Good Health Friday

My reports from the Oncologist are back and my blood works has improved, my red blood cells and white blood cells are still low below the norm, but my body seems to be dealing with the two types of immunotherapies that are being pushed into my body to fight Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma and Melanoma.  My thyroid is not getting worse.  My nausea has all but disappeared.  My fatigue has all but disappeared as well.  I am on a routine of monthly IVIG which over a couple of months will assist in my improvements.  And, it appears that all my internal organs are functioning the way they should.  My sinus infections are gradually disappearing and the antibiotics are improving my facial skin infections.

I will continue to have a CT scan every three month but it will no longer be swapped out with a PET scan until some metabolic activity shows up on the CT scan...  The urgency there has been somewhat mitigated although it could worsen in time...  but, I don't think about that.

My heart monitor showed that I have no signs or any concern for afib returning so I am off of Xarelto and my bruise will begin to fade and my arms will look normal again.

My blotchy skin on my arms, face, neck, and shoulders is a sign that the drugs are killing the cancer and returning it to its normal pink color.

My cancer journey began in 2007 and in 2021 and after 13 years of treatment, I am beginning to show better than normal improvement, given where my Oncologist said I was 2 years ago from the standpoint that he was not sure he could stop what was happening to me.  At the end of 2021, I will end my 14th year and begin my 15th year...

Time flies when you are having fun...

Thinking Out Loud

My time to awake each morning is usually between 7:30 and 8:00 am each morning and I go to bed at night around 10:00 pm so I am receiving about 8-9 hours sleep minus the 2-3 times that I get up each night to urinate which is rather normal for a person of my age; although, I have heard that as we get older that we actually need less and less sleep.

Each morning when I awake, I still feel a little sleepy but rather than go back to bed, I force myself mentally to get up and begin my day and within minutes my sleepiness has faded and oftentimes has disappeared completely.  First, I give our 3 cats a treat, then take my thyroid pill, then put a little food in the cat's 3 bowls, then prepare my coffee...  all of this takes about 15-20 minutes.

Cable FOX News is selected on our big screen and I sit on the couch, drink coffee, and begin to write...  and this, is my daily routine unless I have an early morning appointment with the doctor.  My appointments at UT Medical at usually in the mornings so I can find a parking space and are in the afternoons at all my other appointments.

I have been mowing the yard once a week on Thursdays, vacuuming our above ground pool every Saturday, weed eat every other Friday, take the recycle out every other Thursday, and the trash out every Friday, and whether I need to relax or not, I get into the hot tub for about 45 minutes every other night.  The time in the tub is fine because I have turned the temperature down to 98 degrees...  it is the massage jets that I really want to use.

My life is like this now because my cancer treatments are preventing my two cancers from growing as I get a CT scan or a PET scan every other month.  Regardless of my cancer(s) and their diagnosis, I eat healthy focusing on fish, chicken, beans, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and Pita bread.  I consume no alcohol, minimal soft drinks...  but, I do treat myself to a loaded PIZZA every other month.

My  daily nausea and fatigue has disappeared as have my night sweats although there is always the fear and/or concern that they could always return on day.  I also live with the THREAT that my cancers either one or both could TURN AGGRESSIVE as well.  My treatments are all immunotherapies plus my monthly infusion of IVIG to help bolster my immune system to fight infections.

My12 year treatment has left me with a damaged Thyroid and a very low immune system along with anemia.  My skin is blotched all over my arms, neck, and face as if I had suffered burns from a fire.  My vision is slightly less than it was along with a reduction in my hearing.  My teeth seem to be unaffected by all the treatment.  The thinning of the hair on my head is due to old age not my cancer treatments.  Fortunately, all my internal organs seem to hold steady with their functionality, including my heart which was damaged 12 or so years ago.

I am a 73 year old man that seems to have the health status of a rather healthy 73 year old man...  the only exception is that I am not exercising like I should be exercising and if I do not return soon to that exercising, my body will pay the price over the next few years.  However, I am still doing yard work from time-to-time which is good but hardly makes up the difference.

