From Gloria

After Mike's 7th chemo he worked three days in the office and many hours at home. This last one (8 of 9) took a couple of days to hit him, but it has done so with a vengeance. He was tired all weekend; tried to go to work today because he had a lot of sleep last night. He had to turn around and come back because he felt sooooo bad. Absolutely wiped out! When that happens, in addition to the symptoms of the chemo, he also gets really sad and afraid. It's a bit like what Winston Churchill called "the black dog." He forgets that what he's feeling is from the chemo, not the cancer. Evidently this is a common feeling for people getting chemo. The physical force of the chemo overrides one's positive outlook, self image, even thought processes. When he is this tired he can't work as effectively as usual, which makes him feel ineffective and useless..so it can be a viscious circle. He's been very lucky, however. He has only had real bad days a few times; they don't go on for more than two or three days and then he's back giving everyone trouble!

I think he's going to have an xray tomorrow; last time at chemo he moved quickly and felt something give in his left rib area. Still uncomfortable, so we have to get it checked. I'll let you know what we found.

Thanks for all of your messages. He just couldn't have any better freinds and colleagues!...

Gloria