chemo sabe rides again

  On Monday I went in for the first of 8 chemo "cycles" I'll be doing. These will be happening at 2 week intervals, so the whole course runs approximately 4 months. It's done intravenously through a "port" which was surgically implanted in my chest a couple of inches down from my collar bone. It sits just under the skin and delivers my chemo "cocktail" called "Folfox" into my jugular vein. The cocktail consists of 3 different chemical agents. Their purpose is to attack any rogue micro tumors that may still be in my system. Today is Thursday and I'm happy to say that I was mostly unfazed by this round. There has been a little bit of neuropathy (a tingling sensation which can also include numbness) in my gums when drinking or eating cold things, but it's nothing major, and I have ordered an amino acid powder called "glutamine" which is supposed to help with it.
 I've realized over the last few days that I'm about halfway through all of this. I can't say it has flown by, but it hasn't felt like an eternity either. Onward and upward, and again thanks to all my dear family, friends, and Foreigner fans that have been so supportive and thoughtful throughout this!

post surgery recap

No one said to me, "when you awaken from this surgery, you'll be in a LOT of pain and be quite disoriented". Looking back, I'm glad they didn't. I went in to surgery feeling very calm and confident,

and that would probably not have been the case had I been warned like that. Well, it WAS quite

painful and disorienting when I came out from under anesthesia. Luckily I was hooked up to a narcotic IV drip cocktail consisting of hydromorphone and tylenol; the brand name "Dilaudid". Good stuff. And I availed myself of PLENTY (self administered with a button) for the first 48 hours. While nodding off during this initial period, my wife Carrie and my mom Deborah became the dedicated "pusher girls", hitting the button for me at 6 or 10 minute intervals. The down side? an itch that started on my arms and slowly began to cover my whole body, and some chills. I started feeling like a junkie lunatic after awhile. Though I honestly can't say I know what THAT feels like.

When I moved to solid food on day 3, they weaned me of the "dilaudid" and switched me over to pills: I had a choice of Norco (hydrocodone and acetaminophen) or Percocet (oxycodone and acetaminophen). I opted for the Percocet as it seemed to make me slightly less catatonic-though only slightly less.
 Lying in my hospital bed, I was visited by an endless flurry of nurses and doctors. Their duties? 8 hour interval shots of Heprin (blood thinner to stop potential clots), blood draws to check vital counts, changing the urine catheter, checking on my temporary ileostomy ( I will have this for about 6 months while the colorectal surgical area heals and I do my follow up chemotherapy), and monitoring my pain levels.  I should mention that my surgeon informed me that the surgery went "as well as could have been imagined". There were absolutely no complications. He estimated 6 hours for the procedure and it took 4.
 I was discharged after 5 days. I got off the pain pills after 1 day at home as they started making me nauseous and I was tired of feeling like a zombie. The pain has lessened considerably, so I'm fine without them now. Since arriving home, my solid food intake has been pretty steady and I'm working on putting back about 10 pounds that I lost during my hospital stay..I realize this will take a little while.
Activities have included: finally watching the whole Sopranos series from beginning to end, playing Words With Friends on my new iPad (a gift from Mick Jones and Foreigner's management), short walks around the neighborhood, some music making, and lots of sleep.
 Also, some amazing news: as well as removing the tumor, my surgeon removed 22 lymph nodes from the surrounding region and found they were completely free of cancer. This bodes very well for the future.

70%

 There were 2 big pre surgical tests this week. I'm very happy to report that the news was very encouraging from both of them.

  On Monday, I went in for a catscan and it was discovered that the inflammation around the tumor area was down considerably, and that there was still no evidence of any distant spreading, or "metastases" (in medical terms) of the cancer. 

 Next up, today I met with my surgeon, Dr. Stricker, who is scheduled to perform a "Lower Anterior Resection", in which a significant part of my colon will be removed. He "got all up in there" with his trusty scope and after a..ahem...thorough examination, informed me that it appeared  the tumor had shrunk a staggering 70%!..though to be truthful, he didn't use the word "staggering". I however will go on to use the word "staggering" as much as possible when describing this. Needless to say, Carrie and I were thrilled to hear this news. In Dr. Stricker's words, this "sets us up very nicely" for the surgical procedure. As we were leaving his office, he let us know with a big smile that he was very pleased with this result. We were of course very happy to hear that coming from him. :)

 It may sound strange, but going into these 2 tests, I had barely a shred of worry. I have felt so healthy and strong from my dietary and lifestyle changes that it was like I ALREADY KNEW there had been a major reversal in the condition. Of course, getting the hard, quantifiable data was very reassuring, and definitely needed.

