Happenings with Dom and Nan

Doggie gets a Stem Cell Transplant! AMAZING!!

2012-01-30T12:52:00.000-06:00

Thought that I'd share this heartwarming story with y'all.... We truly live in amazing times, gang!

Dog finds his footing after transplant

Stem-cell treatment's success could soon help humans

Diablo, seen here with his owner, Rick Gottrich, underwent a stem cell transplant for his advanced arthritis a month and a half ago and is now doing well.

Just a few months ago, the aging canine couldn’t be coaxed from the house. He spent his days lying on the porch floor. And when his owners touched his hips, he cried out in pain.

But since the 13½-year-old family pet underwent a new stem cell treatment for his advanced arthritis, he’s up and about, showing interest in people and activities that he’d been too sick to do for a long time, giving his owners new hope.

Jump to Full Story

Using Your Own Body to Attack Cancer

2012-01-29T17:46:00.000-06:00

Multiple myeloma immunotherapy makes progress

In the world of medicine, drugs, surgery or radiation are the usual options to treat cancer. Recently, another route has presented itself - enhancing the body's own immune system to attack the cancer.
This concept, called immunotherapy, uses the same principles as vaccines. It provides the immune system with clear targets to develop an immune response against.

http://www.dailyrx.com/news-article/multiple-myeloma-immunotherapy-makes-progress-17208.html

Dom's Girlfriend

2012-01-27T14:07:00.000-06:00

Dominic had a little visitor early this morning. By the time he woke me up, she was gone.... how cute is this? Right up to the house! After she made eye contact with him, she continued eating! (I assume that it's a female)

How Does Thalidomide Treat Multiple Myeloma?

2012-01-26T17:32:00.000-06:00

Originally infamous for causing birth defects, Thalomid (thalidomide) was given to pregnant women in the 1960's to ease the nausea of early pregnancy.

Serious, lethal birth defects in those patients led to a long-standing ban on drugs in the thalidomide family.

Years later, it was again given to cancer patients to treat nausea. Doctors noticed that in some patients, it helped fight the cancer, so it became a key part of leukemia therapy. But nobody knew how it worked.

Jump to the Story Here

(Dominic used Thalomid/Thalidomide during his treatment- with great success)

Last Week at the Beach

2012-01-25T12:29:00.003-06:00

Dom and I headed to the condo on Friday for 4 nights of fun. We stayed busy, busy, busy. The water was crystal clear, but ice-cold.

Went to Dee's Hangout on Friday night.... just the 2 of us. Dee and Brenda continue to blow us away with their food. Dom had a fried shrimp po-boy. To give you an idea of the size and value.... he finished the 2nd half of it last night.... he counted THIRTY THREE shrimp.... leftovers! I had a kick-arse 1/2 pound cheeseburger. Their food is out of this world.

On Saturday, we met dear friends, Donn and Linda at Coyote Ugly for happy hour. Had a couple of beers, then walked next door to Dee's for dinner. It kills me that I forgot my camera!

We had a couple dozen Jalapeno Baked Oysters, hush puppies, a Fried Shrimp Po-Boy and a Smoked Sausage Po-Boy. Topped it off with a couple of orders of their decadent Bread Pudding.

We had a lovely time with wonderful friends.

Sunday, we headed over to Beach Bar and Package for some football action. We were delighted that local boy Eli Manning and his NY Giants will be playing in the Super Bowl. Would have preferred the Saints, but beggars can't be chosers. (I'm just glad that it's not stupid Green Bay!)

Travis entertained me with their new "DISCO LIGHT".... Welcome to the 80's!!!! He also taught me all there is to know about ADVECTION FOG

We had never seen so much fog before. There were times that we couldn't even see the beach from our balcony. Advection Fog is created when warm air (it was in the 70's) meets cold water.... How's that for Trivial Knowledge? :)

We wound down on Monday with a late lunch/early dinner at The Pasta Grill Great place! Dominic had been in search of a good place for Italian Food. Steve at Beach Package suggested that joint. Good stuff! We enjoyed tasty Veal Parmesean and Chicken Marsala. Both served with piping hot linguine. Real sweet waitress, too.... oh yeah.... dollar pints of draft beer! We shall return.

Anyway, back to "normal" here at home..... Hope this posting finds everyone healthy, happy and enjoying the New Year!

