2nd CT scan updates!

It was a great relief to know that the 2nd CT scan was better than the first! :D

God's been great!

During the 1st CT scan something small was detected in Pavel's lungs but the doc mentioned that it should just be a residual from the side effects of chemo. So we left it aside and thank God for His peace that really kept our smiles on our faces :)

Life's just so real in a sense knowing the nagging fact that cancer could just strike us back anytime. But His grace is sufficient which has enabled and empowered us through this season of life! I know I keep repeating about God's grace but yea it is the fact that I never grow tired of it, simply because it is what that keeps us going =) I thank God that His grace never grew tired of us too!!

So yup for the 2nd CT scan the small stuff in the lungs were completely gone! YAY! Praise the Lord!!

What a journey life has been for the both of us and His grace never fails to amaze me :)

Our lives has been blessed with amazing people in it!

4 months and counting :)

It's been 4 months now since the last cycle of chemo, how time just flew us by!

Our first CT scans and blood results were an ALL CLEAR!! Praise the LORD! :D
We have already done the second CT scan and awaiting the results for it.

Pavel is doing tremendously well! His hair is growing back at a tremendous speed now, we're happy to have his hair growing back ;D One look at him today and you won't even notice or know that he had gone through chemo just 4 months ago. God's grace not only enables but empowers too! Our lives have been remarkably touched by the people around us, both near and far.

We've been pretty busy since than! We got our on place now in Prague, sharing the flat with 2 lovely flatmates =) Building up our home bit by bit. Pavel's been busy with his work too as some of the projects are coming to an end. I've started a new job and met some nice people :)

So yea life's still full of challenges as we live it up! And thank God, He is the ever constant to keep us sane!

Sperm Bank

Here's the post on the sperm bank that I mentioned earlier that I would write :)

Well the only time I've seen a sperm bank was on TV, typical of how we learn and get to know things ;)

This is not much of a difference from what you've seen in the TV too...

We went early in the morning, as ours was a last minute appointment...since our blood result was late...we only had 1 week to decide on everything (to chemo or not to chemo) seen the nurses and just had to wait out turn...Mostly young couples were there, Pavel commented that that's obvious you don't need it when you're old. True true =)

Pavel was quite anxious...who wouldn't be?...when you're EXPECTED to perform and deliver results into a small tub XD And this was like our backup just in case chemo kills off everything...and this would be our only hope. Both of us like kids enough to have our own :) not now but in the future...
We have already planned not to have kids during our first year of marriage and with chemo, it kinda just falls in nicely..although with chemo it's 2 years.


Back to the sperm bank:

We got our room, just a small room, with a bed, heater, chair, sink..and of course scantily dress pictures on the walls and mags by the bed. Just like in the TV ;)

Earlier in the morning, we were laughing in the car joking about it...and I told Pavel, remember don't spill it.

Without going into details :p

He really did spill it onto bed...and of course he had to scoop it back into the tub...XD

Well we checked it in with the nurse waited for our results, if it's any good since it was on the bed...
Results were back: sperm count in a good range -  i can't recall the numbers. Usable for freezing.

It's a good thing we know a little bit about sperms because prior to sperm banking you're not suppose to ejaculate for 2 - 3 days. In order to have optimum results. And you're suppose to bank in 5 times...we didn't have time for 5 times and our doctor didn't tell us about it. We read it on the paper that the nurse gave us during our waiting time in the sperm bank.

So we scheduled on our own to back again 3 days after, Monday morning. And the sperm bank doctor was kind enough to accomodate us. =) Monday morning was our first chemo already, so we had to do it in the morning before the chemo.

And the sperm bank was like 45mins away from our hospital for chemo...

So our 2nd banking was much easier and faster :) Since Pavel already knew what to expect...he wasn't anxious about it :)
Results of the 2nd banking were good as well :)

Even with a ball less, it does affect the sperm count ;) that is before chemo.

Now the sperms are all cryogenically preserved in liquid nitrogen tanks...sounds pretty cool eh? :D

hmm i wonder if we ever conceive through these sperms...would the kids prefer cold than the heat? ;)

Cycle 2: Day 20 & Day 21 - Completion!

We have officially ended chemo as today is Day 21! :D Cycle 1 and Cycle 2 have indeed past by really fast and it was an amazing journey! Simply because we lived on God's grace and His miracles :) He never failed to be with us each step of the way and carried us on His wings when we have no strength left.

God never let us down and indeed Amazing Grace :) He always sent us angels to put a smile on our face and warm up our hearts =) You are my dear friends and family are our God sent angels...your kind words, thoughts, support, encouragements & prayers have really lifted us up. =) What amazing people we have in our lives and we really thank God for all of you!