Over Thirteen Years and Counting

 

Except for the one year spent in KY where my Oncologist there prescribed the chemo drugs that made me violently sick two days after my infusions, lasting for another two day, my treatments since 2007 have been rather uneventful and have only caused me nausea, extreme fatigue, 30-50 pounds of  weight gain, no immunity from other diseases, and a damaged thyroid.  I would say that is pretty damn good for thirteen years of ongoing treatment that has included:

• Chemotherapy
• Surgery
• Radiation
• Immunotherapy

My hair never fell out, although I have been losing my hair since I was 21 years old.  My eyesight never deteriorated. My internal organs like my heart, liver, kidneys, and lungs were never damaged from the extended intake of infused toxins into my body.

Needless to say, I am glad that I am no longer vomiting all the time for two days straight ever month, but I am wondering if experiencing constant fatigue is just as bad if not worse...  especially for someone who has been physically active for their entire life or at least up until the age of 60.

Still, my life has forever been changed by my battle against two cancers.  I can no longer spend as much time in the sun as I want to spend without wearing long sleeve UV shirts and pants or a great deal of high UV protection sun screen...  and the clothing is by far the better choice.  I also have to watch what I eat as certain foods encourage the growths of cancers.

One out of every five Americans will contract some form of cancer during their lifetimes and I don't wish that experience on anyone.

A Good Day

The middle of May 2020 will be looked back upon as a transition point for my change of health conditions which could alter in a heartbeat, but this has definitely been a transition month for the better.

First, my Cardiologist, after wearing a heart monitor for a month, said I no longer had to take Xarelto, the super duper blood thinner.  So now, my arms will no longer show the blue and black tattoo bruises that have been so obvious recently.

Second, my Dermatologist put me on an antibiotic that is dealing rather well with my skin infection that was present on my face, little welts that itched and when scratched bled real bad and turned the area around the welt a dark shade of red, but not really a bruise.  

My Oncologist sent through an order for monthly IVIG infusions, so within a couple of four months with these and my sinus infections should stop and it should also help with my skin infections and perhaps I can stop taking the antibiotic.

My ongoing cancer treatments for Lymphoma and Opdivo seem to continue to be working in that there is no metabolic activity present with either cancer which is a very good sign and it is hoped that this will continue to be the case.

My weight is down 30 pounds largely due to three factors:

1. I am counting and reducing my calorie intake
2. My staph infection and loss of appetite
3. My colon cleanse for my colonoscopy

And...  while I am still about 20 pounds over-weight I still feel a lot better physically not that I have shed 30 pounds.

My constant fatigue has almost disappeared and has become intermittent and my daily nausea has disappeared as there have been no signs of that for weeks.  My appetite has returned but I do not feel constantly hungry.

My diet is totally focused on fish, chicken, beans, and vegetables with heavy doses of onion, bell peppers, mushrooms, and garlic, along with eggs, oatmeal, non-processed cheeses, whole wheat breads.

My sleep habits are uninterrupted and I no longer feel the need to take afternoon naps nor do I wake up still feeling sleepy after sleeping for 8-10 hours.

These are all good signs for a person of 73 years of age.

Virus Therapy

NEW YORK — When cancer patients have an inoperable tumor, treatment options can be extremely limited — if not impossible. New research is offering some hope for patients batting such devastating circumstances. Doctors at NYU Langone Health say a new virus therapy is offering hope to patients without a surgical option. In clinical trials, a common cold virus combined with an immunotherapy drug infects and kills cancer cells.

Study authors say this is one of the first experiments to prove oncolytic viruses can safely boost existing cancer therapies. Currently, immunotherapies which help the human immune system kill cancer cells only successfully shrink tumors in a third of patients.

The new virus combo injects patients with an experimental drug created using a coxsackievirus, V937. Patients also receive pembrolizumab, an immunotherapy drug also known as pembro or Keytruda. Thirty-six men and women participated in the trial, receiving the therapy every few weeks for a minimum of two weeks.