Friends at the Beach

2012-01-25T11:37:00.000-06:00

Dom and I headed to the beach on Friday. Just got home yesterday. Had big fun as always.... Wanted to get these photos up for our friends at Beach Bar and Package

Saints, Packers and Chicken Bonne Femme

2012-01-19T14:50:00.000-06:00

Well, my beloved New Orleans Saints are out of the playoffs. Absolutely devastating! The only thing that eased my sorrow was that the stupid Green Bay Packers were knocked out, as well.

Alas, we'll be cheering for Eli Manning, local boy, and his NY Giants. But it sure won't be the same!

I had planned on cooking a fabulous dinner on Sunday, but my heart just wasn't in it. So, moped around most of the day, then got jiggy with it in the kitchen on Monday.

It basically took all day, but was well worth it. Chicken Bonne Femme.... chicken thighs, ham, bacon, garlic, potatoes, white wine, green onions, mushrooms and butter. Absolutely decadent.

"Good Woman's Chicken".

Other than football and cooking, not much is happening here. Dom's feeling and looking great. No doctor appointments scheduled until mid February with Dr. Safah at Tulane.... it'll be time for his quarterly M-Spike test.

Hoping to bust a move to the condo for a few days soon. Haven't been to the beach since November.

Hope this finds all of you healthy and happy! (And maybe hungry!)

ROLL TIDE, ROLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2012-01-11T14:28:00.000-06:00

Woo Hoo..... Had all of my Bama stuff on, and giggled throughout the game. My LSU boys were not pleased.... I haad big fun....

The Party Continues

2012-01-11T14:20:00.000-06:00

Well..... I've been home from Ohio for a week.... and the celebration is continuing.... it'll probably stay this way until Mardi Gras day around here.

Dear friend, Goldie, in Danville, KY., sent us our annual Country Ham. This year's beauty was 16 pounds....a good 8 hours in a low oven created the most amazing smell in the house. As the photo shows, a little mouse got busy picking away at the crispy skin and some of the meat before this photo was taken. LOVE this. Served it on Sunday afternoon with Creamed Potatoes and Lima Beans. Heavenly!

Our friend Chris is wild about this, so we had him over for the weekend. We drank beer, watched football and nibbled on ham. Big fun.

Was sad to see my Pittsburgh Steelers lose, but happy for Tim Tebow... he gets such a bad rap for being a Christian. He seems like a fine lad to me, and I hate how the media bashes him.

Throughout the early afternoon, fog rolled in- big time. Rather odd during daylight hours. Just as quickly as it enveloped the property, it rolled back out. Kinda creepy.... could envision werewolves and such!

Knowing what a big Alabama Crimson Tide fanatic I am, Chris put an LSU sign on my table when I wasn't looking. Not to be outdone, I surrounded it with some of my stuff!

New Year's Day Dinner

2012-01-07T10:53:00.002-06:00

*New Year’s Day- We had the entire gang (sans my Tony) over for Dinner.

As the Saints were playing at 1pm, I made sure that everyone showed up “AFTER 4:00”. Pretty bossy, considering it’s not my home, huh?

Cooked a Center Cut Pork Loin, Country Style Ribs, Pig Tails (Grew up on them…. Baked until super crispy), Sauerkraut, Angel Hair Pasta in Pork Drippings (picked this up from a Filipino client), Baked Apples and Mashed Potatoes. This is our traditional NYDay menu.

An amusing story.... while I was cooking dinner, Blake wandered into the kitchen. I sweetly said, "OK.... no little boys in my kitchen while I'm cooking". He looked at me and said, "This isn't YOUR kitchen". Little shit! LOL. I reminded myself that he was only 3 years old and didn't get into a fight with him. *grinning*

Much to my delight, I had all 4 great nieces and nephews

eating pig tails! It started with Lauren, and spread like wild fire. Jill and Jenna were astounded…. Never dreaming that the kids would try them, much less love them. I feel quite good about this and know that maw and paw were smiling down from heaven watching the feeding frenzy!

We did absolutely nothing on Monday. I flew home on Tuesday morning. We had a BLAST. Thanks, Ricky!

New Year's Day

2012-01-06T17:34:00.006-06:00

**Tried twice to post pics and words.... both times it came out as jibberish... some type of HTML language or something. Unable to delete the Title. Will try again on Saturday**

New Year's Eve

2012-01-06T16:22:00.001-06:00

*New Year’s Eve- Jill had Ric and I over for a Champagne Brunch…. Very nice.

Sausage Gravy and Biscuits, Fresh Pineapple, Raspberries and Blueberries…. With MIMOSAS!