A lot of times, we didn't need anything elaborate of eloquently phrased paragraphs...just a simple line or two of you are being thought of and kept in our prayers are more than enough :) Encouragements such as your lives have inspired us or we admire your courage and sending you our love really brightens up our day. =)
And how marvelous you were at doing just that! :D

Even now that I am in a foreign land to call home, with skype, Facebook, emails & THE internet I always felt at home :) with all you wonderful people reminding me that I am not alone in this journey =) Though far and wide this world may be, a click here and a click there, I have you all to stand by me :)

We are very touched by your sincerity =) and even in this cold winter (it's getting colder by the day! It's -9 now..gonna hit -20) our hearts are warm by you :)

We did a little video for all of you but I have yet to edit it was caught up with my Triops still :p Now there's 3 sole survivors! And they are getting bigger :D I will post the video up by tomorrow hopefully!

Love you all!!

ps: Pavel is doing just fine! :) Body is slowly recovering, the bruise (which I suspect extravasation) on his arm is slowly fading away and the pain is much lesser now.
Gonna be visiting the dentist tomorrow morning, will update you guys on that.

We started juicing already with our new juicer! :D gotta show you guys our new kitchen gadgets soon ;) Today Pavel had: tomatoes, orange, kiwi, celery, cucumber, apple - all in one. haha cause usually we always have over supply of vegs and fruits, so we decided to clear it up ;D

Sometimes winter can get into your bones but we thank God that we have you to warm us up =)


UPDATE: video is now live :)

Our story begins...

Cycle 2 Day 17 - 19

Today is Day 19 - 2 more days to completion of our 21 days cycle :D

All's been well thus far :) Now the only thing left would be Pavel's tooth...

On Thursday he went to the dentist and go a X-ray done on his bottom front tooth, as it was painful...apparently there's more to it...dentist told him to come in on next Tue morning, 7am...there's something inside his tooth, so she needs to open it, clean it, leave it open for awhile and than fill it.

I have no idea exactly what is wrong, Pavel just listen and said ok...so he didn't really ask any Qs as it doesn't occur to him...I'm the one usually asking all the Qs..but than again when it's me, I don't ask the Qs...weird I know...

So do pray that everything will be well and I do highly suspect the bruise on Pavel's arm along the vein is caused by extravasation... -_- chemo nurses must be thoroughly trained to avoid all these unecessary complications. It's good that his WBC are not too low, Neulasta definitely helped, so it should recover fine :)

I really thank God that Pavel has only a few really bad days, some guys had it real rough even after their first week of the first cycle!

And this is an awesome place for info and support on TC - www.tc-cancer.com
They have the best forum for TC! =) And people are really nice too ;)

We made a special thank you video for all of you who have been supporting us :) I'll need to edit it later and will post it up =)

Life's awesome with God in it and definitely with wonderful people like you! :D

the wonders of nature :)

BEP Regimen

Bleomycin, Etoposide & Cisplatin Regimen

Short overview on the drugs.


Bleomycin
- anti-tumor antibiotics
- destroys the DNA
- Major side effect: Affects the skin (hyperpigmentation) & lungs due to low ability to degrade it. About 10% of people suffer from lung toxicity.
- aka the Shake & Bake Bleo - unless you premedicate before taking Bleo, you are gonna be experiencing shivers & chatters due to chills and followed by a hike in temperature. Pre-medication: paracetamol/benadryl/tylenol - these are known to work really well :)



Etoposide
- acts by inhibiting topoisomerase (an enzyme that assist in cell duplication)
- Major side effect: Decrease in white blood cell: lowest point on Day 10 - Day 14. Recovers within 3 weeks.


Cisplatin
- platinum based drug
- disrupts the DNA of the cell and inhibits it from replicating
- Major side effect: kidney toxicity

General Side Effects of BEP:
Nausea & vomiting - ensure you take the anti-emetics prescribed & drink loads of fluid

Fever & chills - especially after Blemoycin is given. Apart from that, do let your doctor know about it. Paracetamol can be taken in this case. Ensure proper rest after taking bleomycin, not even short walks even if you feel fine, it will just quicken the side effect of it. Keep warm and drink loads of fluids.

Fatigue - as treatment progresses, this may just get worst. Get plenty of rest and have short walks. Short walks will help. Pavel had it during his Day 6 - 9, after that it was not too bad. Walks helped him a lot.

Weight gain - increase in appetite due to dexamethasone (steroid) and also tendency to munch. Increase intake of fiber and have low calorie snacks to munch on.

Weight loss - make sure you have adequate food intake. And maximize your calories, especially if you don't have any appetite to eat. Pavel's losing weight even though he's eating a lot!

