The MouseSkin update

Or lack of. I just had a phone conversation with Dr. Sidransky of MouseSkin and genetic testing fame. We were supposed to meet tomorrow but have put off the appointment until the middle of January.

Basically, the MouseSkin family is no more. Alas, they succumbed to the lack of tumor growth. Yes that's right. The lack of tumor growth. Sometimes the tumor implants do not grow or take. It happens and in my case they were so slow growing that they did not take. I guess in some ways it bodes well for me as I am fortunate enough to not have an aggressively growing and spreading cancer at this time. The Company still has frozen samples of my tumor that they may be able to use and/or test at a later date.

What seems like a good possibility is that some time in 2011 I may have a complete genetic sequence done that looks for mutations. That combined with my previous testing will give the Doctors a very good idea as to which drug(s) to use on me. There are so many new drugs in various stages of approval (as well as testing) that hopefully they will find a "good" one for me. It all sounds very futuristic but certainly not implausible as it seems like this is the way future treatments will be administered. At the moment things are still extremely expensive but I defy anyone to put a price on life. You have to remain optimistic when dealing with this disease. 

Carpe Diem.

My jobs

Going well. But, unfortunately, I had to resign from the fire station job. I could not be on call and do the volunteer driving without there being a possible conflict. I also could not be in the middle of a treatment and get called out. Being on call was just not feasible.

As I said, the volunteer driving is going really well. I have transported a number of people to various treatments as well as medical appointments. It's very rewarding and satisfying to be able to give back this way. Besides, how the hell do I pay for all my travelling ? Just kidding. Of course I don't get paid. It's volunteering !

Carpe Diem.

My next Southern Africa visit

Towards the end of January I will be heading back to Southern Africa with 2 guests. I have a fantastic trip planned that will include Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa. I told you that I would fit my chemotherapy sessions in between my getting away and that's exactly what I'm doing. It actually works out quite well.

We will be visiting Bulawayo, Victoria Falls, Zafara Camp in Botswana and Cape Town. The idea with these trips is for my guests to see just enough to want to come back. It also needs to be somewhat slow paced enough so as not to feel like we are always rushed. I think this has been accomplished. I look forward to going.

Carpe Diem.

Zimkids Project Update November/December, 2010

From Dennis:

Dear friends of Zimkids,

              I returned to Zimbabwe December 2 made a beeline to Pumula North to see all the kids.  Tinashe Basa, Sipho Nyoni, Prosper Mhodi and our Council of Elders have done an amazing job keeping Zimkids thriving and moving forward. 

              As you may know, the City granted Zimkids a large plot of land in October. The site was littered with heaps of detritus: needles, broken glass and cement, rusted metal, plastic bags, feces and more.  There is no trash pickup so people have to have somewhere to throw it and the nearest open spaces generally gets the worst of it.  So the Council of Elders set to work cleaning it. The first step was to clean the trash on the surface then to dig and dig and dig to get the buried trash out.  Then we are collecting all the scattered glass shards and rusty cans.  So far we’ve removed 15 bucket-loads. That was a must do before our barefooted little ones can use the land. This week all our kids age 15 on up chipped in and got to work.  It will take a good month before we are done cleaning. Next we will be planting our garden with hardy protein-rich plants like chimulia (a kind of kale) and spinach, secure the property with donated fencing, and get our building plans drawn and approved by the City Council.

            We are trying to put together a video to compete in the Ford Focus Global Test Drive “Start Something More Than a Car” competition.  The award is $10,000. Once the video is done and submitted I’ll let you know the site where you can see it and ask that you click the “Love it” button that will help push up our chances of winning.

Tinashe and Sipho like to save surprises for me. The first was how much they had accomplished cleaning the land. And the second was when Sithibisiwe, Mbuso and Nqabutho’s’s mother died in September all our caregivers decided to chip in 5 rand (about 75 cents) each to help pay the cost of the funeral.   Considering they are all poor our message of volunteerism is seeping into the Zimkids Community. They are also providing us with tools to clean the land.

On the school front, Kudzai Sithole who lost his caregiver last year scored at the very top in his seventh grade exams. Bravo Kudzai! Pauline Mhendo, Ayanda Nkala, Thandiwe Mlotshwa, and Mqondisi Ngwenya took their O level exams in November and we are awaiting the results. Pauline has been consistently at the top of her class.  Janice Mabudah continues her A level schooling but wasn’t doing as well as she should so we are giving her one more term to improve. We pay the cost of their O level tests as well as school fees at a top A level school so long as they do well.

Tinashe began teaching the children about computers.  His enthusiasm is contagious! 

Our thanks go to all our individual donors for your continued support.  A special thanks goes to the Independent Pilots Association Foundation for their grant and to Global Giving who make so many dreams come true. Also, a special thanks to the Ross School in East Hampton NY, Ramaz School and the Friends Giving Circle in New York City and the Town School in San Francisco for their continued and enthusiastic support and to all our friends and supporters in the Catskill Mountains in NY.

Best wishes for the Holiday season from all of us at Zimkids.

