Marines and Multiple Myeloma

There have been some rough spots during my last three years of treatment for multiple myeloma, but when it gets particularly bad, I think of a short-list of people or groups whom have shown extraordinary courage under fire, proverbial and otherwise. 

I remember other cancer patients (including my parents) whom have quietly shown me that there is no disgrace in being afraid in the midst of adversity. They've shown me that it is possible to face difficult times with dignity and grace; that to ask for help and understanding is not a weakness; that to reach out and help another person in distress, even while facing my own pain and uncertainty, is noble. They have taught me how to march forward.

Today in the United States we celebrate and remember the 236th Anniversary of the founding of the U. S. Marine Corps. 

I have known many very fine Marines in my lifetime. Men and women, Generals and Privates, active duty, retired and reserves. Wet-behind-the-ears youngsters just out of high school, college graduate professionals, CEO quality senior officers, family members, neighbors. Some I like personally, some I don't, but U.S. Marines one and all.

Almost to a person, they abhor war. Like me, they prefer peace. They have made a choice to put their lives in jeopardy to protect, promote and preserve the freedom of our country and for others around the world.

I have met Marines with myeloma. They have shown me how to summon a personal strength from within to fight and keep fighting against this cancer. Some have said that the duel with myeloma is scarier than conventional warfare, because the fighting is internal. You can't look myeloma in the eyes - you can't reason with it. You can't sit at a negotiating table and vie for compromise or surrender.

I view the battle with myeloma as a that - a battle, a war. Myeloma is a terrorist, an aggressor. My job is  to wage the best campaign against myeloma that my team and I can muster. As I have said before, myeloma is willing to take everything I value and hold dear from me. I won't sit idly by, because my time is running out.

Please, these thoughts are not intended to spark a debate about Marines or policies or anything political. I'm just sharing a bit about a special group of people whom have influenced me in my joust with myeloma.

Most importantly, Semper Fi and Happy Birthday, leathernecks! Thank you for what you do.

Myeloma Institute Treats Its 10,000th Patient

Hear ye, hear ye!

Congratulations are in order to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences' Myeloma Institute  for Research and Therapy (MIRT) for hitting the milestone of treating its 10,000th multiple myeloma patient. Since MIRT's founding 22 years ago, patients have traveled to Little Rock from all 50 of the United States and more than 50 different countries.

I credit Dr. Barlogie, Dr. Nair, and the stellar team at MIRT for keeping me around to enjoy more time here on this Big Blue Marble of ours! Thank You! 

In case you didn't catch the link   

PLEASE CLICK HERE!

(Thanks to the UAMS News Service for this link)

RIP Matthew Peterson

Please pray for the young family of Lutheran Youth Pastor Matthew Peterson . Matthew, 41, passed away this week from multiple myeloma and leaves behind a dear wife and two young daughters. This breaks my heart.


- link courtesy of the Chicago Daily Herald

Thanksgiving Thoughts

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, the native Ozark wild turkeys are getting a bit nervous. I see them darting around in the woods between my house and Table Rock Lake. They keep looking over their shoulders and conspiratorially talking with each other and pointing my way.  I think that they are the ones cooking up something.

I try to tell them that they needn't fear me because they don't have those little 'pop-up-I'm-done' buttons that have been genetically bred into the Butterball birds. Such interesting creatures - such little trust....

In the meantime, here's a link to some of my Thanksgiving Thoughts as recently posted at the Myeloma Beacon.

Happy belated Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends, Happy early Thanksgiving to my U.S. friends and Blessings to the rest of you around the world in your corner of Myelomaville!

Think Before You Drink

Although I hate having been diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, the experience has taught me many valuable lessons. About myself, about the strength of my wife and children, about my faith, and about the immense courage of others facing this disease-  not to mention a good bit about the world of cancer and medicine.

