Tag Archives: Cancer

Life is an Adventure Part 1

17 Wednesday Jul 2019

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Life is certainty an adventure.  One that rarely disappoints.  That is, if you life long enough to live through it.  If you’ve been following my blog for any length of time, you should know by now that I am cursed with the dreaded “C” word, Cancer.  I have what is known as CML.  Chronic Myeloid Leukemia.  I was diagnosed with CML back in February, 2014, Valentines day to be exact.  Since my diagnosis, I have been on three different types of oral medications, the preferred form of chemotherapy for this type of Leukemia.  Each one with it’s own faults.  With each medication, it would start off working but for some reason the med would stop working and I’d be left with months of trying different dosages trying to find a happy medium.  When this last drug bit the dust, my oncologist gave me the dreaded news that he would be deferring me to another oncologist, one who specializing in bone marrow transplants.  At this writing, I have an appointment this Friday with an oncologist at another hospital.  However, this doctor is not part of the transplant team.  So, I’m somewhat concerned as to why I’m seeing him.

This is the end of Part 1.  Part 2 will come after the meeting with this new oncologist.  If things go according to the way I think, I will be going through the transplant soon.  I’m not sure when but I know it will be soon.  Donors will have to be found,  tests will have to be run and so forth.  I will keep this blog going as long as I feel like blogging.  Pray for me during this time._2TH1271_tonemapped

Everyday is a Blessed Day!

11 Friday Jan 2019

Posted by in Cancer, Leukemia, Photography

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It’s been nearly five years since my diagnoses of CML, a form of Leukemia.  If I had received the diagnosis back in the 1990’s I would have been told to go home and make my funeral arrangements.  With today’s modern medical advancements, which I’m highly thankful for, those of us with this diagnosis are able to live a somewhat normal life for many years.

There is a “go-to drug” called Glevic that is prescribed to most all new patients.  This drug worked for me for a while but stopped and I had to find something else.  The next drug caused more problems than the actual cancer did.  This new drug I’m on is working for now but is causing fluid around my heart and lungs but not as bad as the previous drug.

Is my life back to normal, no.  There have been many changes that had to be made to make my life a little better.  Because of the fluid around my heart and lungs, I’m no longer able to do a lot of the things I used to do.  Basically, I had to stop anything that would cause me to get out of breath with exertion.  That doesn’t mean I’ve given up.  I still try to walk and stay active. Every morning that I wake up I feel blessed to still be here. I’ve got a lot to live for and I hope I’m here for a while to come.

Long Overdue

10 Thursday Jan 2019

Posted by in Cancer, Family, Leukemia, Pets, Photography, Retirement

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It’s been since September since I’ve posted anything so I figured I’d do a little update on what’s been going on. First of all, I went to the dentist today and had some work done and I had to take a prescription pain pill to take care of the pain that I was in.  So, if this doesn’t make sense, that’s why. As stated in my last post, I’ve retired.  I can’t begin to tell you how happy I am about that. I get updates from one of my co-workers every once in a while and let me tell you when I get off the phone with him, it makes me so happy to think that I no longer work at that place.  The management at that place has taken a turn for the worse and it seems that I left just at the right time.  The stress that I felt while I was there is no more.  That within itself is worth retiring over.

So, what is my plan since retiring?  I’ve got several irons in the fire, none of which requires getting up and going to a regular job.  I was blessed with an excellent pension and my 401k didn’t look bad at all either.  I made an appointment before retiring with a financial planner and he told me that I had nothing to worry about.  In fact, I got a little raise since retiring so I think we’re going to do just fine.

On most occasions, I get up with my wife when she gets up to get ready to go to work.  I usually sit and talk with her while she’s eating breakfast.  After she leaves, I usually take a shower and go to the garage and work on some woodworking projects.  I take care of the laundry and try to have dinner cooking when my wife gets home from work.

Other things such as setting up my camera so that it can take pictures of the bird feeder have been another little project that I’ve been working on.  It’s the simple things in life that make it interesting.  My cats and I enjoy watching the birds in the morning while we’re sitting in the kitchen spending time with the wife while she’s eating breakfast.

On another note and this will be the last of this update for now.  My cancer numbers are starting to look pretty good but on the other side of that coin, my iron levels have started to plummet.  I’ve had to do two iron transfusions and had to have a colonoscopy and an endoscopy to find out where I’m bleeding out.  Ulcers, I’ve got two bleeding ulcers.  Another pill to add to my pharmacy list.

