and I don't intend to keep this thing particularly updated unless there is some sort of event or notable news.
and here's some news:
Click HERE.
For those of you who don't want to make the jump, its an article about Kareem Abdul Jabbar being diagnosed with CML. Wooo Hoooo, me and Kareem, blood buddies.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
Updates.
So I'm pretty happy.
I had my six month appointment on Monday, August 10 with Dr. Cripe and here are the results:
WBC - 3.7 (low, but not horrible).
Hgb - 13.9 (again, low, but not horrible).
Hct - 39.6 (yep, low, but not horrible)
Platelets - 157,000 (yeehaw, this one actually falls in the normal skew).
Anyway, the numbers above are not really troublesome, but they don't really tell much of a story. At this appointment they also took blood for my PCR-ABL test that quantifies the number of PH+ cells in my body. I can't really explain the scale of which its measured, but I went from a 4.01 in Feb 09 to a 2.04 in Aug 09. In short, the percentage of PH+ RNA molcules was cut in half. Really good numbers are in the 0.00x range, but at least its going down.
Onward and upward.
I had my six month appointment on Monday, August 10 with Dr. Cripe and here are the results:
WBC - 3.7 (low, but not horrible).
Hgb - 13.9 (again, low, but not horrible).
Hct - 39.6 (yep, low, but not horrible)
Platelets - 157,000 (yeehaw, this one actually falls in the normal skew).
Anyway, the numbers above are not really troublesome, but they don't really tell much of a story. At this appointment they also took blood for my PCR-ABL test that quantifies the number of PH+ cells in my body. I can't really explain the scale of which its measured, but I went from a 4.01 in Feb 09 to a 2.04 in Aug 09. In short, the percentage of PH+ RNA molcules was cut in half. Really good numbers are in the 0.00x range, but at least its going down.
Onward and upward.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Me Likely Keithy
Not much health stuff going on right now. I have an appointment to see Dr. Cripe next week which will be my 6 month check-up. This appoint is usually pretty short but does include a CBC and my PCR_ABL test. Keep your fingers crossed - the last one didn't go so well :(.
On a related note - Keith Olbermann had a pretty good commentary that I'd like to share with all of you. Its largely political affiliation agnostic (though with a slight Democratic bend).
On a related note - Keith Olbermann had a pretty good commentary that I'd like to share with all of you. Its largely political affiliation agnostic (though with a slight Democratic bend).
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Needless to say - things have slowed down a bit.
Eli and I are working on doing some stop-motion movies with Playmobil, here is our first stab. The Music is courtesy Howard Shore from 'Lord of the Rings:Return of the King'.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
yeah.
sorry. been a month. I know.
Guess that means things are going well. April is a busy time around here, my birthday, Maris' birthday, Kris and my anniversary (7 years, thank you very much), Kris' birthday in early May and Mother's Day.
This year I got Kris a kayak for the anniv/birth/mothersday extravaganza. Its pretty cool really - 15' long and inflatable. It's essentially the same material as a white-water raft and designed for two adults (or single if need be). Attached is a photo where we went for a literal dry run. It took about 20 minutes to inflate, but I'm confident we can get that down to 10 now that we know what we're doing.
Guess that means things are going well. April is a busy time around here, my birthday, Maris' birthday, Kris and my anniversary (7 years, thank you very much), Kris' birthday in early May and Mother's Day.
This year I got Kris a kayak for the anniv/birth/mothersday extravaganza. Its pretty cool really - 15' long and inflatable. It's essentially the same material as a white-water raft and designed for two adults (or single if need be). Attached is a photo where we went for a literal dry run. It took about 20 minutes to inflate, but I'm confident we can get that down to 10 now that we know what we're doing.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
My Garden.
Ok, its not much now - but wait. Built entirely of cedar and filled with a blend of mushroom compost, top soil and peat. Oh yeah, I also added two dozen night crawlers.
Good Bye Mrs. Olbermann
Very few people like Keith the way I do. I find him entertaining and at the very least - leaning the way I do. He lost his mom to breast cancer this week and did a wonderful tribute to here. Enjoy.
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Thursday, April 2, 2009
seriously, has it been a month.
I'm doing fine...aside from an infected finger (which was saved through the miracles of Neosporin), all clear.
