It occurred to me this week that I am probably already cured of leukemia, and the remaining 21 months of this chemo is just to bring the odds closer to 100%. I ran this by Dr. Spillane and he said that was right, most people just don’t realize it. So I am trying that on now, saying I have chemotherapy, not I have leukemia. Not sure about it yet; I don’t think I can get nearly as much sympathy with chemo as with leukemia. Looks like I get a week break from treatments after next week, let the body recover before we start phase III, late intensification. That starts with a bang, so I will need to be ready.
Another pretty dull week, chemo switched back to vincristine (numbmeup) and asparaginase (punchmeinthegut) on Tuesday and asparaginase on Friday, same next week. I could tell my counts were still dropping on Monday, from the cyclophosphamide 2 weeks earlier and then 8 shots of cytarabine, and sure enough my blood test on Tuesday showed I needed 2 units. They of course could not get the O+ cmv- irradiated ooddball blood I need, so we set it up for Wed. I went in at 9am on Wed., and was done by 3pm.
While I was getting the blood, I mentioned to the nurse that I really liked those do-raggy like caps the OR docs wore – the ones you see on TV have all these fancy designs on them. She said she’d see if she could get me one. Sure enough a Doc comes by a half-hour later and hands me one, not the fancy kind but the free pharmaceutical rep kind. I was hoping for Viagra, but I got NimBex, some muscle relaxant. That’s cool. I may go over to the uniform shop and buy a fancy one.
When I went into the blood lab on Fri. for another blood test, the tech knew me by name, and the receptionist decided to pre-fill a bunch of paperwork for me. When she sees me come in, all I have to do is say ‘Hi Raquel’, and she will drop my paperwork into the lab. I am not sure if this is good or bad, I suppose good, less time waiting around. When people are waiting for blood tests and x-rays, or in medical facilities in general, they are not sociable. They probably figure the others waiting are unhealthy, and rightly so. I’ve gotten past that and will start conversations, make comments on TV news, and tell everyone how to get free coffee in the hospital cafeteria. Just my way of saying that I am still the chief bull-goose loony!
Apparently Wed. or Thurs. was the low-point for my blood, because I was sitting at the breakfast table Thurs. and started a minor nosebleed. Platelets and WBCs are not included in the blood you get, as they can cause immune reactions and are not generally needed. The platelet and WBC counts were up on Friday’s tests of their own accord, and today I feel better, less leg cramping and a little more vigor. I started sneezing like a madman last night and thought I caught a cold, but today my eyes are all watery and I am still sneezing with no other symptoms, so it must be allergies. I am hesitant to take any more drugs like Allegra, at some point something has to interact. Remember the waste jars in chemistry lab, but you had to keep some stuff separate?
I am really struggling at keeping the weight down - hovering near 180. During the good weeks I can go for walks and do yoga, but I can’t seem to get my ass in gear when the blood counts are low. Quitting smoking didn’t help; actually maybe that is the whole deal, as every other time I quit the butts I gained 10+ pounds. I am going to look into some tai chi this week, I need a drill sergeant. I worry about tipping over with the numb feet; I have noticed a distinct loss of balance as the numbing spreads.
I fired Charter Internet this week and went to DSL, and I have to move all the BLOG pics, so if they all disappear I didn’t get it done.