Thanks for taking the time to read and I’ll post again soon.

Health Report

27 Thursday Sep 2018

Posted by in Cancer, Leukemia, Photography

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For the past six months I have been on a new drug called Bosolif.  At first I was on 500 mg per day.  After a few months a test was performed and my numbers increased.  The medicine was not working.  Not only was it not working, I could tell that I had fluid around my lungs again.  Walking had started to become difficult.  With caution, my oncologist increased my meds by 100mg and he orered a CT scan to see how much fluid had accumulated.  After a week, the results of the scan had come back and, indeed, there was a small amount of fluid around my right lung but not my left.  According to my oncologist, if my meds were causing the fluid, it would accumulate on both sides at the same time and not just on one side.  I was diagnosed with broncitus a couple of weeks prior and he thinks that’s the reason for the fluid.  Since my increase in the meds, the last test results that came back showed that my numbers has fallen.  Nowhere close where they need to be but at least they are falling.

On a side note; I have finished my disability paperwork.  I submitted the online aplication a couple of days ago and sent in the hard copies today.  Hopefully I’ll hear something in a couple of months.

 

Tim

Today’s Thoughts 4/14/2018

14 Saturday Apr 2018

Posted by in Cancer, Leukemia

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Good afternoon everyone.

As I write this, we are experiencing a severe thunderstorm. This system has caused several tornado’s in the state of Mississippi but has weakened during its path over to our neck of the woods, in which I’m very thankful for. Looks like it may be a wet Saturday for us.

My cat, Clyde, hates thunderstorms and is sitting next to me on the floor looking for protection.  He’s not a lap cat and hates to be picked up and will not sit with you or me or anyone else as far as that goes.  But during storms, he seeks my protection and my protection only.  He just heard a loud clap of thunder and off he goes behind my bed.  He will not return until all is quiet again.  Funny,  cowardly cat.

Not much reaction to my video that I posted the other day.  I guess that might my last one. I don’t know, I may try one more to see how it goes.  I’ll give it some time though.

After I made the video, I went back to youtube and watched some video’s from the Leukemia Society.  They had posted several videos of patients with CML as they described their weeks up to being diagnosed.  They included bruising,  Feeling tired all the time, headaches and wanting to sleep all the time.  I never experienced any of that.  On one video, the guy was saying that when he was diagnosed back in 2014, his white blood count was over 260.  Mine was caught before it got that high.  At the time of diagnoses, mine had gotten as high as 138.  Maybe that’s the reason I didn’t experience any of the side effects; my numbers just wasn’t as high as his.  I also read that one lady, who also was diagnosed in 2014, got her numbers down and was taken off all of her meds.  She still get’s tested every six months but she no longer takes meds for her CML.  That’s encouraging.

I hope everyone has a chance to get out and enjoys the weekend.

Tim

 

 

Today’s Thoughts 4/10/2018

10 Tuesday Apr 2018

Posted by in Cycling, Leukemia, Weight Loss

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It’s been seven days since I started my new medication.  At this time there hasn’t been any noticeable side effects.  I’ve had the pharmacist from the drug company call me twice to check on me.  Like I said in my last post, this is a fairly new drug so they’re just concerned about me I guess.

On April 21st, there is a city-wide competition with some of the business in town called The Birmingham Challenge.  I have signed up with my employer to ride in a 10k bike stroll.  The bike stroll is not a competition within itself but we get points as to how many cyclists we get to ride in the event.  It’s the same way with the walking event.  We do, however, have other events that are competitions, such as the tug a war, dodgeball, corn-hole, golf, home-run hitting, and a couple more events.  Last year our company came in 2nd overall.  I’ve signed up for the cycling event.  I haven’t been on my bike for nearly a year, until this evening. I know it’s not much but I rode a whole 2.4 miles.  I could’ve ridden further but both my headlight and taillight were not charged and I didn’t want to ride without them.  I really surprised myself.  I actually dreaded getting back on my bike and tackling the hill in front of my house.  I got a little winded but I made it with no problems.

I’m back on my low carb diet.  I blew it this weekend.  Those Little Debbie cakes ought to be illegal.  I’ve finally got my wife on board with me with her cooking and she’s not giving me bread or potatoes so the failure this weekend is all on me.  I just “grazed” all weekend.  I had lost seven but on Monday, I gained five.  I hate losing the same weight that I had already lost before.  Today I did great though.  We’ll see when I check the scales in the morning.

