I'm back -- for now.

[Famspear]

Friends, it's good to be back, finally, after the worst time of my life, health wise.

Earlier this summer I became very sick with a variety of ailments, including severe coughing (possibly causing the blood in my eyes that I experienced), excruciating pain in my lower back and abdomen, and breathing problems. Finally, I started having subtle visual disturbances and the beginnings of mental confusion, especially with remembering words and inability to physically write down what I was thinking (especially trying to write phone numbers, that sort of thing).

My wife took me to an oncologist who put me in the hospital immediately, in the first half of August. The diagnosis?

Incurable multiple myeloma. Blood cancer.

When he put me in the hospital, the doctor told me point blank, that without the procedures he was about to perform, he could project that I had about four days to live.

I spent over 3 weeks of nightmarish hell in the hospital as they gave me so many pills, liquids and "IV" administered chemo-therapy and other drugs that I could not possibly keep track of them all. Plus CT scans, MRI's, regular X-rays, and so on.

To make the story short, I finally came home last Friday. The overwhelming pain in my abdomen/back area has finally begun to subside after several months. My wife is caring for both me and our special needs son here at home.

In a few months, I will need a stem cell something or other -- not sure of the terminology -- maybe at the Texas Medical Center, at MD Anderson Hospital or Methodist Hospital.

Depending on how things turn out, I might have 2 to 4 more years now. Again, I'll learn more details later.

What in the world caused me to have this? I have no idea.

It is just as they say -- good health is the most important thing. God bless each of you, my friends.

[Burnaby49]

What can I say except for my heartfelt sympathies? I can empathize with what your family is going through because I went through it twenty years ago. My mother was in the same situation, doing fine with no apparent medical issues, then, seemingly out of nowhere, critically ill of cancer.

Good luck, hopefully chance cuts some breaks in your favour after what you've been through in the last few months.

[JamesVincent]

I'm glad you're home Fam. I'm sorry to hear what's happening, I had been looking forward to hearing you were doing better and was worried. I'm glad you were diagnosed quickly and treatment begun. Praying that you continue to improve.

[wserra]

When we recently wrote about a Hendrickson acolyte and didn't see a limerick, I wondered what was up. It's a very strange time, I thought you just had stuff going on. In a sense, I was right.

Shit. Sorry.

A good friend had an autologous stem-cell transplant. You can't cure the incurable, but you can make it a lot more tolerable. MD Anderson is a world-class place, and I'm sure they have their own personnel at out-patient clinics in many other facilities in the area. In just the last twenty years, there have been huge advances in the treatment of things like multiple myeloma. Anderson contributed to many of them. Hang in there.

[Duke2Earl]

I wish you much luck and keep fighting. I will add my personal experience with MD Anderson, a first class place of excellent doctors. They will help you.

[NYGman]

FUCK Cancer!

Stay well FAM and best of luck.

[Cpt Banjo]

Sincerest best wishes to you and your family, Famspear. You got dealt a rotten hand, but M.D. Anderson is world class. Hang in there.

[rogfulton]

The team at Anderson that treated my wife for breast cancer some 45 odd years ago did such a good job, she is still around to give me grief.

Wishing you and yours the best in these stressful times.

[AndyK]

I'd volunteer to check for a cell match, but I'm on a two year embargo following prostate removal. Crap, I can't even donate blood.

Wish I could help.

[Pottapaug1938]

Mrs. Pottapaug has been battling ovarian cancer since June of 2003; and I've already seen much more of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute than I've ever wanted to see -- especially the Jimmy Fund wing, where pediatric cancer patients are treated. Her parents both died of pancreatic cancer. I despise cancer with a vehemence which I never thought that I could feel; and I'm sorry to hear of you having met it, the hard way.

The only thing I can say is -- I don't know the reputation of the Texas Medical Center; but I know that Mrs. P would probably not be alive if she had not been treated at a world-class cancer institute (Sloan-Kettering is another). Don't be bashful about reaching out to a world-class facility for a second opinion.

