LIVING WITH MCL

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...

Went to see my VA oncologist on Wednesday. I'm still not completely comfortable with him just yet. He seems conscientious enough, and is willing to spend time talking with me, going over the various options available, but at times he's difficult to understand (he has a strong accent), and he is pretty young. Of course my Kaiser oncologist is young as well, so I can't really hold that against him. He's also convinced I have Splenic Marginal Zone lymphoma (SMZL), not MCL, but I did point out that with the t(11;14) translocation, SMZL is not a likely diagnosis. I'm not sure he was convinced though. In any case the treatments would not be much different, and he expressed a willingness to use Rituxan, as a single agent therapy initially, as the prospects for beginning some sort of treatment draw nearer, which is what I was hoping to hear. So I am adapting, and I do realize at my age change is difficult. Anyways, my counts were basically stable, including my hemoglobin an...

As Roseanne Roseannadanna would always say "It just goes to show ya...it's always something! If it's not one thing, it's another!" Well now that I'm feeling much better, I can get back to my normal routine of whining and complaining. After all that is what I do best. Plus it's windy and cold outside, and not conducive for a bike ride, so I've got plenty of time on my hands. Yesterday at work we had Sarbannes Oxley (SOX) training, for which I had to attend. I thought SOX was about financial accountability, so why in the world would manufacturing, quality and metallurgy need to be in attendance? Well as it turns out [at least how I interpret it], SOX is nothing more than AS9100 , but with accounting factored in, and we have to write a[nother] manual documenting everything we do from order taking, to production, to shipping, to invoicing etc. So I'm sitting there bored to death, thinking why in the world are we going through this, when it's bas...

The following doesn't need any commentary. It speaks for itself. (No pun intended) [note]Oh, and BTW, in case anyone's interested, I'm feeling minutely better today. I'm not sneezing or blowing my nose as much, but I am still doing both. And my headache is mostly gone. I'm hoping as the day goes on I'll feel even better.[/note]

Well I'm not feeling any better today, plus now in addition to the runny nose, I'm sneezing and I've developed an annoying head ache. And just when the weather is starting to improve. So with little else to do except feel sorry for myself, I decided to peruse some older posts to see if I recorded similar episodes in the past. I was surprised to learn I'm good at feeling sorry for myself, and writing about it. It turns out I was sick twice last year, once just about a year ago (the beginning of March), and then again in July , both with very similar symptoms. Fortunately I recovered both times. My only hope now is history doesn't repeat itself (except for the getting better part that is), and I don't get sick again in July or August. I was off the bike for 6 days last July, which I've pretty much just equaled today. Twice in one year could be too much to bare. As a good friend once told me , riding is what keeps him healthy, and he should know after two bout...

I'm not feeling good [haven't been for the past several days], and I blame it on golf, and the weatherman. I've hardly been playing any golf lately, and if I hadn't already committed to playing with the one golfing group I belong to, I wouldn't have played last Monday either. I would have also likely skipped out on the tournament had the weather forecast been just a little more accurate. You'd think weather.com could at least get the forecast right 4 hours in advance. But noooooo, that was not the case. The night before rain was predicted to start early in the morning, and extend till about 9 AM, and had that been accurate, I would not have gone. Instead, when I awoke that morning there was no rain, and the forecast changed to cloudy with only a 10% chance of rain until about noon, when the rain was to return. I figured by that time I would be done with the round, so I headed out to Corona for my monthly golf fix. When I arrived at the course, it was a little c...

I know I said I was done , but I can't help it. This morning, I received an email from someone I thought knew better. I couldn't have been more disappointed, especially when I wasn't feeling good to begin with. What the email was about isn't relevant in my opinion. Some of the facts may even have some validity [albeit exaggerated and old], but what is relevant is it seems too many Americans have become so brainwashed by special interests, they are blind to what is really occurring in this country. The special interests in this country are so adept at diverting the discussion away from the real issues confronting this country, to areas which admittedly attract strong emotions, but have little or no relevance to the problems facing this nation, and are only meant to inflame and polarize an already divided nation. If I can't expect the people I consider intelligent seeing through this facade, is there really any hope left that we might emerge a stronger and more unifie...

Yes, it's been 8 years [a year and 8 days to be exact] since my diagnosis with Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL), and I barely even realized it. Even to this day, it's hard for me to comprehend the fact I was diagnosed with a very aggressive lymphoma, with an average life expectancy of only 5 years. Of course one of the drawbacks with life expectancy predictions for a terminal illness, is there is almost no way of knowing how long the person had the disease before diagnosis. Was it one year, two years etc? It's difficult to know, especially with the health care system that exists in the US, where a large portion of the population is excluded from the health care system, and others can't or won't go to see a doctor, because of the cost, until it's too late. [OK, that was my political rant for the day.] Just how many other cases are there like mine? How many others are walking around with cancer, and don't know it?  If I hadn't gone for a physical exam that fatef...

At least today I gave the young kid who came to the door the opportunity to tell me he was with some "jobs program" before telling him I wasn't feeling well and didn't have the time. Plus I even managed a good deed yesterday, when I noticed the clerk at the Japanese supermarket, where I purchase my green tea, only charged my credit card $8.99. I knew that wasn't right, as I bought 4 bags of tea, and one of the bags of green teas alone (the Gyokura), I knew cost more than that. He was very appreciative, and I felt good about it as well. Who knows, maybe I'm not as jaded as I thought. It's just I believe in the golden rule, Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you and I would never go to someone's door at any time, nor call them on the phone, trying to sell them something. If you want to sell me something, send me an email. You've got a better chance that way than coming to my door, especially if my email filter doesn't catch it.