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.

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...

This is just one of those days

It's one of those days you just want to sit around the house and do absolutely nothing, or watch some movies you have recorded. It might even be a good day to read a book, if you were so inclined, which I am not. As you should be able to see from the view out my bedroom window, it is raining outside. The rain started last night, and hasn't let up since. I can't complain too much though, as this is the rainy season, and we do need the rain. Plus Monday's are typically my day off from exercise, so I will surprise everyone, and not complain. I just feel sorry for anyone who might be visiting from, say Argentina, like a friend of mine (fellow MCLer), who happens to be in Cambria today. He might be a little disappointed. Fortunately the rest of the week, when he will be in LA, will be nice, and the real intent of his trip was to visit his son in Tahoe, who works at one of the ski resorts, and ski, so I know he's not complaining too much either. This weather will actually...

When is enough, enough?

Today I learned, Lance Armstrong, the most drug tested athlete in the history of sport, is being accused of doping, again . This time by the US Anti Doping Agency (USADA), who claim they have collected blood samples from him in 2009 and 2010 that were “fully consistent with blood manipulation including EPO use and/or blood transfusions.” Really! What took them so long? The French have been trying to make allegations of drug doping stick for years, ever since he won his first Tour d'France, but to no avail. And now the USADA claims to have evidence to support that claim, and they've waited almost 3 years before releasing this evidence. Needless to say, I am skeptical. Then there's this from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO): Increasing the federal excise tax on cigarettes by 50 cents per pack eventually would increase Medicare and Social Security spending, slightly. Eventually? What is the CBO suggesting here? That we should encourage smoking, because if we don't, in...

LIVING WITH MCL

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