OK, do I just have chemo-brain, or is this exchange totally ambiguous? Really, let me know what you think! With regard to whether my case seem to have enough risk of Central Nervous System (CNS) involvement to warrant the separate spinal (“intrathecal”) chemo: Doc to Cliff: After discussing your case in our conference, the conclusion […]
Yes, it was time for another opinion from…City of Hope. I guess not-much-news is good news, but there’s not much to say. They reviewed all the data and set me up with a doctor. What he had to say: I’m getting the right treatment…CHOP-R is universally prescribed for both High Grade Follicular and Diffuse Large […]
Thanks to all of you that have called and visited. The fact is that despite temporarily not being the life of the party and seeming a bit tired out, it is really great to have friends over and calling. As long as you don’t mind dealing with my tired ass, you’re welcome any time! Slogging […]
Had happy hour with my favorite doctor (again) today…the office was packed, but she really doesn’t rush me. That’s a tough job. Today’s chemo feedback: chemo cycle 1 is working well, blood numbers in the right direction, pain subsiding already. I’ve gone without pain pills most of the last 2 days and it is amazing how […]
My Oncologist/Hematologist/Internist, Dr. Meyering has been great – really engaged, spends more time and effort than I’d have expected. Her own experience surviving cancer also helps. Got lucky with her! After yesterday’s sit down, here’s the latest: My initial response to chemo round 1 has been quite good…and without the worst of the side-effects (yet […]
Welcome to my blog. Part self-help, part info-dissemination and at your disposal. Remember, this blog doesn’t mean I don’t want you to call or visit or anything – it’s just here to share “the details” so we can talk about other things, too. I expect it’ll be a roller-coaster ride for the next 4-6 months […]
I had a “Port-a-Cath” installed in my shoulder/chest area on Thurs 7/19 – and it was being used already on Sat. 7/21 for my first round of chemo. Why the “Power Port“? With so many injections and tests over the next 4-6 months, it just is easier, more effective and less risky. No IVs, on […]
Now that I’ve been prepped overnight and had a few tests done, we’ll start cycle #1 (of 6 total) today. Here is how it goes: Day 1-2: infuse chemo cocktail and monoclonal anti-bodies (more details on R-CHOP), mix in some stuff to try and deal with side-effects of battle drugs. Day 3-7: hunker down and […]
Spoke to the doc today – got the full details on diagnosis and treatment…lots of info. So, these bad guys are growing very fast inside of me and chemo was scheduled to start Monday. Are the bad guys taking the weekend off? No way. So, why am I waiting until Monday? Where is the sense […]
(REPLACED WITH DAILY DIARY PAGE – see link at upper-right)
(Why am I creating a blog?) So, I have this pain in my ribs a few weeks ago – no big deal, probably trying too hard with Jordie in the gym or something. But, it doesn’t go away and it starts getting worse. Well, a couple of weeks later, we find out I have Lymphoma. […]
Getting sick isn’t fun, but having every conversation and interaction in your life be about being sick can make it worse by narrowing your world and making your life about being sick. It might seem strange, but I feel pretty lucky: I have a great family I have wonderful friends I ended up with one […]
Cliphoma 