A visit to my cardiologist

Mostly good news. This is the cardiologist who has been taking care of me since my MRSA infection and hospitalization in May 2009. He has lowered the dosage of the heart med that I am currently on and has added a baby Aspirin and Crestor to my daily "trail mix". My cholesterol has gone bonkers. It's not so much a diet problem as opposed to genetics and aging. Yes aging. So here is the catch 22. I very much want to age but as I age does the cholesterol get worse ?

So what killed him in the end ? The dreaded "C" or the other dreaded "C" ? How about neither. I'll still be blogging in 20 years !!!

Carpe Diem now pass the fries.

Chemo 5 (Round 7)

 

Another pretty decent day at the chemo office. Things went relatively smoothly as I was in a bit of a hurry to get home and watch Man U beat Arsenal 1 - 0. It was a good game and a great result. We are now top of the Premiership table.

For the most part my blood work was good. My cholesterol is up to s#*t so I'm off to my cardiologist for a consult and check up on Wednesday. My vitals were all good and I have put on about 2 lbs. I think I'm starting to look like that stuffed-cheek hamster again ! The check up with Dr. Schraeder went fine. I'm still coughing a bit but he had no concerns and neither did I.

I'm really starting to plan my travels well but at times cutting things a bit tight. My next chemo session is Monday January 3rd at 7:30 am. At noon I leave for Florida for a couple of days. I'm meeting up with the whole gang at my mom's in Boca. Then on Monday January 24th I have the following chemo session and 3 days later I leave for Zimbabwe and South Africa with 2 more guests. Gotta keep moving !

Carpe Diem.

Carpe Diem

If you haven't already noticed, for the last couple of years I have signed off almost every post with:

"Carpe Diem"

In case you didn't know, it means "seize the day" in Latin.

Why did I choose this phrase ? Because I think that this phrase applies to all of us. You never know what life has in store for you. Good or bad, you just don't know what lies ahead. That's why every day should be special. Even if you are having a shitty day or you just got some lousy news there is always someone else worse off than you. That's not to trivialize your pain or suffering but to try and keep all things in perspective. With certainty, we will all end up eventually with the same outcome - death. Sometimes it's sudden, sometimes it's tragic or slow and painful. That's why it's so important to enjoy every day. It doesn't mean skipping around the house whistling a happy tune all the time but just don't take too much for granted. Don't put things off.

Seize the Day.

What about me, you ask ?

Doing fine. We were pretty happy with the scan results. No spread and less activity. Even though the cancer is still evident in the right pleura it continues to stay there and not move anywhere else. Could it, should it, would it. Who knows. If or when that happens we will deal with it then !

I have 3 jobs right now. Well actually, 3 volunteer positions. I am driving patients to and from therapy for the American Cancer Society and I am also driving patients to various appointments for Jewish Community Services. I find this very therapeutic for me as it forces me to realize that there is always someone worse off than myself. Some of the people I drive I find incredibly interesting and wonderful to talk to. The third volunteer position is with the Baltimore Fire Department. The easiest way to explain what we do is to give you this link:

http://www.box234.org/

As long as I am fit and well I will continue to do lots of traveling between chemo sessions. We will all be in Boca just after new years and then it looks like back to Africa at the end of January for me. The ZimKids project is going well and Dennis is back in Bulawayo right now. I'm hoping to get an update from him about ZimKids. We continue to have logistical problems about how to move all these collected medical supplies to Zimbabwe. Any suggestions or help would be much appreciated.

On a sad note. There was a couple that I would have lunch with every now and again. I spoke to Paul the other night and he informed me that while I was recently in Africa, Gabriella (his wife of 52 years) had passed away. She had been dealing with lung cancer for the past couple of years. In the very short time that I had know her she was an interesting and charming lady. I know she will be sorely missed. My deepest condolences to Paul and the rest of the family.

Carpe Diem. 

The Suskin Family update

How boring ! Well not really. Diana is still playing lots of tennis. Basically squeezing the tennis activities around her work schedule. Sounds familiar. From what I understand, her game is improving. Combine that with an expert and professional coupon shopper and what do you have ? I dunno ! But I do know this............she is still a wonderful, caring and supportive wife.

 
Robyn is getting close to graduating. So close that we got her a graduation gift already ! A Mac computer. Yes, we know it's premature but......................hopefully she will graduate with a degree in 

Kinesiology and Psychology. She is still my sports "Wikipedia" and my music consultant even though she thinks my music taste is that of a 16 year old girl !!!

Michael is doing well (for the most part) in his second year of Mechanical Engineering. Working hard yet still finding time to enjoy himself with girl-friends and close friends. He is also the proud father (owner) of Tyrone (a large black goldfish) and Nyoka (a 1.5 foot ball python).  No, they don't live in the same tank/terrarium.

Max Trechtobal Gomez is doing fine. 13.5 years strong. A little blinder and deafer but still able to chase deer every now and then. 

As for me. Well, that's in the next post.

Carpe Diem.

The MouseSkin Family update

At least what's left of them !

From Dr. Sidransky:

"There is only one mouse left wth a tiny palpable nodule. We are sacrificing it to see if there is any viable tumor to propagate further but very unlikely. Looks like the tumor just did not take".

I will be calling Dr. Sidransky in the coming days to get a better understanding of what's going on.

Carpe Diem.