Ric and I went home and spent the night watching the annual Twilight Zone Marathon on SY FY. Sipped on champagne, nibbled on boiled shrimp, a 2 year old Irish Cheddar, Sesame Flat Bread, and Baked Brie. Very low-key. Very nice.

Dec. 29th and 30th

2012-01-06T16:04:00.001-06:00

*Thurs. 12/29- Dom hit the road at 8am and spent the night just South of Tuscaloosa.

Amy and the girls headed home at 12:30.

Ric’s arm had been killing him for a couple of weeks, so he headed to a local Instant Care…. Ended up with a diagnosis of Tendonitis.

When he returned, the 2 of us took our annual jaunt to Jungle Jim’s.

This about the neatest grocery store that I’ve ever been to. They’ve got imported cheeses, butters, and other assorted dairy products.

They have a HUGE seafood market. An entire hot sauce department.... As well as any international food that you can imagine. I’m in awe of the place. We plan on a couple hours minimum when we visit here. Love it, love it, love it!

On the way home, Ric and I stopped at Toot’s for a couple of $1.00 draft beers, then went home and ate leftovers.

*Fri. 12/30- Did some running around town looking for a set of Double 9 dominoes for Ric…. They were not to be found.

Jennifer met us for lunch at Tabby’s…. good food!

Later, Ric and I headed up to Best Buy. He walked out as the proud owner of a 10 ½ inch Samsung Galaxy Tab. Gorgeous!

Wed. 12/28... Abuelo's

2012-01-06T15:36:00.000-06:00

*Wed. 12/28- While the boys went to a shooting range, we girls continued our pajama party well into the afternoon.

Eventually, the 6 of us went to Abuelo’s. MY favorite Mexican joint. Very nice place and excellent food.

Returned home to drink beer and play Phase 10 and Yahtzee until 5am. (The boys went to sleep around midnight, but we Newbury Girls were having too much fun to sleep!)

More Pictures from Toot's 12/27

2012-01-06T15:16:00.000-06:00

Tues, Dec. 27th with Amy

2012-01-06T14:58:00.000-06:00

*Tues. 12/27- The boys took off doing boy stuff while I stripped the goose carcass and made Ric some soup for his freezer.

Best friend Amy and her girls, Ursula and Elsa drove down from Newbury. (My home town in the Cleveland area)

The 6 of us met Jill, Ryan and Brooke at Toot’s. We got out of there cheap- Buck draft beers, $6.00 Cheeseburgers and kids ate free!

Went back to the house and played Yahtzee. Very pleasant day/evening!

Mon., Dec. 26th

2012-01-06T14:36:00.001-06:00

*Mon. 12/26- Ric went into work for a couple of hours… his work is crazy this time of the year…end of month, as well as end of year. When he got home, he took Dom and I to Buffalo Wild Wings for a late lunch.

Later that afternoon, Jennifer and her kids came over.

We had another minor problem…..

Little Blake was running around with a cup of pop. Being protective of Ric’s place, I took it away from him, told him that it was “yucky”, and put it on the kitchen counter out of his reach.

He glared at me and marched out of the room, returning a minute later to say that “Mommy told me that I can drink that”. (In actuality, Jennifer told him that he could drink it in the kitchen).

I told him that he was “A little tattle-tale”.

Dom overheard and said, “Nan…. What was that all about?”.

I whispered, “He’s a little snitch, Dom!”.

With a laugh, Dom reminded me that he was only 3 years old…. And felt better about his spat with 4 year old Lauren on Christmas Eve.

Christmas Day

2012-01-06T14:11:00.003-06:00

*Sun. 12/25 Christmas Day- I cooked for my 2 boys. We had a lovely dinner. Roasted Goose, Pumpernickel/Pecan/Sausage/Apple Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Balsamic Caramelized Pearl Onions, Corn Pudding, Red Cabbage, Lima Beans, and loads of Bubbly.

Final Batch of Christmas Eve Pics

2012-01-05T16:27:00.000-06:00

MoreChristmas Eve Pictures

2012-01-05T16:05:00.000-06:00

Christmas Eve at Jill's with the Gang

2012-01-05T15:43:00.001-06:00

*Sat. 12/24- Christmas Eve. On the way to our festivities, Ric, Dom and I stopped for a pitcher of beer on the Little Miami River at a joint called The Train Stop. Nice, friendly local place.