The combined treatments successfully shrank melanoma tumors in 47 percent of these patients. Moreover, eight of the patients taking both drugs went into complete cancer remission with no signs of their skin cancer.

“Our initial study results are very promising and show that this oncolytic virus injection, a modified coxsackievirus, when combined with existing immunotherapy is not only safe but has the potential to work better against melanoma than immunotherapy alone,” says study senior investigator and medical oncologist Dr. Janice Mehnert, in a media release.

Serious side-effects remain
Study authors note the experimental treatment does have some noticeable side-effects, both mild and severe. Most of the participants developed mild reactions, such as a rash or fatigue. However, 13 patients (36%) experienced serious immune reactions in the liver, stomach, or lungs. Researchers say these reactions also occur in cancer patients taking pembrolizumab alone.  READ MORE

COVID Vaccine

On Thursday April 1, 2021, my second COVID Vaccine shot took affect and my COVID protection was at 96%...  and, the Public Health Nurse who gave me my shot told me that I no longer (after April 1) had to wear a facemask or social distance unless I wanted or or unless it was required.

This is the SCIENCE and according to President Biden, we should follow the science... and, while that may or may not be true or factual to think that way, I am still concerned especially with my age and health condition that I should be especially careful...  and so, required or not required, I still plan to social distance and wear my facemask.

I am in my 14th year of receiving cancer treatments for non-Hodgkin's "B" cell Lymphoma while at the same time, I am in my 7th year of receiving treatment for metastatic Melanoma leaving me anemic and with an extremely low immune system...  so, it does not take much for me to get sick...  therefore, whether I like it or not, I MUST BE CAREFUL.

My cancer treatments have screwed up my THYROID and so I am taking medication to regulate that properly and recently I have been feeling more fatigued than usual so I am wondering if my medication needs to be increased...

Once you start treatment for one illness, other illnesses will somehow seek you out.

Ubiquitous Cancer

From The National Cancer Institute

                                                                                        

Coping with Cancer

You may have just learned that you have cancer. Or you may be in treatment, finishing treatment, or have a friend or family member with cancer. Having cancer changes your life and the lives of those around you. The symptoms and side effects of the disease and its treatment may cause certain physical changes, but they can also affect the way you feel and how you live.

The information in this section is meant to help you cope with the many issues and concerns that occur when you have cancer. There are resources available to help you learn about your disease and about the people who can help you. See NCI’s publications on coping and evidence-based PDQ® summaries about supportive and palliative care topics. Young people with cancer may find the Emotional Support and Care for Young People with Cancer page helpful.

Feelings and Cancer
Cancer can bring up a wide range of feelings, whether you're in treatment now, done with treatment, or a friend or family member. Learn tips for coping with the many emotions that arise with cancer.

Adjusting to Cancer
Information that helps you and your family face life’s changes from cancer. Includes talking with your doctors, talking to children, changes for the family, and information on cancer support groups.

Self-Image and Sexuality
Cancer and its treatment can affect how you look and feel about yourself and your body. There are steps you can take to cope with body changes and issues related to sexuality and intimacy.

Day-to-Day Life During Cancer
While dealing with cancer can be hard, there are actions you can take to adjust to your new way of life. Find tips for keeping up with your daily routine, going back to work, and finding comfort and meaning.

Support for Caregivers of Cancer Patients

If you are helping your family member or friend through cancer treatment, you are a caregiver. Being a caregiver can be very stressful, but you can find ways to care for yourself while caring for others.

Cancer Survivorship

Many cancer survivors say that once treatment ended, it was hard to make a transition to a new way of life. Find out how to adjust to physical and emotional changes, deal with common family issues, and plan for follow-up care after treatment.

Cancer Effects Long Term

From MD Anderson

LONG TERM EFFECTS OF CANCER

As a cancer survivor, you’re ready to move on with life after cancer. However, side effects from your disease or aggressive treatment methods may interfere with your quality of life. Some may be temporary, and others may last a lifetime. Learn more about the common side effects faced by cancer survivors like you, and how to manage them effectively.

