Handy's Blog- "Lymphoma Doesn't Know What It Bit Off!"

Fitness Carries Weight Against Cancer- Guest Post by David Haas

2012-01-11T08:28:00.002-07:00

Friends, family and colleagues, “You have B cell follicular non-Hodgkin lymphoma.” Last October those were the words I heard as I was diagnosed with cancer. The circumstances under which I received the diagnosis were miraculous, and I'll be happy to share them with any of you who haven't heard the incredible story. Still, at age 40 to receive a diagnosis of cancer was,

Two More Words!

2010-07-20T21:43:00.000-06:00

Well, it's been 6 months and one day since I had my PET scan and Dr. Glenn pronounced the cancer "all gone". At that time she put me on a 6 month schedule for follow-up scans, so today I went back for my first official scan since getting the good news on Jan. 19. This time around I was booked for a plain old CT scan, not the full blown PET scan, for a variety of reasons. Suffice to say that

Two Words.

2010-01-19T23:14:00.001-07:00

Yes, but which ones? Try these on for size: CANCER FREE. ALL GONE. HUNTSMAN ROCKS. RADIATION WORKED. MOVE ON. BOO-YAH (I know, it's one word, but if I hyphenate it can it count as two?) BUH BYE! So, we'll get to those in a minute, but just to give you a quick blow-by-blow of the day... 6:00- 9:00 AM Checked in to Huntsman at 6:00 AM. On the way in, about two blocks from HCH on the University

A Little Nervous

2010-01-18T16:59:00.001-07:00

So, tomorrow is the next 'big day' in the ongoing cancer saga. I wrapped up radiation therapy on the day after Thanksgiving, and then got a reprieve until the follow up in January, which seemed so far away back then. Well, far away is no more...my appointment is tomorrow. We'll start the day at 6:00 with a PET scan, and then I'll probably go to work from 9:00-11:30. Will go to lunch with Lisa and

A Conundrum...

2009-12-31T09:01:00.001-07:00

OK, so several friends and family have indicated they've been checking the blog and haven't seen anything lately. Full disclosure- after radiation treatments ended, I was so wiped out and was starting a new job, and I just wanted a break. Same holds true for my Twitter page... So, now that a month has passed since I wrapped up radiation (a month!), I've been wanting to get back to regular

17 Down... (AKA "Whew!")

2009-11-27T20:35:00.003-07:00

Done. Finis. Terminado. Nada mas. That's all she wrote...and I am SOOO glad. Had my final treatment today at 9:00 AM, and nearly FLOATED out of Huntsman- walking on a cloud! Although I am grateful to the team who treated me- Dr. Million, Ruth, Karen, Debbie, Derek, Amy and Glenn, I told them very kindly today that I hoped they never saw me again. They returned the thought- wink, wink. So

16 Down, 1 to Go!

2009-11-25T21:29:00.001-07:00

Not much to say. Finished up my 16th today. Taking a Turkey Day ride tomorrow then final treatment on Friday. The radiation team gave me a 'graduation blanket' today- just a nice little fleece blanket, but a very kind gesture. Hope I never see them again, if you know what I mean!One more then I see Dr. Million mid-December and we take it easy till Jan. 19.

15 Down, 2 to Go!

2009-11-24T20:16:00.000-07:00

On the home stetch!Found out the last three treatments are more concentrated on just the lymph nodes we first found, which seem to be the more advanced ones. So, the radiation field has shrunk, and only one 'beam' front and back each vs. the two each prior.Tired tonight, Lisa and the girls are at a concert, so calling it a day at 8:30.Night all!

14 Down, 3 to Go!

2009-11-23T22:00:00.001-07:00

Final week! Today was my last Monday of treatment! Tomorrow will be the last Tuesday, etc., etc.I simply can't stand to take my Zofran any more! It elicits a nauseous reaction even when I think about it. Gagged it down today, but will be so glad when I don't have to take any more of those! Not to mention that now my fatigue has leveled off, but the nausea is creeping in. I can make it through

13 Down, 4 to Go! (AKA "unlucky 13")

2009-11-21T21:28:00.001-07:00

"Unlucky" because my stomach was bothering me all day, and if I had had a solid door at work instead of glass I would have turned off the light and taken a nap! Where is George Costanza when you need him! After taking my Zofran and having my treatment the nausea went away, but my stomach was still 'off' and I was tired. Was able to sit through 2 1/2 hours of the movie '2012'. Entertaining. Not

12 Down, 5 to Go!

2009-11-19T22:54:00.003-07:00

Good treatment day. Started with spin at 5:00 and had a good day. Talking smack with Dave Bell last night and used one of my favorite quotes on him- 'Veni, vidi, vici.'. Latin quote by Julius Caesar meaning 'I came, I saw, I conquered.'. Decided that should be my motto with regard to this cancer thing. Cancer is here and will do it's thing. I'll still be here after it's gone still doing my thing.

