Skip to main content

Life is way too fleeting!

I just got an email from an MCL buddy in Italy, who I was hoping to meet up with during our trip there next month.

I had written him about a month ago, informing him of our trip to Italy, but I had not heard from him since then. I was a little concerned, but felt he was probably just on vacation, and was having too good a time to respond. So the other day I wrote again, and he quickly responded.

As it turns out I was right to be concerned, after 38 months in remission, the MCL (we call it the beast) came back, and he wasn't doing well. He was having trouble breating because of a mass of lymphnodes pressing against his lungs, the largest one being about 7 cm, and he was experiencing pain in his heart.

So the reason he couldn't write, is he had to go to Torino (apparently a very nice place, as it is home to many of the top hematologists) for treatment, and didn't have his computer available until just the other day.

Unfortunately Torino is also a little out of the way for our trip, so I am not sure if I will get to see him. Hopefully he will be done with treatment by then and be back home, where we can visit.

What really got me though, was how he ended his email

Even though I have relapsed Marc for the first time after 38 months of complete remission, I really was enjoying life. I think I am going to give [the beast] a battle. I just hope that my heart will hold up.


How quickly things can change. 38 months in remission and the beast acts up again. Did he accomplish everything he wanted in that time? I doubt it! I've already had 52+ months without treatment, and I haven't accomplished everything I want.

But then again, I'm going to live forever, right?

Get well Sam!!!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

History IS repeating itself

I didn't grow up during the rise and fall of Hitler and Nazi Germany, so for me to claim it feels like those are the times we are living in now, must be taken with a grain of salt. But I have seen enough movies, and read enough history to know, if the times we're living in now are not akin to the rise of a Nazism and Facism in Europe in the 1930's and 1940's, then we're not far off. If you can't see the parallels with Nazi Germany, then you must be living in a different country than me. Republicans and other right wing extremists will stop at nothing to subvert the will of the majority, forcing their beliefs, that they are the superior race and have been appointed by God, to impose their will on America, while they blame all our problems on immigrants, blacks and Jews. As I speak, Mitch McConnell, and his minions are raising roadblocks to all legislation designed to help average Americans under the guise of fiscal responsibility. They condone violent and verba...
Post a Comment
Read more

The results are in

And I am iron deficient, big time. [Which would account for my low hemoglobin] Test Result Ref Range IRON 30 59-158 mcg/dL TOTAL IRON BINDING CAPACITY 231 250-420 mcg/dL IRON SAT 13 20-50 % My Ferritin levels were good, but that could be because Ferritin is also an "acute phase reactant", that is sometimes increased with acute or chronic disease. Folate and B12 levels were also within the normal range. The only problem now is determining what is causing the iron deficiency, which in the case of men, is [very] rare. My oncologist has given me a Globin Fecal test to perform, and has scheduled me for a consultation with a colorectal surgeon to discuss performing a colonoscopy, which could be problematic because of my large spleen. In the mean time, I've decided to start taking an iron supplement, it's only the quantity that is causing me some consternation. I've been told by a very knowledgeable person that to overcome an iron deficiency, I need to be taking 300 mg o...
5 comments
Read more

Stop the stupidity!

Rural medical center (in Georgia) suspended from vaccination program after inoculating school district staff. Give me a break! Trying to get kids back to school, while protecting teachers, bus drivers and other staff, is exactly what school districts should be doing. If they have vaccines, give them out. We should be giving out vaccines to all who want them, whenever available. Trying to adhere to rigid guidelines will only result in fewer people getting vaccines, resulting in the discarding of precious vaccines, and less protection for everyone. Of course we should be giving first priority to healthcare workers, and any other essential public service employees, such as policeman, fireman, etc. first, but when they're not around to receive shots, or refuse shots, then give them to anyone willing to take them. What I would have objected to is the medical center trying to capitalize on the pandemic to make a profit, from giving vaccines to people far down the list of recipients, but ...
Post a Comment
Read more