Fatigue is the most common complaint of cancer survivors. Cancer-related fatigue can be mild or severe, temporary or long-lasting, but there are ways to feel less tired and more energetic.

Cancer Recurrence or Secondary Cancers
All cancer survivors live with the possibility that their cancer will come back or spread (metastasize). Some also may develop secondary cancers. Regular follow-up exams, cancer screenings, and reporting symptoms to your doctor can help detect new or spreading cancers as early as possible.

Dental and Oral Problems
Chemotherapy and radiation treatments, especially to the head and neck area, can increase the risk of long-term dental problems. These may include damage to the tooth enamel, gum disease, tooth decay or tooth loss. Mouth ulcers can be painful and make it difficult for you to eat, talk and swallow.

Xerostomia (dry mouth) is common in head and neck cancer survivors because salivary glands are susceptible to radiation damage.

Diabetes
Steroid drugs used to treat certain cancers may increase blood glucose levels in some patients who do not have diabetes. Although it's unclear if these patients will develop diabetes, they are at higher risk because their glucose levels may remain elevated after treatment ends.

Endocrine Changes
Some cancer treatments remove estrogen and testosterone from the body to keep a tumor from growing. These treatments, known as hormone ablation therapy, are most commonly used on prostate and breast cancer patients, who may experience the following side effects:

• Decreased sex drive
• Memory loss
• Anemia
• Decreased muscle mass
• Depression
• Weight gain
• Loss of body hair
• Hypothyroidism

Survivors of head and neck cancers who were treated with radiation therapy often suffer from hypothyroidism, which occurs when the damaged thyroid does not produce enough hormones. Symptoms include weight gain, constipation, dry skin and sensitivity to cold. Thyroid medication can manage these side effects.

Incontinence
Incontinence is the inability to control urination and bowel movements. Removal of the prostate or bladder increases the possibility of urinary incontinence. Treatment for colon, anal and rectal cancers may make it harder to control your bowels (fecal incontinence). Corrective surgery to repair or replace the anal sphincter may ease fecal incontinence. Simple exercises to strengthen the muscles in the pelvic floor can also help you regain control over bowel movements.

Infertility
Radiation to the abdominal area may cause infertility in both sexes. Certain chemotherapy drugs can permanently damage the ovaries in women or the testes in men. Abdominal surgery for several types of cancer (particularly prostate, bladder, ovarian and uterine cancers) increase risk of infertility in both men and women. If you’re worried about being able to have children after cancer treatment, MD Anderson can help you preserve your eggs or sperm before treatment.

Learning & Memory Problems
Many cancer patients have problems with learning and memory during and immediately after treatment with certain chemotherapy drugs, a condition known as "chemobrain."

Lymphedema
Lymphedema occurs when lymph nodes under the arm are damaged by radiation or surgically removed. Lymphatic fluid accumulates in the tissue, causing painful inflammation, swelling and limited movement.

Neuropathy
Neuropathy, a tingling or burning sensation in the hands and feet due to nerve damage, can be caused by radiation, surgery or chemotherapies that contain taxanes, platinum, vincristine and thalidomide.

Organ Damage
Certain types of cancer treatment, particularly chemotherapy drugs, can age or damage major organs, which can result in long-term health problems that appear as you age or have other health problems.

• Heart failure: Symptoms include shortness of breath, feeling weak and tired after regular activity or while at rest, chest discomfort or feeling the heart beat fast.
• Lung and airway damage: Some antibiotics, chemotherapy medicines or types of biotherapies can damage tissues in the lungs and bronchial tubes. Common symptoms of lung damage include problems breathing, coughing or pneumonia.
• Liver damage: Symptoms may include dark urine, pale stools, yellowing of the eyes or skin, abdominal swelling or pain, flu-like symptoms or severe fatigue. Some chemotherapy drugs require regular blood tests to check liver function.
• kidneys: Symptoms of kidney damage include decreased urine flow, bladder irritation, blood in the urine, or a burning feeling while urinating.

