Skip to main content

Is it or isn't it [a problem]?

Besides my boss, and a select few others, I don't make it a habit of telling anyone I have lymphoma. There are a few, who for various reasons, have asked about me, and I've relented, telling them as well, and then there are those that have stumbled upon my blog, but I have always believed those numbers to be very small. So it's always a surprise when I discover someone, who I least suspect, is aware I have lymphoma, and it's even more surprising when that person is someone I've just met for the first time.

Todays bike ride presented just such an instance.

With the help of a fortuitous traffic light, 6 of us had broken away from the main pack, and managed to stay away for a good time. I could have stayed away for the remainder of the ride, had I been willing to push myself a little more, but one of the other riders dropped off (there were only 3 of us remaining at the time), so I decided to drop off with him.

I hadn't known the rider, so being the nice guy I am, I introduced myself. Now I can't remember exactly how the conversation transpired, but he asked if I was the one who had lymphoma. He indicated another rider, who I did know (but didn't realize knew I had lymphoma), had informed him. A double surprise.

He was asking, because his nephew (who was only 23 years old), had recently been diagnosed with lymphoma. So, after hesitating for a second (that's just way to young to be diagnosed with lymphoma), I admitted I'm the one, and proceeded to tell him my life story. Well at least since my diagnosis.

So anyways, based on todays experience, I've learned a few more people know of my lymphoma, than I previously suspected.

It's also surprising, since after all this time, I'm still not sure whether that's a good thing or not. All I really no for sure is, so far, no one has indicated it is.
Labels:

Comments

Becky said…
Well, maybe he mentioned his nephew had lymphoma and then someone mentioned you had it, too. I use to get the same questions from friends bout epilepsy after a family member or friend was diagnosed.

On the other hand, I forget half the time that you even have lymphoma because you don't look or act sick to me.
8:25 AM
Marc said…
I sure try to act like I'm not sick, but deep back in my mind somewhere I still never forget I have lymphoma, nor that it could rear it's ugly head at any time.
10:28 AM
Susan C said…
We're both mantle cellmates, but presenting very differently. I (hopefully) had MCL (past tense), but you, as your title says are living with it in the present.

One thing is the same: that back-of-the-mind, lurking fear. I just told my doctor the other day that the fear of relapse is always there, but it's just not in the front of my mind. I have a few other concerns that are taking up that position right now.
2:38 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fatigue! Part II - Maybe it is real?

Or it's actually Motivational Deficiency Disorder, MoDeD (pronounced Mo-Dee-Dee) for short. In a report this week by Roy Moynihan who reports for the British Medical Journal Austrailian scientists may have come across the reason for extreme laziness . The condition is claimed to affect up to one in five Australians and is characterised by overwhelming and debilitating apathy. Neuroscientists at the University of Newcastle in Australia say that in severe cases motivational deficiency disorder can be fatal, because the condition reduces the motivation to breathe. Neurologist Leth Argos is part of the team that has identified the disorder, which can be diagnosed using a combination of positron emission tomography and low scores on a motivation rating scale, previously validated in elite athletes. "This disorder is poorly understood," Professor Argos told the BMJ. "It is underdiagnosed and undertreated." Who knew? Maybe I have MoDeD, from my attempts to become a...
Post a Comment
Read more

My concerns reaffirmed today

When I was first diagnosed with MCL, I pretty much read just about everything I could get my hands on, I attended various conferences, and I talked to anyone who would listen. One of the most important lessons I learned, and which I've mentioned numerous times before was No one cares more about you than you. But in addition to that, I learned to fear the drug Doxorubicin , AKA Adriamycin, Doxil, Hydroxydoxorubicin, or more affectionately the Red Devil. Besides being a deadly chemical, as is the case with most chemotherapy drugs, it is one of the few chemotherapy drugs known to cause permanent heart damage. I even heard Dr. Sandra Horning , a noted Stanford lymphoma specialist, state at the first lymphoma conference I attended in LA, there was no evidence Doxorubicin provided any added benefit to chemotherapy protocols. This was music to my ears, since Doxorubicin is very common in most lymphoma treatment protocols. And even though Dr. Horning has since changed her tune [which my sk...
Post a Comment
Read more

Tacitly condoning racism?

I learned something very discouraging in my current events class yesterday, there are a lot more racists and bigots out there then you may think. They may not admit it, or they'll claim otherwise, but when someone says they place the blame for what happened in Charlottesville on both sides, or better yet, they don't know where the blame lays, then they are condoning the action of the white supremacists groups, and in my book that is a racist/bigot. The truth is, there should be no doubt where blame for Charlottesville lays. It lays with the white supremacists, neo-Nazi's, KKK, etc, plain and simple! The hatred, bigotry, and misogyny displayed and espoused by these groups, coupled with the tacit approval of President Trump needs to be confronted at all cost, and history tells us so. If only the Jews, in pre-WWII Germany, had confronted the Nazi's in the same manner, Hitler might never have risen to power, and we would not be looking at the prospect of a  third anti...
Post a Comment
Read more