June 30: A Boost and the Warburg View

Today should be my go home day. They are planning to give me a stem cell donor boost of my cells that were held back from the original transplant. Hopefully, no complications or side effects. I didn't have any the first time. 

My "new" Metabolic Approach to Leukemia. There are 2 overarching views of cancer. Mutagenic (genetic problem) and Metabolic (energy pathways). I believe it's probably a mix of both. The metabolic view is you can "starve" cancer. 

• Regular, intermittent fasting
• Keto. I don't think long-term ketogenesis is in my future. It's such an extreme, but I can get closer. 
• No Sugar, glucose, No simple carbs
• No alcohol
• Starve it, don’t feed it.
• Some is better than none. NO all or nothing thinking.
• Alkaline “stasis”
• Warburg view

Foods to REDUCE

• sugary foods: soda, fruit juice, smoothies, cake, ice cream, candy, etc.
• grains or starches: wheat-based products, rice, pasta, cereal, etc.
• fruit: all fruit, except small portions of berries like strawberries
• beans or legumes: peas, kidney beans, lentils, chickpeas, etc.
• root vegetables and tubers: potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, etc.
• alcohol: beer, wine, liquor, mixed drinks
• low fat or diet products: low fat mayonnaise, salad dressings, and condiments
• Sweet condiments or sauces: barbecue sauce, honey mustard, teriyaki sauce, ketchup, etc.
• unhealthy fats: processed vegetable oils, mayonnaise, etc.
• sugar-free diet foods: sugar-free candies, syrups, puddings, sweeteners, desserts, etc

God is my grace. Jesus is my firm foundation. He calls me to be in His presence, at peace, without shame. I am His, and He is mine.

June 25: Paradigm Shifts

Thursday: Living at home, rummage the fridge for meals, usual breakfast choices, lunch choices, ponder projects - how to fix the lack of insulation in front office bedroom, one more beam to treat in the gazebo with wood treatment, Walmart/Aldi run, harvesting the last of the Swiss chard, evening TV streaming distractions with the wife. 

Saturday: Hospital room, no kitchen, living with nice strangers who get you ice water, take your vitals and try to be nice about waking you up at 4a to draw blood, walking EVERYWHERE with the IV pole, including the shower, gearing up to shower (covering the port/IV mess), what you have is now what you carried in your carry-on suitcase and backpack, new conversations about Jesus, lots of time to reconnect with none of the home distractions, living in the moment. Isolated, but not. 

Jun 24: Tue not Sat

Boy, talk about scrambled up days. I woke up this morning and could have sworn it was Saturday. G

Going back into Pickens was not easy yesterday, despite God making the way smooth as possible. I was feeling depressed. Check-in was 5-star and I didn't have to wait for my room on the 6th floor. Staff is still as great as ever. Food is still hospital. God opened my eyes to His goodness.

Gracious rest and sleep last night despite waking up in a soup bowl of night sweats. Started chemo last night. My numbers had inched up to 92 yesterday. 

So many blessings since checking in. Encouraging conversations with brothers and sisters in Jesus. Prayers given and received. 

There really are 2 lenses to look at this world through. Hard to look through them both. We either look at them through God's eternal, loving lens, or our own corrupted-world distorted lens. 

It says this in Romans 1:

God’s way of putting people right shows up in the acts of faith, confirming what Scripture has said all along: “The person in right standing before God by trusting him really lives.”

But God’s angry displeasure erupts as acts of human mistrust and wrongdoing and lying accumulate, as people try to put a shroud over truth. But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can’t see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being. So nobody has a good excuse. What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn’t treat him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives. They pretended to know it all, but were illiterate regarding life. They traded the glory of God who holds the whole world in his hands for cheap figurines you can buy at any roadside stand.

So God said, in effect, “If that’s what you want, that’s what you get.”

++++++++++

Are you getting the best of God or the "best" of your own world? 

God bless you all in the peace of His grace today.

Jun 20: Back to the beginning

The Battle heats up. God is my strength and shield, a very present help in time of trouble, therefore I will not fear.. Ps 46 

Counts didn't come down like we'd hoped. Still in the low 70's as of Friday, Jun 20, so no Besonza today. 

So...

Going in Monday for 4-5 days of chemo like I had at the very beginning, hyper-CVAD. CAR-T needs lower counts to work. also going to get a boost of donor cells next week.The high counts will overwhelm the treatment, otherwise. Hopefully, harvesting my cells in 3-5 weeks for the CAR-T. 

Tough weekend. The hydroxyurea they put me on Friday has given me non-stop Charlie horses in both calves since Saturday night. I walk like the Tim Conway old man character in the Carol Burnett Show. 

June 19: Started Plan D treatment 3 days ago

Started with Dethamexasone on Monday.

Next, first of three targeted chemo-immuno injections tomorrow, one every Friday. CAR-T will probably start late July with 3 weeks of harvesting my own cells and growing genetically modified killer cancer cells, transplanted back into my own body around mid-August. 2 weeks in hospital for close observation then 2 months of "house arrest" with 24/7 caregiver watch and no driving. 

A.L.L. B-lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma - 92.2% small to medium sized, atypical B-lymphoblasts

Not a lot of good WBC going on, percentage-wise. 

0.1% Polyclonal B-cells 

2.4% Small T-cells 

0.2% Natural Killer (NK) cells 

0.1% Mature Monocytes 

0.1% Immature Monocytes 

4.2% Neutrophils 

0.2% Eosinophils 

0.1% Basophils 

<0.1% Plasma cells

He hears my cries. 

Philippians 4:6-9

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.

May you know His grace today.

Plan "M" - Maranatha

June 16: No words

 Last week, my WBC count was 23 (normal 4-11). Today, it's 71. 

Here I am, Lord. 

June 9: The art of maybe

Today. Not tomorrow. Today was an ortho doc in the morning to plan/schedule on getting a 3cm chunk of loose cartilage removed next week arthroscopically. 2-3 days of crutches and 3-4 weeks recovery. I now weigh recovery times and don't buy lifetime warranties anymore. For me, a knee replacement would be like buying a lifetime warranty - 6-12 months of recovery for 15+ yrs of use. If I reach Aug 16, 2025, it'll be 2 years since my original A.L.L. diagnosis.

Today, the afternoon was the oncologist. Feel good. Hmmm. WBC count is 23, should be 9-11. Keep your head in today, Gary. Don't succumb to the what-if's. Another test next week to determine if I'm trending or ???.

So, enjoy the day before you. Tomorrow, His mercies are new every day. Hug your spouse and kids and tell them you love them.