And Away we Go!

The squiggly red line, which approximates the number of plasma cells in the body, both normal and malignant, has reached the stratosphere. If we can't stop its rise, it will stop mine. It rose seventy-three points in one week. Malignant plasma cells crowd out what I need to fend off infections. The value should be 1.94 or less. It is now 304.

The time has come to make sure that my emergency go-to-hospital kit is properly packed (warm socks, pajamas, underwear, robe and slippers, ordinary meds, toiletries, Marinol (synthetic marijuana), cell phone and other chargers, computer cables, hard New York Times crossword puzzles, pencils, journals, a huge book I can read for weeks, etc.). Also it is time to activate wireless broad-band access for the laptop (so I can watch anything I've recorded on TiVo at home — see Slingbox).

I need to keep going until January, when there may be the life-saving possibility of a reduced-intensity allogeneic transplant from a matched, unrelated donor. At this point, the staying alive bit is not a sure thing. Until then, I have to hide from sick people (except for Ivonne, who, with near-perfect timing, has come down with a belligerent cold), and the cancer has to be relatively kind to my bones and organs.

There never seems to be enough time for certain important things, yet I realize I've been blessed with a great time to re-do my Last Will & Testament! Tag family heirlooms with where I want them to go! Videotape final curses for my heartless children!

On Wednesday I took a huge dose (40mg) of steroids (dexamethasone). Saturday & Sunday, the steroids at half-dose will be repeated. Then blood tests on Monday. Throw in a colonoscopy and endoscopy Tuesday morning (I'm looking forward to awakening at 4:30am to drink a half-gallon of hog slop). Then, on Tuesday afternoon, the poisoning with arsenic trioxide, velcade, & vitamin C (IV) will begin, and will be repeated on Friday if I survive. (The regimen is called ABC.) Oh, and Medicare might not pay for it, so it might cost me $2K/week to experience element 23 of the periodic table. For those of you obsessed with "eating healthy," I would like to point out that arsenic is thoroughly natural and is probably available at Whole Foods.