blue plate special

special today, and every day for the foreseeable future: unnamed drug, working as ALK inhibitor, to fight my cancer. small price to pay in the way of minor GI upset so far.

on thursday evening i went back to boston, where it was once again raining. i tried to explain to mom that it really is a beautiful city, and it can be fun to walk around and see the sights, when it isn't pouring. we've been privvy to quite a bit of rain in two visits. this one was shorter than the last, however. we (ok, i) decided to fly non-stop from BWI to BOS late thursday evening, shack up in a hotel for the night, go to the hospital, and catch a friday evening flight back home. thursday's flight out was delayed by weather, but we had only 25 minutes from landing to being in our hotel room - how easy is that?! i slept like a stone most of the night and ate a bit of continental breakfast before heading to MGH.

everything seemed organized and ready to roll on friday morning. i think the doctor was a bit surprised i wasn't more excited to take my first dose, but the travel and stress of the week had reduced it a bit, and i explained that i am more of the guardedly optimistic type. i asked a few questions - i honestly cannot remember what i asked... good thing i took notes - and the doctor shook my hand and wished me luck and reminded me to call or email if i needed anything at all. and then, the study nurse and research assistant descended upon me. i sat through three ECG's, each two minutes apart.

i went to the lab for my blood draw. i explained to the phlebotomist about what my veins had been through earlier in the week. she smiled and nodded understandingly. she told me of course she would use a butterfly needle. she went for the big pipeline inside my left elbow. i looked away and said the standard ooch ouch as the needle went it. it seemed to hurt quite a bit, but i've had such an awful time lately, this wasn't surprising. i looked down and the blood was flowing out of me faster than i've seen it move in months. i was excited. i was doing well for a change. i quickly filled the four vials. this was great! and then, as she drew the needle out, i realized why said phlebotomist was grinning at me. it was a huge needle! she totally tricked me. i laughed as i realized i'd been duped. she told me there's no way i ever would have filled those vials with a smaller needle. i wasn't mad at all. i was impressed with the whole event. it made my day. who would have thought a big needle would ever make my day?!

then, i returned to the exam room, where i unceremoniously swallowed down my first dose of the unnamed drug. i think mom might have said "down the hatch". and there it went. three pills, two servings.

the highlight of the rest of the day was catching up with high school friend adam. with the rain pouring outside we opted not to leave the hospital and just sat at the coffee shop and caught up, picking up right where we left off, just as old friends manage to do. it was a nice break to the day and made me wish i was just in boston to hang out for the weekend, not with the extenuating circumstances.

i had to return to the 7th floor about two hours later, where i once again sat through three ECG's and then a small blood draw, for which a butterfly needed was actually used. and then, once again unceremoniously, i was finished.

cue the pouring rain, and mom and i weren't feeling brave enough to explore too many options for lunch considering we hadn't packed umbrellas. we went to a nearby place and watched a bit of the masters as we burned a little time before our flight. the t-commute to the airport coincided with the early commute on the friday afternoon. it was when changing from the orange line to the blue line when i first felt the rumblings of a major GI incident. as my body was readjusting to having the drug in my system, i knew it was possible there might be some GI upset to deal with. i really didn't want it on display in front of hundreds of boston's commuters.

i made it to the airport knowing my window of opportunity for normal function was drawing to a close. i spotted a bathroom on the level we entered, but for some reason we went up the escalator to the check in area. it was getting worse. damn the side effects. damn the friday trip home. oh, this was all a bad plan. who knew the side effects might set in so fast? i went immediately down the same escalator, walked quickly and eventually ran the final steps to the bathroom. i made it with my dignity intact. whew.

our flight, scheduled for later in the evening, had already been delayed by weather. i tried to ask a desk agent whether we could get onto the flight that was boarding at that exact moment. she was the most unfriendly southwest employee i'd ever come across. luckily i had no energy left in my body, and i couldn't even muster a wise-ass reponse to her miserable tone. mom and i headed for the security line, which was non-existent. the gate was just beyond it. there were two more seats on the plans. indeed, a lucky day.

so, it was a ton of travel in a short amount of time. i really wish southwest was flying to boston these days, not starting in june. it wiped me out a bit. but after a good night's sleep and a day spent doing mainly nothing, and another good night's sleep, i had a good day once again today. no side effects. i feel pretty good. no nap, in fact, was necessary today. that is a pretty big deal for me.

the drug, i take two doses of 250 mg a day, one at 8:30am and the other at 8:30pm. i am not particularly good with swallowing pills, so that is the hardest part so far. my next trip to MGH is in two weeks. that will be for a blood test to take a look at my liver function. then there's another trip a week after that. and then, then, we bump to the every three week schedule.

i'm feeling really hopeful about the drug and what it will do for me and to my cancer. i like to imagine all those little cells dying horrible, awful deaths as their will to live is sucked right out of them.