Infusion day.  We were scheduled for 10:30, and they actually took me in for the preliminaries very soon thereafter.  That (including waiting) took about fifteen minutes.  Then I waited another twenty minutes or so for the oncologist.  He asked how I was feeling and I said pretty good; I reported that I’d gained a pound (on the hospital scale), and that I was definitely eating better and had more energy.  He said he could tell by looking at me that I was more energetic– my manner, my voice, etc.  He examined me and said that my belly was much softer than last time.  He didn’t think he could feel the lesion on my liver.  His nurse thought she probably could– and judging from how it felt when she was palpating me she was in the right area– but still, that’s pretty good.

I was wearing a pair of very silly earrings (in the form of my totem), and Dr. S got a big kick out of them.  (If he can put on a special tie for me, I can entertain him with my totem accessories.  It’s only fair.)

He said that some patients on Gemzar feel better whether or not the drug shrinks the tumor.  I said that I would, of course, prefer for the tumor to shrink, but I’m delighted to feel better in any case.  We told him about our Florida plans, and he approved– not at all to our surprise.

We finished with him just before 11:30; at about noon they took us into the infusion room, but the nurses were occupied with a patient who had to be in the isolation area, so they didn’t start infusing me until 12:40.  Nonetheless, it went very smoothly, and I was out by 1:20 and we were home before 2:00.  It seems long for what they describe as a half-hour infusion, but it really wasn’t bad– especially with music on my new iPhone.  By the way, I realized I have a pair of reasonably comfortable ear buds, so I used them today, and they stayed put as well with the iPhone as they have with any of the other gizmos I’ve tried them with, so I’m set with that, at least for now.

I got home to find mail from a friend from the net (and Panix) who said that his mother is undergoing chemo for pancreatic cancer.  It was good to hear from him, and I wish his mother– and him– all the best.