Osteoporosis
Bone loss is a common side effect for survivors of lymphoma, leukemia, breast and prostate cancers. Osteoporosis can be caused by the cancer itself, cortisone-type drugs, treatment-induced menopause, cancer cells in the bone marrow and treatments that affect testosterone levels.

Pain
Pain can linger for years after cancer treatment, severely affecting quality of life. Managing chronic pain in cancer survivors may require a combination of drugs, physical therapy, support groups and/or complementary therapies.

Sexual Dysfunction
Many cancer patients experience sexual side effects, particularly those with tumors in reproductive organs. Erectile dysfunction (ED) can occur in men, and women may suffer from sudden menopause or vaginal dryness.

A Spouse's CT Scan

Today, my wife goes into UT Medical for a CT Scan to see if her Lymphoma Cancer is still in remission as it has been for the last four years and there is a 50/50 chance that it will remain that way so one might say that the odds are in her favor...  although, some people do not believe in odds, nor do they believe in luck as the saying goes, luck favors the prepared.  But luck and the odds also favor the will of God and all those who believe in the teachings of Jesus...   and, if you are not sure what it is that Jesus said or taught about, all his words as they were remembered by Matthew are in RED in most Bibles.

My CT Scan is the week after next and while it is not going to determine if I am in remission, it will provide my Oncologist with a better understanding of the tumor in my lung and if it has grown large enough for me to have a biopsy.  Biopsies are not always those kinds of procedures that one looks forward to unless the results are positive and I suppose that there is a 50/50 chance there as well.

While cancer is not always a function of age, age is always a function that something is going to go wrong with one's body (as it is always just a matter of time) and it is that opportunity that older people always must look forward to.

• My physical endurance when working outside has been cut in half
• My ability to walk up the stairs of a cruise ship from bottom to top has been restricted
• My strength to lift objects above my head without shoulder joint pain is limited
• My hip joints hurt when I sleep too long on one side
• My eyes can no longer see the tiny print on a computer screen in dim light
• My back gets thrown out of whack if I bend over wrong

OLD AGE IS A BITCH MY FRIENDS...  and, it is bound to get worse before I die, since there is little possibility that it will ever get better.

No doubt, my wife's CT Scan will be clean and her cancer remains in remission and each time I look over at her, she has her earphones in and is dancing about as if she really does not give a damn...  we all need to follow her example.

I Have Watched Myself Grow Old

Ever since 1990, when I moved to TN from NC at the age of 43, I have been aware of myself physically and mentally rather than via instincts and have, for the last 30 years, watched myself grow old...  older and older each day...  each week...  each month...  each year...  each decade...  and, the aging process is not always that pretty or welcomed.  I lost my closest friend along the way who died of colon cancer in his 60's and my other closest friendship was ended when I decided to have my taxes prepared locally.  Losing friends is not so easy...  and, making new ones is harder than one might expect...  so, for the last 30 years, my friends have been my co-workers and/or the friends that my wife brought into this marriage...  who would not really be my friends any longer if we were ever to divorce...

So...  from age 43-60, there was hardly any aging process at all...  at least none that I could detect.  I was eating healthy, sleeping appropriately, never got sick, never got the flu, and my wife and I were fast walking 5 miles a day around our community (so it was not always flat) and the healthy eating included hardly ever any red meat, no fried foods, minimal sugars and/or sweets, minimal alcohol, and mostly fruits and vegetables...

My blood pressure was low and my cholesterol was low (both the good and the bad) and the only issue that could have bothered me during those 17 years of relative BLISS was the amount of STRESS that I encountered each day.  My career had taken off in that I was working 60+ hour weeks and bring work home on the weekends...  and, it was not because my bosses demanded that amount of time but because I wanted to give it or that I felt like my job needed it as I always went above and beyond.

