long Week...

2008-03-24T11:46:00.004-04:00

It's been quite the week at Sloan Memorial Hospital.

Tuesday started my radiation therapy. 3 times a day for 4 days. The radiation therapist was impressed. He said he had four TBI (Total Body Irradiation) cases this week, and I was fairing the best! He had 2 guys pass out, and another vomit. It seems like I got the trophy! With the radiation came some nausea but mostly I was just exhausted.

Saturday started the chemo regiment. However before they hung the chemo I had some surprise visitors! Eddie, Matt, and Dan came by before heading to the auto show. The Wozencroft's also came by to wish me well and donate platelets! If that wasn't enough, my friends from home Eric and Liz also came by! It was quite an action packed day.

It was all perfect timing because after they left I went into lockdown! :-)
In other words, with my counts dropping it was time to put me into isolation. Which essentially means anytime anyone comes in the room they need to wear a mask, gown, and gloves. This will minimize the chance for contracting any virus or bacteria while my counts are at Zero.

Anyways...
The chemo on Saturday and Sunday is pretty interesting. Apparently, the drug (Thiotepa) in high dose is excreated through the skin and could cause burns. So after the chemo finishes i have to take a shower. 1 hour after and 6 hours after. A little annoying, but a small price to pay :-)

Sunday, I'm not gonna lie. I felt like poop. Nauseous and tired all day. I didn't want to get outta bed at all. But unfortunately those two pesky showers I needed to take toke preceident.

That brings us to today...
Well I was feeling pretty good actually! But then in the middle of writing this post, out of nowhere, my stomach went sour and felt the need to evacuate. First time during treatment EVER! It wasn't that bad though. Mainly because I haven't eaten anything in three days. I just have no apetite. I've tried to eat some cereal, but after a few bites I just can't take anymore. The doctor isn't worried and has said it's par for the course.

What lies ahead?
Well more chemo tomorrow, and then Wednesday will be a day of rest.
Thursday we'll get our Bone Marrow!!!! Yippe!! And from there it's just recovery. :-)

However, I really do need to get back on the horse in regards to coursework. I'll get to that. Soon... I promise

Dr. Acula.... Get it? :-)

2008-03-19T15:40:00.004-04:00

As some of you may know, throughout the transplant process I will be unable to produce the many different types of blood cells that are needed for my body to function. This includes red cells, white cells, and platelets.

During this time I'll be receiving almost constant infusions of these blood products until my body is able to produce them on it's own. If you'd be interested in donating blood or platelets to help me out please check out the link below for more information.

Nick Romanelli Blood Donor Information

It's not just me that will benefit from your donation. Many (if not all) cancer patients will require blood during their treatment. If for whatever reason I am unable to use your donation, rest assured that you have helped someone else just like me!

So far so good

2008-03-19T12:25:00.002-04:00

Hello all!

As the title states, so far so good. We started radiation yesterday. Pretty much I stand 15 feet away from this giant machine as it roasts my insides. A recipe for a healthy nick includes roasting 5 minutes on each side 3 times a day for 4 days. So my last treatment will be Friday night.

The radiation is making me feel a little queezy, but more annoying then that is the intense dry mouth it gives me.

Stay tuned for more updates :-)

And So It Begins...

2008-03-17T09:24:00.002-04:00

Here we are... March 17th!

I'm currently hanging out at Sloan waiting to be admitted. The marathon begins now. Tomorrow starts 4 days of radiation, 4 days of chemo, 1 day of rest, and finally the marrow!

From there, it's more of an art then a science. We'll see how body responds and how quickly the marrow starts doing its thing!

As always, I'll keep everyone posted!

I also want to thank everyone for their support and encouragement as we start this new lengthy process. Hopefully our last one!!!

Take care

Down to the wire...

2008-03-05T21:30:00.002-05:00

So It's March 5h and we're getting down to wire.

Next week will be filled with a myriad of tests and appointments to be sure I'm ready for the whole transplant process.

On March 17th I'll enter the hospital for the Bone Marrow Transplant!

The first four days will be filled with total body radiation, followed by more days of chemo, and then finally the bone marrow! From that point it will probably be about 3 weeks of recovery before I can continue recovering at home.

As for the bone marrow donor, I've been told their looking at one perfect 10 out of 10 match, and two 9 out of 10 matches. Couldn't ask for anything better

Keep ya posted!

Good News!!

2008-02-20T20:46:00.002-05:00

Good news everyone!

We had our first PET scan yesterday since we found out the cancer came back.
And praise God, everything in my liver, spleen, and spine are gone!

There is a little area of lymph nodes near my liver that are suspect, but my doctor thinks they may look the way they do from treatment. She's going to speak to the radiologist tomorrow to figure it all out.

All in all this is great news, and dependent upon what those lymph nodes are doing, we may be ready for transplant on March 10th!

Yippee!!!

Getting Closer...

2008-02-09T20:36:00.000-05:00

Hello all, I hope this post finds everyone well!

Some nifty developments over the past 2 weeks.
Apparently, Marist has become a hot zone for the flu and other viral outbreaks over the past two weeks. Luckily, I was planning on traveling home anyways since I was scheduled to start chemo this past Tuesday.

Unfortunately I didn't travel home soon enough and caught whatever bug has been floating around campus. I came down with a nice low grade fever which awarded me the privilege to travel to Sloan on Saturday, Super bowl Sunday, and Monday to receive antibiotics.

I returned to Sloan to see my doctor on Tuesday and Wednesday only to learn that the virus had been playing with my immune system and causing my blood counts to drop. Which meant no chemo. Thankfully, they returned to decent enough levels by Thursday and I was able to start my 3 day cycle. However no good deed goes unpunished. While the clinic is only open on weekdays, I had to be admitted on Friday night so I could get my last day of chemo today. I was discharged around 2:30pm and I write this post from the comfort of my own home.

As for the virus, I came down with a low grade fever (sub 101) on Saturday which lasted until Monday morning. Since the fever broke I've been feeling great and the subsequent cough has been getting better each day.

Any news on transplant?

We're still not sure if we're going to do an auto (use my own marrow) or an alloe (an unrelated donor) for the transplant. While my marrow is clean, it may not be strong enough to support my immune system. Luckily we do have 10 potential donors to test if we decide to go that route.

Apparently there are teams of doctors having a meeting about me to decide the best course of action. This includes the type of transplant along with the type of chemotherapy and radiation I will receive right before the transplant. So I'll keep everyone posted as I learn more.

Whats the schedule look like?

As of right now here is what we're looking at...

Feb. 20th & 21st -- Full set of scans
Feb. 22nd -- Bone Marrow aspirations to double check that my marrow is free of cancer and to determine how strong it is to allow for me to be my own donor for transplant

If the scans are clean and we decide to use my own marrow then the schedule is as follows:

March 4th -- Harvest my own bone marrow. This is done the old fashioned way. I have to go under general anesthesia while they pull out all the bone marrow they need one teaspoon at a time.

March 10th -- Admitted to Sloan to start my 5 week transplant process.

If we decide to go with an unrelated donor, this schedule may get pushed back as we have to be able to test and then harvest from the best possible candidate. This could push my admittance date to the end of March.

So everything is on the up and up?