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Hey Chief Bull-goose Looney! This is your oddball brother checking in. It is weird and fantastic that you are most likely actually cured and its the chemo rather than the disease that's causing all the problems. Kinda reminds me of the terrorism training we had at work this week. In the scenario, the terrorists rig a small plane to spray a Foot and Mouth Disease brew onto cattle and hayfields in southeastern New Mexico. A relative few cows actually get sick but the cure is every bit as horrendous as the disease. We had to slaughter the entire herd when a single sick cow was detected and also every other herd within 3 miles of the affected herd. And burn the carcasses in giant pits on the same premises. That translated into about 80,000 cows real quick. Unlike with leukemia, the farm insurance companies excluded damages incurred from terrorist attacks. Cheery thought, eh? So it seems we are still living in this barbaric age where the best medicine has to offer is akin to total devastation. So what else can I think of to cheer you up? You probably saw the story about the researchers who apparently figured out how to put a mouse into suspended animation. This suggests an improvement on the Ted Williams approach where you die, get frozen and thawed out a coupla of hundred years down the road when they've figured out a cure. With hibernation you just check out for an extended period and wait. It wouldn't have to be medical reasons either. Bush gets the constitution changed and get reelected to a third term. No problem. You and your friends just hibernate a few hundred years to get past the resulting collapse of civilization and you're good to go, especially if you stuck your money in a fixed rate Roth IRA. So on that more cheery note, I vanish into the ether. love Frank
ReplyDeleteAhh, the miracle of compounding. Terrorists compounding cow deaths, Bush compounding his terms and our problems, and money compounding. The only problem I foresee is that when you come out of suspended animation, you will basically be really small compared to the average human. Humans are gaining size at a rapid rate, and an average sized person like me will be very small in a hundred years, and probably in danger of being stepped on in 300 years. With medical science focused on lips and breasts, and we all know how important those are, I don't see any cures for cancer or leukemia for maybe 500 years. The breasts and lips will make you care less that you have cancer, but you'll still have it. And while a Roth IRA keeps up with overall inflation, it cannot keep pace with the cost of medical coverage. The pharmaceuticals alone will wipe out everything I have, I will come out of suspended animation 1/4 the size of the average human, with totally inferior lips, and be forced to live like a mouse, scurrying from hole to hole to avoid being stepped on. Not pretty indeed!
ReplyDelete"Hi Raquel,"
ReplyDeleteShit - gimme a break. If she' fillin out yer paperwork, there's more than free coffee goin on there. I hope Dana's not readin this or cute little Raquel may find herself in Frank's deep freeze zone.
Speakin of Frank, he has some great points. However, for those of you not familiar with the deep South, those things he mentions have been going on here for some time. Like the thing about throwin a bunch a cows in a pit and burnin em up. Hell, that's nothin more than a neighborhood, redneck block party bar-b-q down here. Just imagine how much Ho-Spice I can sell for a couple of those. And the hibernation thing actually explains the redneck mentality. I suspected all along that they have been "frozen" in time. Now I know how it happened and Frank's theory explains a lot.
Pat, loved the idea about the gardin barfin recepticles. I can sell those down here to all the gin joints and honky tonks all over town. Have not received the care package for the kitties yet. Poor little Meeshee probly only has a couple a days left.
May the force be with you.
Mac
Hey John, think of you often. Here's a quick joke that I thought you might appreciate.
ReplyDelete------
A woman called a local hospital. "Hello. Could you connect me to the person who gives information about patients. I'd like to find out if a patient is getting better, doing as expected, or getting worse."
The voice on the other end aid, "What is the patient's name and room number?"
"Sarah Finkel, room 302."
"I'll connect you with the nursing station."
"3-A Nursing Station. How can I help You?"
"I'd like to know the condition of Sarah Finkel in room 302."
"Just a moment. Let me look at her records. Mrs. Finkel is doing very well. In fact, she's had two full meals, her blood pressure is fine, she is to be taken off the heart monitor in a couple of hours and, if she continues this improvement, Dr. Cohen is going to send her home Tuesday at noon."
The woman said, "What a relief! Oh, that's fantastic... that's wonderful news!"
The nurse said, "From your enthusiasm, I take it you are a close family member or a very close friend!"
"Neither! I'm Sarah Finkel in 302! Nobody here tells me shit."
- Keep feeling better John ;)
-MG
John,
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear things are going well.
Robin and I are thinking of you and you are in our prays.
Bruce
geeze, what a week...Frankie and Johnny, the sequel...one might not have holy cow leukemia but can't change the title yet; one might be surrounded by holy dead cows but I can't get a song out of that either
ReplyDeleteand then the saddest part of all--another g-man gone postal has obviously rerouted the package meant to save the 9th life of Mac's cats and is probably opening a snack attack shack at Randy's favorite golf course as we speak--Ran if you see a place called Holy Cats, Chow! don't. touch. anything.
so sorry about poor little Meeshee, please let me know next blog if a miracle occurs and she lives.
I know you don't believe in the supernatural, so I am thinking maybe you will learn to cheat at golf and recoup your losses.
or, perhaps fake a New Mexican terrorist cow epidemic and make off with some road kill from the perimeter?
happy mudders day, everybody who did not come out of an egg on the lawn,
Na-nu, na-nu