“bear, did you get my email a few days ago?”

“Bear, I had my post surgery exam today. My chest x-ray was good, but that doesn't show small problems so I didn't expect it to show anything. He said the two nodules he removed contained cancer cells that came from my throat. I'll have to see an oncologist that specializes in this type of situation in a few weeks when my chest heals. The thoracic surgeon said I'll be looking at getting some type of chemotherapy to start. I'll know for sure once I sit down and talk to the oncologist and find out the best way to get rid of that last tiny nodule and any other cells that could be floating around.

I'm not thrilled about going the chemo route and would rather an alternative, but if that's the only thing that will work, then I'm going for it. I've had chemo before so I know what to expect. It may be the same side effects as last time or it may not be, I don't know, but whatever happens, I'll deal with it.
last edited: 8/30/07 7:35:20 PM”

“cb - ygm

RichB - Sorry but I'm sure you will deal well.

I went in today. Appears some of my tongue sores are due to Herpesviridae. On Amoxicillan & Framciclovir now.

WBC 2.5, ANC 900. Chemo postponed until Wednesday. need to get up to 1200, apparently. Nothing worst for treatment then delaying treatment.”

“Well Bear just enjoy the weekend! Did you get MY mail???”

“Thanks Bear, I'm looking at it this way, it would have been worse if it came back in my neck or rebuilt throat and I should have more options to get rid of it in my lung.
I hope the medicine cures the tongue sores. Like Crazygurl said, enjoy the weekend, that's what I plan on doing.
last edited: 8/31/07 10:35:03 AM”

“tuesday:

WBC 4.9
ANC 3100
Platelets: 6006

I can get treated tomorrow and start neupogen. Yay.

My platelets seem very high. Nurse seemed perplexed. Anyone?”

“I haven't a clue, but I'm glad you can get treated tomorrow and start neupogen.”

“bearmagnet,

Have your platelets been running high? If not, they should check to make sure the lab did not make an error in transcribing the results. If that result is correct, platelets can be high as a reaction to inflammation or other things such as a tumor. So, perplexing in that the platelets usually go down with chemo, but not anything specifically bad.

LIVESTRONG

”

“Don't have any idea what those numbers mean, but good luck!”

“Bear, I'm glad to hear that your treatment can start tomorrow.
A normal count is about 150,000 to 450,000 platelets per microliter. I'm not sure about that 6006 number they gave you and how that translates into your actual number.”

“Yeah - They don't ever appear to use consistent conversion factors. My last print-out on Friday gave ANC as "0.90" and my platelets as "556". Therefore if

ANC=900 then PLT=556,000.

So then 6006 would be 6,006,000????? And maybe my tumors have expanded exponentially?????? And I was feeling so well.....”

“Here we go:

Too many platelets is called thrombocytosis. When it is caused by something else, it's secondary, or reactive, which is most likely the case. Here are some causes of secondary high platelet count:

Infection (acute and chronic)
Inflammatory disorders (eg Kawasaki's disease)
Chronic iron deficiency
Acute or chronic blood loss
Tissue damage from trauma or surgery
Medicines (steroid, vincristine)
Splenectomy and hyposplenism
Malignancy (Hodgkin's disease, solid tumours)
Rebound from chemotherapy


I've got 3-4 of those. LOL!
last edited: 9/04/07 6:02:54 PM”

“I'd ask tomorrow what the actual number is just so you know for sure and have an idea for the next blood count.”

“Yeah. I'm gonna get printouts of all my counts and speak with the infusion nurses. They are a wealth of info and knowledge.”

“from lls.org:

Last week, seven presidential candidates participated in Lance Armstrong's Livestrong Presidential Cancer Forum in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The Forum, broadcast live on MSNBC and co-moderated by Lance Armstrong and Hardball anchor Chris Matthews, provided a platform for the candidates to discuss their commitment to making cancer research, prevention and treatment a national priority.

As many of you know, over the last four years, cancer research funding has fallen more than 10 percent in real dollars, forcing reductions in research grants and critical clinical trials. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society strongly supports increases in cancer research funding so that patients continue to benefit from new research, access to drugs and clinical trials.

Cancer and biomedical research must be a topic of great concern and discussion during the presidential campaign. We need your help to ensure that this vital issue receives the attention it deserves.

Please take a moment to send a letter of thanks or asking for support to one or all of the below listed Presidential Candidates. There are two examples of form letters that you may use in your message to the candidates.

