Update from Travis

From Travis:

I just wanted to hop on here and give everyone an update. As you all probably know I've been in my 2nd fight against colon cancer. It's been significantly harder this time around vs. the first time I had it. But things have been generally going my way.

My most recent post was a celebratory post on the fact they found no cancer in my colon in my most recent scope. It has become apparent that many believed this to mean my fight was over. Unfortunately it is not. I am still doing chemo, and will be doing so until March.

I have been extremely ill during the treatments. I go in for chemo every other week from Tuesday to Thursday. I get an infusion at the hospital on Tuesday (4 hours), Wednesday (2-4 hours) and Thursday I get disconnected from the pump that I wear Tuesday and Wednesday home.

After the treatments are done I am quite sick until about the following Wednesday. Sadly it has slowly moved more towards Friday now. Meaning I have about 3-5 days every 2 weeks where I feel generally normal. Stacy has updated many of you on the side effects I have. The most prominent are cold sensitivity (which hurts like the dickens), nausea (24/7 and just blah), fatigue, horrible tastes in the mouth, bathroom issues, slight numbness/tingling (which will increase over time), no appetite, slight voice loss, and the sorest bones I'll have out (due to a shot that stimulates white blood cell growth)!!

Another thing that has seemed to come up quite often is the fact I still have my hair. I won't be losing my hair during this treatment. It seems to be a slightly unknown fact that colon cancer patients 99% of the time do not lose their hair. I assure you that while I enjoy this perk, it does not mean that inside my body I am not getting hammered! As a general rule, I look better than I feel. Luckily I have a perma-grin. My teeth are too big to fit in my mouth, so I'm always smiling - whether I like it or not !!

Now one thing I want to point out is we are still uncertain what the spot in my lung was. As of the last scan there was no change, but it had not been long enough for changes to occur. My oncologist has pointed out I am technically a stage IV cancer because of this, and because it's a recurrence. So they are treating me as such.

My cancer is in remission, and I couldn't be more grateful. I hope I don't convey the wrong message with this post. It is meant to be informative. Not to draw upon sympathy or have people feeling all bad and business. That's honestly the last thing I want. I just want prayers and hope.

I'm most certainly not alone in the fight against cancer. The office I go to at McKay Dee is so busy people are waiting in line. I know others are having a much harder fight than I am. And I am doing everything I can to not take that for granted. My prayers are constantly with those who are in this fight, and those affected by it.

I hope this clears up any questions people have. Anyone can feel free to shoot me a personal message to say hi or ask questions. As for me, I'll continue trucking along, and looking forward to March! Then I'll begin my 5 year wait to be declared cancer free!