Sadly, Tony had to work, as is often the case. Especially during the busy holidays…. He’s an executive chef at Bravo’s.

The rest of the gang had a ball at Jill’s house. I was tickled to finally see Jenna, her husband Richard, their children, Lauren and Blake, along with Jill, Ryan and Brooke all together.....what fun!

The girls put together a really nice spread of food. Sugared Italian Sausage, Buffalo Chicken Dip, Cream Cheese with Hot Pepper Jelly, Cream Cheese with Orange Marmalade/Horseradish, Spinach Dip and homemade cookies.

The champagne flowed freely, presents were exchanged, and the words of the day were “Aunt Nan” and “Uncle Dom”. The children were delightful. Gee, it's nice to be loved!

We had one minor problem. Dom got into a fight with Lauren, age 4. She threw carrot sticks at him. He threw them back at her. When I pointed out that she was only 4 years old, Dom said, “Well, she started it”…. LOL. They made up…. All is well with the 2 of them.

Dec. 23rd Evening

2012-01-05T15:00:00.000-06:00

That evening, Jill, Tony and their kids came over for Pizza, Beer and Wine....

Dec. 22nd and 23rd Lunch

2012-01-05T14:44:00.001-06:00

*Thurs. 12/22- Ric’s last day of work. Hurray! Dom left Mississippi bright and early, drove straight through and arrived in Cincinnati just after dark that evening.

Meanwhile, I got rid of some leftover eggs by making egg salad. Also started on my Pumpernickel Stuffing for the Goose. Dom, Ric and I stayed up until 3:30 a.m. drinking beer and laughing. Just like the old days!

*Fri. 12/23- The three of us met Jennifer for a neat lunch across the street from where she works. Terry’s Turf Club. They just started opening for lunch a few days a week. The place was mobbed. The food was great…. ½ pound burgers on artisan rolls. Buckets of peanuts. Ice cold beer. Fun, fun place!

Dec. 18th through 21st

2012-01-05T14:08:00.001-06:00

*Sun. 12/18- Rick went to a gun show while I laid around. Upon his return, we did some shopping at Wal Mart, ordered his Christmas Goose at Bigg’s, then headed home.

*Mon. 12/19- Rick spent a full day at work while I stayed home and polished his sterling silver. (My annual job). When he got home, he dropped me off at a neat bar, Tabby's, while he got a haircut.

He joined me for a beer afterwards, we picked up our 12 ½ # Goose (Almost 80 bucks…. He almost had a stroke!), then had a delightful dinner at TGIF…. 3 courses each for $17 per person. Yummy!

*Tues. 12/20- Rick worked. Uneventful day. I worked my magic in a call to Dish Network and got them to knock off over 20 bucks a month on his bill.

*Wed. 12/21- While Rick worked, Jennifer and Jill, Brooke and Ryan picked me up. I bought them lunch at Fiesta Brava. (Ric’s favorite Mexican joint.) Not so much mine, but the company was wonderful!

Dec. 16th and 17th

2012-01-05T13:56:00.000-06:00

*Fri. 12/16- Flew into Cincinnati. Rick and I swung by Jennifer and Richard’s on the way home from the airport…. Had great fun with them, as well as little Lauren and Blake. They had a great local pizza delivered from “Grandma’s Pizza”

*Sat. 12/17- Rick went into work for half of a day. When he got home, we headed across the Ohio River to the Party Source in Kentucky.

http://www.thepartysource.com/

The Party Source is like the Super Walmart of wine, beer, booze.... It's an annual stop for us.... we're like a couple of kids in a candy store.

Afterwards, we went to Buckhead’s for a kick-ass steak sandwich. The joint looks like a hunting lodge and sits on the Ohio River. Very nice view and a great atmosphere.

When we got home, Jill, Tony and their little ones, Brooke and Ryan stopped by for a few hours. Had big fun.

Happy New Year, Friends and Family!

2012-01-05T13:30:00.001-06:00

I hope that this post finds everyone healthy and happy.

It's been a wild few weeks for us.... wild in a good way-

I flew to visit family in Cincinnati, Ohio on Dec. 16th. Just flew home on Jan. 3rd.

Dominic drove up for a week on Dec. 22nd.

Best friend Amy and her girls drove down for a couple of nights after Christmas.

Fun, fun, fun!

The following posts and pictures are more of a diary for myself to look back upon.... Some of you may enjoy, others may find it quite boring.

Again, Happy New Year!

