My lymphoma and related medical stuff

It’s Monday morning and I got out of Sloan a week ago, last Monday evening. Things are going almost identically to how they went after RICE #1. Pretty fatigued three to five days after the chemo, and then gradually feeling better. I went to the gym yesterday in the late afternoon, rode the bike for … Read more

Thursday and Friday were quiet days – the fatigue was in play! Did get to the gym this evening for a brief bike ride (14 minutes – just to warm up) and then did about 75% of my weights program. As always, felt good after the gym. Tim reminded me that he had to watch … Read more

The fatigue pattern from RICE session #2 is very close to what it was for RICE #1. Here’s what I posted 72 hours after RICE #1 Tom Faranda’s Folly: Nap time. The pattern is very similar. This morning I worked out of the house for a couple of hours, and went to the office for … Read more

So, I am finished my out-patient and in-patient chemotherapies – the preliminaries! Now I get to gear up for the “high dose chemo” with an autologous stem cell transplant. (By the way the word “autologous” is not in the microsoft word dictionary – I just had to add it.) See here for the logic of … Read more

Well, probably not. Here’s the article – fair and balanced. this link may only be free for a week. If they ask you to register with the Times, it’s free and easy. Is There a Link Between Stress and Cancer? – New York Times Note – if you cannot access the article, leave a comment … Read more

Well I am back home Monday night. Judy Anderson picked me up this evening. We left Sloan a few minutes to 6 and I was back home by 7 o’clock. About the only thing that varied from the first RICE session, was that I needed red blood cells. My hemoglobin was down to 7.1. Normal … Read more

Well, as scheduled I am back for the second (and last) RICE  in-patient chemo. Took the train in, and then grabbed a taxi from Grand Central. I didn’t want anyone to drive me in, because I presumed traffic would be awful. But the reality was – traffic at least in the city was very light. … Read more

Brigid and I met with Dr. Zelenetz at 9:30 this morning and he laid out the upcoming plan. My second and last RICE chemotherapy is this weekend. I will then be injecting myself with Filgrastin, a medication designed to “speed the recovery of white blood cells after chemotherapy has been given”. I will do that … Read more

I got two bills today. One was for almost $22,000 from Memorial Sloan Kettering for my six day stay there. That was in July, for Nephrotic Syndrome. (Digression: this was caused by my lymphoma, and the triggering event for my current chemotherapy.) The letter with the three page bill said “your insurance carrier has paid … Read more