Sore mouth - ensure good oral hygiene. Brush gently after each meal with a soft toothbrush and rinse with salt water.

Hair loss - 3 to 4 weeks into the treatment during Cycle 1. And may be completely lost. Good news! It's just temporary =) it will grow back after treatment. Pavel started losing his hair on Day 17.

Constipation - due to the anti-emetics. Ensure lots of fluid intake and fiber (physillum husk is good). I make sure Pavel have his bowel movements daily, so that all the toxic waste is removed. So I give him lots of cooked veggies, oats, yogurt, physillum. No problem with it now :)

Diarrhea - make sure adequate fluid intake to replenish the body. If it's more than 2 days, do consult your doctor. And do replenish with oral rehydrating salts.

Sore eyes - may be dry, become reddish, discomfort. Artificial tears may help.

Bone aches - try a hot bath and always keep yourself warm. Ibuprofen is good for bone aches. To have a good sleep, take ibuprofen and a sedative. Pavel had a night or two with terrible bone aches and body aches, after the ibuprofen and sedative, he managed to sleep. Please consult with your doctor first.


I have covered in brief since Pavel only had 2 cycles of BEP, the side effects aren't too bad. Now we're in Cycle 2 Day 18 and he's doing good :)

Usual side effects are tires out quickly and muscle ache, we are now SLOWLY building up his body again. Simple exercises such as walking and supplements.

I do believe in taking supplements but not on a daily basis. Supplements should be like your food intake, you don't eat the same veggie everyday, so why take a supplement everyday? It's just my rational ;D

Calcium and Magnesium have shown to aid the body. So I did give Pavel these two supplements off and on.

There's quite a lot of reading to do on it when you want to optimize chemo treatment with supplements...because there are thoughts that it will aid the cancer cells thus bringing more harm than good...so if you need some advise I can shed some light onto it and it would be best to consult your oncologist still :)

I think the best is taking in RDA amounts and follow the food concept = you don't eat the same type of food everyday, so don't take the same supplements everyday. NOTE that it's a SUPPLEMENT, so please don't spend tonnes of money on it. You don't need to spend your whole lifesavings to save someone's life, we just need to be smart about it and not get sweep up by commercials/sweet talk.

References:-
http://www.patient.co.uk/health/Chemotherapy.htm
http://www.cancernet.co.uk/chem-bep.htm
http://www.macmillan.org.uk/Cancerinformation/Cancertreatment/Treatmenttypes/Chemotherapy/Combinationregimen/BEP.aspx
http://www.tc-cancer.com/pdf/tc-chemo.pdf

Cycle 2 Day 16 - pancakes and triops!

Wednesday 

We made pancakes for dinner! :D

Was a good recipe too =) I used wholemeal flour and buckwheat flour for it :) ps feel free to ask for the recipe ;) too lazy to type it out now

My 1st birthday present! :D The triops have hatched! :D It takes about 48 hours for this tiny little creatures  to hatch..and now you can see that little speck of light brownish color near the marimo ball :D So cute! :D

It's really fun to watch them swimming around :)

My tank setup is complete :D

We hope to breed them and sell the eggs :D These are really fun pets to have! :)

So what are they?
They're basically small little fresh water crustaceans that have been around for about 300 million years! Basically a living fossil ;D

They are also known as tadpole shrimp :) Kinda look like a horseshoe crab ;)

The full name of my species = Triops longicaudatus

They grow up to about 6cm in captivity but in the wild they would reach 11cm, not so small after all :)

You can witness the whole life cycle as they usually live about 30 - 40 days and before they die they would lay dozens of eggs first.

So I'll be posting the progress of my little triops as they grow bigger! :D Here's a video on them :)

I'm writing less about Pavel's case now because he's getting better! So not much to write on apart from the usual tiredness and aches....oh and I think the chemo leaked during the infusion because on his left arm there's a darker streak along his vein..and it's painful to touch now...would need to look it up 

Cycle 2 Day 15 CNY dinner!

Day 15 - Chinese New Year dinner! :D

Pavel gave me a surprise dinner idea for CNY!~ He told me on Sunday about it and wanted to surprise the whole setup for me but he needed help with the soup and he has work to do...while now I have all the time in the world ;)


Nonetheless he's such a gem! :D

The whole setup

Relatively simple as we don't have Chinatown in Czech!
One of the few countries who doesn't have it 

This colorful veggie noodles are yummy! :)

champagne of course!

bubbly drinks

Our new rice cooker. We got it as our Christmas present...kinda ironic
cause both of us don't take rice..but it's perfect for steamboat! :D

Desserts to complete the night!