Not quite. This last little virus has got my doctor worried. As we get closer and closer to transplant it's important that I stay as healthy as possible. The slightest sickness could push back my transplant date. She wants me to transition out of school and remain home until we start the transplant. Needless to say I'm bummed. Granted it's only about 4 weeks sooner then I had initially planned, I'd much rather be at Marist with my friends (sorry Mom & Dad).

Luckily my professors for my on the ground classes are more then willing to work with me to help me complete my coursework on time.

Hopefully, depending on how I do in transplant I'll be able to walk at graduation this May. And if I can't... that just means I'll have to throw an extra kick ass graduation party when I can!

Quick update

2008-01-30T12:03:00.000-05:00

We got the results of the HLA Typing for the bone marrow transplant.

Unfortunately my sister is not a match. BUT we found 10 matches.
These 10 people match me in the 6 different antigens that they check when tissue typing. That means there is a good chance these 10 people could be a perfect match.

These donors will be notified and screened further to check their compatibility with a higher level of accuracy!

Hasta la pasta!

And We're Off....

2008-01-22T13:10:00.000-05:00

Hello Hello!

So we started chemo last week. This time it's a different schedule with a different combination of medications. Now we just have 3 days of chemo , 18 days of rest, wash, rinse, repeat. So overall the schedule isn't terrible.

My Doctor told me to expect more fatigue this time around and I should also expect hair loss. Sounds like I'll be back to my "Mr. Clean" look. That should probably occur by the end of this week.

So what's down the road?

Here's the game plan...
2 cycles of chemo, then a round of scans.

If the scans come back clean, then it's on to the bone marrow transplant. If not, then we do another cycle of chemo and check again.

Ok, so what's the deal with the bone marrow transplant?

When the time comes, I'll have to enter the hospital for 4-5 weeks for my transplant. For the first 7 days, my body is bombarded by some industrial strength chemo. This stuff kills everything it finds... including my body's own marrow. That is why I need the transplant. Without it my body would be unable to produce red cells, white cells, or platelets. 14 days after that the marrow should then begin producing cells and I should be on the road to recovery.

We're still unsure that this point if we're going to use my own marrow (harvest it, freeze it, then give it back) or donor marrow. After extensive testing, my marrow has come back clean (no signs of cancer) so it is a viable option. However with donor marrow there is something that occurs called graft-versus-lymphoma. That is where the donor marrow sees the lymphoma in the body as foreign and fights it just as it would any other infection. So that's definitely a plus!

How am I feeling?

As for me, I'm doing ok... no worse for the wear. At first when we saw there was a possibility of the cancer returning I was pretty upset. I had got to a point where I thought this was all behind me, only to then learn we still have a ways to go. Now I'm doing ok. The way I see it, I had a one month vacation and now have to go back to my normal "routine."

I am worried about this semester though. I have two classes on campus and missing 5 weeks means almost a third of the semester. Not only that, I'm not sure when those 5 weeks will be. They could occur anytime between March & May. So I need to sit down with my professors and hopefully we can figure something out.

Even my online courses have me a little worried. They seem to include a large amount of groupwork for the semester, and I hope I can keep up my end. While my doctor said it's good to be optimistic during the transplant process, I have to realize there might be some days when getting out of bed and walking over to a chair takes all the energy I have.

Well, back to the grind!

Until next time!

Round 2

2008-01-12T10:48:00.000-05:00

Hello There!

Surgery went off without a hitch yesterday. They were able to do the biopsy laparoscopicly which means only small holes AND I get to go home tomorrow.

Unfortunately though the tissue is cancerous.
So what does that mean?

At first glance it seems to be the same lymphoma I've had. Apparently there is a chance that the cancer could morph into a different variant which would require different treatment. We still need to wait on the final report from the pathologist, but my doctor doesn't think this is the case.

With the lymphoma present it means back to chemotherapy.

Just like before, all of my treatments will be done outpatient through the clinic. However this time I will be getting a different combination of medications. The Chemo will last from 2-4 months. After which I'll get a bone marrow transplant that will keep me in the hospital for another month.

After all is said and done, we're looking at a 75% chance that the cancer won't ever come back.

As always, I'll keep you posted! :-)

Update...

2008-01-07T16:56:00.000-05:00

Just like the first time, the biopsy is going to be done laparoscopicly and is scheduled for Friday.

That means we should know what's going on by the following Tuesday.

Well... not quite

2008-01-05T11:21:00.000-05:00

Ok, so perhaps I was a little premature in my last post...

On my latest PET Scan (This Past Tuesday) there were a few new areas of interest about the size of Bee Bee's in my Liver and spleen.

These could either be the cancer returning, or a fungal infection.
Doctor wants to do a biopsy early next week to figure this all out.

I'll keep ya posted!

WE MADE IT!!!!

2007-12-11T19:01:00.001-05:00

That's right everybody!! We did it!!
My last round of chemotherapy ended Friday, December 7th 2007 at 10:30AM!
It's all over!

TREATMENT
HAS
FINISHED!!!

I can't begin to thank everyone for all their thoughts, words, prayers and encouragement over this past year. The support I've received has been astronomical and I owe my recovery to each one of you. As for now, we have a last round of scans scheduled for January 2nd & 3rd. After which I'll be given the "green light"

For the next year I'll continue post-treatment scans every three months. Those too will lessen as we reach my 5-year cure mark!

So with my treatment over, my semester winding down, and finally of legal age to get into all sorts of trouble, it's time for me to take a well needed break.

HAVE A GREAT HOLIDAY!!

MARIST COLLEGE
CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR!

In what spare time I did manage to find, I turned our Marist College Fulton Townhouse into a living, breathing, ROCKING, Christmas Display.

Click here to head on over to YouTube to check it out!
I promise you won't be disappointed

Hey It's October!!!

2007-10-12T23:21:00.000-04:00

Well, like I promised... It's October and here is another update!

This coming Monday (As long as my marrow cooperates) should mark THE BEGINNING OF THE END! The start of my last cycle of chemotherapy! The end is so close I can taste it. Of course because it's so close, it also seems so far. It would be nice just to blink and **POOF** all over. But hey, I've come this far so what's 50 more days?

It's also becoming a very interesting time as potential employers start to line up their first round interviews. So before I continue... Hello Potential Employers! Thanks to the wonders of Google you have found your way to my little corner of the "Interweb." Please sit back, relax, and read my blog.... Read it ALL! Then feel free to quiz me about it when you schedule my interview.

Speaking of interviews, I have one this Tuesday afternoon. I feel a little on edge about it. Why? Because a backpack full of chemo isn't the most normal conversation starter for an employer. But such is life! Hopefully over the next few weeks I can manage to avoid having to carry my loud friend with me while I vie for employers attention.

Other then that, life is life and school is school. Mid-semester break is coming up and the Family is heading for a little weekend trip to Orlando. It'll be nice since we haven't taken any trips as a family in over a year. I'm looking forward to just turning off my brain for a weekend and relaxing. Granted, I sorta do that every weekend... but at least I'll be distancing myself from my work both mentally AND physically.

Ok, that's enough ranting for one Friday night. I have a lot to catch up on this weekend as next week's start of chemo + mid-semester break is going to light a fire under my butt to stay on top of everything.

Envision my next post to include many joyous notes about being done with treatment!!

Food For Thought:
After I finish treatment... what do I do with this blog? Hmm :-\

Oops...