View clips of the event.

Read Newsweek's commentary on the Forum.

Please take a moment to contact the candidates who did NOT participate in the Cancer Forum to ask their position on cancer and biomedical research and remind them of the importance of this issue. Open link and copy and paste sample letter:
Senator Joe Biden (D)
Senator Chris Dodd (D)
Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R)
Senator Mike Gravel (D)
Representative Duncan Hunter (R)

To thank the presidential candidates who did participate in the Cancer Forum, click on their name below. Open link and copy and paste sample letter:
Senator Sam Brownback (R)
Senator Hillary Clinton (D)
Senator John Edwards (D)
Governor Mike Huckabee (R)
Representative Dennis Kucinich (D)
Governor Bill Richardson (D)
Senator John McCain (R)
Senator Barack Obama (D)
Representative Ron Paul (R)
Governor Mitt Romney (R)
Representative Tom Tancredo (R)

If anyone would like the email forwarded, along with sample letters then shoot me an email”

“GO Bearmagnet! Beat Cancer!”

“www.laf.org has links to video and transcripts, post forum articles.

As you may know, I am participating in the LIVESTRONG Challenge in Portland, Oregon on September 30 to benefit the Lance Armstrong Foundation. I've formed a team called LIVESTRONG Columbia to reflect the wider PC Northwest. If you want to join me in supporting this great cause, please read on.

It’s been three years since I read "It's Not About The Bike" and "Every Second Counts" by Lance Armstrong, while watching the Tour de France. Through Lance's experience, I glimpsed what it is like: the treatment, the side effects, the emotional ups and downs. As a pathologist diagnosing cancer every day, I wanted all the more to fight to beat the disease. I did not want to let cancer take away the health, hope or life of my friends and loved ones.

I raised nearly $3,000 for the 2004 and 2005 Ride for the Roses in Austin and beat 6 hours total elapse time in my second century (100 mile) ride. What an awe inspiring, fabulous event. Survivors, care givers, healthcare workers and cyclists in one big celebration of life.

More than 10 million Americans are currently living with, through or beyond cancer, and more than 1.3 million people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with cancer this year alone.

In honor of my own professional battle with cancer, my friends and family members, and the millions of people affected, I’m participating in the LIVESTRONG Challenge-Portland, OR. I’m going to ride my bike 70 miles and raise at least $2,500 for the Lance Armstrong Foundation which was founded in 1997 by cancer survivor and champion cyclist, Lance Armstrong, to inspire and empower people affected by cancer.

If I raise $15,000, I will plan to go to Austin and ride 100 miles too!

I know I can do this with the support of friends like you. Would you please consider making a donation? Better yet, join the team: LIVESTRONG Columbia for the Portland event. You can donate online at livestrongchallenge.org. (see direct link below) email me at vann_schaffner@yahoo.com if you would like more information.

Thank you in advance for your time and generosity. I’ll keep you updated on my fundraising and training progress as I prepare for the event.

Warm Regards,

Vann Schaffner

Follow This Link to visit my personal web page and help me in my efforts to support Lance Armstrong Foundation

http://portland07.livestrong.org/pathman
******************************************************************************”

“RichB: My prayers are with you. Sounds like you are living strong! And Le Subtil!

Looks like Philly wants to beat cancer.

”

“Thanks, Pathman. That's great that the Livestrong Challenge raised that much money for cancer research. With so many people getting cancer, we need better treatments as fast as we can get them.
I noticed on a TV ad that a local cancer center just got a new radiation machine that uses 3D imaging and computer software to target tumors and spare as much surrounding tissue as possible.”

“RichB,
Portland is closing in on $1M, Austin is already over $2m. $5.5 M total including Philly.

It is not over yet. Run, walk, Ride, Celebrate, Learn, Support. Survivors, supporters, caregivers, professionals in the thousands, and Lance. The most inspiring events I have ever attended.

Portland event 9/29-9/30.
Austin 10/13-10/14
LIVESTRONG Challenge

LIVESTRONG Challenge Video

LAF LIVESTRONG Summit Opening

last edited: 9/09/07 6:36:24 AM”

“That's awesome, Lance Armstrong has really inspired people to get involved. They just had the Race for a Cure here yesterday.”

