January 19, 2009 10:30 PM

Just a couple of unrelated things for the day.....

The doctor/lab visit went without a hitch. As usual, I did not require any kind of infusion as my counts are fine. However, in our discussion with the doctor afterwards, it was interesting to note her comments when we mentioned that up to 2000-2001 they would not even attempt to perform any kind of a bone marrow transplant on someone my age. When I mentioned that any chance was better than none at all, she commented that the real problem was trying to control the side effects from the transplant. They just did not understand why things went wrong and, when things did go wrong, it was a very unpleasant situation for the patient that offered no possibility of recovery.

Today, great advances in that area, have made transplants at my age a much more common practice and the side effects have been greatly reduced by the introduction of new drugs - now giving the patient a fighting chance. However, though it's still somewhat of a risky game, it is not being portrayed as a procedure that is perilously risky and the doctors look for a straightforward path to recovery. Medicine has certainly come a long way in a relatively short period of time. Much to my benefit - thank God! It really is hard to believe that less than 10 year's ago, my disease was a one way ticket to the checkout counter - I shudder at the thought!!!!!!

Well, I also took the potato chip plunge today and suffered no ill effects thereby - my taste buds are continuing to improve! So, I guess that I can put potato chips back on the menu at this time. The Frito-Lay company, I am sure, can now stop the plant closure.

I also just happened to notice that the hair on the back of my fingers is gone! I am not sure if this is a new phenomenon or not. But, the time is right, it has been a month since I had round 2 of chemo. So maybe this is a reaction to that - I don't know.

My wife wants me to get new glasses now that I am basically bald because she says that my large lenses make now me look like an owl - who'd a thunk it! So tomorrow we go for the new ones. I'll let you know how it goes.
Bob