The soup turned out to be really yummy! :D Boiled for about 3 hours with chicken meat and bones, carrots, onions, garlics and chinese herbs :) So happen to still have a packet of Emperor's Chicken herbs lying around ;)

Both parents enjoyed the food too :) We had crabsticks, mushrooms, peking cabbage, pork's heart, prawns, tortelini (since there's no meatballs), smoked salmon, noodles and eggs...nothing like back home though ;)

Tatko (Dad in Czech) called the neighbours and greeted them happy chinese new year and teased them to come over. They said no but turned up later and wanted to try :) We kept everything already and was suppose to have it for the next day's lunch, as the soup is now super yummy! But they're nice so we gave it to them ;) They really enjoyed it :) Both husband and wife travels quite a fair bit so they're a bit more adventurous than the average Czech ;)

Cycle 2: Day 14

Day 14 (monday)


Today is his last round of bleo! :D

All chemo drugs are finally over! :D
Today is also the first day of Chinese New Year :)

I kinda miss the buzz of Chinese New Year...first time in my 26 years of life that I'm not busy for CNY..there's a lot of first things in life this season ;)
And for that my amazing darling suggested yesterday that we can celebrate our own Chinese New Year! :D We will make steamboat :)
What a gem eh?! He actually wanted to give me a real surprise with the whole thing but than again I have the extra time since I'm not working and he is :)

well after the infusion we went and did a blood test as well cause Pavel needs to go to the dentist..blood result was out in mere 10mins :D
And his results are looking good! =D

Blood test:
Before Cycle 1 - Leucocyte 5.0; Erythrocytes 5.39; hemoglobin 145; thrombocytes 210
After Cycle 1 - Leu 5.6; Ery 5.14; Hb 137; Tr 180
After near completion of Cycle 2 (taken on Day 14) - Leu 4.9; Ery 4.9; Hb 139; Tr 193

So he's cleared to get his tooth out :)

Oh today was awesome cause we went to a really nice fish shop!! Both of us have turned fish fanatics..well not nearly there yet at least..now just looking up and studying :) Our new hobby since back in KL is in fishies and this summer we are gonna start fly-fishing!! so cool =D

This fish shop that we went to is really nice! :D Pavel bought me a marimo ball, drift wood & white sand! These are for my triops bowl! :D It's now waiting to hatch!! More about triops later on ;D

This is the current setup for now...just waiting for it to hatch and than place my driftwood and shells in it :D


Oh we had to rush home from the fish shop cause the side effects came earlier than predicted...usually it hits around 4-5pm but this time just 1 hour after the infusion it kicked in...it's due to the walk, as we were walking outside..so I guess things kicked up faster..

It's quite funny actually...Pavel forgot his beanie so he was wearing mine...it's a good thing it's white but it's knitted type :D so in the car, he's driving with heater full blast, beanie on his head and he was still chattering!! Poor guy XD
His front tooth was painful due to the chatter..so I gave him a packet of tissue to bite on...

Cycle 2 Day 11 - 13

Day 11

Traveling day! :)
Pavel had a meeting in another town called Plzen, so we left in the morning about 7.
Was still in consideration the night before as he wasn't feeling so well and there's a problem with his tooth. We think that he needs an extraction, so we would have to talk to our onco and see how things are.

It was an interesting day indeed! We took the train to Prague from Zabreh, about 2 hours. And Prague to Plzen about 1 and a half hours. Our journey from Prague to Plzen took us about 4 hours instead...a suicide occured...

Well apart from that, all went well :)

We stayed a night in Prague at a friend's place and it was a good time chatting up with Pavel's old uni mates :)


Day 12

Time to head back home :)

Pavel's tooth is still aching and while coming down from the train, he knocked his tooth. And it was really really painful for him...he was literally shaking from the pain. Popped in ibuprofen but it didn't help and he wanted to pop in more...I told him that we need to go to the pharmacy instead, to get something stronger...cause I could see it from his face that it was really bad.

The pharmacist recommended him naproxen, so we got that and he popped it in. The water helped as it cooled the tooth down as well. Naproxen works really well for him, so it's good. =)

We had a good journey back home and discussed about our future plans and ideas for business :)

oooo and I already have lots of nice presents from my darling! Birthday presents! :D


Day 13

Pavel's quite tired today from the traveling. He gets tired quite easily...so he's already fast asleep now as I type this :) It is good that he is sleeping and able to sleep. Had a bit of a temperature but now he's alright =)

He's drinking lots of fluids and it is helping him to recover.

