Good News! I have  my labs back, which looks directly at the cancer. We do this one every three months. My last one, done 3 months after my stem cell transplant, was confusing and mixed (too complicated to explain here). This one, which just came back today, was clear and shows only a “faint” trace…

I’ve mentioned here that I’ve been working on a novel for three years. I was pretty far along with it. . .  until I got sick. It got put on the back-burner when I was going through my stem cell transplant and recovery (although I did write another book, Christina Athena, during that time). I…

The first round of labs are back with an over-all slight improvement (my hemoglobin when from 12 to 12.5 and my estimated GFR, which is kidney function, went from 20 to 21). Probably the highlight is the fact that my electrolytes were normal despite the fact I had been more lenient in my diet. Just…

No, I have no lab results. However, I was thinking this morning (once again) about this strange world that we who have active cancer face, as well as people with other serious diseases. It is where numbers on a paper (blood tests, biopsies, etc.) will tell you if life goes on the way it is,…

I know I’ve spread this thought out over weeks due to the (pleasant) interruption of my novel, which I’m editing at this time. I want to do a quick review before I continue and then in the very end, I want to sew this all up—I hope—to a simple synopsis. Summary: The fragmentation of information…

Welcome to February! A year ago I was doubtful I would ever seen February 2020 and I’m glad I am here. Summary: Monday 2/3/20 I will have labs to look at my kidneys and I will get my, every 90 day, direct look at my cancer (via serum protein immunofixation). My neurological symptoms are still…

My definitions: truth=anything a particular group calls truth using terms like, “my truth” or “Biblical truth.” TRUTH = that which is consistent with reality, or the classical sense of truth. It was very hard for me to pry my fingers away from the keyboard, where I’m editing my novel Rock Harbor, to return writing on…

Summary: I just finished my last labs on Monday (1/20/20) and met with my nephrologist yesterday of the University of Washington. Kidneys: My renal labs remain terrible, but stable. Last month I slightly relaxed my strict diet, eating one tablespoons of tomato sauce for the month, a few raisins in my, otherwise plain, morning oatmeal.…

I can share more candidly now that the friend that I lost due to a drunk driver, was also my oncologist. I could not say more earlier because he was still on life-support. He was 51 and left three children. I can remember conversations with him about mortality. . .  my mortality. I was 64…

My labs are back and in summary, a few things are slightly worse, a few things better so it comes to the conclusion that my kidneys are horrible, but stable. My potassium (which poses the most immediate danger) is modestly better which gives me a little more freedom in food. Certainly I can’t ever eat…