AT THE AGE OF 60...  my world turned to shit...  not literally but figuratively or metaphorically I suppose would be better because my world of health turned upside down...  I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (SLL) and started treatment in 2008.  In 2009, it was discovered that I had experienced a heart attack while walking on the treadmill and exploratory surgery indicated that I needed a triple bypass.

My LAD (the widow maker) was blocked 100% and two other arteries on the left side of my heart were both blocked 90%.  Instead of having a bypass, I had my arteries cleaned out and stints inserted that took 3 operations in 2009 and 2010.  There procedures were performed at Presbyterian Hospital in NYC.  My Cardiologist said that because I was so damn healthy that my body created its own bypass by created dozens of vessels to transport blood which is what actually saved my life.

In 2012, Melanoma appeared on the bottom of my left foot probably brought by some of the drugs used for my chemo treatments and after being surgically removed reappeared in force in 2017 which resulted in me receiving radiation treatments.  Fatigue and nausea were my daily routine until my doctors discovered that my Thyroid was out of whack due to my chemo treatments.  And, while the fatigue and nausea have almost disappeared, they are lurking just around the corner I fear.

A prostate biopsy in 2020 left me with negative results but a high PSA puts me in a situation where I will be monitored often from now on...  And, because I had several polyps removed in a 2018 colonoscopy, my new routine for that procedure is now every 2 years instead of 5 or 10...  with my next one being scheduled for January 2021.

One would think that this would be enough, but the past July I was admitted to the ER with a Staph infection in my blood and because of afib, heart failure, kidney failure, and a blood pressure of 79/59, I was admitted to the hospital for 6 days.  Now my Cardiologist has informed me that once one has experienced afib, it will be with them for the rest of their lives.

My last PET scan that showed no metabolic activity in either of my cancers revealed that I have a tumor in one of my lungs that is just a few CM's in length (too small to biopsy) and I am scheduled for another CT scan in a couple of weeks to see if it has grown.

Because of all the chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and radiation my body virtually has no immune system and is experiencing anemia...  so, every other month, I am now receiving an infusion of IVIG which is supposed to help supplement what the treatments have taken away...  but, I am still susceptible to catching almost any other disease...  especially COVID...  and, that scare has kept me in the house unless I have to leave for any doctor's appointment...  but, when I do, I ALWAYS WEAR A MASK...

For 17 years I did everything right and was a model of physical health, exercise, and eating habits, but that made no difference at all...  and, while I am not angry or feel wrong for what I did, I still don't really understand why it happened to me and not someone else...  especially that someone who does not take care of themselves like I did.

Today, except for some major and minor adjustment, I feel pretty good about myself and my health and if you were to see me on the street, you would not suspect that I had a serious heart attack and had been receiving cancer treatments for 13 years.

When I Think Back...

I was at the mature age of 60 when the shit hit the fan as far as my health was concerned and my life, for many reasons the least of which is cancer, has never been the same.  I was diagnosed with cancer, then a heart attack, and three surgeries to insert stints, then monthly chemo treatments, semi annual scans, night sweats, constant nausea and fatigue...  and, then the second cancer arrived which prompted surgery and a few years later, it returned and my doctors turned to radiation and when all was said and done, I was still feeling kinda poorly when a malfunctioning thyroid was then discovered.  And, to make matter a tad worse than they were, I ended up in hospital with a staph infection in my blood and a situation where I almost died once and for all...

Obviously, that did not occur to which I am grateful, but I wonder what will happen next now that my prostate biopsy has, for all intents and purposes turned out to be negative except for one lingering spot that down the road might give me problems.

And, while all is well, all is not ending well it seems because on my lungs a new tumor was found growing quite inconspicuously and a new CT scan will be performed in a month just to see what there might be to see...  if there is anything there to see at all...  still, there is this tumor which might be nothing or something, we do not know, but either way, I believe that it too much go...  which means perhaps another surgery...  after the surgery to biopsy that is.

So, when I think back on what it was like to be HEALTH FREE, I find it all not similar at all to being debt free and buying everything on the basis of cash and carry.

