Off Week, but it's the Buckeyes!

Cycle #4 is now behind me! Wow, that was a heck-of-a-lot-of-therapy. I am getting used to the cadence of two weeks on and one week off. I am seeing no side affects and my labs are showing strong signs that my bone marrow is staying strong (i.e. platelets, RBC, WBC, ANC are at good levels). My M-spike is still holding at a 0.2 and we want to knock it down to 0.0.

We think a couple additional cycles and/or the maintenance therapy will get us there. I remain confident; especially with all the stories I am hearing from others that are hitting CR (Complete Response). Many thanks to Nick for teaching me the significance of CR and keeping it there. He is a big reason I am going for this "game winning field goal" approach to therapy. And I will be honest, aggressive treatment fits my dominate personality. Everyone should really work with a MM specialist to determine the best approach for them and know all their options and what the leading research is saying. In a lot of ways, I am still a "MM Dummy", although a little more educated thanks to the last year.

I have learned to love and appreciate the "off week". Typical and minor side affects (if any at the time) I am having will subside during this period and by the last day of my off week, I begin to feel normal again; meaning Sexy Dexy is no longer on the loose....or not as much. Okay, Cassie should verify that last sentence.

But let's be real people...this is truly NO OFF WEEK! This week is Michigan vs. Ohio State! It's actually the most intense week of the year! Not to mention we decided to cram in Thanksgiving as well. This is one of the greatest rivalries of all time! Back in 2002 I witnessed this rivalry as a player and now I see it a little differently. Both schools make each other better. I now view the tension between the two schools as something that brings us together for the better, not worse. And....

...Then there is Barb. Barb connected with me when her mom was first diagnosed in August of 2009. Barb is a Buckeye and lives down near Columbus of all places! She reached out to a Wolverine....so she gets the gold sticker. Barb has really taken a passion for dominating MM for everyone's benefit. Even a year ago she was throwing ideas at me on how we could work together to raise money to get research going faster. Barb put her words to work and this week she is hosting the 1st Annual UM/OSU DomiNation event, which is in Columbus this year. I will be there and so will another young MM Dominator who graduated from OSU, Matt Hare. Matt is also a great example of a person who has gone beyond the call to personally dominate MM, by raising money to help us Kick Cancer for good.

Here are the details for this Saturday's event if you live near Columbus and want to go!

Happy Birthday...To Iris!

Our little girl turns two today and all she asks for is a Michigan Wolverine win over the Buckeyes...no biggie, right??? When I was first diagnosed (8/8/08) I couldn't fathom what Iris's world would be like without a father. I am so thankful and almost in tears to think that not only have we been able to spend 15 great months together since diagnosis, but the treatment options today for MM provide instant hope that we can push out remission for 5 to 10 years, if not even knock this thing down forever. So my dream would be to walk this little girl down the isle, although I see her being the first president and without a first man by her side....she's just that tough and sazzy. So cheers to Iris as she turns two and begins her third year of life!







On the health front, I unfortunately tossed my cookies again last night. Cassie has been busy researching what she thinks my issue may be and on Monday we see an awesome gastroenterologist from U of M. Many thanks to a neighborhood friend who is a gastroenterologist at U of M who hooked us up big time with this appointment. He even visited me when I was in the ER yesterday to check in on me. It pays to have doctor friends. If you don't have any, find some!!!

How Michigan Men are Made

The Michigan Daily article has hit the press so you can read my quotes and the entire article by going here. I was extremely humbled to be interviewed as part of the story because if you look at the other names they included: Carol Hutchins, Lloyd Carr, Bo Schembechler, Desmond Howard, Ron Kramer and Red Berenson. These people will me Michigan (Men and Women) sports legends for years and decades to come. I guess it goes to show that maybe the answer to my question in the original Daily article (What is the purpose of Multiple Myeloma in my life?) is starting to slowly unfold as thousands of people are learning about it through not just my struggle, but our struggle.



On Phil's health news front, my nurse and P.A. in oncology requested that I go to the E.R. (don't worry mom) so that I could see a G.I. I pleaded to the nurse for another way, given my last experience in the E.R. So here I am, playing the waiting game in the E.R.. Once again thank you modern technology gods for making wireless internet pass through brick walls. I am hoping this doesn't end in an admission because my beautiful daughter turns two tomorrow...oh yeah...and there is a big football game that's going down at Noon and someone needs to park all those cars on my lawn!



God Bless all! -Phil

Puking Stan is Back, but the M-Protein is Waning

It's hard not to smile through the vomit after seeing the results of my slowly-but-surely-being-vanquished M-protein. The M-Protein can be a key indicator of the progression of myeloma, but not always. I plan to insert a graph of my M-protein over the last 15 months once my stomach settles down. Since starting chemo, here is a quick run of the numbers:

Day 0 = 3.0
End of Partial Cycle #1 = 1.9
End of Full Cycle #2 = 1.0
Cycle #3 = Hopefully start on Tuesday, November 24th
Cycle #4 = Hopefully start 3 weeks after that
GOAL = A Big Fat Zero before bone marrow transplant (possibly tandem)

So the bad news is that Tossing Cookies Stan is back in full force. I was hoping for a decrease in the death grip on my bowels and stomach but so far... no dice. I thought I was back on the fast track to my wonderful vegetarian diet, until I ate a baked potato with the skin. I probably should mention that I had roughly 8 graham crackers, 2 apple juices and 2 cranberry juices in the cancer infusion center this morning while I was filling up on 2 liters of saline via IV and catching up with an awesome friend known to most as Bal; short for Rockin' Andy Balazer. Long story short, I saw it all again a few short hours later. Good times.


Stan Puking His Guts Out

Some more good news for Multiple Myeloma Awareness. The Michigan Daily's featured article (here's the first story they broke over six weeks ago if you missed it) leading up to the match up between us and that team down in Ohio will include some shot outs from me as I try my best to explain the definition of a Michigan Man, which is the term used by the Michigan faithful to define the character of the Leaders and Best. There's just something different about wearing the winged helmet and playing in the Big House that is really hard to put into words....it's like trying to explain to your family what Multiple Myeloma is. Rimshot! Thanks to the awesome Courtney for reaching out. Be sure to check out Friday's Michigan Daily for the article.