26
Jun

There is no magic bullet

categories Diagnosis, My MCL     Comments (1)       

I just hate it when people ask me for advice about what I’ve done [and am still doing] to keep my MCL at bay for so long. I hate it because I really don’t have a good answer, and I don’t want to mislead anyone.

Sure I drink a lot of green tea, and a lot of red wine, but I’m not really convinced they have been effective in holding my MCL at bay. There just isn’t any scientific evidence proving their efficacy. I am hopeful, and believe that in moderation, taking only what can be obtained naturally, can’t do any harm. I won’t take and EGCG or Reservatrol supplements.

The main reason I drink lots of green tea is to ensure I hydrate myself enough, and I drink red wine, well… because I like it.

There are however, some practices I follow which I believe have been effective in extending my longevity, i.e. restricting caloric intake, and intense exercise, but I haven’t seen any scientific evidence to prove the effectiveness of those practices either, although there is this one anectdotal study on the restriction of caloric intake by Arthur B. Robinson, which seems plausible to me.

So despite everything I continue to do, I don’t have any illusions that there is a magic bullet out there. Principally, I believe it is just the luck of the draw, that has allowed me to last this long [without treatment], and the fact I likely received my MCL diagnosis earlier than most people.

Of course that doesn’t mean I won’t keep looking for that magic bullet either, nor do I plan to stop riding my bike, or drinking green tea and red wine.

30
May

The green tea phenomenon

categories Diagnosis, My MCL     Comments (10)       

Despite being a heavy drinker of green tea since my diagnosis, mainly for its cancer prevention, and hopefully cancer curing qualities, I recently have developed a new found enthusiasm for green tea.

Now whether it has been the green tea I have been drinking for the past 6+ years, my heavy exercise routine, or just pure chance that has kept my MCL stable, or at least [very] slow progressing, for the past 7+ years is certainly open to debate, but based on past research, I have chosen to believe green tea has at least helped to some degree.

So what has given me this new found enthusiasm?

Well, a friend of mine, and cycling buddy, was recently diagnosed with bladder cancer, and knowing my daily regimen called to ask my advice on green tea. He had already done a lot of research on the subject, so when I told him my obsession with green tea consisted principally of drinking the least expensive, decaffeinated green tea available (Trader Joe’s brand of 18 tea bags for $3, and more recently Fresh & Easy’s brand of 40 tea bags for $2), I felt like a neophyte on the subject.

I’ve always drank decaffeinated tea, because before my diagnosis I would get heart palpitations which I attributed to my drinking too much coffee. I knew that was the case, because after giving up coffee and caffeine completely, the palpitations stopped.

So in collaboration with my friend, (more…)

13
Apr

Fatigue

categories Cycling, Diagnosis, My MCL     Comments (2)       

I’m sure I pissed off a few people on the MCL message board today with my comments about fatigue, and I’ll probably piss a few more people off with this latest post, but I can’t help myself. I actually enjoy sparking controversy sometimes, it helps get the juices flowing, not to mention fatigue is one of my favorite topics, second only maybe to discussions on the US health care system, or lack there of.

There seems to be constant discussion about fatigue on all the message boards, not just the MCL board, but it all boils down to lymphoma survivors claiming bouts of fatigue, after chemo, a transplant, or just from having lymphoma, without any logical explanation, e.g. low hemoglobin (around 10 g/dl), EBV, CFIDS, all which can be checked for.

I have to admit I am of the opinion of most of the doctors, who have little sympathy for these patients, that fatigue in the absence of a low hemoglobin etc. is mostly psychological.

Certainly there is the fatigue associated with receiving chemo or getting a transplant, but that is just the body’s natural reaction to be infused with deadly chemicals. I liken it to how I feel after an intense 70 mile bike ride.

I’M WHOOPED!

But eventually I recover, and in a day or two, I’m good to go, and do it all over again.

I’d even be willing to give all the sufferers of fatigue the benefit of the doubt, that going through chemo and/or a transplant is a lot harder on the body then a simple bike ride, but it doesn’t change my belief, in the absence of a low hemoglobin etc. fatigue is psychological.

I am fatigued every freakin’ morning, and just trying to get going is by far the most difficult thing I have to do every day. It would just be so simple to stay in bed, or sit on the couch all day watching TV, wallowing in my sorrow, feeling sorry for myself.

I just refuse to let it get to me, and I force myself to get out of that bed, and do something, whatever it is [usually a bike ride or golfing], because I know the more time I spend doing absolutely nothing, the easier it is to keep doing absolutely nothing.

So my advice to everyone is to get your butts out of bed, or off the couch and do something. You can start off slow, and build up your endurance. It will take time, but you’ll feel a lot better about yourself, and then you’ll even have that logical explanation for feeling fatigued.

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