The Day After the Day After

It is the morning of the day after the day of my surgery and the feeling is mutual and I am in agreement with myself that much better do I feel now that the bleeding when I urinate has stopped...  and, while I knew that I would it is still always reassuring when that happens as one was told just before leaving the surgery center.  

Since 2007, when first diagnosed with cancer my life has forever been changed and while I would not say for the worst or for the better, I would say that it has simply changed as I am no longer the man or person I was before that date...  and, it is true that obviously I am older but not yet more wise, I still believe my persona has been forever changed.

And, it is true that we live in strange times and quite possibly more strange for those of us who are older, our country is changing right before our eyes just as my body has changed right before my eyes and there is nothing anyone can do to change either fact of life.

It is a strange feeling indeed to live with cancer(s) and to be told that you are living on borrowed time but I have always believed quite strongly that my time is not and has never been my own that my life has always been guided by some unseen force of life, not completely understood by me or others but there nonetheless...  it is this force of life that has prevented me from becoming rich or ending up poor and it is this force of life that has guided my life from the moment I took my first breath.  It is not necessarily a good or bad force nor is the force indifferent, it is however a force of life that compels without compelling and that moves without moving.

I am here on earth for as long as I am supposed to be on earth and I will do exactly that which I am supposed to do while I am here, believing that I still make my own decisions...  it is just that events around me that are unknown to me at the time and in the future put me into a position to make the decisions that I do...  and, while that seems a bit scary, it is still a truth that I believe very strongly.

OPDIVO (Nivolumab) linked to Arthritis

        

Case reports on 13 cancer patients suggest that a small number of cancer patients taking the immunotherapy drugs ipilimumab and nivolumab may be at some higher-than-normal risk of developing autoimmune joint and tissue diseases, including inflammatory arthritis, according to a preliminary study by Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers.

“I don't think anyone is particularly surprised that rheumatologic disorders might be a complication of drugs that boost the immune system,” says study author Laura C. Cappelli, M.D., a rheumatologist at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. But the new study, however small in sample size, she says, is believed to be the largest published case series of a link between the drugs and the diseases.

The patients described in the new case report make up only about 1.3 percent of the total patients treated with drugs — singly or in combination — at The Johns Hopkins Hospital from 2012 to 2016, Cappelli says, but if further research confirms a cause-and-effect relationship, the rate is likely an underestimation of how common rheumatologic diseases are in patients taking so-called immune checkpoint inhibitors. She notes that patients with only mild joint pain, for instance, or those with already deteriorating health from their cancers may not have been referred to the rheumatology clinic for their symptoms.  READ ENTIRE ARTICLE...

MY CONCERNS:  As a cancer patient who has been and is currently being treated for Melanoma with monthly infusions of OPDIVO, I have been to a orthopedic doctor who tells me that my arthritis is not just getting worse but my X-rays show that my spine (because of the arthritis) should belong to a much older person...  as my lower back problems have worsen during the last year.

Cancer and Lower Back Pain

Opdivo Day

Once a month,  I have an early morning drive down to the UT Medical Cancer Center for my 30 minute infusion of Opdivo for my Melanoma.  I mention early because if I don't get down there by 7:30/8:00 am then if it very difficult to find a parking place....  right beside the Cancer Center that is...  I can drive over to the parking garage and take the elevator to the ground floor and walk over to the Cancer Center but it seen, at least by me, as an inconvenience.

When I started these Chemo Treatments in 2007/2008, the parking lot in front of the Cancer Center stayed half full all day long...

When I finished today at 9:30 am, all the spaces were taken, people had parked along the curb where there was space, and there were a dozen cars circling around the lot waiting for people like me to leave. 

Since UT Medical Center is a public medical facility, I am sure that the increase is because many of the other private hospitals are refusing to care for these patients with limited or no insurance...   and, I have noticed over the last 12 years or so that the caliber of the patients has decreased...   in that the way they are dressed, their hygiene, and the way they talk including poor grammar.

