Stuff for Stuff and the Like...maps for the Iraq?

Since my last update the shrinkage of Lymon has seemed to slow down a fair bit, but even with the slower progress, I can say it's smaller than it was when I last posted.  Hopefully this trend will continue and the Imati-blah blah (read Gleevec) will also get the tumors I can't see or feel under control as well.  I'm certainly not in any hurry to feel the ones in my lungs.

In general the side effects continue to mellow.  I'm not feeling quite as tired, and the impending doom of chest fizzing mild heartburn has stopped (crosses fingers to not see that again).  I still haven't started going to the gym yet, but I totally am gonna... like for sure.

And speaking of beauty pageant inspired geography (google Miss Teen South Carolina if you need the reference)... I'm selling off some gear to fund a variety of things such as and the like, personal projects, gas, wild vacations to the border (well the border of Washington State and Oregon - where Portland and my oncology clinic is located), and the inexplicably high price of the gas bill for the house last month... hmph.

such as ... and the like...  (okay I'll stop with the maps for the Iraq reference :)

I'm still waiting to schedule my PET scan for the end of March as the Cobra company hasn't received the payment from the cancer clinic financial councilor (she sent it last Tuesday apparently).  The upside to this is that I don't have to pay for my insurance while on Cobra... just the same copays such as and the like (okay so one last time...).  From what I've seen in forums the copay for real Gleevec can be a lot more than what I'm paying per month to get mine from India, so having the hospital take care of the Cobra cost pretty much makes me a little ahead on that count.

Okay so it's easier for me to just share this one rather than make you hunt for it... and for the record, she was pretty cool about it when she made an appearance on Tosh.0 in her web redemption.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQdhMSEqhfg

So thanks to all for the kind thoughts and supporting words.  I'll continue to focus on progress so I can make a change from fighting this thing to recovering from it.  Here's a shot to enjoy - I took this when my sister Liz was visiting at the end of 2010 at the Oregon coast.

Lymon the not-as-swollen Lymph Node

My latest update includes (but is not limited to):
     - Lump in groin likely the lymph node
     - Said Lymph node now has a name (Lymon)
     - Noticeable changes to Lymon's size
     - Brief hello and goodbye visit to the Oncologist in Portland
     - The surprise phone call from the billing group at my oncologist's office telling me my insurance wasn't  active any longer...  received while I was driving up to to Portland (the day of the visit)
     - Confirmation call made to my company's HR benefits coordinator that I was supposed to have received a letter already to let me know I would be getting a letter from a company with Cobra paperwork (this letter was mailed from the company 2 days before my appointment... got it in the mail the day after the appointment)
     - Confusion on my part as to what medical leave meant and a follow up call planned this week to discuss this situation with the benefits coordinator
     - One of those questions being, what exactly the E.A.P. portion of my package was supposed to have covered...?
 
Okay so enough with the weird attempt at a format exploration (I was writing this while listening to a Crank Yankers prank phone call where Wanda Sykes was messing with a prison receptionist.  She wanted to know how to sign up as a provider for conjugal visits ... for, well... any of the prisoners :).

So I'm looking at my cobra paperwork, and the Cancer Support Services Financial Advisor at the Portland hospital is helping me decide how to fill out this not-so-confusing single page of boxes (well how to place an X in them... and you know I'm really more of a check-the-box kind of guy... but when it's official you better get your X's down ya know?).  I need to find out if the E.A.P. benefit means the company will pay my Cobra copay, or if it's just 3 random letters that would cost an additional $2.11 each month to keep in my roster.

The nice thing about showing up to just a doctor visit (thank goodness it wasn't a $3k scan visit... ) when you're coverage is temporarily not active, is they all jump over backwards to try and help you get your stuff lined up and such.  Providence might even pay my Cobra premium which I guess isn't such a large amount when you have an ongoing cancer patient relationship?  But corporate finances aside, it is a very nice feeling to run into this kind of scenario and have multiple people talk to you immediately and let you know you're going to be covered.  (They also are well aware that I'm buying my own medication and I think want to ensure I'm taking advantage of the programs they have in place - I would guess there is some kind of gubmint reimbursement scenario, at least I remember being in college and getting gubmint cheese... No flavor but also no charge)

So bottom line with regards to my insurance - I'm not worried, as I'll be covered again shortly.

The lymph node lump (henceforth to be referred to by it's proper name "Lymon"), has shown some SERIOUS shrinkage over the last 3 weeks on the generic Gleevec.  From what I can see, and Ki confirms, it's down to about 30-40% the size it had become.  And I'm not experiencing the 23-hr delayed fainting spells post pill-chompage I had earlier on.  This is also a good thing.

According to Dr Lufkin, it's been not uncommon to have really large tumors (much larger than mine) with his GIST cancer patients (who are C Kit positive) see a hyper rapid reduction with Gleevec.  While my progress hasn't been quite as extreme as the examples he shared, Ki mentioned it's not always good for your system to have to process dead tumor bits in a massive all-at-once stopping up of your kidneys moment.  As this can cause your systems to also not really be able to do their normal jobs.  And a reduction like I seem to be seeing in Lymon after just 3 weeks really makes me feel good.

Follow up scan will be scheduled for the 3rd or 4th week in March (we'll set the date as soon as I get the Cobra stuff lined up).  I don't want to get overly optimistic about the rapid decline in Lymon's waist line, so I'm holding off to get the inside picture with the PET scan (ooh maybe I'll get a cat this time - I hear they're good for cancer patients).

Sadly, I'll also have to make a decision regarding my oncologist, as Dr Lufkin is moving to a non-Providence Hospital cancer group (across the street) in early April.  If I don't move my treatment with him, I'll wind up working with Dr Curti who is one of the head researchers there and a complete Melanoma specialist.  I worked with him and Dr Lufkin jointly during my IL2 Spring Sessions (spring session M anyone?  comment if you like that album...).  If Providence is taking care of my Cobra co pay... well that won't be a hard decision to stay there, as I quite liked my interactions with Dr Curti.  But I do really enjoy working with Dr Lufkin, and he is a D.O. (Ki is going to be a D.O. and ya gotta be loyal ... :)

And on a Ki related note - he was accepted to his top choice for residency up at Corvallis (I'm happy he's not going to #2 or #3... Ohio and Michigan.)  Both are great programs, but Corvallis will be better for him.  So major congrats to my partner for being top pick for his first choice!  Apparently Corvallis was able to secure all 3 of their top applicants for the psychiatry residency, so it's definitely an honor for him to match there.

XOXO and stuff - and we finally had a dusting of snow.  Here's a shot from Ashland after some snow had just melted from the ground (taken last year... but retouched a little recently :)