11 Down, 6 to Go!

2009-11-18T18:27:00.001-07:00

2/3 of the way! Yeah, baby! Had a good day- probably because I went to sleep early last night. 4 miles at the gym and feeling good. Larry is working the turkey day ride. So far me, Larry, Loren and Steve Clinger are the names I'm hearing. Come on Bountiful Mazda- don't let a cancer patient outdo you! See, I play the cancer card in the right way at the right time! Who else is in?Don't forget

10 Down, 7 to Go!

2009-11-17T20:51:00.000-07:00

10 down- we're in double digits! However, I'm feeling it tonight. It's 9:00 and I'm off to bed. I did run 4 miles at the gym today- still trying to NOT fit into the typical cancer patient mold- working to exceed expectations and defy conventional cancer norms. Not sure if I am, but it feels good to 'fight back'!I've been bummed that I would have to take four days off for Thanksgiving and then go

9 Down, 8 to Go!

2009-11-16T21:54:00.002-07:00

Had an entire post and somehow trashed it. AARGH! So, short and sweet- 9 down, 8 to go, feeling pretty good all things considered. Thanks to the Allreds for a delicious dinner this evening. You guys are wonderful! [Editorial note- Lisa caught my typo, which I've corrected above. However, in the interest of full disclosure, and a bit of poking fun at myself, I had actually typed "all thongs

8 Down, 9 to Go! (AKA halfway there!)

2009-11-13T22:27:00.001-07:00

Treatment #8 is now I'm the history books. Looking forward to the weekend and a little R&R (or heaven forbid a LOT of R&R!)R&R will be broken up a bit by the opportunity to take two of my three girls and two friends each to see Disney's Princesses on Ice. Yeah, you got that right- me, 6 girls, and all the sappy dialogue and non-Olympic caliber ice skating one can drum up! Actually, looking

7 Down, 10 to Go!

2009-11-12T20:43:00.001-07:00

Dang! Tired last night and today was worse. Wanted to take a nap at work in the worst way! The episode on Seinfeld where George has a 'bed' built under his desk so he can take naps during the workday came to mind. If my office door didn't have glass in it I would have considered it. Wouldn't have done it, but would have thought long and hard!Ran 3.5 mi. at the gym today so still doing well

6 Down, 11 to Go!

2009-11-11T21:19:00.003-07:00

Wow! Someone stop that Mack truck that ran over me! Ran a few errands when I got home, had some dinner with Lisa and BAM! Was so tired I crashed on the couch and now am getting ready for bed. Had #6 today. They took some xrays also to check alignment. Listened to The Eagles tonight, classic rock. Posted a picture of the clamshells on Twitter. One posted here as well (below). You can figure

5 Down, 12 to Go!

2009-11-10T21:44:00.001-07:00

Well, 5 down and 12 to go. I'm 1/3 of the way there. I arrived a bit early so had my weekly checkup w/ Dr. Million before treatment. She said all my vitals look good & I'm healthy. I told her fatigue is the biggest side effect bothering me at this point. I'm not looking forward to how I'll feel Friday when I've had a full week and last week's three days on top of it. I ran 3.5 miles so I am

4 Down, 13 to Go!

2009-11-09T22:56:00.001-07:00

Got to Huntsman a bit early and finished early Unfortunately I'm getting the routine down. I was rather tired today, but the weekend off helped a lot. Did feel sleepy throughout church yesterday, and slept for 3 hours in the afternoon. Doin' it all again tomorrow! Wish me luck! ;-P

3 Down, 14 to Go!

2009-11-06T18:40:00.000-07:00

Got to Huntsman a little early so was in and out quickly. I'm getting used to the routine and putting the 'clamshell' on (don't ask, really!). Feeling the effects today- food doesn't taste as good, or in some cases at all. Stomach is bothering me, but not terribly, yet. Hoping it won't get really bad. I can see why we take weekends off from treatment. The staff remembered my taste for rock music,

2 Down, 15 to Go!

2009-11-05T22:14:00.000-07:00

All done for the day. VERY tired- not sure if that's the radiation or not. 2 for 2 at the gym on treatment day. My goal is 100% gym on treatment days to fight fatigue and stay fit and fighting. 40 minutes from walking in the door to walking out, MAYBE 2 or 3 of which was actual radiation time. As we get this down it will probably be more like 30 minutes.Will have x-rays once a week, and meet with