Being an English Major in College, I notices these things...

A nurse asked me today, how long was I going to be getting these treatments and I replied, "until I die or they no longer work."

T O D A Y

Today has been another good day other than the fact that I did not fall asleep the night before until after 2:00 am which is not typical for me and could have been caused by my cancer meds or by my Thyroid meds and/or condition.  Going to sleep at that hour would not have been that bad, had it not been for the fact that I also woke up 3 times during the night to PISS which points to a problem with my prostate.  Straying away from routine causes my bowels to go on vacation as well as I am sure that they think they need a break as well.

Being 72 puts me in the old age category whether I like it or not with the only exception being that someone in their seventies is younger than someone in their eighties who is younger than someone in their nineties...  BUT, all three decades of age are still considered OLD AGE...

AND, one must also understand that just because one walks a mile on the treadmill and peddles a stationary bike for 20 minutes does not mean that their body is fully conditioned to perform whatever manual labor needs to be performed around the house, especially since I have arthritis in my shoulders, hips, knees, and back.

Sometimes in the late afternoon, my stomach starts to act up and I cannot tell if I am experiencing nausea, acid reflux, or that I just need to eat something.  My first choice is to eat something then have some saltine crackers with a coke and if that doesn't work, I usually take 3 GAS X tablets...

Keeping the Faith for Over A Decade

ODYSSEY is a Greek epic poem written by Homer (a poet) about the long journey of a man named Odysseus (Greek King of Ithaca), or a long and eventual journey or experience...

My journey/experience has lasted almost 13 full years and while this journey started with one cancer:  non-Hodgkin's "B" cell Lymphoma, treatments for that cancer resulted in me having to remove 4 Squamous Cell Carcinomas on my upper body and a Melanoma off the bottom of my foot as well as upsetting the balance of my Thyroid.  Interestingly, surgery did not prevent my Melanoma from aggressively returning.  

My body, over the 12+ years, has suffered bouts with nausea, violent vomiting, constant and extreme fatigue, as well as the stress of weight gain (due to steroids) and the anxieties associated with my cancers becoming aggressive and unstoppable.What has been the most traumatic is not the nausea and vomiting because they can be offset or stopped with drugs and/or visits to the ER if necessary which is what I had to do several time; but the constant and extreme fatigue...  pills WILL NOT STOP fatigue from taking place...  Once fatigue starts, it NEVER leaves...  HOWEVER, recently it appears that my body has finally come to terms with its fatigue and is no longer (at least temporarily) present to the extent that I do not want to do anything.

WILL EVERYONE experience what I experienced?  Maybe or Maybe Not, the experience could be the same, no as bad, or worse...  each individual is different...  Last year, radiation was used with Opdivo infusions to KILL THE MELANOMA and it worked whereas in some individuals under similar circumstances, the combination has not worked.

Life In The Middle

Life in the Middle of what?


Oftentimes, over the last 12 years, I have perceived myself as being healthy or unhealthy, not necessarily because of exercise and/or eating healthy foods but because of my heart and cancer issues.


I have not really considered myself healthy or not healthy and yet I am both.


What brings this to my attention is every month when I go to the Cancer Center for treatment, I am always asked questions about by health because I look so healthy and when I inform them that I have been getting treatment for over 12 years, they are utterly amazed and look at me as if I am not telling them the truth,

On the other side of the coin:

• Some days, I feel wonderful
• Some days, I feel lousy 
• Some days, I feel nauseous
• Some days, I don't feel nauseous
• Some days, I feel fatigued
• Some days, I don't feel fatigued

It is like I do not belong in any one category.

For example:

When I had my severe heart attack, my Cardiologist said there was absolutely no reason for it

Non-Hodgkin's "B" Cell Lymphoma put me in one cancer group

Metastatic Melanoma put me in another cancer group

Thyroid issues now puts me in another group with/without cancer(s)

If there is Prostate Cancer discovered, I will be in yet another group

I cannot get into any cancer clinical trials because I have 2 cancers, not just 1