“September 11, 2007
Editorial
Cancer’s High Toll on the Uninsured

The American Cancer Society’s new advertising campaign urging access to quality health care for all Americans will bring home in gripping terms what happens to people without health insurance. When it comes to dealing with cancer, any delay in detection or treatment, as is common among the uninsured or poorly insured, can be fatal.

The society decided to devote its entire advertising budget this year to the problem of inadequate health coverage after reaching a stark and sobering conclusion. It has no hope of meeting its goal of reducing cancer death rates by 50 percent, and incidence rates by 25 percent, from 1990 to 2015 unless cancer patients gain quicker access to screening and treatment. As Kevin Sack recently reported in The Times, the society’s chief executive, John Seffrin, believes that, unless the health care system is fixed, “lack of access will be a bigger cancer killer than tobacco.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/11/opinion/11tue3.html?e...rss&pagewanted=print”

“I'm not a social medicine advocate, but the massive holes that are out there just suck. Someone like you who had a blip in employment winds up with a gaping hole in insurance coverage and then gets screwed. Joe down at the mill works his butt off for his family but has marginal or no coverage. The working poor are screwed too. I obviously don't have solutions just big time gripes.”

“How's it going bearmagnet?”

“For some reason I'm irritated as #&%!$. Har yu doin'?”

“Access to health care is one problem with no easy solution. There's another problem regarding cancer care creeping up that nobody talks much about. In several years, it's projected that there will be a shortage of oncologists. Numbers vary between 2,500 to 4000 too few to serve an aging population. That's not good news when you consider that around one in three people will get cancer at some point in life. People are surviving longer too meaning more office visits to a limited number of doctors. It just makes it more likely that the wait will be longer to get an appointment even if you have insurance and waiting when you have cancer or even a problem later on isn't something anyone wants to do. One way they plan to cope with the shortage is to have an oncologist work with other doctors as a team. You may not get to see the oncologist directly, but he or she will make decisions for you and send that information downward through associates.

Good doctors are extremely busy and offices are swamped with patients, at least where I go for care. I can't imagine what it will be like with more people seeking care and less doctors to go around.”

“Right now, I am in desperate need of coffee. Otherwise doing well. Did you ever get your platelent count issue straightened out?”

“RichB - my doc has been the "interim" Director of Lombardi for too long. Her case load and admin responsibilities show in her face. My chemo was delayed to one of her non-clinic days. So now instead of me going from Lombardi to see her, then to treatment, she has to come off from doing rounds and come see me at the treatment center before I'm released for chemo.

It's frikken chaotic as hell for her.

Pathman - My doc said it was within normal parameters for chemo rebound. Yesterday there was a 15min delay between one of my infusions. I have a saline drip but I still clotted up somehow and they had too flush. Lucky my arteries/heart are damn clear, eh? Might also be why they check cholesterol before my cycle starts.”

“Love ya Bear!”

“Thanks Crazy! Heres a neat observable effect of chemo:

Monday: Absolute Neutrophil Count=11,600. WBC=12.7
Wednesday: Chemo
Thursday: Absolute Neutrophil Count=4,800. WBC=6.2”

“Bear, it makes me wonder where the doctors in teaching hospitals have the time to teach students, do research, go to classes in increase their knowledge, see patients and then follow up with phone calls and problems. I know they only see patients a few days per week, but it's lot to do.”

““Bear, it makes me wonder where the doctors in teaching hospitals have the time to teach students, do research, go to classes in increase their knowledge, see patients and then follow up with phone calls and problems. I know they only see patients a few days per week, but it's lot to do.”

This is exactly why I left the University of New Mexico. It was impossible. Something gets neglected, I neglected my "Scholarly activities" (research and writing) as that was not what I was best at. I wanted to teach and take care of patients. On top of that, they are the lowest paid Drs. of all. Soon it will be mostly foreign medical grads and double income couples (usually both Drs) who staff the teaching hospitals.

Stepping off the soap box. ”

“I didn't know they were the lowest paid and that surprises me. I've noticed that you don't see many older doctors in teaching hospitals. Maybe by the time they get to a certain age they've had enough. Interesting that you mentioned that about the double income couples. My ENT doctor is married to a radiation oncologist in the same facility.”

“I think I need to make space for that game, pathman.

I dunno how my doc does it, she's got clinic twice a week and rounds twice a week.”

“I know this has probably already been stated before but what type of cancer are you guys beating?”

