Three...count 'em, three great reports!

It is the season, purely coincidental, I'm sure, for all my doctors visits to converge. I suppose it's better to get the poking and prodding out of the way quickly.

About a month ago, I was asked to visit my cardiologist for an annual follow-up visit including an echo-cardiogram. It is a sonogram of the heart. For those of you who have not had this procedure, it is the procedure where a sensor is rubbed around the area of interest with a quart or so, it seems, of sterile lubricant. The screen makes all sorts of interesting images and the machine bleeps and honks meaning, I surmise, that I do have an operational heart. After the procedure, Dr. Cardio saw me and after reviewing my test result, pronounced me fine and suggested I see him again in a year.

A few days later, I saw my primary care physician to follow up my slightly elevated triglycerides now being treated with medication. After reviewing my blood tests, he told me my triglycerides and cholesterol were within normal limits. Evidently, the medication is doing its job as expected.

There seems to be a trend here and I like it! I appear to be in fine health and expect the visit to Dr. Hema will continue the trend.

Today I visited with Dr. Hema, filled with optimism. Part of my optimism was generated because I choose to manage my health care a bit more aggressively that most. I knew the answer before I walked in the door! I knew the answer because I insist that my blood tests be administered prior to my visit and that I obtain a copy. I then compare my results from previous visits and I know if my progress is trending towards better, same or worse.

My M-spike number was 0.24, about the same as the last several visits. My particular lymphoma, known by the tongue-tying name lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma, never really goes away, so a decline in my M-spike number is very unlikely. Therefore, the best result is just what I got, no significant change. Dr. Hema scheduled another visit in six months.

That sure was a long-winded way to get to WOO HOO!

I feel very healthy and I'm able to do just about anything I want to do. My beloved wife and I intend to enjoy life to the fullest.

Thank you all, gentle readers, for your prayers and support. I appreciate all the help I can get!

Another great report!

Today was a regularly scheduled six-month follow-up visit with Dr. Hema. That, in itself, is significant. At one point in my progress, I was seeing him every day! Once the rituxan and chemo were administered, I saw him every three months. Now I am scheduled for every six months.

The numbers and consequently Dr. Hema's comments were just wonderful. The only number that was not an improvement was M-spike which has risen to 0.27. If I am understanding Dr. Hema correctly, an increase from the last number of 0.19 is insignificant. Both numbers are quite small; however, they are not zero which would signal complete remission. We don't expect complete remission with lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma. We expect long periods of nearly complete remission followed by brief periods of re-treatment. According to Dr. Hema, there is no way to know if re-treatment will be needed in six months, six years or some other period. He has previously said to me that most patients eventually die of some other cause, not lymphoma.

My numbers were so unremarkable that we mostly discussed restaurants, travel and Nurse Kim's new baby girl! We scheduled my next visit in six more months.

My adorable wife and I celebrated with a big lunch and I enjoyed a big glass of Pinot Noir.

When I was first diagnosed and undergoing treatment, my attitude was that I have a possibly life-threatening lymphoma and I should bite my lip, write an intelligent estate plan and take what comes like a man. Now that I have been treated and it has gone so well, my attitude is that, like the flu, I used to have lymphoma and it has been treated and I am fine. If it comes back, I will get another treatment and I will be fine.

I expect to be around for a normal life expectancy for a non-smoking male who eats big lunches and drinks a bit of Pinot Noir!

A call from Nurse Kim

I had a follow-up CT scan on Saturday to look at my lungs. I had a scan three months ago and a spot was found on one lung that was attributed to bronchitis. At the last scan, I was suffering from a cold or flu and coughing. The scan on Saturday was intended to make sure that the spot went away with the bronchitis. Dr. Hema ordered a scan of my body from neck to groin. He said that as long as I was filled with contrast dye and lying on the table, why not look at everything, not just my lungs.

Nurse Kim and I just spoke and she said the scan shows no sign of any spot on either lung and no sign of lymphoma. Now, having said that, I don't believe that means that there is absolutely, positively no lymphoma in my body. I believe it means that the resolution of a CT scan is too coarse to show the very tiny amounts of lymphoma I have in my body. I believe I still have some small amount because I have the indicators in my blood test numbers. As small as they may be, they are still not zero.

This is great news and I am still very happy with my progress. I shall continue to follow Dr. Hema's prescription to go forth and enjoy my life to the fullest.

Today's weight: a svelte 179.5. Notice that I don't post it if it's embarrassing!

A visit to Dr. Hema

Today we traveled to Big City for a regularly scheduled visit to Dr. Hema. As I suspected, he said I am doing very well. He confirmed my estimation of the meaning of my recent blood tests. He said I looked excellent when he considered where I had come from 2 1/2 years ago. At that time, I felt and looked terrible and was fighting Rituxan. Now, I feel great and am fighting...well, nothing aside from an appetite for fattening foods!

At my last CT scan, part of the result was colored by the effects of then ongoing bronchitis. Dr. Hema is to schedule another test soon to be sure those effects are gone and not something more serious. I will have my next follow-up visit with Dr. Hema in six months.

All-in-all, this was a great visit. Everyone with a very serious illness hopes he or she can go to the doctor and hear he is in great shape and no follow-up visits are needed for six months. My adorable wife and I never miss an opportunity to celebrate. We enjoyed a leisurely lunch and I raised a glass of wine to toast good health and long life!

The numbers are in.

In preparation for my regular visit with Dr. Hema, I visited the office of my local primary care physician for blood tests. They administer the tests in advance so that when I later visit Dr. Hema, he has the results before him to discuss in detail with me. The lab at my primary care physician's office mails me a copy of the results so that I can see them and follow my progress up or down over the months and years. I feel most comfortable being involved in the progress and treatment of my illness.

The numbers are very good. The primary indicators of my lymphoma are IgM and M-spike. The IgM number is now 201, right in the normal range which is from 60 to 263. The M-spike is now 0.19, essentially the same as three months ago. This level is very, very low, but not quite zero, the ideal for a healthy cancer-free adult.

I am very optimistic about my upcoming visit with Dr. Hema. I believe he will say that I am doing extremely well. If so, I shall request that my next visit be scheduled for six months. Yes, as you can see, gentle-reader, I love being in control!

I generally don't even think of myself as a lymphoma patient. I think of myself as facing a challenge and conquering it. It may be temporary, but for now, I think I have conquered it.

Old friends

I watched a piece on that damned box, as I think my grandmother called television, about Dave Brubeck. I spoke of Brubeck previously: http://bill-in-sc.blogspot.com/2009/07/sad-news.html

How I would love to be spending an evening with L and a glass of good bourbon pulling out all our jazz records and giving them a spin on the turntable and having more than a few laughs. As happens in life, sadly it's too late.

A few weeks ago, I received an email from the volunteers putting together the 50th (!!) year reunion of my high school graduating class. I was sadly reminded that the two guys I hung out with the most all those long years ago are both deceased.

Perhaps not coincidentally, I received a phone call today from H who started as a long-time business associate and became a very good friend. Since I retired, I hadn't heard from him in six or seven years. He called and we caught up on developments in the intervening years. He revels in working hard every day for far more than the usual forty hours. As you may well know, I revel in having those days done and over with. Nevertheless, we were soon chatting and laughing as if we'd just been together a week ago! H then announced, "We're having a party and we'd love to see you and your adorable wife."

So what if the party is 600 miles away? We are going!

The point of all this, gentle readers is that life is fleeting; life is temporary and life is uncertain. If you are going to visit an old friend or see an old friend or call an old friend or send an old friend a card or an email, do it now. Tomorrow may be too late.

Call an old friend today!

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.