12:30 AM, interrupting the night sweats

It's 12:30 in the morning on Saturday and I am consciously trying to interrupt my cycle of soak through clothes night sweats. Apparently this reaction is normal in people with advanced stage cancer, and it has been a problem for the last several weeks. The last two weeks have been especially rough since my liver and abdomen are noticeably enlarged and distended.

I struggled with whether to share this. At this point though, this chronicle is really about being real, and I don't plan to filter much. Just like it was when my mom battled her cancer for 18 months, the writing is therapeutic for me. It helps me synthesize and retain information, remember details, and be prepared for my oncology visits.

Night sweats are the biggest pain in the ass. A total nuisance, and they interrupt my precious sleep.

I had a long day, and my dear husband Bobby Bobby really insisted on taking me out for a nice dinner with our son Gavin. If it were up to me, I would have skipped dinner and been in bed by 5pm. I mustered up and was very grateful for his gentle nudge. Shoutout to Coppolio's Italian Steakhouse. It was a delicious meal and my body desperately needed the protein and the calories. My muscles have all but melted away, and I need to focus on rebuilding my strength as soon as I feel a little bit better, god willing I do.

I needed to immediately lie down as soon as we got back home. I was determined to get up the minute I felt any heat of sweat forming. Here we are. I got up, carefully walked around the bedroom and the hallway to try to change my state, and now I am wide awake writing this post.

Looking forward to seeing my daughter Gina tomorrow. We have gluten free pastina plans for Sunday with Aunt Tina. We will then stay at my Chicago apartment Sunday night so we can roll out of bed and show up at 5:45am at University of Chicago for my Liver MRI.

For those wondering, I got the all clear from my dear NP at Northwest Cancer Centers after my labs, and FolFox all commences as planned at 9:45am on Tuesday.

Oh my, how my life has changed so fast.

Part Deux: 3:39 am
Well it got me. I finally fell back asleep and then about 3:00am ai woke up in the pool. The pool of cold, wet, soaked clothes and sheets, the pillow and pillow case. Had to spend the next 30 fumbling in the dark to change clothes on me and the bed without totally disrupting my poor husbands sleep. I don’t know if I can even sleep in my apartment as I don’t want it to be too far from my stock of supplies, my pied-a-terre is a crash pad in Fulton Market where I intended to live out my minimalist dreams between intense meetings - not equipped for a stage IV colon cancer patient at all. Well, let’s hope I can get through the next several hours without an encore of these bio/body games.

For those interested - here’s what I learned from Gemini about why this happens. When colon cancer metastasizes to the liver and causes significant inflammation or enlargement (hepatomegaly), the body undergoes several processes that can trigger drenching night sweats.
Why Your Body Reacts This Way
• The Inflammatory Response: Cancer and the immune system’s response to it release proteins called cytokines. These chemicals act as internal messengers that can reset your body’s "thermostat" in the hypothalamus. Your brain thinks the body is too hot and triggers heavy sweating to cool it down.
• Liver Metabolism and Stress: The liver is the body's primary chemical processing plant. When it is enlarged and inflamed, its ability to process toxins and regulate hormones is strained. This metabolic stress can lead to fluctuations in body temperature, particularly during sleep when the body’s metabolic rate shifts.
• Tumor-Induced Fever: Often, what you are experiencing is a "paraneoplastic" symptom. The tumor itself can cause low-grade fevers that you might not even notice while awake. When you fall asleep and your body temperature naturally dips, the fever "breaks," resulting in a soaking sweat.
• Hormonal Shifts: The liver plays a role in breaking down hormones like estrogen and cortisol. If liver function is compromised, an imbalance in these hormones can mimic "hot flashes" or night sweats.