Two steps forward, One step back...

Turns out I exaggerate a bit... I don't really consider this a character flaw, but more a strength of mine.  I am more of a "cup half full" kind of gal.  Perhaps this trait came threw a bit on my last post. 

So, dad had one really great day where he was able to swallow normal food.  It was a good day and one that looked incredibly promising and seemed as though he was really turning a corner.  This looked like evidence to us that everything was going to be normal again.  Of course, that isn't how cancer works!  DUH!  Us "cup half full"ers are so naive sometimes.

As it turns out, not much has been staying down since that one good day.  This isn't fantastic as it means that dad has lost even more weight. -- Apparently, the way that weight loss works is that the less you eat, the more you lose.  I know, total epiphany to me too.  I had to write it here to perhaps document that philosophy for my own future personal use. -- Anyway, speedy weight loss is a dream to most of us but we are trying to keep the pounds on dad not have him losing anymore. 

After this 6 week chemo and radiation cycle, he will have 6 weeks off and then he will undergo surgery.  This will be a pretty big surgery which will basically cause him not to be able to swallow food for many weeks and he will probably lose a good 25 pounds over that time.  Therefore, losing all this weight now is NOT AN OPTION!  Sure, we plan to fatten him up plenty the six weeks prior to surgery but we don't want our job to be harder than it has to be.

My dad is a practical sort of guy.  He fully intends to keep trying to eat as many calories as he possibly can, but he also knows that he might also need to supplement this effort with some help from the doctors. Monday he goes to MD Anderson for his big day where they hook him back up to the chemo drugs and zap him good with radiation (he goes for radiation 5 times a week M-F and receives the chemo drugs through his port M-F as well before being disconnected on Friday).  After Monday's appointment, I will talk about this more.

On the brighter side of things, we went to Pappadeaux's last night and dad was able to down some most delicious lobster bisque.  He said he felt a lot better after that.  I guess you don't really pay attention to how your body reacts to the fuel of food until it doesn't get what it needs.  So, the solution as I see it is for us to eat at Pappadeaux's more often.  Done and done.  I mean, after all, has anyone tried that crab & artichoke cheese dip?  It is so delicious, I could drink it up with a straw.