Dreaded Cancer, Mark III

[Keeled Over]

New Public Service Announcement. Putting this out there for awareness. Seems I'm sick all of the time so might as well spread the word - some good has to come out of this. I do not do this for sympathy, I do it just in case it can help someone else. I also have fun with it - my buddies and I joke about it, hair falling out, etc. And if you are thinking about prostate cancer let me know. I've got volumes on that.

So, this installment involves Multiple Myeloma. It only affects 1% of the population, so I got that going for me. My bone marrow is cranking out protein, way to much - and the liquid part of my blood cells can't handle it, hence the grim outlook. Due to it being rare it is typically not looked for - it gets discovered by accident, which is my story. It really doesn't have symptoms, outside of this - "you are feeling unwell." Diving in a bit more, that was my experience. For all of last summer I felt "down" by about 10%. I could do everything, ate, slept and everything seemed fine. Just a tad burned out. This went on for about 8 months until discovered. Some people can also have difficulty recovering from other illnesses or have cuts and scrapes be slow to heal.

And as of 9:40 am EST, here is the fun part. There is a pre-cursor to this that is designated "Smoldering Multiple Myeloma, which it turns out I have. This is all based on a point system used to determine the seriousness of the illness. The bone marrow biopsy which, by the way, doesn't really hurt at all, said I had it, the Pet Scan reduced the severity because it showed no bone damage so far, so I am smoldering and thrilled to be so.

You can't do anything for it so you get your blood checked every 4 months and wait until it blows up. It might not ever blow up. If it does and goes full blown people have lived with it for years, but don't bet the farm on it. So, as of today, I just live my life and wait, which I have found is easier said then done.

No restrictions right now - I asked right away about strenuous canoe trips, skiing, ATV's and all and I can go right ahead. I am not a hypochondriac, but as said earlier if this can help 1 person I'm happy. If your feeling a bit down for a bit and just can't shake it, it's just a regular blood draw to get it going. And while it's rare, if you did have it catching it earlier is best.

So, the summary is, I have the building blocks for this cancer in my blood right now and it's just waiting to blow up. Might be tomorrow, might be never. Just try not to think about it.

"What is the purpose of your trip to Canada........."

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Michael, I see you've been very forthcoming in discussing your (pre-) cancer diagnosis in a few threads since I've been away from the board. Thank you for that. Really! A great many of us are older here, and we have discussed how various diseases and ailments have or have not interfered with canoeing and other aspects of our lives.

Some of us know what we're going to die of, some suspect the culprit, and others do not yet know. From what you say and from some brief research it seems that smoldering multiple myeloma is one of those diseases that has an extremely variable prognosis. It may get worse in a few years or never. When one is older with certain cancers, watchful waiting seems to be the recommended approach because the cancer may be such a slow growing thing that something else may get us first.

I know every year I become more and more afraid to go for my annual physical because I know eventually the news is going to be much worse than the several more minor aches and pains I now have. The last time I saw my cardiologist and asked him if I should go back to the gym, he said that it might be prudent for me to take a nuclear stress test as a precaution. That sounded perfectly rational to me, except that I did not respond with my reason or intellect. I responded with fear—fear of taking the test and fear of going to the gym—so here I sit at a keyboard instead.

I don't think I've handled my 70's very well as far as physical activity and mental outlook go.

You can do better. I think you should take your planned canoe trips and do everything else you can on your bucket list. As you suggested in another thread, do it all sooner rather than later because none of us knows when the next bend in the river of life will come, or what's around it.

We look forward to your presence here and reading about your trips for many, many years to come.

 

[Gamma1214]

"An object in motion tends to remain in motion"... While so much of my schooling has been forgotten, I retain what's important.

Make it catch you (...if it can).

 

[JohnSand]

Maybe appropriate that I'm reading this now. 32 years ago today my closest brother died of cancer, he was 31. That was very sad, it still is. But I'm sharing it to make the point that all life is temporary. Whenever I have health challenges (just discomfort and inconvenience so far) I remember that I have close family and friends who didn't live to see 35. I know someday I will join them across the bar, that's okay, it's part of life. And it makes life valuable. Keep paddling, one way or another.

 

[Keeled Over]

Michael, I see you've been very forthcoming in discussing your (pre-) cancer diagnosis in a few threads since I've been away from the board. Thank you for that. Really! A great many of us are older here, and we have discussed how various diseases and ailments have or have not interfered with canoeing and other aspects of our lives.

Some of us know what we're going to die of, some suspect the culprit, and others do not yet know. From what you say and from some brief research it seems that smoldering multiple myeloma is one of those diseases that has an extremely variable prognosis. It may get worse in a few years or never. When one is older with certain cancers, watchful waiting seems to be the recommended approach because the cancer may be such a slow growing thing that something else may get us first.

I know every year I become more and more afraid to go for my annual physical because I know eventually the news is going to be much worse than the several more minor aches and pains I now have. The last time I saw my cardiologist and asked him if I should go back to the gym, he said that it might be prudent for me to take a nuclear stress test as a precaution. That sounded perfectly rational to me, except that I did not respond with my reason or intellect. I responded with fear—fear of taking the test and fear of going to the gym—so here I sit at a keyboard instead.

I don't think I've handled my 70's very well as far as physical activity and mental outlook go.

You can do better. I think you should take your planned canoe trips and do everything else you can on your bucket list. As you suggested in another thread, do it all sooner rather than later because none of us knows when the next bend in the river of life will come, or what's around it.

We look forward to your presence here and reading about your trips for many, many years to come.

Thank you Glenn. I've got my head wrapped around this now and am charging ahead with your advice. I have lists of stuff to do right through December.

 

[UCanoe_2]

Keep on movin', KO. I lost a dear paddling buddy to multiple myeloma about 11 years ago. It's encouraging that you are in the "watchful waiting" phase.

 

[Keeled Over]

Keep on movin', KO. I lost a dear paddling buddy to multiple myeloma about 11 years ago. It's encouraging that you are in the "watchful waiting" phase.

Thank you U.

Sorry to hear of your loss. I'm going all out till I drop!