Tomorrow will be the start of 4 days of dex for me. I’ll take 40 mg (10 tablets) in the morning each day, for 4 days. I haven’t done that since April, so I’m apprehensive about it. However, changing to this schedule may be better for me than taking 40 mg once [...]
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DATE 7/21/03 For more information contact:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Amie Fraley, 910-949-4000
Register Your Relay For Life Team Now
(Moore County) ó Moore Countyís Relay For Life is just around the corner. Register your team today by calling the 2004 event chairs, Amy Millard ñ949-2599 or Jackie Tyson ñ 949-0424. This ìcelebration of lifeî brings the Moore County community together [...]
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I had an appointment with Dr. Comeau at the UNC BT Center today. I liked the staff there. Everyone was extremely nice. UNC does their transplants inpatient, rather than outpatient (like Duke). I have a lot to think about. I learned something that I didn’t know before today. The [...]
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A few days ago I posted an entry about how my serum IgA didn’t move down between last month and this month. Here’s what my Dr. has to say about that:
It is not unusual for the rate of response to vary somewhat with time,
and it is quite possible that the next month’s value will [...]
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This was posted on the MM listserv at acor.org. I wanted to pass it on, because I know there are many out there who are not on the list.
Just a heads up to anyone who served in Viet Nam during that conflict or
Korea during 1968-69. The military has admitted to spraying Agent Orange [...]
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Tom Courbat has written a good article for Cancerlynx. It was posted in May, 2003, but I just found out about it.
Click here to read the article in a new window
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This is the van I got to replace the other one, which didn’t have cruise control. Originally, I was told that cruise could be installed. After waiting a few months for the cruise control to be installed, I finally lost my patience (on a dex day) and called the dealership to bite off [...]
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On Tuesday morning I have an appointment at the UNC BMT Center with the new doctor there. I’m not sure of the spelling, but it looks like his name is Terry Comeau. He’s not listed on the web site yet. http://cancer.med.unc.edu/patient/programs/bone-marrow.html
This appointment is for information gathering and to get a tour of the [...]
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There’s a short article in the latest issue of Vegetarian Times magazine that reports the findings of a UW Madison study done on the effects of meditation on the immune system. What the researchers did, was have 25 participants engage in an 8 week meditation training program (16 people in another group did not [...]
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I got the results from Dr. Orlowski from my labs yesterday. The IgA is about where it was last month. It’s at 824 mg/dL (was 829 last month). This is the first month since I started treatment that it didn’t go down. At least it didn’t go up, and I’m grateful [...]
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I had my monthly appointment at UNC with Dr. Orlowski today. I always like seeing him. He’s a terrific doctor. Starting in September, I’ll change the way I do my dex pulses. I’ll take 40 mg of dex 4 days in a row instead of taking it once a week. [...]
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This is an entry from Dan’s diary. He’s about to undergo a pbsct.
“Chase Peterson is a medical doctor and a former president of the University of Utah. He’s had multiple myeloma for the past four years, and he says he was days away from having an SCT when he decided he didn’t want to [...]
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AFLAC is currently denying my claim for using dexamethasone as chemo. They said that one must use at least 40 mg of dex to qualify. When I provided supporting documentation to show that I’m taking 40 mg of dex each week (and the initial 40 mg for 4 days on with 4 days [...]
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Gail Venanzi is creating a photo album of friends from the ACOR MM listserv, which can be found at http://www.photocean.com/myelomafriends.html
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Last month I had a 24 hour urine test, so I asked my doctor about the results.
Me: How did my 24-hr urine test look?
Dr. O: This looked good, with no detectable light chains.
Back on 3/24/2003, there was a detectable light chain (lambda), so this is an improvement.
My next appointment will be August 20th. Every [...]
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The Bush administration wants to be able to revoke the licenses of doctors who prescribe marijuana to sick and dying patients in states like California, where there’s state law that permits the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. In fact, they want to be able to revoke the doctor’s license for even TELLING a [...]
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I had an MRI and an ultrasound yesterday. The ultrasound was done first to rule out DVT as a cause of leg pain. I’ve been having pain in the right leg since June. We’ll see what the MRI says in the next couple of days, I suppose.
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This is the blood I found in the HLA test kit Duke sent to me back in February. I was about to throw it away, but decided to look at it. I’m glad I did, because it contained 2 tubes of someone’s blood. A 46 year-old female with type AB+ blood. This [...]
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I ordered a CD called “Healing Cancer: Meditations for Life (Empowering dreams and enriching lives through the art of meditation).” I’ve listened to it several times, and can say that it definitely relaxes me. A few time I even fell asleep. I’m going to try to keep up with the 2-3 times [...]
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I help out the Collie Rescue of the Carolinas, and sometimes there are stories that just break my heart. I wonder how people can be so cruel? If you have a companion animal, please make sure he or she is neutered or spayed. If a time comes when you can’t take care [...]
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My nephew Jacob had the party for his second birthday today! His birthday was July 31st. Click on an image to see the(very)large version in a new window.
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Before my diagnosis, I thought I wanted to have a master’s degree in network or information security. I took a few semesters off and decided to sign up for a few courses for fall semester. The more I think about it, the less I want to do it. Instead, I want to [...]
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There was some alarming news released by the Environmental Working Group about farmed salmon being contaminated with PCBs. Here are some quotes from the article, and a link to the full story. For now, I’ll buy just the wild salmon. It’s more expensive and has a fishier taste, but is worth it [...]
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Oral Care Should be Part of Cancer Management
Cancer treatment puts a patient at risk for complications that can affect
the teeth, gums and jaw. Consulting with a dentist prior to treatment can
help minimize these risks, as well as minimize the severity of
complications that do arise.
Click here to read the Cleveland Clinic Health Extra
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For the second week in a row, my INR has been in the therapeutic range (between 2 and 3). Each week I’ve been to the clinic to have my blood tested to see how I’m doing on Coumadin, which was prescribed to me to help prevent DVT (deep vein thrombosis), which is a possible [...]
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