I was doing some research on BEP regimen and optimizing his treatment with additional supplements. So far 'there's nothing concrete out there...and not much research has been done too. One day, I do hope to fund ongoing researches on complimentary and intergrative medicine. I do believe in chinese medicines, simply because it works and a lot of research by the chinese have been done. I think there is hope in it. =)

Tomorrow is our last day with bleomycin :) Just another 8 more days to complete!

Cycle 2 Day 8

Day 8 

Yesterday we went for the bleomycin jab but instead an infusion was given. Pavel was not mentally prepared for another infusion, so he was pretty much stressed out by it. XD Poor baby. He was literally sweating from his forehead and you could see beads of sweats forming, it's quite funny though. Seeing him so stressed up by a tiny little needle :p
He had some bad experience when he was a little boy, he was quite sick and he was stuck in the hospital for a month and they had to take his blood samples everyday. To make it worst, he was alone there most of the time, as both his parents were working...so that's when it all started, this 'phobia'

Oh his dad has the same issue with needles too XD


The infusion is actually not so bad but a canula needs to be inserted in and it takes 15mins, whereby a jab just takes a couple of seconds. However the good thing about the infusion is that his butt won't be painful for 2 weeks, like his last jab. So after all the infusion is much better =)

In the evening, all of a sudden he had like severe chills, he was pretty much shaking and his teeth couldn't stop chattering!! Quite a funny sight thinking about it hehehe he couldn't really talk as a result of that. But thank God it was only about 10mins than it was ok.

Gave him paracetamol 2 tabs and covered him with 2 blankets!~ Oh and a cup of hot fruit tea too =)

Apart from being tired and still a bit sensitive to touch, all is well! =)

Just one more of bleo next Monday and we're done with the drugs! :D

Cycle 2 Day 2 & 3: chubby shaolin monk!

Day 2, Cycle 2

All went well :) and it was the longest infusion day thus far!
Normal saline & cisplatin were dripping all so slowly...the nurse didn't place the canula properly..so it was  a real lag..

Didn't have any problems with the chemo but instead with manitol. Pavel's muscle aches if this one runs too fast. Ironic since usually people have probs with chemo instead. But still manageable =)

Pavel nowadays always use this: Be careful la, I'm fragile & brittle! :)
He comes up with the quirkiest statements sometimes ;D

Yesterday I was running through www.tc-cancer.com's forum, they have a really good forum support there :) and I was reading up on various cases and all. I got to know that Dr. Einhorn is the top leading oncologist in Testicular Cancer and he's the one who treated Lance Armstrong.
So I bounced him an email in regards to Pavel's case because I want to make sure that our decision of going for 2 cycles is sufficient.
And what a kind hearted soul, he replied me on the very same day! And said that 2 cycles is sufficient for him =D

Yay!! I was rather happy that now I have the top TC's specialist opinion on it :D He's been known to be really nice and replies EVERYONE's email!! Since TC is still relatively rare and specialist in this field are rare too. So nice of him :)


Day 3, Cycle 2

Today was the fastest infusion day thus far!
haha yesterday was the slowest and today the fastest! Today another nurse fixed the canula for him, and this one did a really nice job, no pain too. The first nurse didn't do it nicely for Pavel, she had to jab him twice for it! -_- Pavel doesn't like needles and jabs ;)
He faints, if he's not lying down! I got a real good real life joke for it..but can't tease him too much now =)

The side effects he has experienced so far for Cycle 2, Day 1- 3:
- body aches (mild & sensitive to touch)
- mild metallic taste (especially today, he said that he has iron mouth but just for awhile ;)
- salivating (so he has to take his anti-emetics to prevent anything else)

Oh and today he became a chubby shaolin monk! haha bloating of his face..just like the carton Avatar =D

Round & chubby! =D

Cycle 2 Day 1: My Army boy! =D

Cycle 2 Day 1

Blood test result:
Before Cycle 1 - Leucocyte 5.0; Erythrocytes 5.39; hemoglobin 145; thrombocytes 210
After Cycle 1 - Leu 5.6; Ery 5.14; Hb 137; Tr 180

Current weight: 87 kg
Before Cycle 1: 90 kg

BSA: 2.09

Today we were once again the last patient to leave the chemo department (we're always the last anyway ;D since Pavel's the only one on BEP regime), all went well...except that Pavel saw a lady nearly collapsing cause she couldn't breathe, she was on her IV. SO that was something!
BUT most of all TODAY, my bottle of cream exploded onto my face and shirt! :D It was hilarious!! As the cream was splattered everywhere! Onto my face, my shirt....and I was just merely squeezing the bottle a bit and the whole plastic bottle just exploded!! It was a good laugh :D Even the nurses burst out laughing when they saw my face with the cream all over =D And my darling Pavel certainly couldn't stop laughing too ;)

Anyway the doc decided to change his bleomycin jab to today and made it into an infusion instead. I didn't know about it so I wasn't too happy with it. As Pavel tends to just merely rely on the doc, I for one likes to know everything! As I do not want any mistakes to occur. Anyhow he took the IV quite well for the bleomycin so it's ok.

