Skip to content

The Art of Matthew Louis

Welcome to the rest of my life

Posted on January 22, 2020

Honestly, I just haven’t been feeling like writing a lot lately. I still want to keep everyone updated, but I may be posting a little less until I’m feeling more inspired. Thank you all for reading and your love vibes.

We met with my doctors yesterday and went over all of the next steps in my treatment plan. Since the Cometriq is working, we are just going to stay on this until it stops working. Most people can get about a year before it loses effectiveness. When it stops working we’ll just try to another drug and hope it works.

Also, remember how I mentioned that the suspicious spots in my lungs disappeared? Well, at face value, that’s a good thing. But it is also further confirmation that the cancer has spread to other parts of my body. The Cometriq wouldn’t have shrunk the spots if they weren’t cancerous.

So this means that surgery on my neck and thyroid would not have been effective. It also means that surgery will most likely never be an option. It’s too widespread.

They have prescribed me Oxycodone to help with the pain. I’ve been worried about getting addicted to opioids, so I’ve avoided them as long as I can. But now I realize that I’ll probably be on them the rest of my life anyway – so does it even matter if I’m addicted? Also – most people don’t get addicted to opioids if you are actually using it to treat severe pain.

Good news

Amongst all the terrible side-effects of the Comtriq there are a few benefits.

Since the tumors are smaller they are putting less pressure on the blood vessels leading to my head. I am now no longer a risk for passing out. So now I can drive again! This is a big deal for sure. Since I’m on so many pain medications, I still need to be really careful about when I’m taking meds and when I’m driving, but it at least gives me options. Yay!

Even better news! My facial hair has turned blonde. Yep. So now I can go a couple of days without shaving and no 5 o’clock shadow. Also, I’ve been told blondes have more fun. So I’m waiting for that to kick in. 😀

I still have cancer

There seems to be a little confusion amongst my friends and family about what I mean when I said “the Cometriq is working.” This does not mean I’m in remission and it does not mean that in a few months I’ll be cancer-free and feeling great again. What this means is that I’m extending my life a little longer. The hard truth is that I probably have a couple of years left, and I’ll be lucky to make it 10 more years, and that is with a lot of different medication and a lot of things going well.

And if I haven’t made it clear enough. Here is a nice chart to show you how much I love being on this medication. 😛

Cancer with Cometriq

Less Dizzy

Can’t drive on pain killers

Facial hair turned blonde

Throat hurts

Upset stomach

Poor Sleep

Tired ALL the time

Unbearably Itchy head

Daily headaches

Iritated skin and acne

Severe Chronic Pain

Dying Slowly of Cancer

Cancer without Cometriq

Dizzy / Light Headedness

Can’t drive at all

Facial hair is brown

Throat Hurts

Different upset stomach

Poor Sleep

Tired Most of the Time

Head is fine

Head is fine

Skin is fine

Moderate Chronic Pain

Dying of Cancer

Next Steps

Keep grinding on. Follow-ups with doctors every two weeks. Sleeping all day. Applying for SS disability. I’m still VERY WORRIED about paying my bills, so I’ve been trying to figure out how to keep performing since I don’t have enough time to start a whole new career.

Share this article:
  • Tweet This!
  • Share this on Facebook
  • Share this on Reddit
  • Share this on VK
  • Share this on Digg
  • Share this on Linkedin
Posted in Uncategorized

Post navigation

← Out of the fire and into the frying pan
News and no news →

Author: Matt

More Posts

  • Tolerance for Suffering
  • I am not what I was
  • DON’T PANIC!!!
  • Great Expectations
  • Extra! Extra! Read all about it!
  • Still kickin
  • Wasting away and stuff
  • Diagnosis Day
  • Benefit Show + Auction
  • Three months to Three years
  • Lymph node surgery
  • Insurance, Doctors, Hospitals, and all the non-cancer treatment you can handle
  • Not so little things
  • Trials and Errors
  • Pain in the Neck
  • Tardy-Man: Homecoming

Art

  • Home
  • Gallery
  • Purchase Art
  • About Matt
  • Instagram Feed
  • Blog (cancer journey)
  • Contact

Recent Blog Entries

  • Three months to Three years January 1, 2023
  • Not dead yet November 15, 2021
  • 40 May 26, 2021
  • Even more specialer December 15, 2020
  • Benefit Show + Auction November 16, 2020

“Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.”

–Kahlil Gibran, On Joy and Sorrow

Copyright © 2023 The Art of Matthew Louis | Design by ThemesDNA.com