Finally, fighting back!

After what seemed to be eternity, I finally began treatments this past Thursday in a final attempt to slow if not stop the progression of the Cancer I have been battling the past 2 years.
We first met with Dr. Michael Sherry, Oncologist at the UPMC West facility for a brief consultation before the start of treatment, at which time he reviewed the reports of the CT Scan that had been done the previous Monday. The only finding that had never been revealed to me before, but had been there since my birth, was that I was born with two spleens! Not that it will help me in any way, but just a side note I thought worth mentioning. Everything else was pretty much the same as previous scans, soft tissue masses of various sizes here and there throughout my lungs and neck, nothing could be excluded nor could anything be confirmed as far as the squamous cells are concerned.
The nurses at UPMC failed to provide me with the necessary pre-meds required 24 hours before administering of the one drug, resulting in a two day treatment instead of both drugs being administered in one day. No big deal there either, as both days were under 6 hours each in total time spent there.
I have had no side effects as of yet but that is not unusual as it could take several days if not several treatments before these kick in. Dr. Sherry is trying to make sure that the treatment is not worse than the cancer. Also, in our consultation he went over the pain management regimen I was on and suggested that I may have been under medicating myself and suggested increasing the dosage of morphine I am taking to keep things under control. Not so much the dosage but the frequency. I was taking the morphine 3 to 4 times a day and Dr. Sherry suggested I try increasing it to 5 - 6 times a day and if we see less of a roller coaster pattern in regards to the pain then he will increase the strength of the Fentanyl pain patch I wear from 50 MCG/HR to 100 MCG/HR.
Yesterday, the swelling in my face was way down, and my tongue felt as though it had decreased its swelling as well and I was able to brush my teeth and gums with much more ease than in the past.
I continue to keep myself busy outside in the beautiful summer weather by cleaning the garage, maintaining the yard, cleaning and tuning all the small engine equipment we have, splitting logs and hauling them up to the house to burn in the cool evenings in the Chiminea, planting and caring for my tomatoes and roses and slowly replacing the dead grass in the front lawn, after first cleaning the soil (sifting out debris), then testing and adjusting the PH, Potash, Nitrogen and Phosphorus levels to ensure maximum growth after all the backbreaking work. Oh and then there are the practice rounds of chipping 30 to 50 golfs balls daily to try and keep my game in as good a shape as possible. So for now, this has been the best week I have had yet since coming home.
My eating continues to improve and I am getting more creative with the additions to the bland liquid nutrition that I consume for every meal in an effort to prevent it from becoming to mundane. I've incorporated Bananas, cinnamon and green foods into my menu, not all of these in the same meals, but just to mix things up. I am also consulting my juicing books to see what else I can conjure up that would be both tasteful and healthy in my on going fight against this disease in hopes of getting the upper hand and sending it back into a state of remission, hopefully forever!
My next treatment is for next Friday, so I will probably not post again until sometime after that treatment unless circumstances arise that warrant otherwise.
Many thanks again for all the cards, prayers and messages sent my way via, Dad, Cathy, phone calls and the Interent, they are all appreciated!