My MCL | Living with MCL

One less thing to worry about

Bypass Surgery (CAD), General Health, My MCL, My Well Being 1 Response »

May 112013

Not that it did much to put a stop to the way I’ve been feeling the past several days [or weeks], but I received the results of my latest blood test, and all was good. Well at least it was all the same as it has been.

Sure my lymphocyte count was still high, but no higher or lower than it’s been for the past 3+ years, as was my hemoglobin, platelets and just about everything else.

Even my creatinine phosphokinase (CPK) was fine. That was a test ordered by my primary care physician (PCP) because of some unusual bone and neck pains I was experiencing as of late, which I was thinking may be caused by the Lipitor I’m currently taking for cholesterol.

So now all I have left to worry about are the intermittent pains I’m continuing to experience in my chest. My PCP doesn’t think it’s angina, suggesting it could be the result of nerve damage from the CABG surgery, but has authorized another treadmill test, to hopefully rule out any problems.

I always thought I should have had another treadmill test sooner than later, so this seems like as good a time as any! We’ll see if that does anything to improve my mood. Assuming the results are all good that is!

Life changing experiences

Bypass Surgery (CAD), General Health, Life, My MCL, My Well Being 4 Responses »

May 012013

I’m sure lots of people will say they’ve had life changing experiences. I even thought I had one back on March 26, 2002, when I received the results of the blood test which eventually led to my diagnosis of MCL. (It’s scary how easily some people can be fooled, especially when it’s yourself.)

While that certainly changed my life, for the better I would add, it can in no way compare to the truly life changing experience of having heart surgery.

I am definitely not the same person I was 6 months ago, before my surgery, not physically or emotionally. Sure, I’m able to do most of the things I enjoy, but not with the same zeal or confidence I once had. From the moment I awake in the morning, to the point I’m finally able to drag myself out of bed, so goes the rest of my day. Every ache and pain, whether real or nuanced, causes me pause. Should I simply ignore it, should I call the doctor, or should I just simply give up?

So far I’ve [mostly] chosen the first, but more and more the latter seems like the better choice, and it’s all I can do not to succumb. (My previous post is a good indication of that.)

I’m just beginning to wonder if I will ever get back to at least some semblance of where I was before?

Birthdays! What are they good for?

Life, My MCL 2 Responses »

Apr 032013

It’s been over 11 years since my diagnosis of MCL. It’s been so long, much like my birthday, I chose not to even think about it.

The only thing birthdays are good for is knowing how soon you’ll be eligible for Medicare (less than 2 months for me now), and what new discounts I’m eligible for from local, regional or national retailers.

Birthdays are nothing but a reminder of why that new pain you woke up with, or acquired during the day, for no apparent reason, is now making you miserable.

Worst of all, birthdays are a reminder things aren’t going to get any better. They’re a reminder of why you can’t do what you were once able to do. The mind is willing (at least in my case), but the body just doesn’t want to respond.

We are of course all different, and many can withstand the inevitable longer than others. Heck, I even know a few, which makes this even more disheartening.

Oh well, such is life! I could go on complaining more, but what would be the point?

The best thing to do now is to simply pass on, to those who can still benefit, two little bits of wisdom I’ve acquired over the past many years, and that is don’t ever get old, but also realizing the inevitability of life, never forget

the future is just a concept we use to avoid living today

A Cure For Cancer? Eating A Plant-Based Diet

General Health, Life, My MCL, Treatments 3 Responses »

Mar 042013

I’m not 100% convinced yet, especially after hearing terms like ‘casein’, “enzymes’, or ‘making the body more acidic’, but the evidence sure seems to be mounting.

From Huffpost Healthy Living

KF: What exactly is so bad about animal protein?

TCC: I don’t choose the word “exactly” because it suggests something very specific. Rather, casein causes a broad spectrum of adverse effects.

Among other fundamental effects, it makes the body more acidic, alters the mix of hormones and modifies important enzyme activities, each of which can cause a broad array of more specific effects. One of these effects is its ability to promote cancer growth (by operating on key enzyme systems, by increasing hormone growth factors and by modifying the tissue acidity). Another is its ability to increase blood cholesterol (by modifying enzyme activities) and to enhance atherogenesis, which is the early stage of cardiovascular disease.

And finally, although these are casein-specific effects, it should be noted that other animal-based proteins are likely to have the same effect as casein.

Click here to read the entire article.

It was the job all along

Bypass Surgery (CAD), My MCL, Work Comments Off

Feb 132013

I’m beginning to think had I not retired when I did, I might not have made it to today.

The other day I was having a conversation, with the salesman at work, concerning a problem a customer is having with some parts we manufactured. (I say we because I do still work [sorta], although for what they pay me, and how much time I spend, it more appropriately should be referred to as a hobby.) The customer was claiming the problem was ours, when, in my opinion, the problem lies in the way they heat treated the parts.

Anyways, after the conversation, knowing I was a little amped up, I took my blood pressure, something I do quite often nowadays, and discovered my BP was up to 159/93. I was shocked, to say the least, and it wasn’t until an hour and a half later, when I guess I calmed down enough, that my BP finally returned to within its normal range (118/72).

When I was working full time, this sort of aggravating situation was increasingly becoming the norm, and was a contributing reasons I did retire. It seems all the intelligent people have left their companies as well. Maybe they discovered much earlier what I’ve just learned Had I known what it was doing to my blood pressure, at the time, I might have retired sooner.

So the moral of this story, and something I hope everyone takes away from my experience, is don’t let your job consume your life. Don’t be, or become, one of those “Type A” personalities. Your body just won’t take it for very long.

What I think about Lance Armstrong

Cycling, Life, My MCL 4 Responses »

Jan 192013

No doubt a number of people will disagree with me here, but I don’t care. After having watched the entire Lance Armstrong interview with Oprah Winfrey, I don’t care that he doped, and I don’t care that he perpetrated that lie for so long.

What I am, is disappointed. As a fellow cancer survivor, I find it difficult to believe, having gone through what he did in fighting testicular cancer, that anyone, let alone Lance Armstrong, would ever do something as stupid as dope. I never would have. At least I don’t think I would, but having never been in the position of an elite athlete, I can only assume I would have been smarter than that.

But as a cyclist, I’m also a little biased, and despite the doping, I can’t help but marvel at what he was able to accomplish. 7 Tour d’France wins! I know how grueling the sport of cycling can be at times, even at my level, and I know how cruel life can be as well, so I can relate to some extent. Maybe even be a little sympathetic.

Maybe it’s naive of me to accept Lance’s coming clean as something noble, but I do. I also believe he was treated unfairly, and hounded far beyond what other athletes had to endure under similar situations. Some might say it was because he had reached a level greater than that of other athletes, but that doesn’t excuse anything. He still has to pay the price. I just happen to believe he is sincere when he says he is remorseful.

My only regrets are the damage he’s inflicted on the sport of cycling, and a few individuals, but mostly it’s that all the good he was able to accomplish in promoting cancer awareness, and aiding those fighting it, has now been tainted.

He was an inspiration to many of us, and now that is gone.

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