Thankful Thursday #6: Caregivers

I am thankful today for caregivers; especially my own. I tell everyone that I think it is much harder to be the one walking along side the myeloma patient, than being the myeloma patient. The burden the caregiver has to carry is unimaginable to me. They have to educate themselves on the disease, in my case carry and deliver a baby, with two little ones already in the nest; and most importantly they have to be a rock.

Cassie has been all this and more. She's made sure we didn't lose our house when things got dicey, she has maintained focus on the kids so that there emotional landscape has not been wavered by this Myeloma Monster who entered our household over two years ago and she has had grace for me during my highs and very highs thanks to Dex.

When we started are dating relationship we called ourselves PnC...not to be confused with the bank that acquired our beloved National City. It stands for Team Phil and Cassie. I would be lying if I said the last year treatment has been nothing but X's and O's for (that's kisses and hugs, not a football schematic), but we have definitely continued to be united in our quest to dominate Multiple Myeloma.

As I transition out of aggressive treatment in the next couple of months, look for Cassie to return her voice back to MM for Dummies to share her insights on how the last year went, what we've learned and where we might still be struggling. She is good at keeping it real with a healthy dose of humor. Here is her recent post in her new series titled "Resourceful Wednesday."

Tomorrow (Friday) I will give a physical health update explaining what post-tandem auto-transplant consolidation therapy has meant to me and my body. By then I should get an update on my M-protein/spike which I hopeful for a decline from the steady 0.2 result I have been given over the last 3 months since starting this treatment regiment.

Please share in the comment section what your caregiver has meant to you. Better yet, if you are a caregiver, please express what the role has been for you.

Thankful Thursdays #4: My Little Rainbow

So I am cheating a little because my first Thankful Thursday I called out all my three little kids, but then singled out Ruby. This time I am singling out Iris, which is Greek for rainbow and why she got the name. Below is a picture of the two of us right before I was diagnosed.

When I was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma and sobbing over the potential of leaving my family in a few years, I'll be honest; my pain stricken heart and soul cried out over the potential that this cancer would force me to leave behind Ocean sooner than I ever thought. I knew that Cassie is such a strong rock that she would weather this or any storm and Iris was still all into mommy and we hadn't bonded yet like I had with my first born son.

But now over two years have passed and my little rainbow is older than what Ocean was at diagnosis. This Sunday she will be turning 3; although her personality makes me feel like she is closer to 17. Due to the circumstance caused by aggressive treatment, I have been able to spend a lot more time with Iris over the last six months. In that time I have been able to really grow close to this girl who proudly sports Lightening McQueen underwear every day and would rather skin both knees running with the boys than pick up a doll. She is a tough one. I keep saying that she is going to be the first woman president of this country, and without a first man.

I am so proud and thankful to be her daddy and she is really starting to melt my heart. She still will only let me kiss her on the top of her head and it must be on her terms, but yesterday for the first time she came up to me and shouted out, "I love you Daddy!" and barraged me with kisses on my shirt. I slipped her a quick $20 and said go by 25 gallons of chocolate ice cream all for yourself... and there is plenty more where that came from, my little rainbow.....

So much to live for...and this is why I choose to Dominate and remain Thankful.

Thankful Thursdays #3: Multiple Myeloma Specialists

One thing I have noticed from the Multiple Myeloma Mondays, is that MM Survivors/Patients all share the attitude that it is very important to see a MM specialist when you are diagnosed. I'll be honest with you, I did not know that Dr. J was a MM specialist until a year after my diagnosis, let alone did I realize that non-MM specialists (i.e. general oncologists) were treating patients. Let me just be very honest, I didn't now there was such thing as a MM Specialist all together!

So today I am thankful that my ignorance was overwritten by the fact I live two miles from a world-renown MM specialist who is passionately pursing targeted treatment therapy for MM patients. Dr. J is not only very well educated with the latest in clinical trials, but he has been leading some, including the one that I took on this last fall/winter. The landscape of drugs and research data (i.e. hope) is changing so rapidly these days, it really pays to have a MM specialist who is plugged into the beat of all this. I have also been made aware that there is a growing number of MM Specialists all over the country and I hope to see this number continue head upward!

I am not sure what it takes to be considered a MM Specialist, but a good start is to look at the list of Centers of Excellence if someone can remind me where online this list exists.

Continue to grow that Thankful heart every Thursday by posting your gratitude or sharing it with others you are close to.

P.S. By the way, I am also thankful for my mom who's birthday is today! Happy Birthday mom, love you!

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee

"Round 4" or what the doctor calls Cycle #4 is now underway. There's talk of staying in the ring with my Multiple Myeloma for two more additional cycles after this one to ensure that we give it our best shot. I was looking forward to being done, but when taking on cancer you need to dominate it, and that means you need to be agile, mobile, flexible and maybe a little hostile at times to give you that extra energy to stay in the ring and make sure you knocked it down and out!

On a side note, thank you everyone for the growing participation in Thankful Thursdays. Amidst the twist and turns of this cancer journey that started over two years ago, being thankful and hopeful have been two key ingredients to keep me on the path of domination which is producing in me much optimism. Every week I encourage everyone to post something new that they are thankful for. Why wait till Thanksgiving to get started?

Thankful Thursdays #2

What a great success Thankful Thursdays was last week! Let's see if we can build on the momentum and continue to grow thankful hearts that put us on a positive path towards a cure and overall better quality of life as we take on cancer and the rest of life's worries and struggles.

Today I am thankful for Midland. It has taken me 30 years to say that. Every kid that grows up in Midland says the same thing, "I can't wait to get out of this place"...and I can't blame them. There is not a whole of exciting things to do there if you are a kid, unless you really, really like the mall and eating at Ruby Tuesdays. Things are a little better today now that they have the Loons which is where Cassie and I are at in the above picture.

Now that I have three kids and I am focused on raising a healthy family, I can now see why Midland would the perfect petri dish for my kids growing up. There is no crime other than the teenagers who are bored out of their gored so they take to vandalism and steeling street signs. Although I am not leaving Ann Arbor any time soon, I can see where Midland is a great option for families.

So in short, I am thankful for my homeland and the great childhood experiences and relationships it provided me (see two pictures above from my class reunion). I am very much who I am today because of the blessings this town provided me as a youth (travel soccer, good math teachers, friends, etc). So it is very timely that today I am actually driving my family back to Midland to spend some time there. My high school football team is 9-1 and I am very proud to be coming back to root them on.

Okay....now tell me what you are thankful for!!!!

P.S. Thanks to the Midland Daily News for always covering my story whether it was when I was an athlete at Dow High or today while I am trying to raise awareness for Multiple Myeloma. Here's the last article they did.

Thankful Thursdays #1

Multiple Myeloma leaves little to be desired and thankful for. This disease can take a mental, physical and emotional with for the rest of your life with all the neurothapy, infusion appointments, the time off of work and the affect it has on your family and friends. But admist the cancer journey, I am learning that there is an opportunity for a Thankful heart to grow. So every Thursday through Thanksgiving I am going to encourage folks to participate in Thankful Thursday on the Cancer Kicker Foundation Facebook page. It's starts today!

Here's my entry from today...

I am thankful for my 3 kids (4, almost 3 and six month), and single out my six month old Ruby. With aggressive chemotherapy staring Cassie and I in the face, we did the unthinkable and got pregnant. Everything on paper said hold off, but our hearts and spirit felt it was right. Six months with Ruby has proven that it was right. We found out later that Ruby in some cultures is known for having blood cleansing powers. Time will tell, but she definitely softens my heart and spirit every time I look at her. She is remarkable and I am now motivated to see 3 kids grow up!