Another New Post!

I am on a roll - two posts in less than a week. So, my NIH docs recommended I get another CBC (complete blood count) and let them know the results. My white counts were a little low, but they don't think it's anything to be concerned with. I finally made my appointment but it's not until next Monday. Due a full workload at work this week, I didn't want to come in late or leave early (especially when I have to fast ahead of time). Next Monday a.m. works perfectly as my project ends on Friday. They also suggested I get a mole on my back looked at by a dermatologist (I asked him what he thought about it). The doc recommended one who used to be a NIH fellow, but I'm not sure I want to battle traffic getting into Bethesda. I'll call tomorrow to find out their hours to see if I can even make it there, otherwise I'll ask Mom and M for the names of their dermatologists. Hopefully, it's nothing at all to worry about but I will be diligent about getting myself checked out. Don't need any more worries in my life.

Work has been pretty hectic since I started my new job. I've been there since August and have won at least one proposal (and possibly another). After the last one was finished a couple of weeks ago, I decided that I need to focus on a better work-life balance so I jumped back into working out with a trainer and I added back water aerobics and volleyball to my schedule. I've gained a couple of pounds (that I didn't need) so I need to be sure my health is a high priority. We'll see how well it continues, but I already feel a little less stressed even though I'm working on my 4th proposal since I started. Ommmmmmm. I will also start running again very soon as I'm already registered for the Cherry Blossom 5k on April 11th. Now that the weather is warming up, it will be easier to hit the road.

My Day

My day started with the phone ringing beside my bed at 5:45am. It was Dad asking if I was on the road yet because a tanker truck had overturned on a bridge above I-270 and the highway was shut down. Normally, I get up around 6am and leave around 7:30 but today was different - it was time for my 4 month checkup at NIH. I groaned and told Dad that about my doctor's visit. Unfortunately, to get to NIH I have to go exactly by where that truck was so I got up and started watching tv to try and figure out what was going on. Thankfully, the fire burned out before we left but traffic was being shut down on and off so we made our way down I-270 with thoughts of jumping off to go another way if we had to. On our way to NIH, we passed by the spot and saw that traffic was backed up on the southbound side because the exit was shut down. It was crazy! There were also two other accidents on other nearby roads and I thought for sure that the doctors and other staff who work at NIH would be late.

We managed to get there without too much trouble and I got into phlebotomy pretty quickly. Perul, my favorite phlebotomist drew my blood and I waved to Ronnie and Raj as they went by. I was happily suprised to see that they had finally renovated the area. It looked really nice. Afterwards, we headed over to CT and settled in for a long, long wait. I didn't even know they "served" mochachino barium and it wasn't too bad. I tried to convince the guy next to me who I had recommended it to (over the banana or berry) that if he closed his eyes, we could be at Starbucks. He wasn't buying it but he said it wasn't horrible. I was supposed to be in the CT machine at 9am, but it was closer to 10 before I got in there. My clinic appt was as 11:15 and I managed to make it upstairs by 10:30. Once I settled in, I broke out the chocolate croissant Mike bought for me that morning and pigged out.

I finally made it to the back to see the doctor around 12:45. Nothing like waiting around for hours... Doug examined me and said I looked good. He noted that my white blood count was a little low and he went off to talk to the team to discuss what it could possibly mean. Dr. "McDreamy", my Irish doc, came back in to give me the wonderful news. My scan was clean and there was no sign of a recurrence. He went on to say that all of the other patients in the clinical trial except one were doing as well as me. He did ask that I get another CBC next week to see what's up with my sluggish white blood cells, but he didn't think it was anything to be too concerned with considering that my counts were always a little on the low side.

So, that's my GREAT news. I know I haven't posted in a while so I will try to do better so all of my faithful followers can check up on me. :)

Telling the Family

The latest episode continued the saga of Kitty and her cancer. She was diagnosed with stage III NHL, given only two treatment options: R-CHOP and some other protocol in Boston, and sent home. Contrast to my experience, my cardiologist sent me immediately to the ER for an emergency CT scan before I even knew it was cancer. I had state IIb and my situation was so severe (not dire, just severe) that I stayed at the hospital for a full week before I eventually left to start chemo at NIH. Meanwhile, Kitty goes home and her family debates on whether she should have standard R-CHOP or some other protocol (I've never heard of it). She goes wedding dress shopping, has dinner with her family (where she eventually tells them all), and looks pretty good for someone who was just diagnosed.

I liked the way the writers handled the storyline for the most part, but there were a lot of things that irked me. I also felt that they made it political and part of the national health care debate with their discussion of the Boston clinical trial and how the FDA is so slow to approve new treatment and such. I was just annoyed because they tipped their hand as to their "agenda" when they could have focused on what a newly diagnosed person feels and goes through. Thankfully, they moved past that pretty quickly.

I wish the oncology doctor had also explained the treatment options a little better. I understand it's tv but her explanation felt really rushed and short. She also said there were only two options and it's not true. EPOCH is highly regarded in the National Cancer Institute as an effective treatment over R-CHOP. The success rates have been very good (and I'm proof!) There are other treatments out there so they could have just said that and then said the standard is R-CHOP. Another option is radiation and they didn't even mention it.

Let's see how they handle the rest of it. I am glad to see them try, but please be a little more realistic and educate the viewers. Unfortunately, a lot of people have experience with cancer and we will all be watching carefully.

