If I weren’t one of the unluckiest people

 Life, My MCL, Philosophy  No Responses »
Dec 122011
 

I was talking to someone I’ve known for a number of years recently, and he happened to mention he only had $45 in the bank. At first I didn’t believe him, but he was adamant. He’s married, with one kid, and earning what I believe to be a half way decent wage, and he only has $45 in the bank?? How can that be? Sure I know there are likely many in that situation, but I felt a lot better when I thought I didn’t know anyone in that position.

Couple that with just learning another friend is experiencing a reemergence of his lymphoma (he was initially diagnosed after me), and is starting treatment again today, things don’t seem to be boding well for the new year.

Of course that got me thinking. [Something I really need to stop doing.] How is it I have been so fortunate in life, where so many others have not? How have I been able to dodge so many bullets put in my path? Even a diagnosis with a very aggressive variant of lymphoma hasn’t been as devastating [yet], has it has been for many others. And I have a few other friends who have health issues that seem a lot more disconcerting than an enlarged spleen and some fatigue. And I won’t even to go into everything Edie has had to endure.

Now some may argue it’s just been a matter of good planning, and that is certainly open for debate, but considering everything going on around me and in the world, I can’t help but think, lots of people plan, and it doesn’t always work out. I think there a saying about “the best laid plans…….”

In the end, I believe it’s simply the luck of the draw, which reminds me of another saying someone once told me

I’d rather be lucky than good any day!

I think that pretty well sums things up for me!

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 Posted by Marc at 6:37 am  Tagged with: ,

Deep thoughts [AKA A little rant]

 Health Care, My MCL, Politics, Treatments  No Responses »
Nov 102011
 

I was thinking last night (I do that whenever I have trouble sleeping), and I’ve come to the realization, in the nearly 10 years since my diagnosis with MCL (when I was personally awoken to the issue of cancer), there has been a lot of research done, and too many to fathom clinical trials performed, yet there has been very little [monumental] advancement in the way we deal with and treat cancer.

We’ve managed to map the entire human genome. We’ve even come close to discovering the causes of [at least one] cancer, yet there is still no cure, and our approach to treating cancer remains, as it has been for the past 50+ years, to do nothing more than infuse deadly chemicals into the body, in hopes of destroying the cancerous cells. Even one of the biggest advances recently in the treatment of lymphoma, has been the reemergence of Bendamustine, an alkylating agent developed in East Germany in the 1960′s.

Yeah, there have been strides made in the use of stem cell transplantation (SCT), and there have even been some new blockbuster drugs that have come on to the market, e.g. Rituxan, Gleevic and Velcade, but they have done little, aside from maybe delaying the inevitable for a few more years, to advance a cure. And even those approaches have their limitations, especially in the case of SCT’s, which can produce debilitating side effects, i.e. graft vs host disease (GVHD), that in some cases may be worse than the disease.

You’d just think after all these years, with all the great minds and other resources available in this country, and around the world, there would have been greater strides made towards finding a cure for cancer, or at the very least develop new and safer drugs for the treatment of cancer.

What’s even more depressing is with the political upheaval in the US, it appears further advancements related to all types of health issues will be greatly hindered. There are already critical drug shortages showing up around the country, and expected cuts to funding for the National Institute of Health (NIH), portend few [if any] advancements for the foreseeable future.

The principle reason I’ve delayed treatment so long has been the hope something better would come along, but it seems I’m going to have to wait just a little [a lot] longer.

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 Posted by Marc at 7:11 am  Tagged with:

It’s all good again [mostly]

 My MCL  4 Responses »
Nov 022011
 

WOW! 3 posts in as many days, but if you feel inundated with too much information, don’t worry. I doubt it will continue. This news just couldn’t wait.

The results of my colonography are in, and all is well. No polyps or other extraneous stuff. Thank goodness I’m not going to have to go through that again, for at least another couple of years. Hopefully by then I will have forgotten the misery I endured.

But it gets even better.

A retest of my blood counts showed the approximate same drop in lymphocyte count to 55 thou/mcL (which is within normal lab variation at this lymphocyte level), but my platelets were back up to 159 thou/mcL.

Not sure why the increase in platelets, other than the fact I did do a pretty intense bike ride Tuesday morning (which I’m told will cause an increase in platelets), and I cut back [very] slightly on the green tea. Regardless of the reason, it is reassuring.

I guess the best thing I can do for myself is try to increase the intensity of my bike rides (my enthusiasm on the bike has been waning as of late), which at this time of year is a lot easier said than done.

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 Posted by Marc at 5:00 pm  Tagged with: , , ,

Green tea working too good?

 My MCL  2 Responses »
Oct 312011
 

It’s seems ironic that shortly after blogging about how green tea has shown some efficacy with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) my lymphocyte count would drop about 30%.

