We have put our house, here in Baltimore, up for sale. Anyone interested???
http://matrix.mris.com/Matrix/Public/Email.aspx?ID=30389973491
Carpe Diem.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Baltimore fishing expedition
Speaking of fish, Max went to the vet this morning to get his teeth cleaned. Hopefully all will go well. His last cleaning was a couple of years ago as the cleaning has to be done under anesthetic. His mouth smelled like he had just munched down on a rotten herring sandwich. I think you get the idea! I will pick him up later today.
This afternoon Diana and I are meeting with a Doctor at Johns Hopkins who specializes in really advanced genetic testing for cancer. I will , of course, update the blog later today.
Lets not forget lunch with Larry.
Here is the abbreviated update. Lunch was great, Max is fine and the Hopkins Doctor was very interesting.
Now here is the expanded version about Hopkins. Our meeting with Dr. Sidransky was very interesting. Not only is he an oncologist, but he is also CEO of a bio genetic company. He wants to implant my cancerous cells into mice, propagate them in order to tailor make a chemotherapy that could possibly eradicate my disease. It’s all very high tech and involves molecular and bio genetic engineering. Apparently, this will be the standard treatment 5-10 years down the road. Unfortunately, at this point in time, it is a very, very expensive procedure (not covered by insurance). I guess this is where the ethicists would have a dilemma. What price can you put on life and whose life is more precious? The meeting gave me a lot to ponder. Of course, my wife is ready for me to jump on this bandwagon. But in my usual pilot meticulous and methodical way, I need to investigate further.
Before the appointment I played a trick on Diana. I called her to tell her what time the appointment was and then proceeded to tell her that, strangely enough, we had to bring a dozen lab mice with us to the appointment. What made it even more plausible was I gave her a bogus address where we could get the mice. When I finally confessed that it was a joke she had a good laugh. At our meeting with Dr. Sidransky she offered to supply the mice if we could get a break on the price. All in all, pretty darn funny.
Carpe Diem.
This afternoon Diana and I are meeting with a Doctor at Johns Hopkins who specializes in really advanced genetic testing for cancer. I will , of course, update the blog later today.
Lets not forget lunch with Larry.
Here is the abbreviated update. Lunch was great, Max is fine and the Hopkins Doctor was very interesting.
Now here is the expanded version about Hopkins. Our meeting with Dr. Sidransky was very interesting. Not only is he an oncologist, but he is also CEO of a bio genetic company. He wants to implant my cancerous cells into mice, propagate them in order to tailor make a chemotherapy that could possibly eradicate my disease. It’s all very high tech and involves molecular and bio genetic engineering. Apparently, this will be the standard treatment 5-10 years down the road. Unfortunately, at this point in time, it is a very, very expensive procedure (not covered by insurance). I guess this is where the ethicists would have a dilemma. What price can you put on life and whose life is more precious? The meeting gave me a lot to ponder. Of course, my wife is ready for me to jump on this bandwagon. But in my usual pilot meticulous and methodical way, I need to investigate further.
Before the appointment I played a trick on Diana. I called her to tell her what time the appointment was and then proceeded to tell her that, strangely enough, we had to bring a dozen lab mice with us to the appointment. What made it even more plausible was I gave her a bogus address where we could get the mice. When I finally confessed that it was a joke she had a good laugh. At our meeting with Dr. Sidransky she offered to supply the mice if we could get a break on the price. All in all, pretty darn funny.
Carpe Diem.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Go Man U
This afternoon Man U plays Portsmouth in a Premiership game. Basically, they have to win the last six or so remaining games and the title is theirs. They can and should do it. I will update the results later today.
I went for my massage this morning. I see the same therapist as I find this really nice, easy and convenient for me. She is a wonderful, warm and friendly person and is very clued into my physical condition and my cancer treatment regimen. She is perceptive enough to know, like all good therapists, when I want to talk or when I just want to relax and sleep. I know this sounds like an advert for massages but I find it a wonderful part of my overall therapy plus it's incredibly relaxing. Thanks Aimee.
Well, it was a good afternoon. Man U beat Portsmouth 2-0. So we are now 3 points ahead and a game in hand. It was a fairly entertaining game. The rest of the league results were in our favor as Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea all tied.
On a personal level, I felt pretty good today. It is quite comforting to have our medical team in place again.
Carpe Diem.
I went for my massage this morning. I see the same therapist as I find this really nice, easy and convenient for me. She is a wonderful, warm and friendly person and is very clued into my physical condition and my cancer treatment regimen. She is perceptive enough to know, like all good therapists, when I want to talk or when I just want to relax and sleep. I know this sounds like an advert for massages but I find it a wonderful part of my overall therapy plus it's incredibly relaxing. Thanks Aimee.
Well, it was a good afternoon. Man U beat Portsmouth 2-0. So we are now 3 points ahead and a game in hand. It was a fairly entertaining game. The rest of the league results were in our favor as Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea all tied.
On a personal level, I felt pretty good today. It is quite comforting to have our medical team in place again.
Carpe Diem.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
New York fishing expedition
Diana and I travelled to New York today to consult with a highly recommended thoracic oncologist at MSKCC (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center). The appointment was set up for us by a good friend of Phil's who just happens to be a very high up at MSKCC. How convenient. It was a really wonderful and insightful meeting and we both came away really satisfied at this development. Basically, we will continue working with and getting treatments done at St. Joseph but our Doctor at MSKCC will work in conjunction with the Doctor at St.Joseph.
We are having some additional genetic testing done at MSKCC that may be quite helpful and relevant for my future treatments. I also volunteered to be a part of a program that deals in other genetic and genotyping research. There is not much more for me to do other than donate my slides from a previous biopsy done at Sinai Hospital in March 2008 to this research project. Quite painless but the benefits down the road could be huge for others as well as me.
It was a really long, exhausting and draining day for me as new information about my disease was explained to us. Nothing we already didn't know but presented in a different way. A bit of a mortality check!
We are very excited about all this as it seems that our ship finally has it's rudder back. Ay Ay Captain.
Carpe Diem
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Weekend update
Friday morning Spike and Aviva arrived to stay the weekend.
We had a wonderful time with them. Aside from great conversation and Aviva’s culinary skills, we were blessed with perfect weather. Blue skies and 75F – doesn’t get much better. After PF Chang dinner on Saturday night, we walked around the harbor front. Maybe because of the distraction of friends or just the passage of time, my bone pain seems to be lessening. Never underestimate the power of friendship.
Sunday lunchtime before they left for the airport Aviva did some last minute shopping with Diana and Spike and I watched Man U lose to Everton in the FA cup semi final. Oh well.
Carpe Diem.
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