Kitty has NHL

I don't know if you follow "Brothers & Sisters," but the writers have "given" Kitty (played by Calista Flockhart) diffuse large b-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. My first thought was, "No!" It's too close to home. Mike looked at me like he thought the same thing. Seriously? Exactly my cancer. It's interesting to note that not only does Kitty have NHL, but Lynette on "Desperate Housewives" also had it a couple of seasons ago. I felt the same sucker-punch in the gut when Lynette was diagnosed. I know they are fictional characters, but it's like watching it happen to me all over again. All of the memories came rushing back.

I watched the story unfold and thought about it a bit more. October is breast cancer awareness month and as a NHL survivor, I always feel a little like my cancer and others are overlooked. I support all cancer research, but I feel just a teeny bit jealous of all the pink (even the NFL has gone pink). I hope Kitty's diagnosis will educate others about cancer - any kind of cancer. People who don't know what it's like, got to see first-hand Kitty getting a bone marrow biopsy to stage the cancer.

Out of curiosity, I checked the blogosphere earlier to see the reaction to the cancer diagnosis. Most people think it's to boost ratings (and it probably is), but at the same time I hope the show educates viewers. I was the most bothered by some bloggers who assume that the writers are trying to kill off Kitty with the cancer diagnosis. Yes, cancer is terrible and people die every day but it's not an automatic death sentence and I'm living proof. Again, I hope the writers educate people on what cancer patients deal with in fighting the terrible disease but also on how to live with a cancer diagnosis.

One final thought. I will be watching closely to see how they write it into the show. I didn't like how Kitty was told her diagnosis in the doctor's office and then sent home. I was sent to the ER for an emergency CT and was admitted overnight. I stayed in the hospital for a full week until I was supposed to start chemo (went to NIH instead). The doctors told me that large diffuse b-cell is a pretty agressive tumor and can grow quickly so they moved fairly rapidly to get me started on treatment. Things moved slowly on last night's show. I just ask that they be fairly realistic in how they portray it. I want to see Kitty lose her hair, puke her guts out, and lose her energy - that's the reality. Grey's Anatomy has done a fairly decent job with Izzie's brain cancer so I expect the same from these writers.

In the News

I surprised to read that my former company was acquired today. I never would have pictured the combination of those two companies (and apparently a lot of people in the blogosphere agree with me). What also struck me is I had recently been offered a job there, but I decided on my current company. If I had taken the offer, would I have been out of a job soon after this announcement? For now, I've been reading the Internet about the acquisition and discussing with former co-workers (including Mike) about the news. They were recently going to head back into Federal government contracting and I wonder what this means for that division now.

I spent seven years there and met a lot of great people during my time. I worked there in my late 20s/early 30s. Mike and I didn't meet there, but he helped me land a job which helped springboard me to where I am today. We were engaged soon after I started and many of our co-workers attended our wedding. We're still friends with quite a few people from there and we keep in touch. Although I was a little bitter when I left (my division had been acquired by another company that let my group go), I have a lot of happy memories from that period of my life.

It will be interesting to see what happens next and whether the company name will be a thing of the past.

Another One Lost

Patrick Swayze died last night from pancreatic cancer. I have a special place in my heart for him because he's related to me somewhere on my mom's side. My great-aunt is an avid genealogist and she discovered the relation just after Dirty Dancing to everyone's shock and surprise (and glee). She didn't know who he was, but the young ladies certainly did. At every reunion afterwards, we wondered whether he might attend one but he never did. I don't think he was ever really invited, but wouldn't that have been cool?

Patrick's star never really rose above his 'Dirty Dancing' or 'Ghost' days, but he had a good career and didn't have public meltdowns or stints in rehab like so many celebrities today. My heart goes out to his family and his wife of 33 years (you don't see much of that these days, either). May he rest in peace.

Changes

So, I started a new job last Monday slightly closer to home. I'm ecstatic that my commute is down from what had been taking 1+ hour to just a tad over 30 minutes and who doesn't love that? It was especially satisfying this morning when I heard about a vehicle fire and a separate accident near the exit to my old office. Whew, glad I wasn't in THAT mess. With that being said, I miss my old office and my former co-workers. It was a homey, warm environment and my co-workers there were just great. It had a free Flavia machine that dispensed not just coffee, but milky way-flavored coffee, cappuccino, three flavors of tea, and more. We also had flavored creamer in the kitchen area, splenda, equal, and sweet-n-low in addition to regular cream and sugar. The actual cafe area had 4 chairs placed in front of a flat screen TV where I used to watch TV if I had the chance. The chairs also had swivel arms where you could put your lunch while you watched TV. The people in my office also organized a Wednesday lunch group where each person brought a potluck item to go with the theme of the week (like Caribbean or salad or whatever). Every Friday, someone would bring in either donuts or bagels. The previous Executive VP had painted the office in very unusual, but warm and cozy colors. It was just a beautiful place to be and I miss it tremendously, but it was time to move on.

My new job is a little hectic and I'm just starting to figure out where the bathrooms are. The kitchen area is tiny and no flavia machine - we have to pay for coffee. No splenda or equal in sight - just plain old sugar. No flavored creamers either. There's a cafeteria in the basement, which is a nice bonus and I've eaten there quite a lot in my first week + 2 days on the job. I have my own office instead of a cube and I'm itching to decorate it, but haven't started yet. I wish I could bring in some paint for the walls to make it a little more homey but in the meantime I'm trying to figure out a way to add warm colors without paint. The co-workers I've met all seem very nice and I hope in time to forge friendships like the one I had at my old company.

As Cheryl Crow says, "A change will do you good", but I can't help but miss the way things used to be. Hopefully I'll get settled in soon and won't even think about the flavia machine!