2nd Day Post Chemo

Seems like day 2 will be the worst day after my chemo treatments.  The nausea is horrible, the heartburn is uncomfortable, and the lethargic feeling my body feels is sometimes overpowering, but that didn't stop me from going out with my family for fathers day.  We went to some German restaurant called Black Forest Inn.  The food was ok, but it did NOT sit well in m stomach.  After we ate, I went home and took a 2-3 hour nap.  When I awoke, it felt like my stomach was filled with air but I didn't have to burp.  I've never felt anything like that before.  Besides that, I bought some awesome "legal" dvds this weekend at the flea market ;).  I purchased Hall Pass, which my girlfriend and I are watching right now, The Hangover 2, and Paul.  I think Hall Pass is going to be the winner for the funniest out of the three.  The Hangover 2 was funny, but I am glad I didn't pay to see it in the theaters.  In closing, here is an awesome song to listen to...

Waiting and Waiting...

So, Wednesday I was supposed to have my second dose of chemo but my white blood cell count was really low.  When it's as low as mine was, they aren't able to give you your treatment.  This is because if your body doesn't have enough wbc you can get infections very easily.  To fix this problem they have been injecting me with Nutrogen which stimulates your bone marrow to produce white blood cells very fast.  It is now friday, and I am sitting here, waiting for my blood work to come back.  If the wbc count isn't up I will have to wait till next week to receive treatment.  This worries the hell out of me because I don't want my cancer to progress.  It's all ok though because I trust that I am in good hands.  They will fix this problem and get me right back on track.  Anyways, my band recorded a cd.  You can listen to it here The Punk Rock Polka Experience.  I am going to warn you that It does have profanity which probably isn't that acceptable to people who aren't familiar with punk music.  I'm not talking about Blink 182 and Green Day profanity.  Anyways,  We will see if I receive treatment today.

UPDATE: RECIEVED TREATMENT, READY FOR THE SICKNESS!

Fighting Cancer by going to a T.S.O.L. concert.

Last night, my girlfriend Chelsea, Patrick Bradford and I went to go see a once in a lifetime concert.  We headed out to The Chance to see T.S.O.L.!!!!!!!  It was awesome, I had been wanting to see this band since I was in the 9th grade.  The reason I say it's a once in a lifetime concert is because when a band has been around for 30 years, you just don't know when or if you're going to see them again.  For all I know, the singer could drop dead within the next month (lets hope he doesn't because I'd feel responsible).  Anyways,  it was muggy as a windowless room full of fat people breathing heavy, but that was ok.  The played all the songs I would want to hear.  Thankfully none of their hair metal stage material was present.  They, obviously, closed with their hit song Code Blue.  Code Blue is THE song that probably first exposed you to T.S.O.L. if you were getting into punk in the 90's because it was featured on the Punk O Rama 2 comp.  Those comps slowly got worse and worse as the years went on but that's a whole different story.  Now, at this show I danced a little... probably shouldn't have but I did and It sucked.  I was tired after the first 10 seconds of each little dance or sing along session but I wasn't going to miss out on the fun  because of cancer.  T.S.O.L. wasn't the only highlight of the show though.  I saw my old friends from Soul 4 Sale, Justin from You And What Army, and Mike from Problems so it was an all around good show.  It all ended with me buying a t-shirt with profanity on it (up the punx <== Sarcasm), and going to sleep around 12:30.  Here is a nice little video of T.S.O.L.  It's terrible quality but I think i represents the energy they play with perfectly.

All About Me! (Kinda like the first day of school)

     My name is Brian, and on May 10th I was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma subtype Nodular Sclerosis. Lymphoma is a cancer that forms in the lymph nodes and usually affects people ages 15-35 (I think).  I am a 26 year old man, current'y attending college to become and Physical Therapist Assistant.  I love playing music.  Infact,  I love playing music soooo much that I play drums in 3 punk bands, The Naked Citizens, More Faster, and Picture Day.  I collect horror movie vhs tapes and punk/ska vinyl.   I have since received my first chemo treatment about 6 days ago and haven't been feeling great since.  This is what I am going to have to accept as feeling "normal" for the next six months as my body is pumped full of toxic drugs for the next six months.  Many people ask me, "what does it feel like"? Well,  while you are sitting in the hospital during treatment, you don't feel much of anything.  I didn't start feeling sick till later that night.  It started as a little bit of nausea and a little bit of exhaustion, but by the 2nd day I was feeling stomach cramps, extreme nausea, and the worst case of exhaustion I have ever felt.  Since then, I have begun to feel better, slowly regaining my strength and eating a lot more, but I have not fully recovered yet.

     Now that all of that is out of the way, I can explain what I am going to do in this blog.  I will post updates on how I am feeling for my friends as well as other things I enjoy, such as, music, movies, and eating.  Right now I am getting ready to head out for some chicken parm pizza from Mezza Luna.  Hopefully the mail will be here by time I get back.  I am expecting some movies.  In closing, here is a song from one of my favorite bands Dustbox!  They are pretty much a Japanese Blink 182 (Pre Enema of the state).  Enjoy!