One of the terrific things that I have learned about is a wonderful drink with which I really hadn't been much acquainted. Karen and the kids drink it, but I'm not as adventurous in my libational leanings. My mom drank it. My dad drank it. Not sure why I never acquired the taste.

It seems that someone wiser than I  managed to remove preservatives and additives from this drink to make it more healthy to consume. Gone is the high fructose corn syrup and other sugars. Missing are the artificial colorings and exotic extracts, the phosphoric and of other varieties of acids, the grains, starches, yeasts and clarifying agents. If you get the right kind, it has no hormones, antibiotics or other questionable goodies.

 And it looks good in a snifter, stein or stemware, a mug, a tumbler or a coffee cup. Heck - it works in a paper cup! 

I will admit that it is an acquired taste. Give it some time and you will be craving it.  

And best of all, they've managed to ensure a reduced caloric content. I will still have an occasional beer or glass of wine, a diet soda or a refreshing glass of milk, but more and more I've come to rely on this new drink.Though it doesn't work well for me with my magic bullet food - pizza!

I like it so much that I give it to my dogs when appropriate.

 Click this link to learn more about this Wonder Drink . And no, I don't sell it!

The  American Cancer Society even mentions it, along with other drinks, in their guidelines about dealing with chemotherapy and cancer treatment.

Let me know if YOU drink it!

See you out and about in Myelomaville!

Sean

Image courtesy of the fine folks at VectorStock.com (file id# 344325)
Thanks to www.allaboutwater.org for the link

Myeloma Beacon: I'm Just Wild About Hairy

If you're interested in reading some cutting-edge news & information about Multiple Myeloma, sail on over to the Myeloma Beacon.

After you've read the important articles, browsed the forums and checked-out the numerous MM resources, why dontcha' kill a couple of minutes by reading my monthly Myeloma Beacon offering at  Sean's Burgundy Thread .


My article, I'm Just Wild About Hairy, may just help you stay rooted during your chemotherapy. 

Stay connected out there in Myelomaville! 

Myeloma Move-Its

It is rumored that famed Hollywood directors M. Night Shyamalan  and Spike Lee have joined forces to launch 

M-Spike Productions

Tinsel Town’s first studio solely created to release full length pictures featuring health-challenged superheroes. 

Award winning actors Myeluma Thurman &  Chemeau Reeves will appear on tonight’s Jay Lenolidamide Show to announce their participation in M-Spike’s   

Transplanters:  Revenge of the BiopZs.

 Stay tuned for more news from the fine folks at 

Myeloma Move-Its.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Infusion

Although I live in a small town of less than 2000 people, the neighboring burg, Branson, MO, is a noted tourist destination that brings in several million visitors annually.

Enticed by nearly 100 live shows, shopping, dining, theme parks and attractions, friendly, hospitable people, and pristine lakes - all set in the spectacular natural beauty of the Ozarks of southwestern Missouri- Branson and its surrounds can get awfully busy.

That's the good part. We genuinely like the visitors we get from all over the world. We even like the folks that amble up from Arkansas.

The not-so-good part is that our roads are often filled to the gills- Ozark's talk for 'crowded'. Branson, itself, has added roads and special routes to handle the traffic quite well, but some of the neighboring towns have fallen behind in improving the infrastructure to handle the steady stream of travelers.

Yesterday I was running late to my 91st weekly maintenance chemotherapy appointment (half an hour away in Branson) and I was aggravated that a road flagman stopped me so that the construction crews could continue their unending work of adding new traffic lanes. I was told that it could be a delay of 15 minutes or so.

15 minutes in  OST (Ozark's Standard Time) is likely to be 30 or 45 minutes in reality. It's not quite as bad as 15 minutes in DAT (Doctor's Appointment Time), which could easily translate into 1 or 2 hours. You know what I mean.

Now mind you, I don't like being late. It's not that I thought that the infusion center nurses would give away my $3500 vial of Velcade or my overstuffed, window-side Lazy Patient recliner, but I like to be on time, nonetheless.

