Friday's chemo went quicker this time, about 3 1/2 hours in the chair. I guess they finally figured out that I can tolerate the first drug, Rituximab (it is the R in R-CHOP), the one that takes the longest to infuse. It is a "new breed" drug that targets my specific cancer cells and not other cells, but can have pretty bad side effects in some people. So far I've been lucky and haven't had a problem with it. So we got out of Boston early and beat the rush hour back to the Cape.
That night Chef Nancy made a delicious steak dinner and then she went to a ceremony at the high school dedicating the local Veterans for Peace chapter to a young soldier from the Cape who returned from the fighting in Iraq with PTSD and eventually ended up committing suicide. I had intended to go but was feeling wiped out and nauseous and so stayed home. But by Saturday morning I felt much better and we commenced an incredibly busy, fun and family-filled weekend. Pete and the grandkids came over Saturday morning (their mom went to the flower show with her mom) and were joined around noon by our nephew Dan and his sister Beth, with her one-year old son, Kyle. The kids had a ball, the three of them going through just about every toy we have and managing to scatter them throughout the house by the end of the day. Our little guys hadn't seen Dan in a few years but it wasn't long before they were sitting in his lap reading stories. Later we guys went out back to play some frisbee and soccer. Six or seven of the local kids, all about the same age as our Jacob, joined us for soccer. There were constantly changing sides, the best being Pete, Dan and I against the totally undisciplined, wacky mob of seven and eight year old boys. I felt pretty good, probably the prednisone kicking in. It was a really nice day and we're so glad Beth and Dan decided to visit. For Dan, our world traveler, it's back to San Francisco and then this winter to Antarctica (it'll be summer there) for more research.
Sunday was another beautiful day, bright sun all day and temps in the 50's. Still feeling pretty energetic (still on prednisone, day 3 of 5), I took a brisk two mile walk in the morning. In the afternoon we went letterboxing with Pete and the kids. The letterboxes were hidden along a trail in a wooded, hilly preserve in South Yarmouth. It was great fun. The theme of the 10 letterboxes was Eric Carle's book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See. The stamps, carved by an artist, were animals, their names and colors given in Spanish. Thanks to preschool, Maddy and Jacob knew the animals and colors in Spanish. The directions were good and we found all the letterboxes. Jacob found most of them and Maddy helped helped her daddy stamp their book at each stop. The hiking was reminiscent of the Berkshires. We felt like we could have been hiking Pleasant Valley in Lenox. It felt good to be climbing some hills for a change. Not many of those here on the Cape. Last night Melissa had us over for dinner - delicious roasted chicken, sweet potatoes and salad. I have to admit I totally crashed last night, but what a wonderful weekend.
Still feeling good this morning. I think this cycle is going to be the best one, hopefully without any fever. We'll see.
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