2007-09-04T15:50:00.000-04:00

I'm sorry... sorry sorry sorry! It's been six months since an update... I know.
Many friends have enlightened me to the fact that it's not a good idea to abruptly stop writing in a blog like this.

Again, I apologize.
But like I said earlier, no news is good news!!!

It has been quite a spring and summer. Treatment continues to go well and I'm a happy guy. The latest round of scans (back in July) show the disease retreating on schedule! We're looking to wrap all this up by the end of November!! Besides the occasional delay in treatment everything is truckin' along.

Spring semester finished nicely and summer was pretty quiet. Doc let me out of the house to head to a leadership conference for Residential/Campus Life. The organization is NACURH (National Associate of College and University Residence Halls) The conference focuses around spirit and improving residential life around campus... here is our delegation:

Other then that, I didn't really do a whole lot... this was my summer to relax!
I did make a weekend trip to DC which was out of this world. I had never been there before and so I got to do all the touristy "stuff" and I loved every minute of it!

Well now summer is coming to a close, and Senior Year has just begun!!!!!!
I can't believe it's been four years. We moved in last week and our house is amazing. We're a great group of guys, if i do say so myself. This will definitely be a year to remember!

Well that's it for now... but don't get your hopes up too much...
not much is going on these days, so you'll probably get another update come October.

Until Then!!

The Results Are In!

2007-02-22T09:15:00.000-05:00

Actually the results were in last week... :-)

I've been swamped with Life, College, etc, but here are the results!

The CAT Scans showed no visible disease in my liver, kidneys, and spleen. The main tumor has also shrunk in size to 2cm x 3cm (from 2cm x 6cm)

The MRI's show decreased disease in the bone, appropriate for this time of treatment. One interesting thing to mention is that they found little "holes" in my pelvis. These are from the tumor that once lived there. So to help the bone regenerate I'm on a calcium supplement.

MOST IMPORTANT NEWS: The PET Scan. A PET Scan works by injecting you with a radioactive sugar. The Scan then looks at how that sugar is metabolized in your body. Active cancer cells metabolize sugar a lot faster then normal cells. The scan shows this activity as "bright" areas. In October, I was lit up like a Christmas tree.
Now, The PET Scan Is Negative! That means the cancer is no longer spreading through my body!

So definitely good news all around!

What else is new?

This week started my second maintenance cycle. I'm doing well and feeling fine in terms of the chemo, but to be honest I'm just frustrated with life right now. The first week of maintenance requires me to be here Monday - Thursday. That's four days of being up at 5 am. When all is said and done I have enough time to get back to Marist, eat a quick dinner, and go to night class. After that it's back to sleep to start it all over again. So I haven't been able to accomplish anything this week. My room looks like a tornado hit it, I'm running out of clean clothes, and I need groceries. I think the only things I have to eat are pasta and pop tarts. I just feel like I'm in a whirlwind. Luckily today is the last day and I can enjoy the weekend.

This week also means constant hydration. That means I go home each day with my big blue back pack. That back pack also carries with it the need to go to the bathroom at least every hour. However there is a lighter side to my bulky friend. As I sit in class it's hilarious to watch those around me look around and try to find where the strange noise (the IV pump) is coming from. People must also wonder why I'm constantly wearing a back pack and taking it with me to the bathroom :-)

So my weekend is almost here and I can't wait... I deserve it!

Ciao for now!

Beem Me Up Scotty

2007-02-06T19:15:00.000-05:00

Hello there!

Today we started a new round of body scans to take a peek inside and see how my treatment is progressing. To that end I am officially declaring this week Star Trek week.
(Lots of big, fancy, and loud machines... ya know... Star Trek!)

And if you're wondering why I'm declaring an entire week... there's a lot of me to scan!

For Hors d'œuvres, a Full Body PET Scan.
Chasing that down is a Neck, Chest, Abdomen, and Pelvic CT Scan.
Next is a Pelvic MRI
and finishing it off... a Full Spinal MRI.

What a menu!
I should be reporting back with all the results next week!

What's Next? ROUND 2!

The end of this week also signifies the completion of my first Maintenance cycle of chemo.
::Raises Hands In Triumph::
Which means we get to start it all over again on Monday. And if my body keeps the same resiliency it had during the first cycle, we should have no problems.

Ok... so complain about something

Unfortunately, not everything is sunshine and rainbows.
In honor of the Super Bowl, my friends and I had our own Super Bowl:

Our team won... however the victory is definitely bittersweet.
My entire lower body is killing me. At this point, a flight of steps is my greatest enemy.

Other Notes...

Other things on my mind right now... but I'll leave those for another day.

.......

Horray For Chemo!!

2007-01-29T15:41:00.000-05:00

I bet you never thought you'd hear those words!!

That's right, today we were able to start my chemo that has been delayed a week.
This is such a relief. It's been so hard to try and juggle my schedule when I don't know what my days will bring.

It's good to know that everything is back on track!
Just thought you'd like to know :-)

So there's this thing called a blog...

2007-01-27T22:21:00.000-05:00

Wow... It has been almost a month since I last updated and I bet some of you though I forgot about you! In a sense I think it's good that I haven't had anything to write home about! However, I know that my lack of posts have worried some, so I apologize!!! But no need to fret, I'm doing well, and more importantly it feels good to be back at school.

That's right I've returned to MARIST.
Pretty much the main reason I have been lacking with the updates. Getting reacquainted with the daily college grind (and more importantly my friends) has definitely taken up all my time. And I swear, a sticky note reading "UPDATE BLOG" has been on my desk since I moved in.

"But Nick, how do you manage classes and your treatment?"

Good question! I am still taking a full 15 credit course load, but have worked out a pretty decent schedule. 4 of my classes are night classes, 6:30-9:00. These are Monday - Thursday. My 5th class is an online class and I can finish the work whenever it's convenient for me. In conclusion, I head to Sloan during the day, and class at night.

Unfortunately heading into Sloan requires me driving. My doctor doesn't really like the train. Too many people, too many chances to get an infection. It's about a 90 minute drive each way and my new purchase of SIRIUS radio should help the time go by quickly.

Another delicate balance is simply keeping me healthy while being at school. Living with seven other guys is challenge enough, classes are another beast altogether. As long as my counts are where they should be, I shouldn't have any problem, unless of course someone is openly sick. If my counts are bad, I might have to miss a class session here or there. I've spoken to all my professors so they know what's going on.

So how is treatment going?

As I mentioned previously, treatment is pretty spaced out and allows my body to recover.

Well, at least that's what they told me!

What I've since learned is that my bone marrow is extremely sensitive. So when chemo knocks down my counts, it takes a while for my body to recover. Luckily, I haven't run into any problems with this...

That is until this past week.

I was scheduled to get chemo on Monday (22nd) but I was turned away! Unfortunately, my platelet count was extremely low. This is because the GCSF medication that I took the week prior, which promotes white cell growth, causes platelets to drop. The low end of a normal platelet count is 160,000. I only had 30,000.

At this time, my white cells were low as well, only 1,400. The GCSF had boosted the counts, but with my marrow not producing any cells, I can't sustain that growth. Even worse off, I couldn't take any more of the G(CSF) because it would drop my already low platelet count and I would have to be off the medication for at least 48 hours prior to chemo.

So nothing on Monday, how about Wednesday?

