Skip to main content

Update on Dr. Hamblin

I just learned Dr. Hamblin (referenced in my previous post) is actually in palliative care, where the intent is to nurse patients back to better health through nutrition, etc. (?) rather than in hospice care, where they have given up all hope.

That certainly is good news.

Now, hopefully everything else will start turning for the better as well!
Labels:

Comments

Becky said…
It is! My friend Elmo was found "suitable" for parole today by the Board and now we hold our breath and wait for the Governor. Wouldn't that be something after 30+ years?
3:15 PM
Kitera said…
Hi, my friend was recently diagnosed with MCL. After hideous side effects from just 2 chemo treatments, he (and his wife) have opted for no more. My question is more directed toward your wife, Edie: how is she dealing with all of this? How has she gotten past the shock of the disease, to get to a more productive, planning stage? Any suggestions for my friend's wife (his caregiver) on how to mentally get moving, instead of letting anxiety (and the odds that she will be on her own in 2-5 years for the first time in her life) rule?
7:19 AM
Marc said…
WOW! That's a tough one. It's tough because I know from a cursory view of my blog, it may appear I am the only one with the problem. That just isn't the case.

Compared to my wife, some might actually believe I wasn't sick at all. It's not that I don't have issues, because I do, it's just compared to my wife, they are small.

My wife was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, I'm guessing about 4, maybe 5 years ago. Since that time she has undergone various treatment protocols, including an autologous stem cell transplant. Currently she is relatively stable, but needs to take Velcade on a regular basis to keep her that way. She is also on Social Security disability due to severe neuropathy in her hands and feet (a side effect of the Velcade).

I don't post much about her condition although I have posted some [click here], because I choose not to think about it. That would likely only make me more depressed than I already am.

So, while I may not be the best person to ask advice on this topic, I will just say to tell your friend to try not to dwell on the negative. Simply focus on the here and now, and try to enjoy whatever time you have left while you can.

One of my favorite sayings is:
The future is just a concept we use to avoid living today
I know that's certainly easier said than done, but.......
8:51 AM
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