I check in again in a couple of days.  In the meantime, enjoy your week.18157141_10154580034993946_3844449760811629204_n

From last years event.

 

Today’s Thoughts 3/22/2018

22 Thursday Mar 2018

Posted by in Cancer, Leukemia, Photography, Weight Loss

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My new CML meds have not arrived as promised.  They were supposed to have arrived on Tuesday but alas, not here yet.  My oncologist called this morning to see if I had started taken them yet.  He was not happy that they had not arrived.  He said that he was going to find out where my meds are at and let me know.

I’ve attempted to start dieting again.  It’s been a tough couple of days.  I’m doing the low carb diet.  I lost 60 lbs on it last time I was on it and I’ve still got that and many more to go.  I’m trying to limit my carbs to 35 a day.  Today and yesterday I have gone way over.  Today was better than yesterday and I’m hoping that tomorrow will be even better.  I want to get down to 255 by August 15th and I’m 276 now.  I don’t think I”ll have a problem reaching it if I can gain the willpower to stick with it.  In 2009, I weighed the most I’ve ever weighed. At 346, I came to the realization that I had to do something.  Especially since my doctor told me that I wouldn’t see my kids graduate college if I didn’t do something.

The other reason I’m on the low carb diet is that of my sugar.  My body can’t handle carbs.  I can drink a cup of milk and my sugar will jump from 159 to over 250.  I did well all day today until I got home.  I checked my sugar around 5:30pm and it was 185.  I had a cup of milk, exactly 1 cup, not a glass full, and when I checked it just now, 10:35pm, it was 325.  The last time I did the low carb diet I pretty much did away with carbs altogether.  I went from a 9.6 A1c to 6.7 A1c in six months.  Now that I’ve gotten off my diet, my sugar has gone out of control.

Tomorrow is another day!!

Oncologist Update; 3/21/2018

21 Wednesday Mar 2018

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My oncologist called this evening wanting to know if my new meds had come in.  They had not.  He told me that my BCR-Abl numbers had greatly improved which is very surprising being that I’ve been off my Sprycel for nearly two months.  Too bad my body can’t handle the medicine any longer.  Once my new meds get here, which should be within a few days, I’ll start taking it.  The side effects looks pretty bad, diarrhea, fluid retention in both the heart and lungs, low red blood counts, liver problems and multiple other issues.  Bosulif will be the third medication that I will be on.  There are only a couple more that is out there that is approved by the FDA.  I’m hoping this works with minimal side effects402d22500b1841198233ebb8058faf26-bosulif_200_312

3/16/2018 Oncologist Update

18 Sunday Mar 2018

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Oncologist Update: Because of some miscommunications with the insurance company, go figure, I have not been approved to be on my new medicine yet. I may end up walking the paperwork to the department myself if they keep losing it. Anyway, it’s been six weeks or more since I’ve had any CML meds and we, more so me than the doctor it seems, are starting to get a little concerned that my numbers might get a little high. If the insurance company approves the meds, it could take up to three weeks before my meds arrive. Nothing to do but wait. But, as luck would have it, the representative for the new drug was there in his office. He gave my doctor a card for a free 30 day supply which should arrive by Tuesday of next week. This should give my insurance company time to process my approval for this drug.

Bloodwork. It’s been six weeks since my last lab. My last one wasn’t good at all. Every one of my numbers was either very high or very low. Yesterday’s numbers were normal for the most part. This was in large part the effect of the drug I was on. The side effects just made my daily life impossible to deal with.

New Drug: Bosulif is the name of the new drug. Right now I’ve been on two of the most common and there are only a few left that is approved by the FDA. Thanks to Karen Davis-Hudson she eased my mind about some of the side effects that were mentioned in the insert. However, Karen, I think you mentioned that 1/10 developed fluid retention, my doctor said 4/10. Not that much of a difference. The other side effects I think I can handle.

The Good News: The doctor and I both agree that the fluid in my lungs is gone and we’re going to have a positive attitude that it will not return and that this medicine will be the last one I have to be on because this one will work. I can breathe, my color is back and most importantly, I feel good. So much so, that if the weather holds, I’m going to try to get my bicycle out one day this weekend.

This is all due to all the prayers that have been lifted up for me and my family. Thank you so much.