No dice. Platelets were still too low, however they were showing an upward trend to 40,000. My white cell count hadn't really moved and I was hovering slightly above neutropenia.

How about Friday?!?

Much to my disappointment, my platelets were still too low! However, now they were at 72,000. As long as I have 100,000 they can give me chemo. So this coming Monday is looking like a sure bet. My white cells increased, but only slightly... I'm not terribly worried. Everything is trending upward, and once the chemo ends I'm sure we'll boost those white cells right up! My doctor laughed, she said, "Wow, you're the only patient I have that wants his chemo!"

So unfortunately my treatment has been delayed a week. But this is expected. The treatment protocol I'm on has a length of "about a year." It's understood that delays like this can happen and they account for them.

In other news, I've decided to see what my hair does if I let it grow back in. It's very soft! Kinda like a baby. It's been a little over a week and it's still thin, to be honest I'm more selfconcious about my head now... I felt more confident bald. Well, we'll see.

So I'm great, Marist's great, and I'm sorry for leaving you all in the dark!

Take care!!

Happy New Year!

2006-12-30T10:50:00.000-05:00

Wishing everyone an early happy New Year!

So what's been going on in my life?

We had a small scare last weekend... I was experiencing this pain in my side. I woke up with it Friday and it still didn't go away by Saturday. So my doctor thought it would be best if I got it checked out. Even if it was just for my own piece of mind.

They started poking me and they first thought it was my Gal bladder, then my liver. At one point the surgeons sounded like they were ready to remove my Gal bladder! We stayed overnight, and when all was said and done, it turns out the pain I was feeling was just a side-effect of the chemo I had earlier in the week. It causes the liver to become inflamed slightly and hence the pain. By the time I woke up Sunday morning, I felt fine.

Another wonderful thing to report is The Mouthsores Are Healed!!!
at least for now! They shouldn't be rearing their ugly head anytime again soon... if at all!

As for my schedule, it's pretty great. The going pace seems to be 1-2 days of chemo followed by roughly 1-2 weeks of rest. So unfortunately I fear that the updates to this blog will start becoming few and far between.

We're out of the woods now! It should be a coast to the finish line!

No News Is Good News!

2006-12-21T07:57:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas
or
::Insert Other Holiday Greeting Here::

As the title states, no news is good news!
My first maintenance cycle has started, and no problems to report!

This year I can say, without a doubt, that I have received the greatest Christmas gift EVER!
All my counts are up, I feel good, and the Doctor says I look great. I'm healthy and I'll be able to spend my entire holiday at home. No trips to Sloan and no backpacks to lug around. Hopefully I can use this time to gain back the 10 lbs I lost during my latest Sloan "vacation." I shouldn't have a problem with that, after all we do have our 7 fish Christmas Eve dinner!! (If you don't know what that is, just ask an Italian)

But seriously,
I am incredibly thankful this Christmas.
The sheer outpouring of love and support that my family and I continuously receive has been incredible. So many people have gone above and beyond and have helped to make this burden easier to bear.

Finally, there is one last omnipresent deity that deserves a standing ovation...

I wouldn't have been able to get through any of this without God. He has surrounded me with the right people, put me in the right place, and given me the physical and mental strength I need to keep going. I am so thankful for His grace, It never stops! It's blessing, after blessing, after blessing!

He truly is amazing... I guess that's why he's God :-)

Home Sweet Home!!!

2006-12-15T21:06:00.000-05:00

Oh man, it has never felt so good to be home!
Finally, After 13 days I finally made it home from Sloan!!!

The last few days have been a bit trying...
It all started with my disappearing cell phone. (We think it somehow ended up in the garbage) Next, they moved me to a different floor because they needed the beds on my (The Peds) floor. To take the cake, I was bumped for an MRI for two days!!

To make matters worse, the floor I was moved to had no internet access. Combine that with no cell phone, and I have been totally incommunicado since Wednesday night. Cut off from the world!

::Sigh::

But now I'm home!
Everything is said and done.
My scans looks great and my mouth is healing nicely.
I couldn't ask for anything more!

Back to Sloan on Monday for the beginning of the end of my treatment!

Next week we enter the final phase of my treatment that will go for the rest of the year. My Doc says that the past three weeks have been the toughest and that it should be all downhill from here! From now on, I'll know what to expect as I will repeat the same schedule every 50 days.

Time for some much needed rest!

I'm Really Bad At This

2006-12-13T12:46:00.000-05:00

Wow, I'm really bad at this entire "blogging" thing. A lot has happened recently and I'm sorry I haven't let you guys know about it! Every time I try to write an update there is so much stuff to write about! I look at it all, and just say "Ehhhhh.... Tomorrow"

But here we go!!

Friday
I was pretty out of it and slept most of the day away. As the night approached I developed a fever. This guy was a champ! Through the night my fever went as high as 105!! We were putting ice packs everywhere. We had them on my legs, on my back, on my stomach, under my arms, on my neck, and of course on my head.

My dad tells me later that I was pretty out of it. As I would start to fall asleep I would be making these different hand gestures along with uttering the randomest things.

At least he didn't try to fry an egg on me.

Saturday, Sunday, Monday
The way I see it, Friday night was the turning point with this entire episode.
White Blood Cell Counts:

Saturday - 100
Sunday - 600
Monday - 4,000

That's right!! I am no longer Neutropenic! I am once again a healthy individual.

Today I also went for a CAT Scan.
This is the first scan since the initial diagnosis. ::Crosses Fingers::
all
Tuesday
WBC = 11,000

I also the noticed the Double vision retreat! My vision still feels a little "off" but now I can actually look at someone with both eyes!

Now for the big news... The results of the CAT Scan!

We could not have asked for better results! The report from the radiologist said that everything in my liver, spleen, and kidneys seems to be all cleared up! If that isn't enough, the tumor in my pelvis has also shrunk tremendously! We couldn't' have asked for any better news!

Wednesday
WBC = 13,000
That should be about as high as it goes. We're going to stop the meds that keep the white blood cells rising. We don't want too many :-)

Yesterday, we went for a PET Scan. The PET Scan gives us a more general birds eye view of the cancer in the entire body. The Doctor said that the results here were again, Amazing! Hopefully when I come back next week I'll be able to see the actual images side by side.

Final Thoughts
I've been at Sloan for quite a while now (11 days?), but everything seems to definitely be moving in the right direction. The greatest news of all is seeing how the cancer has responded to treatment after only 43 days. That has brought a tremendous amount of joy and comfort to my entire family.

I'm still dealing with the mouth sores, but the pain meds do a great job at controlling the pain. At this point most of the sores have blistered up, however there are still a few nasty little guys giving me some grief.

At this point we're hoping to get me home for Friday night. I can't wait for that!!!

Thanks for being patient everyone! And besides... Good posts come to audiences that wait! :-)

The Numbers Are In

2006-12-07T08:44:00.000-05:00

WBC is still zero.
Ya know: zip, zilch, nada, naught, nil.

Oh How I love you Microsoft Word Synonyms :-)

Let's see how I look tomorrow.
I'm also going to talk to the doctor... maybe we can raise the dose of the WBC med?

So Much For A Weekend Getaway

2006-12-06T23:30:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the lack of updates. I just enjoyed Sloan so much that I decided to stay for the entire week!

"So What Happened?!"

Seems my white cells haven't grown as fast as last time.... No more Superman ::tear::
But it really isn't just that... there's a lot more going on.