I unfortunately didn't plan ahead very well and do not have pictures to post from my latest project, but I'll share anyway. We decided to plant a raised bed garden this year. The kids are now old enough to learn about plants, the planting process, food sources, etc and frankly, I just wanted to do it. I built the beds last weekend out of 2x4 cedar stock - they are just shy of 1' deep and will be filled with Mark's Mix ( a mixture of mushroom compost, peat and top soil ). I have two beds that are 4' x 8' with pvc canopy supports so I can top them with plastic to extend the growing season about a month in either direction.
We started seeds a couple weeks ago and Maris helps me keep them watered every other day. Our beans and peas are already about 7" tall and everything else is coming along nicely ( herbs, carrots, cherry tomatoes, beets, radishes and a lettuce mix ). I hope to get them all outside by mid next week so we can really let them grow. I suspect the beans are already root bound so waiting any longer is not an option. I should have probably waited another month to get this stuff going, but I refuse to wait until July before we can start harvesting.
Anyway - that's it. Pretty exciting - great project ( under budget ).
Next up, religion by John. More soon.
I unfortunately didn't plan ahead very well and do not have pictures to post from my latest project, but I'll share anyway. We decided to plant a raised bed garden this year. The kids are now old enough to learn about plants, the planting process, food sources, etc and frankly, I just wanted to do it. I built the beds last weekend out of 2x4 cedar stock - they are just shy of 1' deep and will be filled with Mark's Mix ( a mixture of mushroom compost, peat and top soil ). I have two beds that are 4' x 8' with pvc canopy supports so I can top them with plastic to extend the growing season about a month in either direction.
We started seeds a couple weeks ago and Maris helps me keep them watered every other day. Our beans and peas are already about 7" tall and everything else is coming along nicely ( herbs, carrots, cherry tomatoes, beets, radishes and a lettuce mix ). I hope to get them all outside by mid next week so we can really let them grow. I suspect the beans are already root bound so waiting any longer is not an option. I should have probably waited another month to get this stuff going, but I refuse to wait until July before we can start harvesting.
Anyway - that's it. Pretty exciting - great project ( under budget ).
Next up, religion by John. More soon.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
the cure.
Gleevec is not a curative drug. Howevever, a recent study showed that with Gleevec, 86 percent of patients are still alive after 7 years (I know, that also means that 14 in 100 still die in the same time frame).
An article on CNN.com (click here) talks about approaching cancer more as a chronic condition vs curative treatment. In short, treating cancer more like we treat heart disease and diabetes. For me, that's kinda what we're already doing. I often talk about the challenges/mortality of the stem cell/marrow transplant which to date is the only cure. Most doctors seem to think that managing chronic conditions is natural progression in medicine and one that can benefit overall patient outcomes.
So, what do you think?
An article on CNN.com (click here) talks about approaching cancer more as a chronic condition vs curative treatment. In short, treating cancer more like we treat heart disease and diabetes. For me, that's kinda what we're already doing. I often talk about the challenges/mortality of the stem cell/marrow transplant which to date is the only cure. Most doctors seem to think that managing chronic conditions is natural progression in medicine and one that can benefit overall patient outcomes.
So, what do you think?
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
sooo....
I got my PCR-ABL news yesterday and unfortunately, it wasn't exactly what I was looking for.
The number of PH+ (leukemia cells) was up instead of down. Needless to say, we'd like it headed in the other direction. Its all a little to confusing to understand (Majors, Minors, PH+, etc)
If there is any good news to be derived from this - it is the fact that these results were from the Clarian (local hospital) lab and my other results were from the lab out West (Washington or Oregon I think). In this type of test, the results are very dependent on the lab and the only way they really measure progress is in reductions of the number of cells vs the actual number of cells.
My oncologist seems to think that I am really in no danger right now so we are sticking with the six month routine at which point I'll be tested again using the Clarian lab. His confidence reassures me, however I'll probably have a lot more on my mind in the coming months until we figure out what is going on.
I doubt that I am failing the Gleevec and it should be noted that I'm on the lowest active dose right now so we can always increase it if need be. Still, the news weighs a little heavily on me.
Onward and upward.
The number of PH+ (leukemia cells) was up instead of down. Needless to say, we'd like it headed in the other direction. Its all a little to confusing to understand (Majors, Minors, PH+, etc)
If there is any good news to be derived from this - it is the fact that these results were from the Clarian (local hospital) lab and my other results were from the lab out West (Washington or Oregon I think). In this type of test, the results are very dependent on the lab and the only way they really measure progress is in reductions of the number of cells vs the actual number of cells.
My oncologist seems to think that I am really in no danger right now so we are sticking with the six month routine at which point I'll be tested again using the Clarian lab. His confidence reassures me, however I'll probably have a lot more on my mind in the coming months until we figure out what is going on.
