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: , , ,

The higher the high

 My MCL  3 Responses »
Aug 182010
 

The further there is to fall.

As if it wasn’t bad enough I started having withdrawal pains Monday night about not riding my bike, after not riding for about a week, and then over sleeping yesterday morning, and not able to get a ride in before work [and it was too hot afterwards], today I had a visit with my oncologist, and discovered my platelets dropped to a minuscule 112 thou/cumm, well below the norm of 140 to 400 thou/cumm.

I had noticed a little more fullness in my spleen the last couple of days, but that isn’t really anything unusual. I often have those feelings. They come and go all the time. Even this morning they seemed to have dissipated, and I felt good riding the bike, but that was before seeing my oncologist.

Of course now I am experiencing a sensation of fullness again, along with a some feelings of trepidation. Low platelets and fullness in the spleen is a good indication of a malfunctioning spleen, especially when all my other counts were essentially stable.

It’s as if I’m being punished for having had such a great time this past weekend, and/or pissing off that friend of mine a week or two ago.

My best hope is it was a lab error, and if not, a few good hard bike rides, might shock my body into recovering. I will definitely be riding my bike into work tomorrow.

Or maybe it’s the 1000 IU of vitamin D I just started taking a couple of weeks ago. I knew there was a reason I don’t like taking supplements.

Oh well, stay tuned. I’ll know more next week. I’ve got another blood test scheduled for Monday.

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 Posted by Marc at 3:34 pm  Tagged with: ,

The saga continues

 Diagnosis, My MCL  4 Responses »
Sep 222009
 

Saw my hematologist today, and we decided the best thing to do is wait another month.

We talked about possible treatments, and I was glad to hear she (my hematologist) was amenable to using Rituximab as a single agent therapy instead of going for all out chemo. I was also interested to learn she was surprised my platelets were as high as they were, considering the size of my spleen. She has seen several others patients, with smaller spleens than mine, exhibiting much lower platelet counts.

Removal of the spleen is another possibility, and could provide several years of relief, but there are a few downsides to that approach. Not only would I be off the bike for a few months, it will require the taking of antibiotics for many years, or even the rest of my life, until other organs take up the spleens functions, and the lymphoma has been known to spread to those other organs, including the liver, which would not be desirable outcome.

She even mentioned the possibility of radiation to the spleen, but I’m not too keen on that idea.

But after 7½ years of not needing treatment, and even entertaining the thought I may never need treatment, the decision to wait at least another month wasn’t a difficult one to make. After all, except for an enlarged spleen, I feel [mostly] fine. Plus I’m still convinced the green tea is the cause of the rapid drop in platelets, rather than a change in my lymphoma or my greatest fear, bone marrow failure.

So in the mean time, I’m going to cut back my green tea intake [again] to about 3 cups of tea a day from 4 cups a day, and my hematologist ordered new cytogentic tests, AKA Flourescence in Situ Hybridization (FISH) to see if anything has changed in my chromosomal makeup, i.e. new translocations, deletions, additions etc.

Based on those results, and the results of next months blood test, we should have a better handle on what, if anything, is going on. Plus it will give me more time to do additional research, and consult with some of other lymphoma specialists, I have had contact with since my diagnosis, including a few at the lymphoma conference Edie and I will be attending in San Francisco next month.

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 Posted by Marc at 9:05 pm  Tagged with: ,

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