Well, does everybody remember those pesky mouth sores? They've been busy!
They get progressively worse each day... and it is not pretty. (Nick 0, Mouth Sores 1)

Saturday
The Doctors started me on my painkillers, but through IV. This brought tremendous more relief then taking the pills. (Nick 1, Mouth Sores 1)

Monday
So, the mouth sores were getting worse, and the painkiller wasn't cutting it (Mouth Sores +1 Point). So the doctors told me about this Pain pump (Nick +1 Point). Instead of giving me an IV Push of the meds every few hours, it injects a smaller dose continuously. If I feel some extra pain, for instance I aggravate the mouth sores, I have a little button to press to give me more. Don't worry, the pump will only allow me to hit the button so many times an hour. :-) it won't let me drift off into comatose land.

This seemed to start doin the Job (Nick 2, Mouth Sores 2)

Tuesday
I like to think of Tuesday as my trip back to the 60's.

Monday night into Tuesday morning I developed double vision.
When I say double vision, I don't mean the occasional splitting of an image.
No Sir!
I'm talking about two crystal clear images from my two eyeballs at all times!
To do anything productive I need to close one eye, and because of my Astigmatism, I always close my left eye. I almost have it trained to close all by itself :-)

The next symptom I'll describe as "feeling the music" I had entered a very funky state of feeling. I felt very out there. Kinda like I should be living out of an old VW bus, wear a headband, and babble things about the "establishment"

Well now, we are building quite the list. We can also add random narcolepsy to this list.
Pretty much, I'll just start taking naps. Here, There, and Everywhere! I could be in a conversation with my dad, and I will slowly lose interest and just put my head down. It's actually pretty neat!

Saving the worst for last. The Painkillers didn't seem to be doing their job anymore. Either that, or the pain was simply getting worse. So we had to make a change!

Wednesday
Wednesday morning we got a hold of the "Pain Team!"
I kid-you-not. There are a group of doctors that are the "pain team." They came in to evaluate me.

We went directly to the pain team, because the rest of my symptoms are all side-effects of the pain med I was on. BTW, I should mention I was also on a super high dose.

They looked into my mouth and just like everybody else, they shrieked in terror. They recommended a new drug to be used in the Pain Pump. No longer wanting to feel like a hippy, I immediately agreed.

By 9:00PM I am only experiencing one hippy symptom. The double vision. The Doctor says that this is a common side-effect of all these pain meds. The medicine is doing an semi-OK job at controlling the pain but hopefully we can work out a better dose tomorrow!

So What About Those Fevers
As I mentioned, when you're nete Neutropenic and you have a fever, the Doctors need to make sure you don't have any sort of infection. So since Friday, They have been taking daily blood-cultures and pumping my full of a bunch of different antibiotics and antifungals.

Today my doctor is pretty confident in saying that the fevers are only being caused by the mouth sores, and nothing else.

"Great, Let's Get Rid Of Those Mouth Sores!!!!"
Well that's the tricky part. In order to get rid of the mouth sores, you need white blood cells. As the white blood cells grow, they will simply just flock to my mouth and begin it's invasion.

(I've actually turned this into a pretty cool battle scene in my head)

So I don't know what's taking those white blood cells so long.
I told them I would treat them to a greatn feast when they declare themselves a victory in this epic battle!!!!

When Am I Getting Out Of Here?

Not sure....
definitely not until I've grown some white blood cells.
I think once I have a good count, and the mouth sores start to heal I should homeward bound!

Until Then... Pray for those white blood cells!

A Weekend Getaway

2006-12-03T00:04:00.000-05:00

What a week my family and I have had.
It's been pretty crazy to say the latest.

Luckily, I get to have the weekend to myself and I only have to trek into Sloan for a few routine exams next week.

Ya know, I felt so good about this weekend, I decided to take a trip...

Destination of Choice: Sloan
That's right... Unfortunately I'm spending the weekend admitted at my favorite cancer research center.

"Why Nick?"

Well, currently I'm neutropenic (which is expected after last week's chemo).
Whenever you're neutropenic and you come down with a fever, you need to be admitted for observation and to make sure you don't have an infection of any kind.

So, Friday night I came down with a 102 fever and off to Sloan we went! But don't worry about me. I do the same thing at Sloan that I do at home: Eat, Sleep, Watch TV. It's just new scenery.

Hopefully my white counts come up by Monday and, as long as the fevers go away, I'm outta here!!

But for now, I need to get some rest.

Good night All!

Well It's Been A Long Day...

2006-11-30T20:16:00.000-05:00

...Been a long, been a long, been a long, been a long DAYYYYY!
(High School Musical Reference :-D )

The week is almost over! Yippe!!!
This means no more chemo until December 18th!

In addition, my first round of scans are on December 10th
I can't wait to see what progress we've made!!!!!

Nick V. Etoposide

Round 1
So Etoposide is the latest chemo drug I've been introduced to. It's given to me through IV over the course of 48 hours.

The first 24 hours had no problems. I went to clinic, they hooked me up, I hung out for a while, they sent me home. No Problems...

Round 2
Now, Welcome to Wednesday!
(The following is a very general account, it's a bit more complicated, but I shall spare you all the details!)

I went back to the clinic, was hooked up to a new batch of the Etoposide, and sent home...

7:00PM - Home From Clinic

7:15PM - My IV backpack starts beeping at me! Me and my Dad take a look at it, and after following Sloan's instructions on what to do when it beeps, still can't get the pump to function. So we call Sloan.

They tell us we need to come back in :-(

8:45 PM - Welcome to Sloan
We get there and they fix the chemo and pump.
They also assure us that the problem we experienced rarely happens and should definitely not happen again.

12:00 AM Thursday - Back Home... Now let's get some rest!

...

3:45 AM Thursday - BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP
You've got to be kidding me.... AGAIN!!!

5:30 AM Thursday - Welcome back to Sloan!
You've got to be kidding me! Same problem!
They patched me up, and I hung around until the clinic opened (7 AM)

I stayed there all day...
My doctor sorted out the chemo problem, and also gave me some red blood cells and platelets.

Needless to see my Dad and I are exhausted. Thursday was supposed to be our day off!
We think by now, the car should be able to drive itself to Sloan!

So Wednesday/Thursday presented to us some challenges, but we made it through!
By God's Grace, there were no serious problems and everything is back on track.

Next week is going to be an amazing week of relaxation!

Oh Another Thing About Sunday...

2006-11-27T23:40:00.000-05:00

I hate the Giants... ::sigh:: That is all.

:-)

And He Saw The Day... And It Was Good

2006-11-27T18:58:00.000-05:00

Grrrrr...
Waking up to tremendous mouth pain, it was trying to finish my bowl of oatmeal...

Hooray!!!
But no fear!! Soon my frown was turned upside down!
My lovely doctor prescribed me an oral anesthetic along with some pain killers for my. All is well in the world that is my mouth.

Harrumph...
As for for the rest of me, my counts are back down. This is expected from last weeks chemo.
So I'm back under lock and key, back in my bubble.

Unfortunately, they can't restart my "Superman" meds until the chemo finishes... So I think we're looking at Thursday for that.

Between the low counts and the mouth sores my doc is almost expecting me to come down with some sort of infection sometime. Which would not be the greatest scenario since it requires them to admit me. So let's pray this week for no infections!!!

