Midst of the Fourth: Got back from WVCI around 3:45 PM; checked in at 9:30 AM and should have been home by 2:00 PM but they were running late today. Didn't seem to be as many patients in the center, but maybe last night's weather fouled up some schedules (there were power outages and such due to local high winds; of course, there was a brief power interruption during the night here, just enough to mess up the clocks).

The numbers I mentioned last time (hemoglobin and tumor marker/CEA) continue to improve slightly. The former is about 12 as of today (it was around 9 when I started treatment) and the latter is about 4.9 (allegedly extremely low...doc said that it'd be more of an indicator if it were in the 100s, but also mentioned that it's not a perfect predictor). Tests show that my kidney and liver functions are "good" (his word). Weight's up...been hitting the sourdough bread a little hard, apparently. Had a bit of blood in my mucus in the morning on a few days during the last week (I can hear you all now: "Thanks for sharing, Tom", they said facetiously) and asked him about it; he listened to my heart and lungs and said they sounded "great" (again, his word) so he couldn't say what the cause might be. One of those things I have to keep an eye on, though. Blood pressure tends to be higher at the office than at home, unfortunately: today it was 140/90 when they checked. "White coat syndrome"...yes, I still get anxious during appointments.

Asked the attendant who led me back to the treatment rooms if I could sit as far away as possible from that guy who kept making that disgusting noise two weeks ago. Quietly, she said, "He's not coming in today." Thought I detected more than a little relief in her voice.

Forgot to mention last time that the nurse who put the IV in showed me a brochure with an actual power port (i.e., the thing in my chest where they put the IV needle) inserted into the pages (an artificial "skin" even covered it when you flipped one of the pages). Kind of neat, but also a little creepy; I already think of the main character in "Videodrome" whenever I see the scar on my midsection.

The Benadryl hit me hard again today; even fell asleep for about a half hour. No rude e-mails this time, thankfully. Or regretfully, depending on your point of view.

The Sun Breaks While in the Chemo Room 

Might get a light dusting of snow on the Valley floor tonight and tomorrow morning...

Update: And we did:

According to the weather service, it should be gone by 10:00 AM, with rain returning for the remainder of the day. The few minutes I spent outside taking photos gave me the worst tingling sensation in my hands ever (thank you, 5-FU).