Treatment Options for SLL

Options for SLL generally include:

Chemotherapy - Chemotherapy medicines can be given orally or through an injection into a vein. Some chemotherapy drugs for SLL are: Cytoxan or Neosar (cyclophosphamide), Fludara (fludarabine), Leukeran (chlorambucil), Nipent (pentostatin), Treanda or Bendeka (bendamustine), and Revlimid (lenalidomide). These drugs are often used in combination with each other or with another type of medicine.

Monoclonal Antibodies -  These medicines use the body’s natural immune system to fight cancer. They’re typically administered by an injection and are often given along with chemotherapy or another type of drug. Monoclonal antibodies that are used for SLL may include: Rituxan (rituximab), Campath (alemtuzumab), Gazyva (obinutuzumab), and Arzerra (ofatumumab).

Targeted Treatments - These therapies attack different targets on cancer cells. Imbruvica (Ibrutinib) and Zydelig (idelalisib) are examples of targeted treatments for SLL. Both of these medicines are pills that are taken by mouth and are sometimes used with other therapies.

Steroids Steroids  - may be used to destroy cancer cells or treat autoimmune issues in people with SLL or CLL.

Radiation Radiation -  therapy uses high energy rays to destroy cancer cells. It’s occasionally used in people with SLL.

Bone Marrow Transplant - A bone marrow transplant, also called a “stem cell transplant,” may be an option for some people with SLL. It involves collecting stem cells from the blood or bone marrow of the patient or a matched donor. These cells are given back to the patient to restore damaged bone marrow after they receive high doses of chemotherapy, which wipe out the remaining bone marrow in their body. Because it can be hard on your body, a bone marrow transplant is often only performed on healthy, younger people.

Splenectomy Surgery - to remove the spleen doesn’t treat SLL itself, but some people might need to have it if they develop complications.

Oncologist and Treatrment

Today, is my monthly visit to the Cancer Center for my Opdivo treatment.  Every other month, I see my Oncologist and this is one of those days.  I will also be told of the results of my recent CT scan and I am particularly interested in the lesion on my liver as reported by my gastrointestinal doctor after a recent colonoscopy.  He wanted to do an MRI, but when I shared that info with my Oncologist, he said that we would do a CT scan first since I was on the schedule to have one soon.

The other issues that I have with my Oncologist revolve around whether or not I am going to be receiving monthly IVIG treatments instead of every other month.  And, the reason why I an concerned about this is that my sinus infections return the month I am not receiving IVIG treatment, plus my Dermatologist just prescribe medication for a skin infection on my face that has gotten down into the hair roots.

I get to the Cancer Center about 7:30 am and by the time I am done, I am typically leaving around 10:30 am...  strange how it takes me 3 hours to have lab work taken, see my Oncologist and receive a 30 minute treatment...  one would think that each area should take no more than 30 minutes including the wait...  or, about 90 minutes and one can stretch that to 2 hours just to make sure...  but, it takes me 3 hours...

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.

I Like Vanilla Cappuccino

Sometime around 2000 +/-, our father was hospitalized at the VA Hospital in Norfolk, VA after eating a variety of shell fish on the Outer Banks of NC.  When my wife and I visited him, my brother asked me if I wanted to leave the room and get a cup of coffee, especially since our father was sleeping.  When we got to the lobby, there was a Starbucks and my brother suggested that I try a Vanilla Cappuccino.  I agree...  and, the rest is history.

I used to drink my coffee black and regular, then I shifted to black and decaf, then I shifted to decaf with  2-teaspoons of Sugar Free Cappuccino Mix.  I also stop at Starbucks but not as much since it is rather expensive (at least for me) and recently McDonald's has been offering Vanilla Cappuccino which is about as pricey as Starbucks.

Yesterday, when I return back to our community from getting my OPDIVO treatment, I decided to reward myself with McD's Vanilla Cappuccino and instead of just getting one, I splurged and purchased 2 cups...

Sometimes, one just has to reward one's self...  but this time it was justified because I had an excellent PET scan report.

Still, I wonder how long these good reports will last.  I don't think about that often but it is always in the back of my mind...  and perhaps, I will never get one and simply die of old age.

Once you get cancer and live for more than another decade and realize this could go on forever, it is important to appreciate EVERYTHING around you and reward yourself every once in a while, simply because it is the right thing to do at the time.

End of the week

Being retired, it is not easy to think about days of the week versus days of the weekend as all days seems to merge together...  but for me, I am aware of each day in that does this day leave me with intense side effects of my cancer treatments or does this day provide me with a break from those side effects?

Extreme Fatigue is what I usually experience each day and it usually sits there and barks at me like a dog needing attention as soon as I wake up in the mornings.

Today, my fatigue experience is not barking at me but waiting for me like a patient cat waits to be patted...  by rubbing their bodies against the legs of their owners...

Of course, in my case that might not be a good example because my Siamese howls at me as he rubs his body making sure that I know it is him...  there is nothing patient or quiet about him.

Today, I feel rested...
my eyes do not hurt...
my muscles do not ache...
my sinuses are not draining...
my ankles are not swollen at all...

I have no idea how long this condition is going to last if it lasts at all but I plan to enjoy it while it is here...