His back has already hyperpigmentation due to the bleomycin, nothing serious...prior to this, his back's literally clean =)

Well here's it. Today I have my army boy! :D

Pavel: Don't punch me or I'll punk you!

We decided to do some funny stuff, so that I won't cry instead!
It just reminds me of the patients I've seen back in my hospital..

Sexy back! 

Side view. Not too bad eh?
Would love your funny comments! :D To keep us happy and laughing ;D

Head gear on! Pirates!

Our story begins here

Rugged looking man :)

Just finished cutting his hair :)

Since the hair salon was closed at 4pm, we couldn't make it in time. And Pavel really needed to cut because the hair was falling all too easily.

So I became the hair stylist! =D

Had a really nice pizza for dinner and off goes the hair!

His hair was pretty long already :) I gave him a rugged cut :D short on the sides
and decided to leave some top on. The hair doesn't fall out so easily now :)

I decided to leave him a tail! He doesn't even know it! hahaha
wait till he sees this :D Not too bad since it's my first time cutting someone's hair ;)

So the bald man will have to wait another day =) Now Pavel's the rugged looking man! :D

Day 17 - 19

Today is Day 19 =) 3 more days and Cycle 1 finishes officially!

Day 17
Was his last bleomycin jab, odd because his left butt is still painful from last week's jab but his right butt which took the last jab doesn't hurt as much.
Thank God, this time round the bleomycin didn't affect him too much. Just some slight aches and tiredness. So paracetamol did the work for him. After 4hours since the jab, his eyes started to become dry, tired and red. You could also see the dark circles forming but nothing serious. =)

Pavel's not as energetic before the jab, so I suppose when Monday comes along, he should recover better. The bleomycin jab usually takes a toll on him for 2 - 3 days.

Blood test was also taken on Day 17.

His hair has also started to come off noticeably.



Day 18
Pavel's feeling much better compared to Day 17 just some mild aches which he already got accustomed and tiredness.

Blood test result was out, he phoned in and they say that he's all good to commence Cycle 2 next Monday =) I would need the detailed blood test result for my own record keeping.

oh and his hair is coming out even more!

We cooked spaghetti for lunch as Pavel loves eating them! :)

Pavel's special sauce! Includes celery, carrots & milk apart from the norm ;)

Day 19

Today is Day 19 =)

Pavel is doing well! Just tired that's all but he's good enough to be working on his projects, which he has been doing this past week :)

His head is extra sensitive to touch today and the hair is falling off rather easily...so we have decided to have him bald! His hair is everywhere, so it's much easier to cut it all off. Off to the hair salon later :) 

He doesn't really mind going bald, he says it's gonna grow again later =) What a man!

As Cycle 1 nears the end, Pavel has been amazing! The courage he has and the ability to laugh it off, keeps things smiley =) He has never even ONCE complain about the entire ordeal! Yea we had our down moments but now we thank God that His grace is indeed sufficient for us. =) 

And as for you guys, family & friends, you have been amazing in supporting us through this =D You definitely put a smile on our face with your care and concerns. Your encouragement really mean a lot to us and more so your prayers. We have felt your love even though we are miles away. You guys made our lives amazing =)

What can I say? 

I'm not tough by my own strength

Nor am I tenacious to see it through

Holding up the fort and keeping things calm

It's not easy as 1,2,3

Gripping on to hope when all else glooms

Finding a reason to smile when my heart is breaking

Boy that was hard

Being optimistic and upbeat while seeing the pain and suffering 

Took quite a toll for the bearing

But through it all

Through it all

He enables, His grace abounds

He became our wind under our wings 

that we may soar high above the skies

Now I finally understood what it meant

His grace is always sufficient

I thank God for this amazing man in my life =)
Perhentian Island Oct 2011

Chemo Progress Day 11 - 16

So far Pavel is doing great! :D
Praise God! ;)

Day 11 was much better than Day 10, as Day 10 was one of his worst day! Body aches, temperature, profuse sweating...oh only thing was that no nausea/vomiting ;)
His bones were painful at night of Day 10, so didn't get much sleep. I decided to give him ibuprofen and oxazepam, pretty handy with a pharmacist background ;D but of course I did my reading first prior to giving him the medication. Had already given him paracetamol earlier on but to no avail did it help soothe his bone aches. And I found out that ibuprofen is good for bone aches.

