Thursday, September 8
Preventing Heart Attack & Stroke
The majority of heart attacks and strokes worldwide are ischemic, meaning that a clot or accumulation of plaque in an artery stops oxygen-rich blood from getting to the cells in the heart or brain. When blocked for too long, tissues die.
But an increasing number of studies suggest that brief, repeated periods of reduced circulation using a blood pressure cuff may help minimize tissue damage and avoid the worst consequences of heart attacks and strokes, similar to how exercising helps muscles adapt to more rigorous workouts. According to the research, the straightforward, noninvasive surgery may improve heart and vascular function, slightly decrease blood pressure, and lessen the workload of the heart.
In a recent review study that was published in the Journal of Physiology, James Lang, an assistant professor of kinesiology at Iowa State University, compiled the results of roughly 100 studies, some of which were his own. He said that “remote ischemic preconditioning” (RIPC) typically comprises five minutes of high pressure on a person’s arm followed by five minutes of relaxation, repeated three to four times.
Numerous studies have demonstrated that a single RIPC session creates a protective window that peaks 48 hours later, but research from Lang’s team and other scientists has shown that preconditioning several days in a row may enhance the protection and support additional health benefits. READ MORE...
Thursday, November 25
Healthcare Happiness
Prior to my heart attack, I had stopped smoking, stopped drinking alcohol, stopped eating red meat, sugars, and fried food s decade before my heart attack actually took place. Additionally, my blood pressure was low, my cholesteral was low, no family member with heart issues... so NO TYPICAL MARKERS that underscore a heart attack...
Therefore it must have been stress...
About this same time frame, I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's "B" Cell Lymphoma and five years after that I was diagnosed with Melanoma that spread from my foot to my groin to my neck. I am currently being treated for 2 cancers simultaneously and the meds do not seem to be fighting each other which is a good sign.
My healthcare costs are somewhere between $500,000 and $750,000 depending upon the various tests that I have to see if my cancers have spread. These tests are typically a CT or a PET scan that I received quarterly. I also have quarterly tests for my heart as well and since my PSA results are high, I have been seeing a Urologist and have had a biopsy of my prostate. Since my nuclear stress test for my heart showed a blockage, I have had a recent heart cath that actually revealed NO PROBLEMS at all... but, these tests are expensive.
My health is STABLE and that is why I have healthcare happiness...
Friday, September 3
Visit with Cardiologist
Yesterday, I had my 6 month visit with my cardiologist and these visits are not just contingent upon my age but because in 2009/2010, I had 5 stents put into my heart arteries on the left side (3 in the LAD) to avoid having a triple bypass performed.
My Cardiologist suggested that I have a STRESS TEST to ascertain if my stents were still doing their job and/or if other blockages had formed that may be hindering my ability to perform physical tasks that I had previously attributed to my sedentary lifestyle resulting from constant fatigue as a result of my 13 year battle with cancer and on-going cancer treatments.
So... I have 20 days to prepare my body for this physical test that only lasts 6 minutes. But, since I have been sitting around for the last 6 months, I am not sure if I will have the physical strength to complete this test... so, a gradual build-up my my endurance will give me a slight advantage... at least I am hoping.
What saved my life in 2008 was the fact that I was healthy and tiny vessels to carry blood had been created by my own body to compensate for the blockages. For the last 13 years, I have continued with my healthy eating so I am hopeful that those tiny vessels are still there and are still operating effectively.
If my stress test shows no additional blockages, my Cardiologist only wanted to see me once a year, but I objected to that because of my ongoing battle with cancer and the fact that cancer treatments can impact the functionality of the heart... so, we agreed to continue our 6 month visits.
You have to take charge of your own healthcare sometimes and not always listen to these doctors...
Wednesday, August 18
Surviving & Living With Cancer(s)
When I was 60 years old (2007) I was diagnosed with non-hodgkin's "b" cell lymphoma and was told by my oncologist that this type of cancer would never leave my body. my cancer was staged at level iv which in many cases is terminal but in my case it was because the lymphoma was in my bone marrow.
My treatment began with monthly infusions of rituxan which took about 4-6 hours depending upon how busy the chemo nurses were. For several years my lymphoma grew but grew slowly and slightly.in 2010, i experienced a heart attack while walking on the treadmill and an angioplasty operation revealed that I had three blocked arteries. between 2010/2011, I had 3 heart surgeries and had 5 stents inserted and have had minimal problems since.
In 2011/2012, I worked in kentucky for a few months and the oncologist there ordered Cytoxin and Fludara in addition to my Rituxan and it is widely believed that one of those first two drugs caused me contract melanoma.
After my melanoma was surgically removed from my foot, five years later it migrated to my groin and it was difficult to ascertain if it was the lymphoma or melanoma that was growing or both.
My oncologist treated me for both cancers and for a while, he was not sure if he was going to be successful in stopping their growth. So, in 2017/2018, Radiation was added to my monthly infusions.
Fortunately, the two individualized treatments worked and both my cancers started to experience minimal growth if any growth at all. Again, with a biopsy, my oncologist was unable to determine if it was the lymphoma or the melanoma that was growing.
After 13 years of chemo treatments, surgeries, radiation, and immunotherapy treatments, I have left with the following situation with which I must live:
- hypothyroidism
- Lymphodema in my left leg
- Weight gain of 50 pounds (of which I have lost 30)
- anemia due to very low red blood cell count
- no immunity due to very low white blood cell count
- low platelet count
- intermittent nausea
- High susceptability to squamous carcinomas (of which I have had 6 surgically removed)
- constant mild to not so mild fatigue
- no taste of food
- swollen prostate
- extreme sensitivity to sun rays
- Extreme sensitivity to humidity
- constant sinus infections
- constant facial skin infections
- Pink skin pigment has disappeared
- Mouth soars
- minor loss of hearing
- intermittant blurred vision
- intermittant diarrhea
- an increase in tooth decay
- increase risk of afib
- allergic reactions to bug bites
- increased risk of deyhydration
- minor bouts of depression
Are all of these related to my cancer treatments?
