Cytogenetic

I had some errands to run downtown this afternoon. I finished them early and therefore also arrived quite early for my appointment with Dr. Tan. They said they’d try to work me in. They did and I was home before my scheduled appointment time.
Dr. Tan said that I have achieved “cytogenetic remission.” That means that my test revealed no active cancer cells!! That’s the good news, and very good news it is!! However, the genetic ally messed up cells which produce the cancer cells are still alive and well, as they apparently always will be. In practical terms, cytogenetic remission means that Gleevec has successfully killed off the cancer cells to the point that it can kill them off as fast as they are produced. Dr. Tan said the prognosis is better for those who reach cytogenetic remission within a year instead of the year-and-a-half it took me. Nevertheless, life expectancy for those who reach cytogenetic remission is twice that of those who don’t. Current life expectancy for those people is “six to seven years and getting better.”
The plan is for me to continue taking Gleevec until it doesn’t work any longer. I will get my blood checked every six months or so. Dr. Tan said that when Gleevec stops working he will switch me to one of two other new leukemic drugs. In the meantime, I’m to continue to also take the ancillary drugs which help me with my stomach. Although Dr. Tan wanted me off of them at one time, he’d rather me stay on them and be able to tolerate Gleevec, than him have to switch me to the new drugs this early in the battle.
Oh yes, my anemia is about the same and my spleen continues to shrink. Without a CT scan to confirm it, Dr. Tan thinks my spleen has gone back down to its normal size.
And so, this is great news. Of course I wish it was even better, but I have no complaints. We thank you for your prayers and many kindnesses.

Blood Test

I hope to have things figured out on the status of the books by the time I write next week. If not, certainly by the next week it should be settled. The publishing company is a big company which moves even slower than I do!!
I have an appointment with Dr. Tan on Wednesday. After my blood test a couple of weeks ago, the nurse called to inquire how I had been feeling. I answered, “Not too well, why?” She said she was just calling to reschedule me to a later date if I felt well enough. Quite relieved, I said that was fine and rescheduled until this Wednesday. I’ll report next Monday on my results.

Emotional Decisions

This week I’m reminded of the many personal tragedies out there. It seems that we bring so much trouble onto ourselves by our poor choices. Obviously, some bad choices bring worse consequences than others. But life brings enough tragedy on its own that we don’t need to add to it. We especially need to be careful about our emotional decisions: The number one influence of bad decisions. Making important decisions when we are sad, upset, under pressure, “in love,” or exuberant can have devastating and life-long consequences. It is far better to govern our lives in a manner which is true to Godly principles and wisdom.

“Not Soft”

The books are published and in my hands. However, there is a glitch. An important picture to a couple of blog posts was omitted from the printing process. The publisher says that it is because I didn’t include an author’s release for the picture. I countered that I informed them in the initial submittal that the picture was a “public domain” picture and, therefore, a release was not included. They continued to contend that a release form for the picture had to have been submitted anyway, as the instructions require. So, we are at a standstill until Friday. On Friday, they relented to say that they would put the picture in the book. Now, my quest for this next week is to get them to reprint the misprints. My chances for success aren’t real high. By the grace of God though, we’ll see.
I felt better on Sunday than I have in quite a while. I’m not sure why and only care why so that I can hopefully reproduce days like this. It’s been a rough several weeks but I’m thankful for the way I feel today (Sunday night).
I heard a sermon Sunday making the case that “God is not soft.” Wow, have we come a long way in redefining who God is and what His commands are when we have to preach that “God is not Soft.” We ought to think about that!!

Sixth Pillar

Since it has been a little while, I’ll use this post to update my health status. I’ve been doing pretty well although I am not nearly as strong as I was a year ago. Finding energy is much more of a battle and the little I find is not so long lasting. I have periods of time when I don’t sleep well at all, but then I’ll have periods of time when I seemingly sleep my life away. I’m staying fairly active but it is a whole lot bigger challenge than it ever has been. My arm is ridiculously troublesome which seems to put all my systems on edge. My stomach pain and leg cramps continue to be major contenders. All in all though, I feel VERY blessed and feel that one foot is still going in front of the other just fine. Some days I’m rather strong while other days, well, not so much.
In another direction…Last year I wrote about the Five Pillars of Spiritual Growth. I have a sixth one to add. Here’s Pillar Six: Say five nice things to your spouse (or someone) each and every day. They can be in the form of affirmations, unprompted thank you’s, or other gestures of appreciation. This Pillar will do a great work in you and in your spouse (or others). I mentioned this pillar to a guy and he thought of an affirmation right away. He said a husband could tell his wife, “You didn’t burn my bacon near as bad this time!” Well, that’s not what I’m talking about, but I think you get it!!