Trust, Treatment, and a Dawn Hike: Navigating a Surprise Chemo Round

A routine checkup turned into a surprise chemo day—and that pivot forced a decision most of us only meet under pressure: challenge the plan or trust the person who built it. We talk through the exact moment the oncologist said, “We’re doing another round,” why we chose to say yes without the MRI results in hand, and how trust isn’t blind optimism—it’s an informed commitment to the team that knows your labs, your meds, and your history better than a hunch ever could.

Intro for podcast

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Transcript

Cancer Update Takes a Turn

Unexpected Treatment Day

Trusting the Doctor’s Call

Infusion Experience & Pump

Eating, Resting, and Recovery Plan

Pre-Dawn Hike and Prayer

Strategy: Hydrate, Move, Sleep Smart

Takeaway: Handle the Curveballs

Thanks, Reviews, and Closing

SPEAKER_00 0:13

Well, hello, and welcome back to the Healthy Living Podcast. I'm your host, Joe Grumbine, and this is another subscriber episode. And I want to thank all the subscribers that are helping to make this show possible. And uh as it's growing, uh you guys are largely responsible for the tools I'm able to use. Um I thought I was gonna be able to move past the whole cancer theme as the primary focus of the subscriber episodes, but we had another twist and turn, and I figured, well, this is the place for that. So um this will be another short one. Yesterday I went into the doctor down in San Diego thinking I was just getting a checkup, and uh, you know, they weighed me and took some blood like usual, and then they said go to the treatment room, and I was like, What? What am I doing? She says, I'm not sure. But uh so I go to the treatment room, I sit down in the infusion chair, and I'm still a little puzzled, and because I did my six rounds of chemo, I thought we were done. And I thought, well, maybe they're gonna do the immunotherapy, but it seemed like that was kind of soon since I just had it done uh a little more than a week ago, and so this guy Mo that I know now from there, and I had sent him some information about my diet and that sort of thing, he he was there as well, and he had a little rough time last time. So we talked for a minute, and then another lady, uh, older Asian lady came in and we started up a little conversation. And Dr. Song comes in and he says, Oh, you're friends. I go, Yeah, I always make friends when I'm sitting here. And uh I said, So what are we doing today? He says, Well, uh, you didn't hear from the MRI? No, I'm they haven't called or I haven't received anything in the mail. I'm still waiting to hear. He says, Well, we're gonna do another round of chemo. I says, Whoa, what? And um, I says, I thought we were done with that. And he says, Well, you're okay to do another round. And I said, Well, okay, I trust you, doctor. And I had to make, you know, a split-second decision. You know, if I was to say no to that, I would be basically up-ending the trust relationship I have with this doctor, which is paramount so far. He's he's been everything I've needed, and I he knows these drugs and he knows my condition and he knows my blood work. And he said, I'll be okay. So I had to quickly make that decision and say, all right, I'm not gonna screw this up and start challenging what he says, and think I know better at this point, right now. Um, so I said, All right. And it seemed like this infusion lasted longer than usual. And I I don't know, it could be the drip rate too. I know it seemed like some of the drip rates were running slower, and there's so many little factors, and I just don't know. So, anyways, um I received a full chemo treatment, and I now have my what I call my little pet, which is the pump that pumps the five-fluorura cell into me for the next four days. Um and I this time I said I'm gonna try to overcome, I'm gonna, I'm gonna remember all the things I've done in the past that made it hard. And I know that usually when I come home, I'm just tired. I want to lay down and go to sleep. And um, but I drove this time thinking it was just gonna be a little checkup and head on home. And uh so on the way home I stopped and saw Dr. Hoffman and um had a little talk with him, and then I felt okay driving home. Uh, I slept a lot of the time. They give you Benadryl in the infusion, and it helps you sleep, and it I think it helps to uh overcome any possible uh effects of receiving these chemicals. I'm not sure he's got a reason for it, but definitely helps you sleep. So I got I got a couple of good hours of napping in while I was getting the infusion. So I felt rested, I didn't feel exhausted like normal. My brain was okay. Uh I've been going out of my way to eat extra. And I said, well, you know, I remembered it usually takes a day or two before the nausea really starts to settle in. So I go, I'm gonna try to keep eating as much as I can between now and when it becomes more difficult, or if it does, you know, who knows? Each time's unique. So I was able to drive home okay. I even stopped three different places to do some grocery shopping on the way home. And then I came home and my wife cooked me up a meal, and I was able to eat that, and I was able to even eat some fruit. I had ate pretty well last night, more than I normally have. And um then I woke up this morning and I felt okay, and I went on my morning hike I haven't done in oh more than a month, probably two months. It's been a while. Uh the last chemo rounds have just knocked myself down pretty low, and I said, I'm gonna do it this time. So I took my time. It was you know an hour and a half before sunlight, and I got my headlamp on, and I just slowly walking up. It's three hills that I have to climb to get to the place where I go up and pray. And uh it's the highest point around. And um so I just carefully slowly walked up and and uh made it. Felt okay, you know, a little wobbly, but my legs are kind of weak from not having done this hike in a while or really done a lot. So I just took my time and and went up there and did my prayers and offerings and things and made my way back and took a nap. And I'm feeling okay right now. So, what my goal is this time around is I'm gonna keep eating as much as I can. I'm gonna be drinking as much as I can. Um, I got me some coconut water here, been sipping on, and um, you know, just gonna try to keep moving more and sleeping less, um, trying to keep my body stronger rather than getting weaker. And I think I'll get the most out of this this way. Anyways, um, just really the lesson here is that you always gotta be ready and try to make the most of whatever comes your way. And sometimes you get hit with a a screwball. And um if you're on a path to find answers and to solve your problem, chances are these twists and turns are just part of it. And it's really about what you do and how you solve it and how you handle it. So um, again, thanks to everybody who has helped by sponsoring this program and listening and sharing and uh leaving reviews and all that good stuff. And uh please continue. All right, it's been another episode of the Healthy Living Podcast. I'm your host, Joe Grumbine, and we'll see you next time.