Well...
maybe yes...
maybe no...
Some could be related to old age or not...
But, the fact remains that I deal with this list on a daily basis and have gotten to the point where I don't even think about it anymore... My limitations have just become a part of my life.
I don't really think about living with cancer, I just think about living my life, one day at a time, while trying to make the most out of each day. If I make the most out of each day, then I consider myself to be living a successful life and living a successful life is, for me, a form of happiness.
There were many days still lodged in my memory banks where I laid on the tile floor in the bathroom, puking my guts out.... I remember my body convulsing and arching as I tried for many seconds to bring up through my throat what my body did not want.
I remember those episodes lasting for hours as my body heaved and pulled from the inside... my upper body became super hot and broke out in sweat that made me feel I had just gotten out of the shower.
I was completely exhausted from the vomiting and laid on the tile floor waiting for the next episode to grab hold of me... Sometimes, it would get so bad and of a long duration that my wife would take me to the ER.
i don't like being around stangers in a waiting room when i am convulsing and vomiting and trying to puke out what little is left inside. It is embarrassing and rather humiliating but necessary.
Those days are gone for good I hope...
Tuesday, May 18
The Night Before the Night Before
It is possible although highly illogical to look at what might happen in the future, even though we have specialists who earn their livelihoods forecasting what might happen in business, in the economy, and on Wall Street with the Stock Market. Doctors forecast the future of medicine and Oncologist forecast the day, not too far in the distant future where having cancer will be no worse for many than catching a cold or the flu.
- Will I be wealthy
- When will I die
- Who will I marry
- Will people like me
AND... because of all these concerns that we have, most people have turned into what some people may refer to as "worry warts." AND... if you are still not convinced that this might be a problem, most of these so called "worry warts," exhibit high levels of stress and anxiety that manifest itself in ulcers, cancer, and heart attacks.
While some may believe that they can control the future with proper planning and follow the adage that LUCK FAVORS THE PREPARED, that is not really the case because our lives have already been predetermined by whoever it was that gave us life in the first place.
Don't believe this?
Well, who planned your specific birth?
Your parents came together for a specific reason that was really unknown to them until they met for the first time...
Friday, March 12
On My Back Porch
We had one bathroom with a shower for 5 of us to use and our outside yard could be mowed in about 30 minutes. We lived in a community that was considered to be in the country... 4 miles south of Alexandria and 8 miles south of Washington, DC. My father walked two blocks to catch the bus into Washington where he worked. My mother did not work and we had 1 car that did not have a heater or an air conditioner because those features increased the base price. We wore coats and sweaters in the car in the winter and rolled the windows down in the summer.
However, my parents lived better with children than they had lived in North Carolina as children with their parents... BUT, according to the critics, both my parents and I were raised on white privilege.
WHERE PRIVILEGE ENTERED THE PICTURE was when I attended high school in Cairo, Egypt and attended classes with students of all colors from countries all over the world. Our 1966 graduating class was 28 in number with 15 different nationalities; in fact, the VALEDICTORIAN of our senior class was a HUNGARIAN COMMUNIST who was flown to Russia after he graduated. Whites, Blacks, Browns, Asians, Africans, Canadians, Europeans, Chinese, Japanese shared life together, never realizing we were different in color or different in our religious beliefs, or different in our political ideologies.
In the summers and since we could not work, groups of us 10-15 would travel through Europe for 30-60 days. At that time, we could travel through Europe between $3-$5/day. We oftentimes purchased a EURAIL PASS that gave us UNLIMITED mileage for 30 days for about $100. So, the total cost of traveling throughout Europe was about $500. And... the education we received was invaluable and had nothing to do with white privilege... as color was present all around us... if your parents worked for the US EMBASSY, then you were privileged... there were just as many blacks as there were whites...
After graduating from high school whatever privileged I had previous enjoyed VANISHED into the thin air of LIFE. I worked while I attended college because I no longer wanted my parents to control me and require that certain grades be achieved. I dropped out of college and ENLISTED into the US NAVY and there is no privilege associated with being an enlisted man in the military.
After two years, I was honorably discharged from the active duty military but had to continue 4 more years as a RESERVIST. Using the GI BILL, I finished my undergraduate degree and also had enough money to complete an MBA. There was no white privilege there either as I earned the right to have the government pay for my education, especially since we were engaged in the Vietnam War at the time.
Throughout my 45 year career, I was FIRED because I challenged the incompetence of management and refused to kiss the ass of management or violate my integrity. My behavior was not an example of white privilege... in fact, it was an example of having no privilege at all.
At the age of 60 I experienced a serious heart attack and my Cardiologist recommended a triple bypass... My brother was on the Board of Directors of NY Presbyterian Hospital and opened the door for me to fly to NYC and have my arteries cleaned out and five stents inserted over a period of 3 operations. THIS WAS CLEARLY AN EXAMPLE OF PRIVILEGE and to be quite honest I am glad that MY BROTHER had been in a position to have forced this to happen. And... 13 years later, my heart is responding perfectly for a man of my age.
On my back porch, I reflect and remember a not so glamorous past and I wonder if I would have changed anything if given a second change since this is what actually happened and since this is what actually happened why would I ever want to change it?
Similarly... what's happening now is what is happening... and, when it is done, why would we ever wish for it not to have happened? Life happens because it is supposed to happen... and, there is a reason for it to happen whether or not we understand it at the time. If we loose our freedoms, we were meant to loose our freedoms.