A visit to Dr. Cardio

We traveled to Big City yesterday for my annual follow up visit with my cardiologist. To refresh your memory, dear readers, I have been a cardiac arrhythmia patient for many years. My heartbeat has been irregular and fast for most of my adult life. It has, at times, been controlled by medication pretty well and sometimes pretty poorly. I remarked to my adorable wife at dinner a few nights ago that the current medication has done a great job for several years. I have been essentially symptom-free.

I was taken to an examining room and, in addition to the usual tests, given an EKG. Dr. Cardio appeared and remarked at once, "Gee, you look great." We discussed my general health and I told him that the medication was doing its job quite well and that I had no discomfort or other cardiac symptoms. After he studied my EKG, I asked him how it was; he replied that it was perfect. He stood up, shook my hand and said, "See you in a year."

Needless to say, we are very pleased with the result. As usual, we celebrated with a very nice lunch in Big City, put the top down on the convertible and cruised home the long way.

Follow up with Dr. Hema

Last week I had a follow up CT scan and blood tests. Yesterday, May 4, I met with Dr. Hema. The results are very, very good. In January, my M-spike number was 0.21. Now it is 0.18! It continues to trend down towards zero, the reading for a person with no lymphoma cells at all in their system. For comparison, the M-spike was 0.30 one year ago.

My IgM number is now 180, which is in the normal range! One year ago, it was 359, having fallen from its high of over 5,000.

Dr. Hema also read part of the CT scan interpretation. The two areas of enlarged lymph glands have decreased in size. The report quoted the size in centimeters; the best I could determine, it sounds like they have decreased by about 1/3.

All of this points to continuing steady improvement. I asked Dr. Hema if anyone was ever cured completely from my particular lymphoma: lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma. He said that lots of cases go many years without a recurrence; five or ten years and more. Obviously, if a person is 68 years old and goes more than ten years without a recurrence, he might as well consider himself cured.

My adorable wife and I are very happy. We celebrated by putting the top down on the convertible and enjoying a very nice, leisurely lunch.

Follow-up with Dr. Hema

I had my regular quarterly visit with Dr. Hema today. He, my adorable wife and I were all smiles! He was very happy with my M-spike number of 0.21 as well as my IgM number of 250. My IgM is now in the normal range which is 62 - 263. It has been a high as a sobering 5,000! I asked if it was unusual for the M-spike to continue to decline after treatment stops. He said he sees it in some cases. He also said that the difference between my earlier M-spike readings of 0.31 and today's of 0.21 was barely statistically significant. He said the more significant thing is that the numbers are not increasing, nor, even worse, increasing in big steps.

We scheduled the next follow-up visit for four months, instead of three as previously and we all spoke of family, vacations, cruises and other ways to savor life!

I feel very well indeed and hope to do my utmost to do just that: savor life!

Woo hoo!

My usual practice is to get complete bloodwork done in advance of my quarterly follow-up visits to Dr. Hema. In that way, the details are available to the doctor at the time of my visit; they can be discussed at the visit, rather than speculate and then get a call from a nurse a couple of days later. My blood was taken at my local doctor's lab on Monday and the results faxed to Dr. Hema.

Nurse Kim just telephoned with excitement in her voice. She reported that the numbers are in and they're very good. The M-spike is now 0.21, down from 0.30 in April and 0.28 in October. The hemaglobin reading is now 12.3 against a normal range beginning at 13. These numbers are a further improvement and support my belief that my overall health is excellent.

I can hardly wait to see Dr. Hema on Tuesday and crow about my great progress and, of course, thank him for his skill and dedication. What a wonderful way to start the new year.

Woo hoo, indeed!!!

It is beautiful this time of year here in SC. I am very lucky to be able to enjoy my life unencumbered by illness.

Take time, my friends, to enjoy the time God has given you. Every day is a treasure to be enjoyed.

Follow up with Dr. Hema

Yesterday, I had a quarterly follow up visit with Dr. Hema. My blood tests were performed by Dr. Primary's office, so were available to Dr. Hema at my visit.

The two biggest indicators of the effects of lymphoma are IgM and M-spike. For reference, in April, they were 359 and 0.3, respectively. M-spike has been as high as 3.16. In a normal, lymphoma-free person, it is zero.

Yesterday's result was IgM of 284, teetering very close to the normal range of 60-263. That's a very nice improvement from 359 in April!

My M-spike number is 0.28. Now, I don't know if there is any real statistically significant difference between 0.3 and 0.28, but it sure isn't higher. All of this, according to Dr. Hema, indicates that my 90% remission is holding steady. My numbers may be steady, or, at best, very slightly better, but the good news is that they are certainly no worse.

I see Dr. Hema again in three months.

Dr. Hema's parting comment was to go enjoy my life. I intend to follow his orders strictly!

A new development

At my last annual physical, my tests showed somewhat elevated triglycerides. Dr. Primary recommended I treat it with Omega-3 fish oil and return for a follow-up in six months. I had the follow-up on Wednesday. Dr. Primary reports that my triglycerides are even higher. He asked me to discontinue Omega-3 fish oil and prescribed Tricor, a treatment for elevated triglycerides.

A search of the internet shows that elevated triglycerides, lymphoma and chemotherapy are often linked.

I think my cardiologist knew something was happening; at my last visit, he asked that I provide my blood test results at my next visit. I asked Dr. Primary to send them along to Dr. Cardio along with any observations.

I will discuss this with Dr. Hema when I see him October 5. I shall also moderate my gluttony and, especially, my appetite for greasy, fatty, yummy southern breakfasts!

Yeah, I know, but this time I really mean it.