1 Down, 16 To Go!

2009-11-04T21:04:00.000-07:00

OK, simulation and treatment #1 complete! It's been about 3 hours, and no nausea yet, so that's a GOOD THING. Took my Zofran- it's got a kind of "fruity" taste to it. Place it under the tongue and let it dissolve- that's it. 30 minutes prior, so I took it as I left work, and hope that it will save me from yakking each time. So, this is the only time when I'll do this whole simulation and a

"Time to Get Serious"

2009-11-04T15:31:00.003-07:00

OK, so first of all let me apologize for not posting for a week and a half. No excuse, things just got busy and I dropped the ball. Alright, enough self-flagellation... Let me catch ya'll up. On Thursday 10/22 and Friday 10/23 I met with Dr. Million. Thu. at St. Mark's in SLC and Fri. at Huntsman. She was very patient, explained everything in detail, walked through the PET scan with us

"Now for the continuing saga..."

2009-10-23T08:37:00.001-06:00

OK, so it's not a saga, but it IS continuing! :-) Had my appointment with Dr. Million yesterday- she's my radiation oncologist. Met with her at St. Mark's in SLC because the doctors from Huntsman do rotations at St. Marks, and Thursdays are her days. Unfortunately, yesterday was the earliest I could get an appointment, so I took it. Lisa and I went down- Barry had a conflict, so he didn't join

(A Little) Progress

2009-10-16T08:21:00.000-06:00

Well, we finally have a date for my consult with Dr. Million, the radiation oncologist. Oct. 22 at 10:00 AM at St. Mark's. Dr. Million has offices at both St. Mark's AND Huntsman, and the first available time was at St. Mark's on that date. I will still do my treatments at Huntsman, but I really want to get this moving, so took the 10/22 appointment. Not sure if this means we'll start

Hurry Up and Wait Part II...and Good News!

2009-10-14T11:53:00.000-06:00

The good news first...we received word last night that the bone marrow test/biopsy was clean, and so there's no cancer to be found there. Hallelujah! That means we can proceed with the radiation treatment, and look for the potential in the January appointment to hear that there's no more cancer. Hurry up and wait...it seems like that's been the norm the last few weeks. Along with the word

How Would YOU Feel If Santa Brought You EVERYTHING On Your List?

2009-10-10T14:02:00.000-06:00

Well, I had planned to post Thursday after we met with Dr. Glenn and received the results of the PET scan and LDH test, but then I learned I had to return to Huntsman on Friday for another test (more on that in a minute), so I decided I would wait till after Friday to post. So, here's the update for both Thursday and Friday... Thursday Lisa, Barry and I went to HCI to meet with Dr. Glenn and

Hurry Up and Wait...or "Wish I Had a Few of Those Valium Right Now"

2009-10-06T18:58:00.000-06:00

So...the big PET scan day has arrived. One of the girls asked, "why do they call all these things 'animal names?'" I said, "Huh, what are you talking about?" She said, "You know, CAT scan, PET scan, etc.!?" Kids...! :-) Alright, ya'll can read a lot more in-depth about PET scans by Googling, I'll leave that up to you. This is my version, simplified and in lay terms (unless I know a big

Mr. Hunstman Done Did Well For Himself!

2009-10-02T13:56:00.001-06:00

Have you SEEN Huntsman Cancer Institute? What a place! Jon Sr. made his millions when he was in the right place at the right time and manufactured the styrofoam clamshell container for McDonald's for the Big Mac. Has done a lot of other things, of course, but that's what got him going. Now I'm told he's dropped hundreds of millions of dollars into HCI. GOOD FOR HIM! Beats folks who've done

Wow!

2009-09-29T09:29:00.001-06:00

Spent the weekend doing three things- 1. reading e-mails that came pouring in from friends and family, 2. sleeping, and 3. fasting and praying on Sunday. Oh yeah, also went with Lisa to see the Utes smack down Louisville. GO UTES! E-mails It never ceases to amaze me how folks rally around one another when things get tough. I e-mailed a handful of friends to let them know the outcome of the

The Day After...and No More Blood Donations!?!

2009-09-25T19:54:00.001-06:00

Progress...! My first consult with my HCI Oncologist is scheduled for Thursday, 10/1. I'll be working with Dr. Martha Glenn (http://www.huntsmancancer.org/group/hematology/ourTeam.jsp) of HCI's Hematology Oncology practice (http://www.huntsmancancer.org/group/hematology/program.jsp). Lots of questions to ask, none of which I have answers for right now: What Stage is this cancer? Do we know