 So September 7th is the big day. I will most likely remain in the hospital for about a week following the procedure, and then ease my way back into civilian life. I know there are some challenges awaiting me, but I feel more ready than ever to face them. 

 More to come soon..

back with the boys

3 shows down! The Foreigner train keeps rolling and I just hopped back on. Big thanks to my buddy Ollie Marland who stepped in and did a fabulous job subbing for me on keys while I was out.
 Food wise I have to say it has been a bit of a challenge. My steady diet of hi quality natural foods has not been as steady..though I have landed at a couple of Whole Foods markets so far: one in Tyson's Corner, Virginia, and another in Norwalk, Connecticut. I have found that I need to branch out to more chicken and fish to be sure to get enough protein. I'm about 12 pounds lighter than I was before the diagnosis, and it has been stressed that I shouldn't  get too skinny before surgery so i'm trying to pack a few pounds back on.
 The herbs and supplements are still in the picture, and I have added some Graviola to the mix which is rumored to have some cancer fighting properties.
 We just flew in to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in Canada and we have the day off tomorrow. I'll be hunting down some vegetarian spots and doing lots of walking around the city exploring.

big love

Just had to post this. A few of Foreigner's biggest fans wore these bracelets at a recent show in Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin. I was very touched to say the least :)
 Feeling like a million bucks these days..wait..maybe I should inflation adjust that old cliché..10 million!! so nice to be living "au naturale" these days..meaning no radiation or chemotherapy. I have been seeing an acupuncturist/herbalist regularly since the beginning of treatment, and he recently started me on a post-chemo herbal regimen to detox the system and get strong for surgery. Though initially skeptical, I must say it's certainly not hurting, and my energy and digestion have been top notch. I aim to stay with these herbs and supplements till just before surgery happens on September 7.
 I'm heading out to Connecticut at the end of the month where I'll start a 3 week run of shows with Foreigner. So psyched!! Life is good..and love really helps.

a gift

Just wanted to share this watercolor that was done for me by my good friend Pete Maloney. He gave this to me on Thursday upon completion of my 5 and 1/2 weeks of Chemo and Radiation. I have had such wonderful, giving, thoughtful family and friends throughout this process so far. Thanks everyone! I still have some hurdles left on this journey, but you are all helping to make it possible.

Love,

Michael

home stretch

 Week 5 of chemo/radiation is done. Just 4 more sessions next week and finito. I'm still feeling strong and healthy 85-90% of the time these days. The radiation sensations have amplified but my topical salves are still  keeping the somewhat inflamed beast at bay. Some stomach challenges here and there but that's also under control.
 Picked up a sweet new guitar..a Gibson 335! been wanting one of these for awhile and the color that I had been looking for (red) came in on consignment to my local music store. I've been spending lots of time on the back deck and in the yard enjoying the sunshine and playing blues licks.
 After treatment ends next week I'll have a 7 week break before surgery. The plan of course is to stay super healthy with diet/exercise/yoga, head out with Foreigner from August 1-12, and do lots of music at home.
 Now for that home stretch..

baby of the brood

 How did i get here?? That's what I was asking myself this morning in the waiting room before my radiation treatment. I was sitting across from Dan. He's probably in his late 60s. Thin with grey hair and an even greyer face. He has cancer all along the lymph nodes on the left side of his throat. And just four years ago, the first time, he had the same cancer on the other side of his throat. That side is sunken with caverns that were scooped out by the surgery. They found 13 cancerous lymph nodes from the first surgery and there's not enough neck left to operate on the side with the new cancer. Whenever he sits down across from me (I have the 10:40 and he's 10:50), he gives me a warm, yet thoroughly exhausted smile. sometimes we chat a little, but often he nods off. "I don't know why, but I get so tired when I come in here" he says. I think I can see why.
 Most of the men are considerably older than me. Early 60s and up: a lot of prostate cancer, another couple of guys with malignancies in their necks. One guy asked me, "what do you have?" "rectal cancer" I say. "oooh" he says turning away, clearly convinced that his prostate cancer is way less horrible than my rectal cancer. Maybe he's right. At the beginning of treatment, I just noticed the age disparity without any emotion. Lately, and I'm not proud of this, I started feeling like it's some kind of injustice being here at age 43, even though millions of people have gotten cancer when they were way younger than me. But the thing is, I've never BEEN somebody that believed there was any "justice" in who got diseases. So why start now.
 I'm feeling strong still. The side effects have been minimal.

