The Zipperleg Chronicles - Fighting cancer with style!

My Chemical RomancePosted on Fri, Jul 08, 2011

Dear Friends and Family,

Yesterday was the first day of my chemotherapy, and everything is going well so far. The treatments are split into two days, Thursday and Friday, so later this afternoon, we get to do it all over again, only this time, in the other arm. I’m starting to look like a junkie. And they have me pumped up on steroids for a few days, so I feel juuuust fine.

What did the man who jumped off the Empire State Building say at every floor? “So far, so good.”

The only bad news is that a few days before beginning treatment, we found out there is a nationwide shortage of Doxil. Yes, Doxil, the chemo drug I mentioned before that would make flowers bloom at my approach, birds sing of my heath and heartiness, and a ray of sunshine beam only for me, cannot currently be had for love or money.

So I get what they refer to as “Doxil’s Cousin” but what I’ve decided is more like “Doxil’s Skeezy Uncle No One Likes To Talk About”. It’s basically an earlier version before they took out all the nasty side-effects. It will still be better than the old-school, put you in a wheelchair, kind, but I’ll be having more of the standard symptoms. Hopefully, not too bad. And it’s a cumulative effect, so I’m good for now.

My main side-effects will most likely be fatigue, low white blood cell count (Can you say “hand sanitizer?” I knew that you could. 🙂 ) and yes, I will most likely be losing some or all of my hair. At least I can cancel my standing bikini wax appointment.

So while I am doing fine, we have run into our first side effect: apparently, for the first day after a treatment, I become the Toxic Avenger*. Raarr! We learned this at 4:00 AM after Kristin, who had been sleeping by my sweaty side, broke out in massive hives all along her right side: the side facing me.

After a quick phone call to the on-duty doctor, we were saved from a trip to the ER by cabbing it to the nearest (not-so-near) 24 hour Duane Reade for an extra dose of Benadryl. We spent some quality, romantic time in the fluorescent glow of the DR, watching to see if her hives went down. They did, so we went home and slept separately to prevent any recurrences. So I have managed to almost put my biggest fan in the hospital on the first night.

I appreciate all the wonderful emails you keep sending, they give me a lot of energy and help to keep my spirits up. I would love to see you if you’re in town, so if you’re available, give me a call and let’s get together!

Olive juice,

– Ben

* For those of you who don’t know what the Toxic Avenger is, it was a series of cheezy 80’s movies made into a fantastically silly musical:http://www.thetoxicavengermusical.com/ We highly recommend it for a great laugh.

About the Author

An actor trained in physical theater, living in New York City, livin' the dream. I am married to an amazing woman without whom I'd probably be dead by now, and step-dad to the irrepressible Izzy! I sculpt masks, I juggle, I act, I design graphically-type-stuff, and when offered the choice between two evils, I take the one I've never tried before. I listen, I fly planes, I bike to the beach, I am a tea brewing ninja, I design new board games with my daughter, and I tell stories... too many stories. And while I used to be trying to learn to juggle my work, living in this city, my dreams, my wife, but now I am reminded every day they are all one, all my life, and every day is one more day I get to live it.