Summary (for those like me with a short attention span): Not a lot new since I shared my last update, except that I reached out to the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, and have been invited to be evaluated for a cutting-edge (CAR-T + 2 or 3 modifiers) study on November 5th. If accepted, I would…

Good News I will start with the preverbal good news first and see if I can get some lipstick on this pig. My white count has suddenly jumped back up to the normal range after being severely low and was putting me at risk for a serious infection. For that I’m grateful. My red blood…

I think the emotion that cancer patients deal with the most is fear. Where else in life, except on a major battlefield, are you faced with constant flow pivotal points where you will either suffer without mercy until you die, or on the other extreme, do pretty well and survive for years. Tomorrow is a…

It was always an inside joke for me, from back in the days when you went to Blockbuster to rent DVDs or even VHS tapes, I would say that when Denise picked out a movie, it is always about someone slowly dying of cancer. I would also tell her that life has too many real…

I never meant to do updates this often. Maybe I should switch to Twitter . . . may God forbid. There are 5 measurements to set the boundaries of MM. Last time I shared the very discouraging news that one of them, the bad protein, was still high and we were expecting zero. I have…

I want to apologize for the post I did yesterday. While everything I said was true, and I waited 24 hours after I got bad news to let the emotions settle down, I think I still posted from a very discouraged and raw place. I know that I am struggling with depression over all of…

Cliff’s Notes Version: I got my first labs back yesterday, it was to measure the bad protein, which is produced by the cancer. Unfortunately, it is the same level as prior to the stem cell transplant. Longer Version: I debated in my mind if I wanted to try and give an update now or when…

This was supposed to be week of peacefully laying low while we wait for the results of my cancer re-staging. However, once again we find ourselves in the middle of a medical crisis, the fourth such problem since I’ve been home. About five weeks ago, for reasons we still don’t know, my bone marrow just…

I have just started my work up today to “restage” my cancer. Our hope is there is none (remission) or very little (near remission). That is how a stem cell transplant supposed to work. However, there are chances that the cancer has returned already, and I must be emotionally prepared for that nightmare. This morning…

I have heard women in the “Me-too” movement say things such as, “I didn’t come forward sooner, because I didn’t want my rape (or other sexual assault) to define me.” The sad thing, they are correct as it could define them. I remember in college there was a big story about a co-ed being raped.…