I learned a lot on this vacation

I learned I don't like going on vacations. Of course that's really nothing new. I've always known that, but I can't help myself. I just love the anticipation of going on vacation. It's just that once I'm on vacation, all I can think about is getting back home.

[Is that what happens when you get old, and set in your ways, or is it just me?]

I also learned October is probably not a good month to go on vacation.

While this is supposed to be the warmest month of the year in San Francisco, it was anything but that on Saturday and Sunday. When we arrived on Friday, the weather was actually pretty nice. It was sunny, warm, and there was very little wind. Of course that all changed when the sun started to set. Not only did it get colder, but the wind picked up, making walking to dinner a little trying.

And it didn't get any better the next two days, including the drive down the coast to Monterey on Sunday, where it was even colder and windier. We spent one night in Monterey, and then drove to Solvang the next day, where the weather, while not perfect, was much more tolerable. Plus the wine there is very good! We ended up buying 19 bottles in only a day and a half of wine tasting.

Another lesson I learned was not to drive a car into San Francisco. I definitely won't do that again. Traffic is horrendous, and parking is unbelievably expensive. I ended up spending $54/night to park the car at the hotel where we were staying. [That is just ridiculous!] Next time I'll fly, and walk (it's not a very big city), or take a taxi or bus to where I want to go. $108 goes a long way in a taxi, and even further on a bus.

I also learned I don't need to go to another lymphoma conference. For all the talk about how great our health care system is in the US, treatment options for cancer (which consist of infusing deadly chemicals into the body) haven't really changed much in the past 40 years, except for maybe the reemergence of Bendamustine, an old East German drug [chemical] which is showing good promise in treating lymphoma. There is some new research going on, but nothing at all earth shattering, or that I didn't know about already, but even those are years off. Hopefully I'll still be around then, but I have my doubts.

I did get one piece of new information from of the conference, and that was, in addition to having MCL, I may also have Cutaneous T Cell Lymphoma (CTCL).

You see, ever since my diagnosis with MCL, I have noticed a number of lightly discolored spots on my chest and back. They never bothered me, they're relatively small, and they're not very visible, so I never gave them much thought, that is until I saw pictures at the conference which bare a striking resemblance to what I have. The spots make up well less than 5% of my body's total surface area, so if it is CTCL then it is likely a very mild form known as Mycosis fungoides (MF).

In about 10% of the cases, MF can spread to the blood, lymphnodes and other organs, but the spread in very unpredictable. In most people it progresses very slowly, or often times, not at all, which after 7½ years, just might be my case.

Of course it is possible I don't have CTCL, as I was told by the expert, at the lymphoma conference, it is rare to have both a T Cell and a B Cell Lymphoma (MCL is a B Cell lymphoma), but it has been known to occur. And I have often been told I am a one of a kind individual.

It will be interesting to see what my oncologist has to say about that at my next appointment.

Worst of all though, it wasn't until I got home that I learned I gained 4 lbs. I wouldn't think that was possible, only being gone 5 days. I guess 5 days off the bike, and way too much food and wine, definitely takes it toll.

But it is good to be home, back in my own bed and back to my regular boring life.

Vaccine Mandates, what are they good for?

Not much, that's for sure! Simply showing evidence of receiving a Covid-19 vaccine (whether fake or not), does not mean you are protected from getting Covid-19, nor spreading it, if infected. We are all different, and too many of us, i.e. people who are immunocompromised/ immunosupressed, the elderly, or others for various reasons, do not [cannot] mount an immune response as good as younger and healthier individuals. What is evidence of immunity is a quantitative antibody test showing you have developed antibodies, and to what degree, either from natural immunity or the vaccine. That is what we should be testing for. That is what is important. But for too long, many, i.e. the FDA, doctors, and other health experts discouraged people (and still are) from getting antibody tests, because there was little knowledge about what level of antibodies are needed to impart immunity to the virus. That of course is true, to some extent, but how can we ever find out [learn] the answer to that q

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

Open letter to all Democrats

Stop the nonsense! Continuing to go after Trump, without any hope of getting a conviction, does nothing more than provide Republicans with an obstructionist dialogue (now that they have come up with the unconstitutional talking point) in addition to giving Trump much needed publicity, when we should be ignoring him. It's the pure definition of insanity, doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result! Instead Democrats need to be laser focused on what is important to all Americans, i.e. healthcare, Social Security and Medicare, infrastructure reform, the Covid-19 vaccine rollout, to name just a few. And when you do talk about Trump, simply steer the conversation as to how the Trump administration botched everything, how Trump is responsible for the deaths of 400,000+ Americans, due to his inaction and the down playing of the pandemic, plus the deaths of 2 Capitol policeman during the insurrection Trump provoked and incited on January 6, 2021.

LIVING WITH MCL

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