Perhaps I could've made a break for it and chanced that I would avoid the dynamite charges they were setting off, but if my timing went awry, consequences could have been dire. How would it look in the local paper?

'Local Kimberling City man injured in dynamite blast. Runs over flagman. Arrested by police. All because he couldn't follow the directions.'

My wife has been a much loved and respected teacher in our area for 16 years, and I couldn't see her career sullied by a husband forced to sport a scarlet 'BFD' on his overalls. BFD - bad directions follower - words of utter shame to a teacher. What did you think it meant? Totally rhetorical - don't answer that. BTW - I don't really wear overalls - in public, that is.

Perturbed as I was, I turned off the car, called the cancer center and then stepped out to enjoy the sunny, mid 70s day. Others followed suit. A little extra Vitamin D couldn't hurt anyone.

The gentleman in line behind me approached and asked for a 'light'. I'm not a smoker, but he seemed a bit agitated, so to ease his burden, I popped in my car's lighter and handed it to him. I did wonder why his all-the-bells-and-whistles Lexus didn't have a lighter. It probably has  satellite driven, ONStar waffle iron, though. Maybe he just wanted some fresh air as he smoked.

I shared what the flagman had said and that we should be on our way soon. I was startled when he practically screamed 'You don't get it! I just found out that I have cancer and I have to get to Springfield for a doctor's appointment! Come on!'

Ha! I wish I didn't 'get' what having cancer meant. And I've been 'getting' it, one way or the other, for nearly three years. Sadly, I also certainly understand his outburst.

'I'm sorry to hear that. I know that a cancer diagnosis is a scary, scary thing.'

'It's not just cancer. It is an incurable blood cancer called multiple myeloma. Very rare.' he practically whimpered.

I must have said 'what?' or 'what did you say?' out loud, because he repeated it again.

Now please understand, I don't have a myeloma bumper sticker on my car or a vanity license plate that reads 'BLD CNCR' or a scarlet 'MM' stitched on my overalls. And here is this guy, obviously in deep pain and fear, having recently found out that he has myeloma, and he's melting down in front of me.

I have been amazed how myeloma has been inserted into my life in the most curious ways. Here we go again! I took a quick breath and stuck out my hand.

'My name is Sean and I have myeloma, too. I was diagnosed nearly three years ago.'

He got a puzzled look on his face and said 'You have multiple myeloma?'

I'd like to believe that he was looking at me while thinking 'You mean that, after three years, I could still be dashing around on my own, a full head of hair, a smile on my face, ruggedly handsome good looks untouched...' In reality he was probably thinking 'I hope myeloma doesn't make me bald and fat and that I don't have to drive a mini-van like this nut-job.'

The fact was that this guy had been told that he had MM over the phone just a couple of days before and that he practically knew nothing about what he was facing ahead. He hadn't had THAT meeting yet with his doctor. Of course, he had jumped on the internet and was struck by words like 'incurable', 'bone destruction' and the other dark prognostications that cancer seemingly promises. A lot of us did that internet thing.

I had to decide. Do I just wish him well and change the subject or should I reach out to him?

'I have something for you.' I said calmly. I opened my minivan's cool electronic sliding door (take that you 4 standard door Lexus!), and pulled out a rolling black bag of... yep, ever present myeloma information. I felt like a salesman working a hot roadside prospect. I set aside materials from my doctors at UAMS in Little Rock, pamphlets from the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation and from the International Myeloma Foundation.

I pulled out a couple of cold ones, Gatorade, that is, and swung open the hatchback on the van and we took a seat. Then I very slowly began my simple, well practiced, 4 minute Multiple Myeloma 101 Primer to give him some basic information. As I handed him the goodies, I encouraged him to visit the MMRF, IMF, the Myeloma Beacon and other points of interest detailing new treatments, major advances, and current MM news.