I doubt that I am failing the Gleevec and it should be noted that I'm on the lowest active dose right now so we can always increase it if need be. Still, the news weighs a little heavily on me.
Onward and upward.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Quickie.
I got stuck this morning...
It was only one stick with the usual 3 vials to follow. I'm sick as the proverbial dog so I wasn't expecting much, but I'll be damned - good numbers.
Whities - 4.4K
Platelets - 156K
HGB - 14.6
Hell, I'm almost normal.
I won't get the all important PCR-ABL results back for a couple weeks. The good news is, Clarian is now processing the results themselves so I am told I will know how good or bad things are in half the time. I'd be delighted to hear that I'm in a cytogenic remission or some variant of it. At this point, I think the only measurement isn't really remission and really more of how many log reductions in Leukemic/PH+ cells they find. My first results last summer were terribly good so I am hopeful for a turn around.
Stay tuned.
Still kicking, one year down.
It was only one stick with the usual 3 vials to follow. I'm sick as the proverbial dog so I wasn't expecting much, but I'll be damned - good numbers.
Whities - 4.4K
Platelets - 156K
HGB - 14.6
Hell, I'm almost normal.
I won't get the all important PCR-ABL results back for a couple weeks. The good news is, Clarian is now processing the results themselves so I am told I will know how good or bad things are in half the time. I'd be delighted to hear that I'm in a cytogenic remission or some variant of it. At this point, I think the only measurement isn't really remission and really more of how many log reductions in Leukemic/PH+ cells they find. My first results last summer were terribly good so I am hopeful for a turn around.
Stay tuned.
Still kicking, one year down.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
ok. ok. i'm sorry.
needless to say, I'm down to about one post per month (two at best).
In this case, the old adage - no news is good news. I don't go back to the doc until early February and even then I probably won't see blood results back for three or four weeks (this is the test they send out of state to be read). I am hopeful that it will say that I am well on my way to a cytogenic response but have prepared myself in the event that it is not the case. I am still on 400mg daily of the Gleevec which is the lowest dosage so they could probably just increase my intake if I don't get the results Dr. Cripe is looking for. The only downside is going to 600mg daily would increase the cost of my drugs $1,500/month (of which I would still only pay $30) which is probably killing our HR person at the office.
Kristin is hopefully boarding a plane home as we speak. Been a busy travel month for her with a couple trips to NYC and one to Chicago. This in turn means a little more single parenting for me - though our kids a pretty awesome and easy 90% of the time. Even tonight I've got them both fed, read and happily in bed by 7:30 (which is good since our little guys start their day at exactly 6am).
It was a pretty awesome day outside. 12" of snow in fell last night - very much reminds me of home. Only 9 of us made it into the office (3 on time) so it was a really quiet day. I spent the first half on snow removal duty which included a shovel, snowblower and Bobcat and the second half knocking out some boring research that I had been putting off.
Eli turns 5 tomorrow, hope to get some photos of the festivities after the weekend.
Anyhoo.
I'll be around.
In this case, the old adage - no news is good news. I don't go back to the doc until early February and even then I probably won't see blood results back for three or four weeks (this is the test they send out of state to be read). I am hopeful that it will say that I am well on my way to a cytogenic response but have prepared myself in the event that it is not the case. I am still on 400mg daily of the Gleevec which is the lowest dosage so they could probably just increase my intake if I don't get the results Dr. Cripe is looking for. The only downside is going to 600mg daily would increase the cost of my drugs $1,500/month (of which I would still only pay $30) which is probably killing our HR person at the office.
Kristin is hopefully boarding a plane home as we speak. Been a busy travel month for her with a couple trips to NYC and one to Chicago. This in turn means a little more single parenting for me - though our kids a pretty awesome and easy 90% of the time. Even tonight I've got them both fed, read and happily in bed by 7:30 (which is good since our little guys start their day at exactly 6am).
It was a pretty awesome day outside. 12" of snow in fell last night - very much reminds me of home. Only 9 of us made it into the office (3 on time) so it was a really quiet day. I spent the first half on snow removal duty which included a shovel, snowblower and Bobcat and the second half knocking out some boring research that I had been putting off.
Eli turns 5 tomorrow, hope to get some photos of the festivities after the weekend.
Anyhoo.
I'll be around.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
just a quickie.
No time to write. Working on my next hobby. Backyard Chickens. Still need to check and see if Marion County zoning allows it, but stay tuned. If you're interested - you can check out some more info here.
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