LIVING WITH MCL

Ok, so it was only just over $900 worth of wine (that just didn't sound as dramatic). Still that's a lot of wine! Even if some of them are a little on the pricey side. And that's on top of spending close to $800 for groceries this month, which believe it or not has been about average for us so far this year. Is it even possible for two people to eat $700+ worth of food in a month? No wonder there's no room in the refrigerator [or freezer], and I never seem to be able to find what I'm looking for. (I just found a bag of flour tortillas this morning with a January 19th sell by date.) So is that what happens when you stop working? You spend too much time shopping, and you lose all track of money as well as time. [Or is this what inflation looks like?] I'm not going to make my 20 year plan if I keep this pace up. Of course maybe I won't have to. :) [note]On a positive note, we have managed to reduce our gasoline expenses by about $50 a month. I likely would have...

I wish I could write those catchy little articles that inspire others to do things, or that just make you laugh like so many others I come in contact with, but alas that just isn't me. Heck I have enough trouble reading the catchy little articles of others, let alone write them. Anywaze, it looks like the sun has come out for now, giving us a short respite from the pretty intense storm we had yesterday and this morning. The bad news is, it's supposed to start all over again on Wednesday, so I'd better start enjoying it while I can. Fortunately no longer having to go into work does give me a leg up in that respect. I'm now on my 4th oncologist, in just over 6 years. Oncologists/Hematologists, at the VA, are all Fellows (except for the one attending physician who fortunately doesn't change), only obligated for 3 year stints [or less as I recently discovered], so I am used to change. I just wasn't expecting it so soon, as my most recent doctor decided he couldn...

Reading is something that occupies the time of many people who aren't working. I know because I have two friends, who are retired, that do a lot of reading. Unfortunately though, I'm not one of those persons. It's not that I don't read at all. I actually have read a couple of books I enjoyed, including " The Hunt for Red October ", and " The Good Soldiers ". I even read Alan Greenspan's book " The Age of Turbulence ". It's just they took me more than a day or even a week to read. Considerably more! And lately, I just can't seem to get through anything. I recently bought the biography of Theodore Roosevelt " Theodore Rex ", thinking I might enjoy that, but it's been over two months now, and I'm barely 10% of the way through it. Every time I sit down to read, I start getting drowsy. About all I have been able to read are short magazine and newspaper articles, but I even end up having to skim them some of the time...

Every now and then I actually post something pertinent to my disease, and while I'm not really posting anything here, I am directing you to another website , which I consider of invaluable importance for anyone suffering with leukemia or lymphoma. Rituxan is one of those drugs that has definitely proven its worth over time. Used in combination with other chemo drugs [and often times alone], it has increased the period of progression free survival (PFS), and the overall survival (OS) for those suffering from leukemia or lymphoma. But despite being a wonder drug, and not really considered chemotherapy per se, that doesn't mean it isn't without its side effects and complications. Nor does it mean it won't [still] be my drug of choice (initially as a single agent therapy), when the time comes to start treatment, even after reading this article . So if you're one of those people with leukemia or lymphoma, this is definitely a must read , as you either have or will be tak...

I came across this interesting article in this months San Francisco magazine . It's about Steve Kirsch , a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, who founded several companies, including Infoseek, and his committed efforts, in time and money, to finding a cure for Waldenström’s Macroglobulinemia , a disease he was diagnosed with in July of 2007. The article also mentions several other high profile entrepreneurs, who have made similar commitments after being diagnosed with deadly diseases, including Steve Case (AOL), Sergey Brin (Google) and Larry Ellison (Oracle). Now while I admire these individuals for what they have accomplished in their lives, and their efforts to fight their disease, for me it raises much larger questions. Why does it take a disaster or the diagnosis of a deadly disease to make people spring into action? And why are the efforts of these individuals only directed towards their particular diseases? In my opinion, it just isn't enough these individuals are trying to d...