Yippe!
My counts being down also explain my general laziness on Sunday. So today they also gave me 2 units of red blood cells, which has totally increased my energy level. Back to my usual peppy self!

In Conclusion
1. The mouth pain is manageable and it should be all cleared up by the end of the week.
2. If they start the meds to bring my counts up by Thursday Friday, I should be ready to go by Monday Tuesday!
3. Back to Sloan Tues - Wed for chemo... no worries there. After this, I have a chemo vacation until December 18th!!!!
4. Cherish your sore free mouth... unless you currently have a canker. In that case... I feel your pain :-)

Good night!

Ohhh So That's What They Meant!!!

2006-11-26T19:43:00.000-05:00

Hello sports fans....

Sorry for leaving you for almost a week without anything new!
But good things come to readers that wait.

The rest of the chemo went over fine. I didn't have any problems.
Unfortunately I had to spend the first half of thanksgiving at Sloan, but that time flew by thanks to a special visit by the Lohnes! They're Great!! :-)

And then Friday happened...

So let's backup. Pretty much, each time I see my doctor she asks me if I have an appetite and rigorously checks me for mouth sores. Now, every single time I've had an appetite and no mouth sores. I mean, I'm brushing my teeth four times a day along with 2 separate mouth rinses. How could anything grow in there?!

"But Nick, What's the deal with the mouth sores?"

We'll I'm glad you asked. As we've all learned, cancer treatment kills rapidly dividing cells. This includes the rapidly dividing "epithelial cells" that are in the mouth. This condition is called Mucositis. Just think of it as lots of Canker Sores.

So Friday morning I woke up with somewhat of a horse voice and it was also a little trying to swallow. And it was all downhill from there.

Eating has now become a challenge, I'm pretty much on a soup and ice cream diet.
I'm speaking pretty softly, mostly in an effort to save whatever I have left.

So it's Sunday night and I realize, "So that's what they meant when they kept talking about those mouth sores." Tylenol and the mouth rinses help the pain, and I'm sure when I see my doctor tomorrow morning she'll have some magical new prescription that will ease my suffering!

Even if she doesn't, I'm not worried. They should go away in a few days anyway.
So like usual, I'm not worried... this is just a hurdle :-)

What's coming up
I'll be at Sloan Mon - Wed, for a little more chemo. I'm not concerned, I've had this stuff before, and it DOESN'T cause mouth sores :-)

One Last Thing
I'm 20!!!!

For those that didn't know, I also turned 20 yesterday! My Wonderful Italian Mother made a small dinner (read: 3 courses + HorsÂ Deurves) and we had over some of our family and Kate came down with her Family. It was quite the day!!!! Among other wonderful things, I am now the proud owner of huge furry monster slippers. (Thank You Girlfriend)

Reflection
To be honest, I didn't want to include my oral dilemmaa in this post. I want everything I write to be nothing but good news! I've realized that won't be the case. There will be high tides and low tides. Luckily, this Boat can handle it all... I have the Greatest Captain!

Another Great Day!!

2006-11-21T23:24:00.000-05:00

Chemo Cycle 2 Day 2:

New Chemo Meds... and I still feel great!
Tomorrow and Thursday I'll be going back to sloan, but just for observation pretty much.

They need to make sure all the stuff they pump into my body makes its way out!

But all is well and with Gods Grace will stay that way!!

Have a Great Thanksgiving Everyone!!!

Hats Galore!

2006-11-21T05:30:00.000-05:00

I have Officially elected a new favorite hat!

I think I pull it off quite well!!

That is all... Off to Sloan for the day!

Fancy New Backpacks!

2006-11-20T19:08:00.000-05:00

Chemo Cycle 2 Day 1:
7:00PM - Still feeling great!

Chemo went off without a hitch. I also got some work done!

Now, I thought this Chemo was just a 6 hour IV. I was wrong, it's actually a 24 Hour IV! So they sent me home with these 2 nifty little backpacks... my new leashes!
Each backpack contains an IV bag and a tiny pump. One has my Chemo, and they other has fluids... 3 liters to be exact. Needless to say I'll be spending tonight close to the bathroom! ;-)

So all in all a good day!

To err on the side of caution, mom is cooking a mini thanksgiving dinner tonight! :-)
By the smell of things... I think it's almost ready.

Until Tomorrow!

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words...

2006-11-18T13:59:00.000-05:00

Now I'm More Aerodynamic!!!

And Of Course...

Oh What A Beautiful Day...

2006-11-17T23:44:00.000-05:00

Friday is always a good day. It signifies the beginning of the weekend!
And honestly, who doesn't love the weekend?

However this Friday was extra special!
"Why Nick?"

Today I made a trip back to MARIST for the first time in three weeks.
Let me tell you... it felt AMAZING!

Seeing all my housemates, even for a short while, just made me feel at home. There is nothing like the guys at Lower New Townhouses J1. What a bunch. We all have our little quirks that, when combined, make the house a great place to be. I wouldn't trade any of them for the world... well maybe the one that goes out and buys two hamsters cause "It was a good deal."

(Hehe, Sorry Eddie... you know I love you!)

More importantly, I was able to see most of my friends. To sit down with everyone and just hang out for a while. During the semester, I almost never took the time out to just unplug and relax with those around me. Being away from everyone, I realized how much I should cherish those times. So next semester... a more relaxed Nick :-)

Marist People: I'm really sorry if I didn't get to see you today. No worries, plans are in motion for a winter get together!

Now, Most importantly I got to spend time with this adorable girl with curly red hair and crystal blue eyes. For those unaware, that would be my lovely girlfriend Kate. She is out of this world. I can't even begin to describe how caring, thoughtful, and strong she has been through all of this. And don't even get me started on her family! Everybody from Mom, Dad, Sister, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Grandma & Grandpa (Thanks for the Hat it's Perfect! and so soft!!!) are just as amazing as she is. Really, what a family!

Treatment:
So next week starts a new round of chemo. I'll be heading into Sloan Monday through Thursday for Treatment. It'll be 6 hour days of hanging out hooked up to an IV. Thankfully it's not terribly inconvenient. My Dad will simply drop me off on his way to work, and pick me up on his way home!

Now, I'm not gonna lie. I'm a little nervous this time. There's some new chemo that I haven't had before so I'm not sure how it will effect me. If my track record is any indication of how I'll do, I should have nothing to worry about. In reality, I think I make myself more sick worrying about the effects of the treatment, then how it actually makes me feel!

Whatever it is, it is... I know I'll make it through :-)

Hair Situation:
Yea.... Houston we have a problem. At this point I feel as if the hairs are literally jumping off my head.

It's time to go Mr. Clean! Saturday Afternoon It will all be gone!

I was actually going to shave it yesterday, but I thought that might be too big of a shock for my Marist Mates to handle. I saved it for them!

Hat Situation:
So during the week I did some hat shopping. I came home, looked in the mirror, and decided I hate them all! They were all too big.

I envision my hats as a tight wool knit that doesn't come past my ears.

Mom to the rescue!
First, the master seamstress fixed a black hat to my liking!
Second, she ventured out on her lunch hour to Old Navy! Where we discovered that Baby Hats (12-24 Months) fit my head perfectly!!

SUCCESS!!

Now It's off to Old Navy to find some styles I like!

