Category: My lymphoma and related medical stuff

Saw Dr. Casper this morning prior to getting the rituxin. I’d never met him – he is covering for Dr. Mills. He is evidently the head physician for all the MSK satellite offices and usually practices out of NJ. Anyway the blood results were "respectable". My hemoglobin was down a little, and I think some…

Ambien is the most prescribed sleep medication in the country. I’d never heard of it until my chemotherapy. I used it several times (in the lower 5 mg. dose, not the full 10mg.) and it worked very well. Here’s an almost amusing article inthe NYT on some potential problems and side effects! Some Sleeping Pill…

Tomorrow I start my once a week treatment (for four weeks) of rituxin. It takes about 3 hours by IV and I’ll be getting it at the MSK branch in Sleepy Hollow. I will see one of the physicians there first, and ask him about my sore throat, which is lessened, but still there. I…

Today is the five week anniversary of my discharge after the high dose chemo and stem cell transplant. And here’s what’s going on. The fatigue factor continues to gradually lesson, but is still there. My taste buds are now making a nice recovery and are almost back to normal. I have a slightly sore throat,…

Stay tuned, but I think I’ve detected the beginnings of peach fuzz on my lower and upper lips. You have to start somewhere.

Today is the 30th day after my discharge. My progress in getting over the general tiredness seems to have hit a plateau in the last four or five days with no noticeable improvement. I did have my first drink in a long while Saturday night at a small birthday party gathering. A glass of champagne…

The Journal had a great editorial yesterday on the progress that has been made in treating cancer in the last few years. Unfortunately the Journal website is subscriber only, so putting the link up won’t allow anyone to read the article. And they have not posted it on their opinion site (opinionjournal.com), which is free.…

Saw Dr. Kewalramani this morning. Got there for 10:30 appointment a couple of minutes early, and was actually done by about 11:20, which is some sort of record. Everything continues to go well, with only my hemaglobin slightly blow normal range (it is 11.2 and normal is 12-14). I will start next week on Rituxin,…

This from today’s NY Times.Stem Cells May Be Key to Cancer – New York Times Here are the first three paragraphs: "One day, perhaps in the distant future, stem cells may help repair diseased tissues. But there is a far more pressing reason to study them: stem cells are the source of at least some,…

Plenty of hospitals frown on cell phone use in patient areas. Slaon Kettering is in the minrity that does not. Turns out there’s really no problem.AOL News – No Ill Effects Found in Hospital Cellphone Use