chemo and radiation week 2

 Thus far the side effects have been almost non-existent. There has been a little irritation from the radiation but liberal application of a special radiation lotion has helped a lot.
 One very sweet silver lining so far (of many) is how I am now back in touch with so many friends that I had been out of touch with for awhile. It feels gratifying to be talking to someone who fears that I'm probably really down and depressed, and to share that I'm actually feeling strong and positive.
 I'd be remiss not to mention that my wonderful mom Deborah Bluestein (who beat breast cancer 30 years ago!) has come out from Boston to stay with Carrie and me for awhile and we're cooking up a storm together..well she's doing the majority of the cooking and I'm helping :) among many of the staples: miso soup, brown rice (done in a pressure cooker) with gomashio (mashed sesame seeds with sea salt), lots of steamed greens (kale, broccoli, baby bok choy) prepared simply with lemon and sea salt, lemon sesame miso tahini dressing for the veggies and salads (amazingly tasty for such a healthy low fat item), steel cut oats with berries (antioxidant gems) for breakfast, and many more..you get the picture. We'll definitely be expanding this palette as we move forward.
 Oh! and it looks like I'll very likely be doing some Foreigner gigs in August. Chemo and radiation ends July 12, and I figure I'll give myself a couple of weeks to recover (just in case I'm worn out from it). But I'm super psyched about the very good possibility of being out with the boys doin' some rockin!
 Thanks for tuning in and be back soon..

MB

Chemo and radiation day 1

 The fun starts today. I took my first batch of pills this morning and so far the only thing I’m noticing is that I’m drinking considerably more water than usual. Dehydration is a common side effect, so I’m slammin’ down H2O like a frat boy slams Budweiser at a kegger. The first radiation treatment is later this afternoon followed by the 2nd daily dose of chemo pills later tonight. Wish me luck!

oh the irony

 I have a tumor in me. But I feel fucking great. I think that qualifies as irony don’tcha think? The “feeling great” part I attribute to switching over to an almost exclusively vegetarian diet, and not drinking alcohol or coffee. I have had acid reflux since I was a teenager, and I have been taking antacid pills for years. I don’t seem to need them anymore. I expected headaches coming off the coffee, as I have been drinking it daily since about the time the Mac Classic came out, but strangely I didn’t get 1 little itty bitty headache..could the juicing be helping with the caffeine withdrawal? perhaps. 

  I won’t start chemo and radiation for another week, so I’m aware  that once I start ingesting 3,300 milligrams of chemo pills (xeloda) along with radiation shots up the ass (literally)  5 days a week, things could change. Reading online testimonials about xeloda side effects makes me think that it’s all a game of chance..some have a horrible time of it, and some sail through like chemical superstars. Obviously I’m hoping to be in the latter category. 

gettin’ juiced

Week 2 is all about starting to fight this little monster!! I went in to the Rohnert Park, CA Cancer Center today for my preliminary radiation consultation. I’ll be back on Thursday to do a “simulated scan” that insures I lie in the same exact spot and target the radiation to the exact same area every time I go in. As soon as the radiation begins (most likely the first week of June), I will begin taking the chemotherapy pills in tandem. This will happen 5 days a week for 28 sessions.

 I’m doing a lot of reading and research about nutrition now, and I bought a heavy duty blender and lots of veggies and fruit to begin some serious juicing this week. It’s all about keeping the body in an “Alkaline” state, which, according to lots of smart healer guys and girls, is ideal for fighting disease. Kale, Celery, Tomatoes, spinach, avocados, and wheat grass (among many others) are going to become good friends of mine in the coming months. I’m weaning myself off alcohol, dairy, red meat, sugar, coffee, and anything else that will interfere with that alkaline state. I figure I have had more than my share (especially the alcohol) of all that. Time to get as healthy as possible! Those of you that know me well, know that I can be quite determined-I’m definitely the archetypal Taurus in that regard. This will be no exception.