Thanks Frank

Yesterday was my hardest day yet. I was extremely tired and had a bad headache. Not the ideal state of mind for a national syndicated interview. So when I got a call from Frank Beckmann's administrative assistant, I did what any other person who wants Multiple Myeloma to be a household cancer name would do, I picked up the phone.

So I actually did more than pick up the phone. I allowed Frank to interview me about my journey with Multiple Myeloma; literally the first full day home after my 2nd Bone Marrow Transplant (who does that?!?!?!?!). Frank and everyone at WJR involved did such a wonderful job. You can listen to the interview online right here: http://www.wjr.net/Article.asp?id=1867064&spid=34613

As mentioned on the interview. I will be moving away from blogging as I focus on gaining my physical strength back. The Cancer Kicker Foundation (CKF) will still be pushing forward so more updates about how I am doing will be provided (most likely by Zak) there at http://cancerkicker.org. You can help get the Cancer Kicker Foundation off the ground by buying some dominate stuff at http://dominategear.com

Addendum by Cassie:
Check back periodically, folks. I plan to pick up the posting slack while Phil is on the mend.

A Week of Unbelievable Support

I have completed a full week since my admission at UMHS. I just wanted to take a step back and thank everyone amidst the storm for their overwhelming support. Every blog comment, facebook message, email, etc., really helps fuel my domination. I really thrive on social interaction, especially when it is so positive and encouraging. So thanks!!!

Here are some quick stats from the last week that are just remarkable. Maybe, just maybe, there will be some people diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma who will have heard about it before they are diagnosed. Although I wish they were never touched with the disease....something the Cancer Kicker Foundation wants to work on.

• Personal Blog (MM For Dummies): 6,851 Visits from 47 Countries and 45 States
• Cancer Kicker Facebook Page: 1,256 New fans and over 600 Interactions
• Dominate Shirts (available here): over 100 sold and shipped! (thanks Zak)

I'll leave you with a photo of two students who discovered while in Madagascar (of all places) that they both were wearing Dominate bracelets. Either the world is getting smaller or the dominate message is getting out! Thanks to everyone out there who is living a life of domination and inspiration amidst difficulty. Keep dominating. -Phil

Phil's Vacation: Day +1

Not much to report, other than my appetite is non-existent and I am pretty tired. By the way, thanks to everyone who bought a dominate shirt, apparently we sold 50 in the last 24 hours! There are still some available and they can be ordered here: DominateGear.com

Phil's Vacation: Day 0

There were a lot of great things that happened today and also some strange things. First, we reached our goal of 5,000 fans on our Cancer Kicker Facebook page before my transplant...hooray! Secondly, USA beat Algeria. I think you can give credit to Jamie and Daniel below who sported their Dominate bracelets at the game in South Africa. Lastly, I got my 4.5 Million baby stem cells back!

As for the strange things, Ann Arbor got hit by an earthquake tremor and a tornado. I slept through the earthquake, but unfortunately for the tornado warning all the patients had to take cover in the hallway...I had to tape this (watch).

The day in review went like this:

• woke up at 6am
• watched Sports Center
• ate breakfast
• Cassie and Ruby visit
• dominated Stem Cell Transplant
• ate lunch
• slept
• ate dinner
• sat in the hallway due to tornado warning

Here's the video recap for Day 0.

The Gem....continued :)

I just received results from my recent bone marrow biopsy that showed my plasma cells are at 2.4%, which I was total is in the normal range (less than 3%). This is great news! Now it's time to complete operation domination by eliminating my body of the M-Protein. Sucks to be you Myeloma, Hasta-la-Never.

Below I am dominating Myeloma on my porch with the wicked new dominate shirt from dominategear.com. Thanks Zak for creating these shirts, taking orders and shipping already 100 of them out!

Thank you so much to the faithful blog commenters from the last post. I love comments and I listen! So per the request, below are some photos of Ruby over the last 6 weeks. She is now 7 weeks old!!

Funeral, Chickens and My 60 Day Test Results

What an emotional week. I am back in the saddle at home with not much energy to chase the kids around. Cassie was a champ with all three kids for four days as I flew to Florida to commemorate the life of my Grandpa George and share in family time. I was given an opportunity to speak at the funeral and share how my two grandparents, who were both only children, started something known as the Brabbs' Family which today includes 17 grandchildren and currently 10 great-grandchildren. Although I was born and raised several states away from my Grandpa George, it was made clear this past week that I am very much similar to the man he was and that I hope to be. On a lighter note, my uncle Jeff hosted my parents and me at his legit guest house which is home to three chickens (shown below) that provided some awesome breakfast (eggs) served up by my uncle Jeff.

Yesterday, I had bone marrow biopsy #5. I really don't mind them, partially because my PA at UMCCC knows how to dominate the procedure without dominating me. Those results will be on there way in a few days and will tell us what percentage of Myeloma plasma cells still exist in my bone marrow. Below is a picture of me waiting to see the BMT Doc, showing of my new watch which was given to Grandpa George for his High School Graduation at Flint Central. I am also wearing a silly band which I just learned about. I think the dominate bracelets are much cooler!

Also, I received my 60 Day (from transplant #1) test results and my M-Protein dropped from 0.6 to 0.5. This is positive because it is showing that my body is responding to the high-dose chemo (Melphalan) that I received. My goal is still to get this to 0.0 after my second transplant and some consolidation (more low-dose chemotherapy). I feel like I am at the mid-point of my treatment and I am very excited with the results although we still have a little more way to go.

On a side note, there are some really cool things going on with the Cancer Kicker Foundation as the Facebook Fan page is now over 4,o00 members and almost all 100 dominate shirts have been pre-ordered. I must say all of this work on CKF has been dominated by Zak Branigan who is such an inspiration and good friend to our family. Cassie is sporting her dominate shirt today and she looks hot for having Ruby only 6 weeks ago. Score.

Order at DominateGear.com!

Order Your Cancer Kicker dominate shirts online here thanks to Under Ground Printing. Shirts are only $20 with no shipping cost! Orders of multiple shirts will get free Cancer Kicker - Dominate bracelets equivalent to the number of shirts ordered. Expect two weeks for shipment and delivery. Make sure to tell us what size(s) you would like!

[Click Here to Order: DominateGear.com]

Shirt Details:

• Shirts! $20 plus shipping
• American Apparel tri-blend (NICE!)
• Unisex shirt from XS to 2XL
• 100% of proceeds support the Cancer Kicker Foundation

If you aren't ready to dominate the shirt, you can purchase dominate bracelets for a suggested donation of $2 each with free shipping. Dominate date every day with the Cancer Kicker Foundation!

Thanks, all. Keep dominating. -Phil (co-Founder and MM patient)