Let's hope for some much better news for you, in the near future.

[The Observer]

Sorry to hear about your struggle. Its not an easy to hear someone telling you that you are dealing with one of life's worst thing to happen. But I am glad to know that you didn't give up and are fighting back. I have watched a number of people through my life come down with every possible cancer that I can think of. The last experience was with one of my employees who told me he had been diagnosed with multiple myeloma. We were both about the same age, he had just put his son through medical school and was looking forward to seeing him graduate, but instead he was having to plan to go through treatment and the stem cell treatment instead. So stay the course. And I know that this is going to be hard for your son to understand and deal with.

If you have have problems with coming up with a satsifactory matching donor, let me and the rest of the Quatloos crew know. I will gladly go through the process to see if I can be a donor.

[Jeffrey]

Got a friend who is an oncologist at the Texas medical center. Hear nothing but good things about it.

[Judge Roy Bean]

I would venture to say you're in good hands because of your proximity to advanced care facilities and experts. It's truly amazing what mother nature subjects us to at seemingly random points in our lives.

Best of luck to you and your family.

JRB

[Famspear]

Thanks to all for your thoughts!

Well, I had to go back to the hospital with 103 plus fever on Monday night, but I got out this morning (Thursday Sept 17). Some sort of infection and they still have not figured out exactly what it is. I'm on anti-biotics of course.

[JamesVincent]

Glad you're out again and doing better. Hope they figure it out.

How's everyone holding up around the house?

[Famspear]

The last three days have been a little better regarding the extreme fatigue. It is hard to convey a description of what your whole body feels like when you're so tired that it's an effort just to hold a cell phone up to your ear. Slowly, I'm regaining some "strength."

Again, thanks to all for your thoughts and prayers.

[Number Six]

I'm very sorry to read of your health threats Famspear. As one of the leading intellects on this site and probably others, the world needs your influence in the tax arena to maybe make the system more honest. I have not been around here much as I've been busy elsewhere. I invest a lot in my good health, don't have much money these days but have had a lot of work. I hope you get better and stay well. And I wish that for everyone.

[Famspear]

Update.

In December 2020, I spent 17 days in the hospital, getting a bone marrow/stem cell transplant. This was an "autologous stem cell transplant" -- which means that I was both the donor and donee. As part of that process, I received a very strong chemo-therapy drug called melphalan. The effect of this drug is to wipe out the recipient's immune system. After the therapy, I am no longer immune to such things as measles, chicken pox, diptheria, tetanus, influenza, even polio (I think). The hospital will start giving me replacement vaccinations soon. My white blood cells did start to rejuvenate while I was in the hospital in December, though.

In February, I had both of my COVID-19 shots (Pfizer).

The benefit of the December 2020 transplant was supposed to give me 2 or 3 more years, but the blood cancer (multiple myeloma) came back with a vengeance in late February or early March (over 80% of my bone marrow was cancer). As a result, I spent another 11 days in the hospital in March, with more chemo-therapy.

The good news is that I'm doing better now. Every Tuesday, I spend about 4 hours sitting in a chair at my oncologist's office, with a needle in my arm, receiving an infusion of a medicine called Xarxio. The cancer appears to be have been reduced by this treatment. On Tuesdays and Fridays, I receive an injection of something called Velcade. They give me other medicines, too.

This coming week, I am going to have a consulting meeting with the hospital about another procedure -- a chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy, or "CAR T-cell therapy." That would involve another long hospital stay -- perhaps some time this summer.

Anyway, I feel just a little weak right now, but fortunately there isn't much pain. Other than running, I can do anything I want, including driving a car.

I am working from home -- thank goodness that I have remote access to the office computer server!

[wserra]

Shit. Not much else to say, other than "Hang in there".

[JamesVincent]

Fam! While it sucks hearing about the issues you're having it's good to hear that it's getting treated. Hope you continue to have progress.