People Are Still Amazing...
The Cards and support keep rolling in. I can't thank everyone enough for their words, thoughts, and prayers. It means so much to know that my family and I have such encouragement behind us.

E-Mail And Comments
I know everyone loves leaving comments, however if you would rather send an e-mail (more personal) go ahead and shoot one off to:

CancerInCollege@Gmail.com

Superman

2006-11-13T20:07:00.000-05:00

For those of you following my white count... let's recap!

A normal person has a White Blood Count (WBC) between 4,000 & 11,000.
When those numbers are low, I'm more likely to get sick from an infection.

Monday Nov. 6th
WBC = 400
Thursday Nov. 9th
WBC = 100

Low Numbers & A Downward trend... not good!

But Wait Let's not forget about that bone pain from the other day! My aches and pains should mean I'm pumping out some more White Blood Cells!

Monday Nov. 13th
WBC = 16,000

That's right! I showed up at Sloan today to discover I'm Superman! My white count is insanely high and I'm no longer at a high risk for infection. For at least the rest of this week I can venture out into public with no fear!

What else is going on....

Medically things are cruising right along! My Doctor is happy, I'm happy, and all is right in the world.

It's been two weeks of treatment and now I'm beginning to experience the classic symptom of cancer treatment.

Hair Loss!
As I washed my hair this morning I noticed some thinning.
I'm not totally worried, those that are familiar with my hairline know I'm halfway there anyway.
At this point I don't know what I should do. Do I let it come out on it's own? Should I buzz it all the way down for a Mr. Clean look? In the meantime I need to find some hats. Problem is, I don't think I look good in many hats.

Maybe I'll setup a poll! Baseball cap, beanie, wool knit? YOU be the Judge!

As for the rest of the week...
Not much going on.
Back to Sloan on Friday for a routine exam.
A Mountain of Coursework to finish.

Until next time!

No Pain No Gain!!!

2006-11-11T07:47:00.000-05:00

I wake up this morning happy as can be!
(Not really sure how that differs from any other day, maybe I'm usually a little more hungry heh)

I feel like I took a bad spill snowboarding. My lower back is aching.
Now you ask, why should what feels like a bruised tail bone be reason for celebrating?

I'm on a medicine to promote white cell growth. A higher white cell count protects me from infection and once it gets to a certain level, I will not have to worry about catching a bug from those around me and especially the foods I eat. (Chinese and Pizza, here I come!!!)

The main side effect from this drug is bone pain, specifically in the lower back.
So all is right in the world!

2 Tylenol and I'm good to go!!
Now the real question is when is opening day on the mountain? The Doc says I need exercise!

Opening My Eyes...

2006-11-09T22:43:00.000-05:00

It's amazing...

The concerns and cares from everyone continue to flow like water.
As for this blog, I am astounded at the impact that my small words seem to make.

But now I'm going to let you in on a secret!
Come Closer...
Closer...

Er... Too close. ;-)

What I write here has no meaning or value. It is simply words on a page. My strength, my will, my ability to keep going. I have nothing to do with it. There is nothing special about me.

There is simply one answer. There is only one reason that allows me to continue on my path.

God

He provides what I need to continue on. His holy spirit dwells inside me and provides all that I require.

As a Believer in Christ, I can be confident in the promises God has made to me:

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" ~Philippians 4:13
"It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. ~Psalm 18:32
"...Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." ~Joshua 1:9
"The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped." ~Psalm 28:7

Lastly I leave you with this tidbit of scripture:

"Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust and not be afraid.
The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation." ~Isaiah 12:2

As a young Christian I want so badly to do God's work. However, I never seem to know where or how to start. I am now beginning to see that it isn't up to me. God has his purpose for me and will work through me. I need only to be faithful. I will simply keep praying that the Lord will continue to use this situation as a way to Glorify him.

Thought of the night:
It's not about me
::Raises Eyebrow::

Another Day...

2006-11-08T21:08:00.000-05:00

First off, I'd like to take the time to sincerely thank everyone that has expressed their care, sympathy, and support to my family and I.

Your words, cards, prayers, and thoughts mean more than anything right now.
I feel more at ease knowing that my entire family has the same support that I do.

If anything, don't worry about me. Focus on those around me. :-)
Seeing my family and those close to me receive comfort gives me such joy and satisfaction.

As for me, routine is beginning to set in.
Luckily I have plenty of class work to keep me busy, but after a while my brain just wants to turn off. (Oh, that's right... I'm in college... That's what it's supposed to do)

Thankfully, I do enjoy most of the work.
I see the work assigned to me by one professor (Prof Cannistra) as my own personal sudoku puzzles. (Those in his classes probably think I'm nuts for that last comment). Hopefully he doesn't read this and turn them into Rubrics cubes... I'm not a fan. :-)

As the rest of the college bound know, there is only so much you can do while being away from school. Eventually boredom takes over. Those that know me understand I'm big at starting "projects" so feel free to leave an idea or two. Hopefully I can start the spring semester with some interesting gadgets.

Tomorrow includes a trip back to Sloan. It should be a quick one, just a check up.
Unfortunately a "quick trip" still involves a 1+ hour ride to and from the city. But hey, it is what it is!

Until next time!

Misleading...

2006-11-07T17:51:00.000-05:00

So I realized something today... the title of my blog is somewhat misleading.

Eventually I'll have Cancer in College... but right now It's Cancer@home.
I think for all intensive purposes I'll leave it the way it is! :-)

I never realized before how much I take being at home for granted.
Everyone's home has that unique smell that makes it their own. Some houses may smell similar, but it doesn't smell like yours. That alone feels theraputic, and I feel everything just melt away the more time I spend here.

For instance, I can count on the smell of garlic filling the house by 6 pm every night.
If it's not there, something's wrong. God bless the heart of an Italian Mother!!!

Speaking of which, its 10 to 6. I think I'll take a walk past the kitchen and see what's happening.

Home Sweet Home

2006-11-06T22:35:00.000-05:00

I'm Finally Home!!!

I've been released! I write to you now from the comfort of my own couch.
Now that all the initial procedures, tests, and medications have been taken care of, the rest of my treatment is completed through the out-patient clinic. Meaning I simply show up for my treatment and go home when I'm done!

Depending on what the treatments are, that could range from an hour or two, to an entire day.
But nonetheless, I get to spend the nights with my family in my own home!

My Upcoming Schedule:
-Back to sloan tomorrow. Just for some blood work and other labs. Shouldn't take too long.
-Next round of meds is Monday, and again it should hopefully only take an hour or two.

What I get to look forward to:
The way the medicines work, they kill any rapidly growing cells in your body.
While the majority of these cells are the cancer cells, it also includes hair follicles and effects your white blood cells and your ability to fight infection.

So by the middle of the next week I should start to see some hair loss and I'll have to be extra careful with the people and things around me, as I will be extremely vulnerable to infections of all types.

For now I only have one thing on my mind.
It involves a pillow and my own comfy bed.

So have a great night... I know I will!

In The Beginning...

2006-11-06T01:36:00.000-05:00

So how did this all begin?

I believe a timeline is in order!

Late July
I started having random fevers and headaches, nothing constant and nothing major. Doctor believed I was simply getting over a virus.

Early September
Those "random fevers" turned into a 10 day non-stop fever fest. Tylenol was my only relief. At this time I sought out a doctor up at school that could help me get this figured out.