At last he managed to sleep =)

Day 11 he woke up feeling much better :) just a bit tired that's all. But at least not so much aching in his body. Much lesser compared to Day 10. So ibuprofen is still being taken.

Day 12 - 16: Feeling great!! No pills at all :)

I do suppose that eating well prior to chemo also helps a lot. And off and on, I do give him additional supplements to take. Nonetheless, I would need to read up more on supplements and chemotherapy, as some of it may just worsen the situation and it may help the cancerous cells instead. So for now, I stick with the safest one and go with RDA standards.

Today is Day 17! The last jab for Cycle 1 :) Blood test is done today and tomorrow we will get the results out and see whether Cycle 2 can be commence the next week :)
UPDATE: Day 17 hair fall noticeable!

The Epic Story begins...

Testicular Cancer

Never have really heard of it, even when I was working in the oncology unit…
But when the lump appeared, I did some reading and one of the possibilities were Testicular Cancer (TC).

Here would be my concise information about TC with relevant links below for more info.
Click here to find out how cancer develops -  simple & good animation :)

1. It is a really rare form of cancer - constitutes only 1 - 1.5% of all cancers in men. Which also means the chances of getting TC is like 1 in every 100,000 males. On the other hand, it has doubled in the past 30 over years.
Oh and you only need to be a little more concern if:-
- You're white (Asians:rare and Blacks: rarer)
- 15 - 44 years old are the usual targets
- Over 6ft tall
- Had prior problems with your testicles
- History of cancer in the family line

2. Good news! Very high cure rate no matter the extent of it, in particular to seminoma. 95% cure rate, some say it's even higher.

3. Can be categorized into 2 types: non - seminoma & seminoma

4. Seminoma is better than non-seminoma (Pavel had non-seminoma) as non-seminoma tends to be more aggresive

5. Testicular examination should be done monthly - HOW?



Diagnosis:

Biopsy is rarely done in this case, as the risk of spreading is quite high.

Ultrasound will be done to determine whether it is a tumor or infection, chest X-rays, CT scans will be done as well to ensure that no spread has taken place.

Blood test will be done to look up the tumor markers.

Note: Usually a lump in the testicles would dictate an infection (will usually come with the usual signs, like fever & constant pain)



Treatment:

Orchiectomy (or-ki-te-me), RPLND, Radiotherapy, Chemotherapy & Surveillance

For ochiectomy and RPLND please click on the link for more info.


Radiotherapy is mostly for seminoma and Stage I cases.
Chemotherapy is usually used for non-seminoma cases.
Surveillance is used when the risk of relapse is low, usually in Stage I cases.


Now in Europe, the option of RPLND is rare due to the fact that there are few expert surgeons on it. Thus the risk of complications are high.
And in Europe, oncologist are rather conservative and would mostly give adjuvant chemotherapy even in Stage 1 cases (which are considered low risk by a few experts, refer to links). Oncologist here in Czech Republic follows the European Cancer guidelines which states that for any non-seminoma Stage 1 cases, adjuvant chemotherapy is given.
This is due to the fact that, they believe that the risk of relapse is high and especially since the tumor markers before the op was high.
Although I have consulted with a prof based in UK's Cancer Research Institute, which specializes in TC: any Stage 1 is considered as low risk and surveillance is an acceptable option.


So there are 2 schools of thought, surveillance or adjuvant chemotherapy for Stage 1 case. Bearing in mind, that generally 70% of Stage 1 non-seminoma and 80% of Stage of seminoma is cured by the op alone.



Adjuvant chemotherapy: BEP regimen - very good prognosis = high cure rate :)
NOTE: BEP regimen article to be written soon
If chemo were to be given than sperm banking would be highly useful - you never know.
Wait for post on Sperm Banking ;)


Surveillance: copied from link

• Year 1: Tumor Markers and Chest X-ray done every month
  Abdominal CT scan done every 2 months
• Year 2: Tumor Markers and Chest X-ray done every 2 months
  Abdominal CT scan done every 4 months
• Years 3-5: Tumor Markers and Chest X-ray done every 6 months
  Abdominal CT scan done every 6 months
• After Year 5: Tumor Markers and Chest X-ray done once a year

Up to date, there's still no particular cause of why TC occurs, a part from having particular problems/issues with the testicles. TC cases are on the rise, and it would be imperative to find out the causes of it.

One thing is definite, have a balanced healthy lifestyle! =) Enjoy your life each day, take time to laugh and love. Life is sometimes all too short and things have a knack of coming in unexpected.