After hovering around 70 to 90 thou/mcL for the past 2 years, my absolute lymphocyte count dropped to 46 thou/mcL today. Normally I would be delighted with those results, if it weren’t for the fact my platelets also dropped to 128 thou/mcL (ref range 130-400) after ranging between 150 to 170 thou/mcL over the same time frame.

I did experience a similar drop in platelet count last year, to 112 thou/mcL, after returning from the Aureole Wine Weekend in Vegas. It did rebound the following month, and since Edie and I attended a wine tasting of Howell Mountain [mostly] Cabernet Sauvignon’s yesterday (which BTW were above average good), I’m going to assume that was the reason for the drop, and it will rebound next month.

Not sure why the lymphocytes dropped. I have increased my green tea intake to between 7 and 8 cups a day from 5 to 6 cups, so maybe that had something to do with it, but I think the most likely scenario is the lab just screwed up, and it was a bad test. I’d like to think maybe after 9+ years, my body has finally figured out what ails me, and has found the right defense, although I doubt that to be the case.

Time will tell!

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 Posted by Marc at 5:31 pm  Tagged with: , , ,

Angiogenisis [and green tea]

 General Health, My MCL  6 Responses »
Oct 242011
 

I know this topic may not sound that enticing, but bear with me. You might find it of some value.

A couple of weeks ago, while sitting at the coffee shop, one of the old[er] timers, who we used to ride with, stopped by. We hadn’t seen him in awhile, and were surprised to learn he was recovering from bypass surgery. He had a heart attack.

WOW! A heart attack. That’s not something I think about a lot, or at all for that matter. Why should I? I have Mantle Cell Lymphoma, and I’ve planned my life around that. Not having a heart attack.

I was more interested to find out he didn’t realize it at the time. It was only after he went to the doctor, because he wasn’t feeling so good, and had a blood test, did he learn he had a heart attack. I’ve heard that before, but it never dawned on me it actually happens.

The explanation he was given for the mildness of the heart attack was while he had [I think it was] 2 blocked arteries, because he was in such good physical condition the body compensated for that by producing additional blood vessels around the blocked arteries to allow for blood flow to and from the heart. A process known as angiogenisis.

I’ve known about angiogenisis. It’s the process by which cancers (hard tumor cancers) metastasize, and stopping it is a major consideration in the treatment of cancer. What I didn’t know is it’s also the body’s natural response to healing, including blocked arteries, and while I couldn’t find any studies disputing the correlation between physical condition and angiogenisis, it’s doubtful, at least in my opinion, that was the case.

Coincidentally, there has been some discussion on one of my message boards relating to angiogenisis, where I learned it’s the result of the body releasing a cytokine known as Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF). I also learned, based on a Phase I study performed at the Mayo Clinic, it is believed the use of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), the major component of green tea, can inhibit the VEGF cytokine, and result in the reduction of the number of leukemia cells in patients with CLL. Something I have direct knowledge of.

Since starting to drink large quantities of green tea (6 to 8 cups a day), I have seen a marked decrease of 25% in my absolute lymphocyte count, with all other counts remaining stable, except for a drop in my platelet count (although still above normal), another direct result of the green tea.

So at least for me, my embrace of green tea has been vindicating, but it may not be for everyone. Nothing is without consequence. You always have to take some bad with the good. If you’re worried about a heart attack, green tea might not be for you, but if you have CLL [or MCL] you might want to consider it.

It’s true I don’t have CLL, and while I have been cautioned by at least one expert, not to correlate my MCL with CLL, I do it anyways, since I have the leukemic phase of MCL, and my gut tells me otherwise. Remember, medicine is not an exact science.

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 Posted by Marc at 7:28 am  Tagged with: , , , , ,

Better late than never

 General Health, My MCL, Treatments  1 Response »
Oct 102011
 

Well, I managed to survive my colonography. I’m just not sure it’s a preferred alternative to a standard colonoscopy.

I still had to go through the cleansing process, and to my surprise they still had to stick this instrument (for lack of the correct term) up my butt, in order to fill my colon with air, before starting the scan. (For some reason, I didn’t think I was going to have to endure all that.)

The hardest part was trying to relax enough to keep from pushing the “instrument” back out, which seemed like it could easily be done.

Plus, the scan had to be performed while on my stomach and back. This required me to turn over half way through the procedure, which was made more problematic by that “instrument” sticking out my backside.

I can only imagine how comical this must have all been to those in attendance.

All I will add is, if you don’t have a good reason for a colonography, e.g. an enlarged spleen, go with a colonoscopy. I think it takes less time, and you should be able to request sedation if you’re so inclined.

Now all that remains is finding out the results. I’m not in any hurry, since I’m not sure how I’ll respond or what I’ll decide to do should the results be unfavorable, so I’ll just wait for my appointment the beginning of November.

I doubt that I’d be willing to go through a colonography anytime soon, so I am hoping for the best.

Stay tuned!

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 Posted by Marc at 6:03 am  Tagged with: ,
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