Skip to main content

Four more years

I was reading an article in the most recent AARP magazine about Bill Clinton and his decision to become a vegan. Clinton traces that decision back to [angina] pain he was experiencing one morning in 2010 (6 years after quadruple bypass surgery), which resulted in him requiring a stent because one of [the grafted] veins "had given out".

I did some additional research (on the internet) and discovered the vein hadn't actually given out, as reported in the AARP article, but rather it had become clogged. Further research revealed
Cardiac experts say that the blockage of grafted heart vessels is not unusual in bypass patients. Depending on whether the grafts are veins or arteries — the former being smaller and less flexible than the latter — blockage could occur as soon as five years or as late as 10 years following the initial surgery. Schwartz said the bypass graft that was blocked in Clinton's case has about a 10% to 20% failure rate at five to six years.

Maybe I'll be luckier than Bill. Since I only had double bypass surgery, I'm hoping the one vein they did use, in my case, was bigger and more flexible, and it won't become clogged as quick. Plus a "10% to 20% failure rate" isn't such terrible odds.

To think only a short 11 years ago, I thought MCL would be my only concern. At the time, a few knowledgeable people told me I was more likely to die of something other than my lymphoma. I didn't believe them then, but now I'm quickly becoming a believer.

Maybe it's time I start thinking about becoming a vegan myself. At least I won't have to give up  my wine.

BIG SIGH :(
Labels:

Comments

Gina said…
Just wanted to say hi and that I am glad you are posting. I found you just this afternoon after following a link from another site. I am an MCl survivor. Diagnosed 1/2022, 4 rounds hyper-cvad-R, BEAM, Auto SCT, Now Rituxan. I am in heart failure because of the Adriamycin. Medication is keeping me feeling perfectly normal. I'm a wife and mom. I am a social worker and educator. Just wanted you to know finding you helped me today........ So, thanks. My best to you and yours,


Gina Blakeslee
2:58 AM
Marc said…
Thanks for the comment Gina, and glad to hear you're doing well despite the side effects of Adrimycin.

The only thing, somehow I don't think you were diagnosed in 2022. :)

Best wishes for the future.
3:09 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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...
5 comments
Read more

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...
6 comments
Read more

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...
11 comments
Read more