My recovery from leukemia

[douglas]

Wow, what a moving story. Thanks for sharing. Your courage, the love and support from your family and friends are amazing. Congratulations on being in remission.

[bcroslin]

Originally Posted by dcama5

Bob, that makes two of us! Congratulations on your recovery. In November of 1998 at 46 years old I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. .

Your experience is almost identical to mine! I fortunately never had a port and only a picc line but I did have to be hospitalized twice because the doctors were worried about sepsis. I also did neupogin shots which my wife had to give me because I couldn’t bring myself to give myself a shot. Thank you for sharing your story and congratulations on being cancer free for 21 years!

[rePhil]

A Great story with a happy ending Bob. Best wishes.

[dcama5]

Originally Posted by bcroslin

Your experience is almost identical to mine! I fortunately never had a port and only a picc line but I did have to be hospitalized twice because the doctors were worried about sepsis. I also did neupogin shots which my wife had to give me because I couldn’t bring myself to give myself a shot. Thank you for sharing your story and congratulations on being cancer free for 21 years!

Bob, yes, I agree and thanks. I wish you the best with your recovery and tailwinds!

[harlond]

Congratulations on your recovery. I'm just getting back on the bike, but neuropathy of the feet makes it hard to get any real miles in. Still, I'm up to six!

Don't be jealous.

[Spinner]

Bob,

Thanks for sharing your moving story. And congratulations on your recovery.

Like you, I believe that cycling has restorative and healing powers. Last year, at the age of 64, I had a freak fall on the stairs in my home that resulted in 11 broken ribs, a fractured humorous and a punctured lung. After 5 days in the hospital (my first ever hospitalization), I returned home to begin the recovery process.

Subsequent to two weeks spent mostly in a recliner chair, I began walking 3-4 miles per day and also went to physical therapy. On my first visit to PT, I was told that I was a "unicorn" because of my physical dexterity. At five weeks after my fall, I climbed back on the bike and began to ride 8 to 10 miles daily, weather permitting. Soon thereafter, my orthopedic doctor couldn't believe the rate at which my bones were healing. "Do you realize how lucky you are," he would exclaim over and over again.

I finished physical therapy ahead of schedule and kept on biking. I credit my quick and full recovery to biking, other exercise routines and a healthy diet.

Today, I enjoy full mobility and excellent health.

Biking is my life tonic.

Cheers to all.

Marc

[sjbraun]

My leukemia story is a bit different as my flavor of blood cancer is the chronic form, CLL. I was diagnosed through routine blood work and hadn’t had any symptoms prior to diagnosis. After two stressful years of “wait and watch,” I endured 5 months of chemo. I’m still proud of the fact that the day before starting chemo, I rode the first 5 miles of Tucson’s Mt Lemmon. I continued to work and ride through treatment. Infusions on Thursdays, day off on Friday and back on the bike on Saturday. Riding has kept me sane, fit and healthy through the years. While my cancer isn’t curable, it is manageable. I’m 11 years post treatment and healthier than I’ve ever been, in no small part to time on the bike.

[bcroslin]

Originally Posted by sjbraun

My leukemia story is a bit different as my flavor of blood cancer is the chronic form, CLL. I was diagnosed through routine blood work and hadn’t had any symptoms prior to diagnosis. After two stressful years of “wait and watch,” I endured 5 months of chemo. I’m still proud of the fact that the day before starting chemo, I rode the first 5 miles of Tucson’s Mt Lemmon. I continued to work and ride through treatment. Infusions on Thursdays, day off on Friday and back on the bike on Saturday. Riding has kept me sane, fit and healthy through the years. While my cancer isn’t curable, it is manageable. I’m 11 years post treatment and healthier than I’ve ever been, in no small part to time on the bike.

That is awesome. Thank you for sharing.

[palincss]

Originally Posted by sjbraun

My leukemia story is a bit different as my flavor of blood cancer is the chronic form, CLL. I was diagnosed through routine blood work and hadn’t had any symptoms prior to diagnosis. After two stressful years of “wait and watch,” I endured 5 months of chemo. ... While my cancer isn’t curable, it is manageable.

And mine's the other chronic variety, CML. As in your case, anomalies noted in routine blood work without notable symptoms led to a test that revealed the presence of the characteristic BCR-ABL translocation, the so-called "Philadelphia chromosome."

No wait & watch with CML: they go straight to targeted therapy with a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, in my case imatinib mesylate. The big change happened around Y2K when this drug was first introduced, transforming what had once been a slow-but-sure-fire death sentence into a condition managed by medication with no effect on life expectancy.

About the only drama (aside from page after page of potential side effects and a list of approximately 500 drugs that interact with it) is the retail cost: for those without health insurance, it runs about $100,000 per year - for life. Fortunately, with health insurance the co-pay is less than my phone bill.

[bcroslin]

Originally Posted by palincss

About the only drama (aside from page after page of potential side effects and a list of approximately 500 drugs that interact with it) is the retail cost: for those without health insurance, it runs about $100,000 per year - for life. Fortunately, with health insurance the co-pay is less than my phone bill.

The retail costs for cancer treatment are mind-boggling. Last we checked, my treatment has run somewhere in the $500-$600k range. Thankfully, my wife has fantastic health insurance and her employer has been more than accommodating with her having to take time off to shuttle me to-and from chemo rounds. It scares me to think what people with no health insurance (or underinsured) do in these situations.

[palincss]

Originally Posted by bcroslin

The retail costs for cancer treatment are mind-boggling. Last we checked, my treatment has run somewhere in the $500-$600k range. Thankfully, my wife has fantastic health insurance and her employer has been more than accommodating with her having to take time off to shuttle me to-and from chemo rounds. It scares me to think what people with no health insurance (or underinsured) do in these situations.

Goldfinger had the answer to that question...

[sjbraun]

Our health care /health insurance system is so screwed up. I was a federal employee when I underwent chemo, so I had pretty good health insurance. My treatment costs were billed at approximately $250k. I paid the first $5,000, then the clinic took whatever insurance aid them for the rest of the treatments.
Contrast that with my brother who was diagnosed with CLL a few years after me. He received essentially the same regimen I did. His cost were the $15 dollar medication co-pay for each treatment.
I won't say more about our health care system, as I might spark a discussion that might get too political for this forum.

Glad so many of us are doing well and living with cancer.

Steve