I found a Dr. Feinstein listed under "Infectious Disease" (Creepy Title, I know). Deep down part of me was hoping this would sort of work out like an episode of House. Unfortunately it was pretty anti-climactic.

He ran a myriad of blood tests including mono, mono like diseases, tick diseases and the like. However all the results came back negative and I also perceived my symptoms to be getting better, and so we parted ways. The plan was to check back sometime in October just for due diligence.

Most of October
Throughout this entire time I was experiencing night sweats. However, in the beginning I discounted it as a symptom. At the time it was pretty warm out, we had yet to reach a house agreement on the A/C, and my multitude of blankets made me believe that it was just me.

As the month went on the temperature dropped, the blankets lessened, and even the house had somewhat silently agreed on the A/C temp. Yet I was still sweating!

At that point I started taking my temperature through the night.
Sure enough, I was having Fevers!!!! The Night Sweats were the fevers breaking on their own.
Here I am thinking I got rid of em, while really they became nocturnal.

Here's where it gets interesting...

Tuesday October 24, 2006
Back to good ol' Dr. Feinstein. He agreed that something wasn't right and sent me for blood work and now a cat scan. We agreed I would come back in on thursday when he would have the results of both.

Wednesday October 25, 2006 10:00am

::Ring::
"Hi Nick, This is Sandy from Dr. Feinstein's office. The doctor would like to see you now."
"...Right now?"
"Yes, Right Now."

Dr. Feinstein received the report from the CAT Scan, and there were different masses or nodes that were very suspicious of lymphoma. However, at that time there were also a few other options on the table. His suggestion was to immediately seek out an oncologist to get a better diagnosis.

After what was probably the worst three-way call with my parents (my poor mother almost had a heart attack) I was on my back to long island to get a better handle on this.

Wednesday October 26, 10:00pm
Wham, Bam Thank You Ma'am!

In Twelve hours, I went from being in Poughkeepsie (confused out of my mind) to being admitted into Sloan-Kettering Memorial Cancer Center in the city. Immediately they begin running tons of blood work and also sent me for different CAT Scans at 12:30 in the morning.

Thursday October 27
Thursday was filled with test, after test, after test. I didn't even know if I was coming or going.
I was also introduced to way too many doctors.

There was the surgical team that was to perform a biopsy to get a better idea of what we're dealing with.

There was another team of doctors evaluating me in the case that the biopsy returned a lymphoma.

Lastly, there was another team evaluating me in the case that the biospy returned a sarcoma.

The amount of care and attention to detail was amazing even from Day 1.

Friday October 27, 2006
I don't remember much from this day. The biopsy occurred at around 9:30 AM and the general anesthesia kept me pretty loopy for the rest of the day. What I do remember is that we were positive it was lymphoma. However, we didn't know what type.

It's like saying I have a Dodge... But I don't know if it's a Viper, a Charger, or possibly even a Spirit!!! (Kudos if you had yourself a chuckle)

It would take a few more days to get a definite diagnosis as they examine the samples they took.

Sidenote: So where did these samples come from?
It turns out that there was a large mass growing in my pelvis.
(Yes, mass is keyword for tumor, but mass just sounds better)
When you look at an image of your pelvis, you see your bladder take shape like a big balloon. Unfortunately, mine was sharing half it's space with this lovely mass. Which also explains why I was going to the bathroom like a pregnant woman.

Moving On!!!

Tuesday October 31, 2006 7:00pm
We have a diagnosis!

Diffuse large B-cell Lymphoma
This is the most common non-hodgkins type lymphoma.

Now as you go out and google this term, you might find different numbers of a 5 year survival rate. 60%, 75%. However, those in my age group experience cure rates of 95% so as I said before, no need to worry!

Here is a good time to introduce my doctor.
Dr. Tanya Trippett

This woman is a saint. While most doctors will shrug off your concerns and simply try to be finished with you, I have never seen a doctor take such time to fully address all of my concerns, while clearly articulating everything that is happening. This includes the tests that are being run, the concerns that they have, and the purpose of each medication that I have been prescribed. After meeting with her (which has occurred every morning since I have been admitted to sloan) she has never left me with an unanswered question, or with a confused look on my face.

I can only imagine the amount of patients she has and yet she can still take such time out to be so involved.

Tuesday October 31, 2006 8:00PM
After a brain draining session explaining everything about my new found lymphoma, treatment quickly began.

For this type of lymphoma the treatment simply calls for chemotherapy, no radiation is required.
Unfortunately, the entire treatment cycle lasts a year.

Again, this is no need to worry. The treatment is broken up into three phases.
1. Induction
2. Consolidation
3. Maintenance

Induction - This is the most aggressive part of treatment. This usually lasts for the first 20-30 days. This is where I am hit with the hardest meds to quickly combat the cancer in my body. This is the main reason why I need to remain home through the rest of the fall semester.

With the type of lymphoma that I have, it can grow quite rapidly. Luckily, the chemo causes it to retreat just as quickly.

As for Consolidation and Maintenance, I'm still a bit hazy on the details. But the most important thing to note is that the treatment required is not as aggressive as the first Induction stage.

conclusion: I will be returning to Marist for Spring 2007... PARTY!!!!

Wednesday - Friday, November 1 - 3 2006

My first round of chemo went off without a hitch and I came through it with flying colors.
As they introduced the meds into my body, I was filled with anxiety. Obviously everyone has heard horror stories of cancer treatment.

Luckily I can say I have experienced none of these symptoms. I have remained my radiant and happy self throughout the treatment.

I won't lie though, Thursday into Friday was a little rough. The meds took a lot out of me and I could do nothing more but stay in bed and rest. Yet, by Friday night I awoke from one of my many naps feeling refreshed and as good as new!

Saturday November 2, 2006

Pretty Boring...
Watched Over The Hedge
Took a nap
Funny Story: Guys Only, ask me personally for a good laugh! :-)

Sunday November 5, 2006

They want to send me home!!!
Problem: I have to be back here Monday morning anyway for some more treatment I'd rather stay then try to get home during the marathon and come back during rush hour.

But all in all, I'm doing great.

They also had bleachers setup to see the marathon, since they run right past the hospital. I got to see Lance Armstrong as he ran past along with the many members of "Fred's Team" which are the people that run for Sloan-Kettering, where each year they manage to raise over One Million Dollars.

Sidenote: GO COLTS!!!!

Final Update:
Monday November 6, 2006 2:56 AM

All-in-all I think this was a good start.
A good start for my treatment.
A good start for the blog.

I wish I could explain everything to everyone individually. This is a very personal situation, and I want to be able to talk it out with each of you one by one.

Yet somehow I feel that this blog will help to make sure everyone is on the same page. What better way to stay updated then to get it all straight from the source.

Lastly, I don't want anyone to feel burdened or bothered by my condition.
I don't, so neither should you!
But if anyone ever has any questions, I'd be more then happy to answer them.
So you know how to get a hold of me!

As for what lies ahead...
More treatment, and more rest.
The doctor says I should expect to start seeing hair loss in about 10-14 days.
I made her laugh when I told her I was already halfway there.
Any suggestions for hats??

As for the rest of this semester...
I have spoken to all my professors and they have all been gracious enough to allow me to finish my work from home. I don't have to worry about falling behind.

So stay tuned sports fans... More updates ahead!