💨Every month... actually, every 4 four weeks (because there are two in December), I receive an infusion of OPDIVO which specifically targets my Melanoma and so far my Melanoma has been kept under check especially after it was exposed to 6 doses of radiation.
💨Everyday, I take two 140 ml capsules of Imbruvica which is designed to keep my non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma under control and so far it has worked... although, since it is a pill and not an infusion, there is an out-of-pocket cost that is very high and I am receiving a grant from the Leukemia & Lymphoma Foundation to pay for it... It is somewhere between $1,000 and $3,000 each month extra.
💨Most of the pills that I take daily are totally designed and focused on my heart (8 out of 12) because of a heart attack I suffered back in 2008/2009... not completely sure... Instead of a triple bypass, I had my arteries cleaned out and stints inserted (5 all totaled over 3 operations) and after being hospitalized for afib and heart failure, I was told that I would now experience afib for the rest of my life.
💨Everyday, I take a pill for my Thyroid and its regulation because it was damaged by all my cancer treatments over the last decade or so... the pills are good for 90 days only in case the dosage has to be increased/decreased depending upon special tests performed... and, when that is all worked out, I will receive them by mail each month or as needed.
💨I receive alternating CT and PET scans every 3 months which my insurance company has authorized to my Oncologist, but there is no correlation made if my Cardiologist or my Urologist orders one. My last PET scan was CLEAN or showed no metabolic activity however, there was a tumor in my lung that required another CT to be performed in 6 weeks... and, my insurance did not hesitate since it was targeting another concern. This scan is schedule for a week from yesterday.
💨Every two years, instead of every 5 or 10 years, I have a colonoscopy because of the numerous polyps that were removed the last time. I am not sure nor have I been informed that some of my cancer treatments may encourage colon cancer... but, since that is how I contracted my Melanoma, it is high on my list of concerns. However, I have been eating a lot of beans and vegetables all the same.
💨I made several recent trips to my Urologist and finally underwent a biopsy and out of 12 areas tested there was only 1 that offered some concern which the Urologist said would be watched but the odds were that nothing would probably happen.
💨I have been to several Orthopedic Doctors about issues with my lower back and that every once in a while I can bend over wrong and when that happens I can hardly stand up or move my body around in bed, to turn from side-to-side. Exercises can strengthen my back, but my lower back as well as along my spine and in my shoulder joints, I am experiencing more than normal arthritis for a man of my age.
💨While I have never been tested for bipolar disease, my daughter and my mother tested positive and the doctor for my daughter said that in all likelihood I had bipolar disease as well... I remember when I was 19, I was treated for depression because of the MILITARY DRAFT and the Vietnam War but after several months, I just stopped taking my pills. Throughout my life, I have experienced lows and highs but I always managed my own condition by keeping it hidden as best as I could.
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