I said that from personal experience, things would be overwhelming for him, for his family and friends for awhile, but that with time, what seems like the end of the world, is but another chapter in his life. An unwelcomed, overly wordy, cloak-and-dagger chapter maybe , but just another important chapter of the many-to-come chapters in his personal story.

I told him that I didn't know where his particular MM journey would take him, but that my advice was to educate himself about the disease. Knowledge would give him a better sense of how the big and little pieces of the MM jigsaw puzzle fit together. I encouraged him to seek opinions from qualified myeloma specialists, to take things a day at a time, and to not give up on his dreams. Things may be different moving forward, but the world can still be a wonderful place. Somehow, at that moment, what I said didn't seem overly sentimental. It just seemed right.

He cried. I teared up. I gave a quick hug and asked him to keep in touch. We'd met for a reason.

It was then that the aggravated flagman saw two men hugging and walked over anyway. I prayed that he didn't have myeloma, too. I wouldn't have been able to handle the emotional strain or being even later for my appointment. Instead he said 'Let's get it going - you're holding us up!'  I also hoped that his kid wasn't one of my wife's students and that, seeing my picture on my wife's desk during a parent teacher conference, would say 'That's the guy hugging strange men over on Highway 13.'

I hopped into my minivan and headed to my chemotherapy appointment. My new MM friend drove forward into the rest of his life.

Thank you, God, for some of these unexpected, but fruitful delays that come our way. I always preach staying connected in the MM world, I'm glad that you force me into it sometimes. I was hoping, though, that could you get them to move a little faster on the road building project? And if you just have to send me a Lexus, I'd be okay with it! 

Peace to you out there in Myelomaville! Reach out and help somebody if you get a chance.   

Don't Slug Your Boss Day

Just as a reminder, today is the 7th annual international celebration of Don't Slug Your Boss Day. Workers the world over will commemorate the festivities with a rousing 24 hour period of not slugging their bosses. 

President Obama will welcome DSYBD founder Bruce Springsteen to a special luncheon in the White House cafetorium. Featured speakers include Donald Trump and Charlie Sheen.

The contrarian  French will, instead, observe Don't Boss Your Slug Day. Members of PETS (People for the Ethical Treatment of Slugs) will participate in the 'Just Say No to Escargot' parade and .0005k run. 

At 8:30pm local time in Rio de Janeiro, 10,000 couples will compete in a massive Nao Slug o Bossa Nova dance contest at the foot of the famed Christ the Redeemer statue. 

Anarchists are expected to disrupt events in many North American cities  by targeting random bosses to slug.

Because I have no current boss, I will mark the day by not slugging my friends and family, clients, neighbors and pharmaceutical executives.

Not As I Pictured - A Film by John Kaplan

I was recently leafing through the Summer/Fall 2011 issue of the LIVESTRONG  Quarterly magazine and ran across an interesting article brief in the Strong Stuff section entitled 'Through a Lens: What Survivorship Feels Like'.

The article highlighted Pulitzer Prize winning photographer John Kaplan's documentary film, Not As I Pictured , which chronicles the courageous, take-no-prisoners  tale of John's battle with lymphoma.  The up-close-and personal film is interspersed with numerous examples of his compelling photography, quick wit and gritty determination to beat his disease.

As a creative person, I particularly appreciate the style John has used to tell his inspiring story.  Through the advent of today's social media,  I was able to share my thoughts with him and he immediately got back in touch with me. He is the real deal, as they say, when he says that he wants to help others going through the cancer odyssey.
  
As an interesting aside, it turns out that John's oncologist and lymphoma specialist, Dr. Jay Lynch, is an old friend of mine from high school in Virginia. Together, John and Jay make a formidable pair.

Visit John's website, Not As I Pictured , to learn more about this project and to find out when the film will appear on your local PBS television station's schedule.  You'll be glad that you did.

To my fellow MMers: if lymphoma wasn't enough, John is well acquainted with multiple myeloma, as his beloved dad bravely fought MM several years ago.

Stay well and stay connected out there in Myelomaville!