DWUWYH Day 6: So Far So Good?

So, I've been applying the Fluorouracil for six days, twice a day. No noticeable change. This could be good news or too early to tell. I did some more research and found out a couple of things. Apparently the medication attacks pre-cancerous cells and destroys them. This is evident in the change in the appearance of the applied areas. Since I'm seeing no change that must mean there is no pre-cancer, right? Maybe. I also learned that for some, there is little to no change in the skin's appearance for the first week or so. It becomes apparent for many after the first week. Those who have used it see a marked change in week two. Apparently near the end of treatment, it becomes almost unbearable, similar to a very bad sunburn.

The only thing I've noticed are mild headaches. That may be due to the fact that I've come down with a lovely cold that has moved into my chest and when I cough, my head hurts. So, probably unrelated. I've also experienced some other symptoms that I won't get into but they too could be a result of the cold virus. The long and short is that I need to give it more time to be sure. I'll check back in in a week and report.

In the meantime, I'll promote No Shave November!

I cheated and actually stopped shaving at the end of September. So, I've got a little over three weeks going and am leaving the miserable itchy phase. (This is where most beards die an ignominious death.) Be forewarned if you do decide to participate in this blessed annual event, you're going to get comments. That, too, leads to the demise of many a potential beard. The great thing about No Shave November is it gives you an excuse! (Just tell the haters that you're doing it for charity.) Who knows? You may end up looking like this:

 

Or this:

 

 

 

If you decide to keep going you may wind up like this:

 

Just get a better barber.

Worst case scenario, you could end up like this:

Come on! EVERYBODY'S doing it!

See you next week!





DWUWYH (Dude, What's Up With Your Head) Day 1

If you have no idea what the title to this post is referring to and you happened to wind up here, I suggest reading this post first:

http://grahamsmusings67.blogspot.com/2015/10/no-shave-octobernovember-aka-dude-whats.html

It's Day 1 of my treatment. I have everything I need.

You may be asking what Diet Mountain Dew and a Ding Dong have to do with anything, but I return your question with a question: What DON'T they have to do with anything? It's comfort food. The rubber gloves, while not necessary per se, will make the application a bit safer. While it's recommended to wash your hands before and after application anyway, I still feel more comfortable using gloves as I don't want to touch anything that may go into my mouth (Ding Dongs) with hands that came in contact with the medication. Plus, I enjoy the snap you get when putting the gloves on. It makes the process seem more "invasive."

As I was applying the cream to the top of my head, I thought about how much I would prefer to be massaging Just For Men into a lustrous mane of grey hair. But, the gene pool dealt my cards from the bottom of the deck.

The Fluorouracil is to be applied twice daily. After one treatment, no noticeable difference in the appearance of my scalp is detected.

Former President George H.W. Bush had a similar treatment a few years ago. His was to his face, not his scalp, but here is what the top of my dome may have to look forward to:

 

That reminds of the time that I briefly met his son, former President George W. Bush. I had waited for hours in line outside the Sandy, UT Costco to get an autographed copy of his book "Decision Points." After going through security, I was brought into a curtained room. Finally, it was my turn for some face time with W. I was ushered through the curtains. It was like having audience with the Wizard of OZ. Surreal.

 

 

He shook my hand and then said in his Texas drawl, "I wanna ask you a question. Was your bald head getting cold out there?" I scrambled for something clever to say but all I could stupidly muster was, "Absolutely!" (With the benefit of hindsight I wish I'd said, "Oh it's fine. Other than being riddled with PRE-CANCER!") He laughed his famous George W. Bush laugh, high fived me and I was escorted out with two signed copies of his book in hand to a checkout inside the store. We haven't spoken since.

 

I realize that to some that incident may seem like nothing more than blatant name dropping. So, for that reason, I'll leave out the time that Tommy Lee Jones almost punched me in the face or when Glenn Close looked at me like she wanted to pepper spray me. Apparently there's something about me that rubs celebrities the wrong way. Except for W. We're pals. 

No Shave October/November aka Dude! What's Up With Your Head?!?

As the latter part of the title suggests, that's the exact question I'm trying to avoid for the next four weeks, so I thought I'd launch a preemptive strike.

I assure you, I'm okay. Let me say that again. I'm OKAY. But if I can get just one person to use more of this:

 

 

I'll feel as though I've accomplished something.

 

A couple of years ago I went to my dermatologist. There was a strange, wart-like object on my right shoulder. He assured me that it was probably nothing but he wanted to cut it out and take a look. (I wish he'd bet the farm that it was nothing. I'd be living on a nice spread near Reno.) Turns out it was basal cell carcinoma. He got it all and you can't even tell where he removed it. But, he wanted to check me out each year.

 

About a month ago, I returned to his office for my yearly check up. My torso looked good. Okay, it resembled the Michelin Man's but whatever.

