The oncologist stopped by to see me on Monday during chemo because I'm at the mid-point of my chemo schedule. Part of what he stopped by for was to warn me that there could be another extension in my future. It was just a warning. If it had been an actual extension he would have already had the results from the tests he was having done on the massive quantities of blood siphoned out of me at the end of my treatment. It wasn't quite half a liter but it was close. I get the results on Thursday.
After that I decided to get a snack and take a 14 hour nap. That worked out pretty well.
Today I talked to a doctor I haven't heard from in a long time--my chiropractor. He was just checking in, asking me how things were going. His office provided x-rays to the neurosurgeon back in those early scary days when it looked like I'd need surgery for the tumor in my neck. He was very happy to hear that the tumor had disappeared with the help of a little nuclear radiation zapping. I still think all those chiropractic treatments kept the paralysis at bay for a few months even with the pain caused by the nerve compression. It also seems to me that the treatments isolated the effect to my right side, mostly the right arm, rather than allowing it to cut off everything from the shoulders down. I'm also convinced that the reason I have been able to regain so much function is the way the chiropractic treatments protected my spine and kept the nerve pathways clear until the tumor maxed out all the available empty space. Since the radiation treatments started within 72 hours of the paralysis and had an immediate and dramatic effect on the size of the tumor, the nerves weren't nearly as damaged as the neurosurgeon feared. But I can't prove any of this. It would be nice if peripheral neuropathy wasn't one of the main side effects of my chemo, That means that even as the paralysis lifts I still have problems with my hands and legs because the medications interfere with nerve conduction and cause tremors, numbness and lose of fine motor control Good thing I don't play the violin.
I'll have another update late Thursday or early Friday (remember the 14 hour nap part) to talk about my test results. I asked him if there'd be extra credit. He's been out of school too long and didn't get it.
Comments