Cough drops and milestones

Today was Bob’s 2nd infusion, which means we’re 50% of the way there, at least as far as the first round of treatment goes. Although, it sounds like side effects are more prone to happen with the next couple of treatments – mostly from the Yervoy part of the concoction – so we may have gotten off easy up until now. Easy for me to say.

Bob has been super thorough with the doctor, covering off on anything that looks or feels different with his body. In addition to being a top-notch oncologist, it turns out Dr. Yorio is also a bit of armchair expert in dermatology, gastroenterology, pulmonology and orthopedics. We walked out of there with a prescription for steroids (just-in-case-side-effect insurance for when we’re in Europe) and a bronchodilator to (maybe) help with the coughing. And unrelatedly, a referral for an MRI to finally get to the bottom of the shoulder issue Bob’s had since taking a pretty hard fall during our Breckenridge ski trip back in March 2025. I got a black eye on that trip. Also got taken out by my husband which necessitated 4 months of knee PT. Tracy got pushed off the T-Bar. We laughed so hard our sides split. Totally worth it.

Anyway, we got a lot accomplished at Texas Oncology today. Bob’s 3rd infusion is set for Sept. 8th, and the 4th infusion for Sept 29th. His 12-week CT scan is scheduled for the morning of Sept 28th, so we will finally know how well the treatment is working when we go in for #4. Hopefully we’ll have a reason to celebrate that evening. 

How I’m feeling

My lower back has been stiff and achy for several weeks, which has made taking on the bulk of the chores around the house a little harder. Yesterday was bad. Today is better. I’m pretty sure deadlifts or squats are to blame. But I keep going back to the gym because moving is better than not moving. I’ve been incorporating more stretching into my daily routine. More Motrin/Aleve. And using a balm that contains arnica, magnesium, and CBD. I had a massage a little over a week ago and did a personalized stretch session at the gym. Both felt good and seemed to help but the good feels didn’t endure. I’m thinking more yoga. IDK. I’m open to any tips, potions, or remedies.

What I'm thankful for

Neither Bob nor I have any food allergies. If you know us, you know what an important role food plays in our lives. Trying new things with abandon, cooking on the edge, literally playing with fire. With all the things we’re dealing with right now, it’s nice to not have to worry about this one.

A memory

I have Italy on the mind given our upcoming trip to Bologna, the Dolomites, and Croatia (essentially Italy). Our first trip to Italy was in June 2014, which we tacked onto my work trip to Cannes for the Lions International Festival of Creativity – the Oscars of the Advertising world. We saw all the incredible ancient ruins of Rome and drank house wine. We stayed in a castle in Tuscany, climbed medieval towers in and all around Siena, took a cooking class, saw the origins of the Renaissance in Florence, and hiked the Cinque Terre coastline – capped off by a dip in the Ligurian Sea. We were young. And in love. And it was perfect.

We’re still in love.

What I'm looking forward to

We’re in the process of choosing a landscape design company to do some upgrades in the front and back yard. We’ve been talking about it for years. And then last fall, an armadillo pretty much uprooted all the sod in our backyard. Texas problems. It won’t be a total overhaul. Some new steel edging here, some flagstones there, plant enhancements throughout. Most people probably won’t notice. But we will. And I’m really excited for the transformation. TBD October.

Something I recommend

I’ve been listening to yacht rock radio in the car lately and I’m curious if this has been explored as a treatment for whatever ails you. I mean, how can you be in a bad mood or anxious when the lush vocal harmonies of Michael McDonald, Christopher Cross, Steely Dan, and Toto are flowing through your ears like a warm breeze? Gently carrying you downstream, smoothing out the rough edges with saxophone solos and relaxed tempos.

I’m not a yacht rock fanatic. Really, I’m not. At least not in any sort of serious manner. But if you’ve seen HBO’s Yacht Rock Dockumentary (sic) that came out a couple of years ago, you start to appreciate its influence on other genres like hip-hop and R&B. It’s what prompted me to put together a yacht rock album starter set as a Christmas gift for Bob that year. That was fun.

Today we went to Waterloo Records after Bob’s treatment and bought zero yacht rock albums. He introduced me to Stax records. I introduced him to Shuggie Otis. We got some replacement albums and filled out the collection a bit more. It was a nice diversion from all the cancer stuff.

What I ate

This past Saturday, we went downtown and ate at Bill’s Oyster for the second time, where we ordered oysters, of course. Followed by burrata and fried green tomatoes, a twist on mozzarella sticks that included horseradish and caviar, and a lobster roll. It’s a casual but high-energy place with great vibes, great service, great people-watching and great martinis. Bob had one of the better mocktails he’s had since going full teetotaler. Remind us to take you there when you’re in town.

Random thought

We have bowls of cough drops all over the house. I check all the laundry, anything with pockets that belongs to Bob, before throwing it in the washing machine. When we go out, I check my bag for my wallet, phone, lipstick…and now, cough drops. It doesn’t bother me. Bob’s been coughing for years. At some point, it just became another one of Bob’s quirks. We used to think it was caused by the sleep meds as the fits mostly happened in the morning. But now it happens at night too. During our latest consultation with the pulmonologist, Dr. Taylor, he told us it’s likely one of the masses in his lungs. Apparently, it’s near an airway and the lungs don’t know its cancer. They just know it doesn’t belong there and they’re trying to eject it. Then he said something about monitoring the cough to see if the volume changes like on a song, or if it changes in a way that makes it sound like a different song.

This is true Dr Taylor.

He is the first and only physician in the US to specialize in emergency medicine, internal medicine, critical medicine, pulmonary medicine, and interventional pulmonary medicine. So this guy is no schlump. But – and I looked this up and apparently it’s a real thing in the medical community  – he speaks in incomprehensible metaphors. (see above. This was probably his most understandable one.)

I recently came across an Instagram account called Great Advice for Shitty People. Each post is basically a carousel of 4-6 white cards featuring handwritten advice like, “Sigh when people start showing you their vacation photos,” or “Say ‘after me!’ at the door.” It makes me laugh. Which I don’t think makes me a shitty person. One of them that stuck with me was, “Make up your own metaphors and expressions” with the example being “A bald rat rarely tips.” This was one piece of advice I could see us implementing. I mean, Bob and I already do stupid shit like this anyway. But it also made me think of Dr. Taylor and whether he follows the same account, and in addition to all his clinical accolades, is already one-upping us on metaphors that make no sense. Bravo, Dr. Taylor, Bravo.