 

Then he started checking out my scalp. He said he noticed there might be some pre-cancer so he wanted to do a treatment with a topical cream called Fluorouracil. It's basically a topical chemotherapy ointment to be applied to my scalp for three to four weeks.

 

Here are some of the possible side effects: swelling, peeling or blistered skin. So, at best, the top of my head will look like a bad sunburn. At worst, it may resemble the surface of Mercury. Other possible side effects are loose and bloody stools, nausea and possible hair loss.

 

So, to take the heat off of my head, so to speak, I decided to start growing a beard early. (November is typically the month men start sporting facial hair in support of cancer awareness.) If this treatment affects the awesome starter hedge I've got going, I'm going to be ticked.

 

I thought it might be interesting to chronicle this process. Again, I'm okay. Better to be safe than sorry. And I certainly do not mean to make light of or lessen the impact that actual chemotherapy treatments have had on any of my readers or those that are close to them. But please know, that if I can't laugh at this...

  

As the top of my head will be very sensitive during this time and as I typically keep my hair closely cropped, I decided to shave my head today to avoid having to clip it for a few weeks. So, not only am I follicly challenged to begin with, I now resemble a slightly less weird looking version of Shel Silverstein.

 

 

Okay. I look JUST as weird.

 

I start my treatment on the 15th. I'll keep you posted.

 

And remember, use your sunscreen!

 

 



Movie Review: The Walk

I understand the desire to walk on a high wire even less than I do the desire to put oneself through the misery of attempting to scale Mount Everest. I will admit, however, to being glued to my television on June 23, 2013 as Nik Wallenda (a descendant of the infamous Flying Wallendas) walked for 1000 feet 1,500 feet above the Grand Canyon. While doing this, he kept chanting a prayer while his spiritual leader, evangelist Joel Osteen looked on in support. The event didn't border on the bizarre. It had leapt over and applied for citizenship.

Wallenda made it across safely that day. That is not to say that there aren't dire consequences for performing a tight rope act. In 1978, Nik's 73 year old relative Karl Wallenda fell 121 feet to his death during a high wire attempt in San Juan, Puerto Rico. (The footage on Youtube is horrifying as he stumbles on the wire and is unable to hold on.)

Almost forty years before Nik Wallenda made his successful attempt across the Grand Canyon (and five years before he was even born) and four years before Karl's tragic death, French street performer, acrobat, and high wire artist Philippe Petit did the unthinkable. He strung a cable between the north and south towers of the World Trade Center. "The Walk" chronicles not only the, well, ya know, WALK, but the events leading up to it.

The first forty five minutes of the film are hit and miss as we are introduced to Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and his "accomplices." The standouts among them are Jeff, a mathematics teacher with a fear of heights (Cesar Domboy), and Annie, a street musician played by Charlotte Le Bon. It took me about a half an hour after first seeing Le Bon to shake off the massive sense of deja vu I was having. At first I thought it was Paz Vega from Spanglish (below).

Then I thought it might be Encarnacion (Ana de la Reguera) from "Nacho Libre:"
 

 

But no, it was Montreal born Le Bon:

 

But you get what I'm saying here, right?!? (Apparently this look is in fashion in Hollywood. But don't get too comfortable. You can cash in for one major release and then you're replaced a few years later by a younger model.)

Anyway, back to the movie. I wasn't crazy about Gordon-Levitt speaking directly to the camera early on. His French accent was a little too Saturday Night Live sketchy. However, as the movie continues, it actually becomes a more effective device that drew great emotion from me, particularly at the end of the film.

Where it REALLY takes off is when the crew arrives in New York City to plot Petit's highly dangerous and illegal attempt to walk between the towers. Many of these scenes have the feel of a great heist movie and had me gripping my armrest.

Naturally, the best sequences are of the walk itself. "Everest" and "Gravity" both used IMAX 3D expertly. However, I don't think I've ever seen anything more spectacular in this format before and it may be a long time until it's used this effectively again. Expect trophies being awarded to the technical wizards who made the towers and the walk come to life.

By this time, you are fully invested in Petit and his dream. But what really helps is the recreation of the World Trade Center itself. When Petit first plants his chin against the wall of one of the skyscrapers and looks up, waaaaaay up, I realized that my 13 year old companion was born months after they disappeared from the New York skyline. That filled me with melancholy. Like Everest, the Twin Towers become an inanimate major character in their respective films.

I first became aware of the Twin Towers as a boy when I saw a really awful movie featuring King Kong scaling pathetic models of them in the mid-1970's. I always wanted to see them in person and unlike Petit, who had a deadline to attempt his walk before construction was completed, I thought they'd be waiting there for me forever. While there is a feeling of euphoria as the film nears its end, you also experience a deep feeling of loss as well.

"The Walk" is a stirring tribute to those towers, as well as the man they inspired.

3.5 out of 4 stars

 

The real Philippe Petit as he walks between the Twin Towers.

Petit was also the subject of the 2008 Oscar winning documentary "Man on Wire."