“I'm fighting Hodgkin's Lymphoma - Round II”

“For me throat cancer that spread to my right lung. I can't say I'm beating anything right now because I haven't started any treatment yet.”

“BIG hugs and lots of prayers!!!......ya'll are so brave!!!!!”

“I deal with a lot of different types of cancer on the job and I have come to the conclusion that cancer is like cars. All cars are cars but no two types are the same. I've been trying to learn more about the different kinds as I come across them so I can know more.”

“Check out www.cancer.gov”

“Well, we had an appointment Tuesday with my main Dr. at U-M.
Although I am in "complete remission" and I did well with the first auto transplant, I am still high risk and the Dr. wants to treat me very aggressively. He put me on maintenance chemo with Velcade and Dex
twice a week, two weeks on one week off, with Thalodomide every day. He also put me back on 6 prophalytic drugs. It was so nice taking only one pill for the last 6 weeks! Dr. J. and my transplant Dr. will
discuss more but it looks like they may want to do a second auto transplant also.
It's all kinda scary and weird; I feel so good and I've responded so well yet they keep telling me how sick I am. I participated in a teleconference with another Dr. from Arkansas last week, on treating high risk patients and they recommended more or less the same aggressive treatment. They also mentioned that some high risk patients who stayed in remission for 2-3 years actually had better prognosis than low risk - maybe 8 years! SO there is hope.
So I'm trying to get back in shape and trying to eat well and take car of myself and get ready to do it all (transplant) again. My wife/caregiver has been wonderous, and my kids and friends and fellow patients have helped me get through this without feeling so alone. Thanks so much to all of you.”

“Definitely pulling for you, Craig. Thanks for the update.”

“Love hearing the good news. Keep it coming!”

“fight the fight LS. Good to hear you're feeling well.”

“RichB--I thought you had beat the throat cancer thing? that bit about it moving to the right lung sucks...by the way, another thing I forgot...do you have squamous cell carcinoma like I did or something else?

Bear, keep fighting! You are amazing!

le Subtil...yep, sounds weird and scary...I am glad you have a great support group...it helps a lot!

To all of us...we are still on the right side of the grass so things are not so bad...hugs all round!”

“Le Subtil - I'm glad this round turned out so well in the end and sorry you have to face another round. I respect your attitude in all this and am really impressed by what I saw from your wife and family on care pages. Bless you all.

This continues to be the most meaningful thread for me on TT. I feel such a fellowship with everyone here who is battling cancer now, or who has gone a round or more.

Here's a poem from a poster being sold at http://www.cancerclub.com/ (I'd be interested in what people think of that site)

[b]What Cancer Cannot Do[/b]

Cancer is so limited...
It cannot cripple love,
It cannot shatter hope,
It cannot corrode faith,
It cannot destroy peace,
It cannot kill friendship,
It cannot suppress memories,
It cannot silence courage,
It cannot invade the soul,
It cannot steal eternal life,
It cannot conquer the Spirit.”

“Matahari, I'm only 15 months from having throat cancer surgery so I could only be considered to be in remission up until now. Yes, I have squamous cell cancer, the most common form of throat cancer and it worse than sucks that it's now on my lung. I guess it could suck even more if it happened to be in my neck or new throat, but who knows. This is bad enough. The throat cancer I had in 1999 was considered to be a separate cancer since I went 5 years without a relapse. I guess you can say I only really beat bone marrow cancer and skin cancer. The others never really went away, still haunt me and I don't know if they'll ever go away.”

“RichB, your response to my question is heartbreaking...you've gone through so much and you're still so damn young! What do they intend to do about the lung? How did they find it? MRI? PET scan? I would be getting really tired of it all by now if I were you but you are stonger than I am...

It's strange but when I was diagnosed with tongue cancer the only clue something was wrong was an enlarged lymph gland in my neck...aside from that, I had no problems...I often wonder how long that would have continued had I not received any kind of treatment...squamous seems to be such a slow grower...they figured I could have had the tongue cancer for years..

I believe that the only way to really get rid of cancer is to cut it out as immature cancer cells are not touched by chemo and we are always at risk for a reoccurring relapse...this is what my body tells me...since I have a long history of my body telling me things the medical profession believed untrue which later was proven to be true, I listen to it...when I had mono in 1963 I told my doctors the liver regenerated...they told me it did not...in the later 60's it was found it did...

Time to build up those red blood cells, RichB...my heart goes out to you...”