Thursday, January 26, 2012

I visited my oncologist last Wednesday

I visited my oncologist last Wednesday and had a pleasant conversation.  I am still in remission.   I see him in another four months and after that it's once every six months.  I will be seeing him in May sometime which will be just over the two year mark from my final R-CHOP infusion and I will be on the slick road to diminished probability of recurrence.

I like not having cancer.

I still have issues and I'm not sure how much they are just post chemotherapy hangover or some other problem.

I've been experiencing some nausea recently and I vomited once just over a week ago.  To put this in perspective, I didn't vomit from any of the chemotherapy in cancer treatment.  Got a little sick but never took the "plunge" so to speak.

I used to think of myself as having a cast iron stomach and it's not like that now. 

I am guessing that at least some of the problem comes from a habit I developed of taking my Metformin  (it's supposed to be taken with meals) at the beginning of the meal rather than at the end.

I've corrected that, but I'm not better yet.

Some things will make me ill, such as some combinations of food or simply some kinds of food.  It's difficult to maintain the lifestyle of a chocoholic when chocolate upsets your stomach.

Sometimes I don't feel like eating in the morning. 

I am sure I need to change my diet although I haven't planned out how I should.

I visited my regular doctor on Friday and I heard him say my test scores had not gotten worse over the "Season" of over-eating.   They're actually slightly better, but I have to reduce the carbohydrates.

When I have added more cheeses, meats and peanuts to my diet my test scores got better.  All the bad fatty-acid numbers dropped.

My blood sugars got much better.

I am working on changing my diet in that direction, I just hope eating that stuff doesn't make me feel ill.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

I am on Barnes and Nobles


On B& N : My Secret Lymphoma

On Amazon: My Secret Lymphoma


From the overview on B& N.

This book is one patient’s sometimes humorous account of living with and being treated for cancer which he likens to having a mistress.   Headaches that began in June of 2009 were not diagnosed as Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma until mid December.   Given odds of 50/50 by his oncologist he describes the tests, bone marrow biopsies and treatments which included six cycles of R-CHOP, four spinal infusions with other drugs and, while in remission, three 28-day cycles of Revlimid (AKA Lenalidomide).   Starting with the R-CHOP treatments he describes the day to day side effects of chemotherapy and his attempts to deal with them.  The remainder of the book describes the aftermath of treatment which lasts much longer than one would normally expect.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

I'm PUBLISHED!!!

Shocker!

I'm actually published:  My Secret Lymphoma

"My Secret Lymphoma" has was uploaded yesterday, and I signed on to my email just before I went to bed last night and there was an email from AMAZON that my book was for sale.

The book covers two years of treatment, followup and recovery.


Table of Contents:

  • Preface
  • Working with Cancer
  • It Was Only a Headache
  • Cervical Vertebra Spacing
  • Kinesis Myofascial Integration
  • Begging for Drugs
  • A Neck Exam, CT scan and Biopsy
  • Oncology, Needles and Tests
  • R-CHOP and Intrathecal Mysteries
  • First Infusion Posts
  • Second Infusion Posts
  • Third Infusion Posts
  • Fourth Infusion Posts
  • Fifth Infusion Posts
  • Sixth Infusion Posts
  • Blog Posts Before Revlimid
  • First Revlimid Cycle Posts
  • Second Revlimid Cycle Posts
  • Third Revlimid Cycle Posts
  • Dropped out of Revlimid Study Posts
  • Blog Posts after the Revlimid
  • Afterword
 
I will be working to produce a version that I can upload and publish on Barnes and Noble.