The Coolest, Easiest Way to Help the MMCF

I have found the coolest thing to do that helps my foundation raise money, but does not cost anything.  It is an organization called GoodSearch.  Literally all you have to do is use their search engine, and money is donated to your chosen charity (us).

PLEASE consider using this for every internet search you do from now on.  Go to www.goodsearch.com and enter Multiple Myeloma Charitable Foundation in the “Who Do You Search For?” box.  That’s it!!!

There is also an option to use GoodSearch as your homepage, and an option to download a search tool for your internet browser (super easy to do…I did it!).

PLEASE consider doing this, and asking your friends to do this as well.

Stinkin’ Knee Pain

Doctor visit on Thursday afternoon (yesterday).  This doctor believes that perhaps the pain I am experiencing is due to deterioration of my bone by the cancer.  Sweet.  A little something about radiation was mentioned, but I’m still not 100% clear on that.  More news later.

Funny Moments to Share

This is a little bit of a continuation of my thoughts about humor and cancer, and I wanted to share some of the funnier moments I’ve experienced during the last five years.  There are lots, and when I remember them in days to come, I’ll share.  Here are some of my favorites:

When my hair started falling out, I let my kids give me a haircut.  Sarah was 10, and she got to go first.  She was very gentle, and her cutting skills were that of a 10 year old.  Zack was 14 and went second.  He was not gentle, and I thought I might lose an ear or an eyeball at the same time.  His skills were that of a 10 year old too.  Do you have a good cartoon bubble yet?  My husband, Roger, watched the whole thing and told the kids that they had better enjoy this experience because he was pretty sure they would NEVER have another chance like this again.  I think I have a photo, and if I can find it, I’ll post it.

 One day after my hair had grown in to peach fuzz length, I was riding our exercise bike.  My husband said to me from across the room, “fuzzy wuzzy was a bear, fuzzy wuzzy had no hair.”  The kids looked at me, we looked at him, and we all started laughing!

I was sitting in my office at work one day when a co-worker stopped by to ask a question.  While we were talking, he suddenly burst out laughing.  I asked what was so funny, and he said that he had never read my hat before (the hat that I had been wearing to work for roughly 3 months while I was bald).  The hat said “No Hair Day”.  It was my favorite and the only thing I wore outside of the house when my hair fell out.

I have a friend who told me she had just been notified that she had skin cancer.  I told her that if she found out it was melanoma, we would call ourselves Meli and Myla.  She, thankfully, was not diagnosed with melanoma, but we did have a good laugh that day.

Humor and Cancer

I was googling websites that talk about humor for cancer patients and survivors today and found very little.  I started thinking about how there can be so many funny moments during the cancer experience, and how important it is to laugh.  I firmly believe that is part of the reason I am a five year survivor of myeloma. 

Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE TO LAUGH…about most anything.  I can find humor in things that most people wouldn’t think were funny at all.  My kids, Zack and Sarah, are hilarious and I laugh with them regularly.  My husband, Roger, keeps me in stitches a lot of the time too.  Thank goodness for all of them.

I think laughter really is the best medicine. 

Health Update

There are so many people that I have not been in touch with regarding my health status.  The last communication I sent out was to notify everyone that I had yet another recurrence of the stinkin’ cancer, and that I was probably going to do another donor (leukocyte) infusion.

A lot has changed.  Because of scheduling issues, my doctor and I decided to start a clinical trial before going forward with the infusion.  In order to start the trial, I had to do some tests to get baseline numbers, and we found out that the actual percentage of cancer in my bone marrow was only 5 – 10%. 

Because the percentage of cancer in my bone marrow was so low, my doctor gave me the choice of starting treatment or not.  I’m thinking “why would I NOT do the treatment if I know the cancer has already come back?”  All I could picture was the evil myeloma cells partying up a storm and multiplying like rabbits.  Heck yeah I’m starting treatment again.

The trial drug is a derivative of a drug that I had used (successfully) in the past…Revlimid.  This new trial drug, called CC-4047, is supposed to be better.  I was happy to start the trial and was positive I would have good results.  At my first month re-check, my numbers were at an all-time LOW.  CC-4047 ROCKS!!  I will be continuing with this regimine until they kick me out of the trial.