 

References/Links for more info
http://www.uroweb.org/gls/pockets/english/Testicular%2520Cancer.pdf
http://www.meds.com/pdq/testicular_pro.html
http://www.tc-cancer.com
http://tcrc.acor.org
http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/cancerstats/types/testis/incidence/#In5
http://www.bupa.co.uk/individuals/health-information/directory/t/testicular-cancer


Our story with TC

Day 10 and 11 more days to go

Today is Day 10 and the 2nd jab of bleomycin is taken.

Jab was rather painful as the nurse pushed in too fast, when the medication goes in slower, the pain is much lesser or virtually none at all.

Pavel was down with chills followed by fever and heavy sweating, it's just the side effect of bleomycin. So I gave him paracetamol 1g for the fever and after about an hour and half of sleep, he's all good again. :)

I'll probably list down on another post in regards to medications to counter the side effects of chemotherapy and supplements that you can take. =)

Day 7 - 9 was good, just some mild diarrhea, so we need to ensure that's there's adequate fluid intake. Bare minimum would be 2.5L a day.

11 more days to complete Cycle 1, 21 days to a cycle. And after that Cycle 2 will commence. Usually the next Cycle would take a heavier toll on the body due to the previous Cycle.

Pavel's hair is still intact :D

Only drug that might cause hair loss would be etoposide and it's usually just mild anyway :)

The Epic Story begins...

Cycle 1 in the hospital

Day 1 - 5 was spent in the hospital having his chemo infusions..it was rather tiring for the both of us..as we were up by 6am and than spending an average of 6 hours in the hospital.

BUT it was all pretty good =)

Our oncologist was a pretty nice guy and we had an angel nurse (as Pavel calls her) taking care of Pavel. =) She has a really sweet smile and a pleasant face all the time. The nurse patiently takes care of Pavel's every need. Since he had to go and pee pretty often! So the nurse had to come into our room, stop the infusion and fix it back later again.

Throughout the whole 5 days, there were no complications. Thank God! :) And Pavel was much calmer after the first day, since he thought that it would be bad.

It's good that I've got some background in the medical line, as our oncologist was thinking of giving us at least 3 cycles of BEP! And I was only thinking about 1 due to my research and consultation. Anyhow, now our oncologist will be considering 2 cycles =) as he will now proceed to do more reading up. As we talked to him on various issues & gently triggered him to do more reading up. ;)
Sometimes you have to play your cards well to win at all sides :)

First day he was lying on the bed...second day I was sleeping on it :)

Our view from the room :) It snowed a fair bit thus granting Pavel's wish of a white Christmas

For those of you who have yet to know about it, this is where it all started:-
The Epic Story begins...

Christmas in Czech! :D

Yesterday was Day 6 of chemo and it's also Christmas in Czech :)

Pavel is just getting a bit more tired than usual as he woke up like 1am couldn't sleep till 6am..it happened again this morning. So I'm trying to figure out what's the cause of it...

Anyway in Czech, Christmas is celebrated on the 24th December instead and we have fish fillet instead of turkey. You're not suppose to eat any meat except fish because if you eat meat, you won't be able to see the golden pig. Which is suppose to bring you good fortune in the year to come.

We had a nice little dinner, just the two of us and the parents =) Mum cooked really nice orange cabbage soup for lunch and than dinner starts off with the tradition =)


1. Everyone needs to dress up (suits are a norm but this year since it's just us, Dad decided to drop the suit and go for a sporty look...but he was over sporty and Mum sent him back up to change XD

2. All gather around the dinner table, Dad starts his speech for good health and explains:-
A knife is used to draw 4 crosses on the loaf of bread
And a slice of bread is cut and shared with everyone on the table
A clove of raw garlic each

3. After everyone has their slice of bread, with the other hand holding the garlic...you eat the raw garlic with bread it's suppose to make the soup taste better after that but the first time I ate it this way, I felt sick...haha So this time around, I just chew the garlic once and swallow it with the bread ;D

4. Fish Soup is served =D

5. And you have to wait for everyone to finish their soup before you can go for the next dish. Even if the person takes 5 times, you still have to wait! Pavel was kind enough to just take twice! 

6. Fish fillet with potato salad 

That's all for Christmas dinner. Fairly simple compared to the Brits and Americans...I think I like the turkey better haha

Than it's time for presents!! :D In Czech there's no Stanta Clause but instead ježíšek (ye-she-shack) aka baby Jesus which brings the present. A bell is rang and than the presents would appear!
In the Bednář family, the appointed ježíšek will wear the santa red cap and pass the presents one by one to each family member. You actually have to wait for one person to open up the present before the other person is allowed to get theirs.

We all had a good time tearing up the wrappers :) and we both got really nice gifts :)

My best gift of all - Pavel Bedář, my sweetheart :)

Wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas!!!


Our story begins here...