Living with MCL

As I sit here at my computer, staring outside at the overcast skys (a storm is brewing and expected to hit California sometime this afternoon or evening), and trying to motivate myself to go for a bike ride, I wonder, why am I doing this?

Is it because I want everyone to know what I am going thru, hoping more people will feel sorry for me? Is it because I think it will benefit others, who may know someone in a similar situation, to better empathize with them? Or is it just an outlet for my feelings, and a diary of my thoughts?

I choose the latter, simply because it would be selfish of me to think it was the first reason, and arrogant to think that I have the ability to help others. But like I have always said, you never know what you are capable of, or what affect you may have on others unless you try.

I did manage to motivate myself for a 44 mile bike ride this morning after all. I worked a little harder than I had planned, since I did a pretty hard ride on Saturday with Velo Allegro, a local bike club in the Long Beach area. But the only other rider who showed up for the ride was Ron, and he always likes to push it just a little bit. I was able to reign him in slightly though.

We also met up with the local Leukemia/Lymphoma Society Team in Training group (some of whom I coached last year) who was leaving about the same time, and rode with them part way. Of course I felt obligated to help out, and chased down the faster group. Oh well, you know what they say, “what doesn’t kill you, only makes you stronger.” I sure hope they’re right!

As for my golfing, I can only say that who ever invented that game, must have been a sadist. How can you play great one day, well not exactly great, but decent, and then turn around two days later, and play absolutely awful. I even started out with 3 pars on the first 4 holes on Friday, but ended up with a 101 and at least 4 balls lost or in the water. Maybe the best thing to do, would be to quit my job, or at least cut back more on work, and concentrate on golf. Or maybe I should cut back on golf?

I think cutting back on work is a better idea. Now I just have to convince my wife that she has to keep working, while I play. That shouldn’t be too tough, right?

The best news so far is that I have been successful in staying on my diet, and have managed to lose about 5 pounds over the past week. I think about half of that is water, but still it feels it is progress. I’m motivated myself by limiting the amount of time I plan on restricting my intake of food till the end of March. By then I should be at my desired weight (145 lbs – approximately 13 more to go), which I should be able to maintain with a regular exercise schedule. Now that the weather is getting warmer (knock on wood) that shouldn’t be too difficult.

Not much else to report. No other changes or significant occurrances to bore you all with. I’m sure this was plenty!

I’m a Lifer!

To you, a job is what pays the bills. You put in your hours, follow the rules, and then go home. Occasionally, you consider quitting, but then you think of how bad the job market is and you reconsider. Whatever happiness you get, you get from your life outside the workplace. Relationships, family, hobbies, and outside creative pursuits are what really matter to you. You’re probably taking this test at work because you don’t have anything better to do.

Talent: 41%
Lifer: 59%
Mandarin: 44%

Take the Talent, Lifer, or Mandarin quiz.

This is always the time of year I hate the most. I’m sure I’m not alone in that belief, but that still doesn’t make it any more reassuring.

This past week did, however, seem unlike any other I can remember in a long time. It’s not so much that it was cold in the mornings, which is typical most of the time for soCal, but its that the cold never seemed to mitigate throughout the day, making golfing and cylcing more difficult.

I still managed to get in 3 rounds of golf on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday last week, although Saturday was somewhat difficult due to the added rain. Fortunately it only rained for a total of 3 holes, but the sun only shined briefly, and it never warmed up any significant amount. I did manage to ride my bike on Friday, but haven’t ridden since then, and may just take off another couple of days to rest up. I was a little sore on Sunday, I hope from all the golfing I did the past week.

The biggest problem I have right now is, I just don’t seem to have a lot of energy, and I’m not sure if the cause is my MCL, or if it’s merely psychological due to the time of year, and other factors occurring at the same time. While my hemoglobin (Hg) is still above 13, which would be OK if I were a woman, it is below average for a man. That could be part of the problem, although most experts don’t believe you experience much of an impact until the Hg falls below 10.

My oncologist’s has finally got all his licensing and paperwork completed for his move to Corpus Christi, and his last day is the 23rd of February, so I had to schedule an appointment with my new oncologist. I’ve really grown attached to my current oncologist, so having to change could be adding to my lack of energy. (I hate to use the word depression.) I just hope my new oncologist is just as trainable.

Plus I am still gaining weight. I was up to 163 lbs this AM, and my old jeans actually fit me again. Some people still think I could stand to gain a few more pounds, but I don’t agree. My goal is to get back to 145 lbs, so I’m hoping to accomplish that by the end of March, just two months behind my original schedule.

The only bit of good news was an improved lymphocyte count as of my last blood test on Wednesday. The lymphocyte count dropped approximately 10K with all the other counts remaining relatively stable. Platelets, a major indicator of bone marrow performance, was still excellent at 263 (reference range 140-400). Still I’ve learned that one test does not a trend indicate, so before I can really get too excited, I have to wait for my follow up test in about two weeks.

Only time will tell. I’m still looking forward to my 40th high school reunion in September, so I am planning to make it until at least then.

Although the two topics are not necessarily related, I didn’t want to do two posts.

First, my wife found this one. This is old news, but since we’re both big wine drinkers (mainly Pinot Noir’s), I thought it was worth repeating. Whether the effects can be translated to humans is really a stretch at this point, since studies have only been performed on short lived species i.e. worms, fruit flies and small fish. Still, I figure anything to rationalize the enjoyment of wine has to be a good thing.

Red Wine Ingredient May Delay Aging

By Jennifer Warner – WebMD Medical News

A new study shows an ingredient found in red wine, …previously shown to prolong the life of worms and fruit flies, may extend the lifespan of vertebrate animals like fish and possibly humans.

Researchers found adding resveratrol, an organic compound found in grapes and particularly in red wine [more concentrated in Pinot Noir] , to the daily diet of short-lived fish prolonged their lifespan and delayed the onset of age-related memory and other problems.

Resveratrol is one of a group of antioxidant compounds called polyphenols found in red wine that has been reported to have anti-inflammatory as well as anticancer properties….

Red Wine Buys Time

Although prior studies have shown that resveratrol can prolong the life of extremely short-life species, such as yeast, fruit flies, and worms, researchers say large-scale, lifelong studies in more species with longer life spans, such as mice, are too expensive to conduct.

In this study, published in Current Biology, researchers examined the effects of resveratrol on a small type of fish that lives only three months in captivity.

The results showed that adding the red wine ingredient to the daily diet of the fish prolonged their expected life span and slowed the progression of age-related memory and muscular problems.

Researchers found fish fed the lower dose of resveratrol lived an average of 33% longer than fish fed their normal diets, while those fed the higher dose of the red wine ingredient lived more than 50% longer.

They say the findings suggest that resveratrol is the first compound to consistently prolong the life of several very different animal groups and could become the stepping stone for creating drugs to prevent age-related diseases in humans.

I came across this site after doing my usual review of the hundred plus blogs a peruse in a day. The site was established by Zach Goldsmith, who is studying to be an oncologist at Temple University. While this site is not specifically dedicated to blood and lymphatic cancers, if it lives up its intent, I believe it can be a learning experience for everyone.

Oncology Updates was created to document this unique period in medical oncology, in which molecular-based therapeutics and diagnostics are quickly revolutionizing this field. The articles on this site describe these current advances, and include links to relevant citations in the primary literature and reliable media sources. In the spirit of open-access information, replies and comments to any post on this site are strongly encouraged. Thanks for visiting!