Our Girls Came to Visit Maw and Paw a Few Minutes Ago!

2011-12-14T17:57:00.000-06:00

This mother/baby have been visiting us for a few weeks now. They're slowly getting closer and closer to the house, which delights us.

I was tickled to get these shots today. They were hanging out at the cremated burial sites of my parents.... Dad's ashes were buried at the Live Oak, and mom's are at the Redbud Tree with the birdbath.

A fun story- back in '89, my brother was in town for a visit. We had everybody over here. Dad was a stroke victim and confined to a wheelchair. Ric wheeled him outside and said, "Oh Dad! Wouldn't it be neat if a deer came out of the woods right now?". Guess what happened immediately? YEP! Maybe an ancestor of these guys! One never knows!

Researchers say therapy improves stem cell engraftment in umbilical cord blood transplant recipients

2011-12-12T18:40:00.000-06:00

"There is a significant need to improve the speed and quality of engraftment of cord-derived stem cells," says trial leader Corey Cutler, MD, MPH, of Dana-Farber and Brigham and Women's Hospital. "FT1050 has shown the ability in preclinical research to activate hematopoetic [blood-forming] stem cells so they engraft more quickly and with a higher degree of success."

The goal of the phase I trial was to assess the safety of FT1050-treated cord blood cells in adult patients receiving umbilical cord blood stem cell transplants, and determine if the treated cells accelerate engraftment. In the 12 patients who participated in the trial, engraftment occurred approximately three to four days faster than happens with standard cord blood cells. Levels of white blood cells known as neutrophils returned to normal in the patients after a median of 17.5 days, similar to the rate in standard stem cell transplants. Side effects of the FT1050-treated cord blood cells were minimal. In none of the study patients did the stem cells fail to engraft.

JUMP

Inside the Strange Science of Cord Blood Banking

2011-12-08T14:39:00.000-06:00

“If you have the money, and you want to bank your child’s own cord blood, you’re essentially investing in one of two things,” said Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg, director of the Duke Pediatric Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplant Program. “One, the possibility that another child in your family will need that cord blood, and that it matches. Or two, that somewhere in the future there will be new developments and new uses for your child’s cord blood — say in regenerative medicine or cell therapy. But to date, none of those exist.”

While a few rare diseases, such as multiple myeloma and lymphoma, use stem cells taken from a patient’s own body, the chances of a child having these are vanishingly small. The chances are so small, in fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend private cord blood storing. Parents should only consider it, they say, if a family member has a disease that could be treated with stem cell transplants.

Jump To More

This sounds like a reasonably priced "insurance policy" to me. We live in amazing times with new medical developments constantly!

Stem cell and regenerative medicine's future: WOW!!!

2011-12-05T23:10:00.000-06:00

The video clip opens with Wilmut referring to Shinya Yamanaka, the Japanese scientist whose team was the first to make human IPS cells. These cells act much like embryonic stem cells, but can be created from adult skin cells. They thus avoid the ethical issue many have with developing therapies made from human embryos.

In addition, IPS cells hold the potential for personalized therapy. A patient with a damaged spinal cord, for example, could receive a transplant of new spinal cord tissue, grown from his own cells. Likewise, a patient with Parkinson's disease could receive new dopamine-producing brain cells. (In the case of inherited disease, researchers are investigating whether these cells could be corrected with gene therapy before being transplanted back into patients).

Our Wonderful Holiday Season Continues!

2011-12-04T14:04:00.000-06:00

Hi gang....

It's been another great week. Dom is feeling and looking GREAT. There IS light at the end of this Myeloma Tunnel. Hang in there and be tough, guys.

Earlier in the week, Dom ended up with some type of upper respiratory crud that rubbed off on me for a couple of days.... it didn't last long for either of us.

We celebrated 23 years of marriage on Friday. Or as Dominic says, "23 LONG, LONG years". ;) Had a couple of nice filets, a baked potato and a bottle of bubbly to celebrate. Very pleasant.

Dom caught this sunrise this morning. Thought I'd share it with you. Note to self: "FIX DOMs CAMERA DATE SETTING!"

A Useful Myeloma Staging Chart

2011-12-03T16:19:00.000-06:00

Multiple Myeloma: A Clinical Overview

2011-12-03T16:06:00.000-06:00

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a malignant, progressive plasma cell tumor characterized by overproduction of monoclonal immunoglobulins, osteolytic bone lesions, renal disease, and immunodeficiency.[1] Before the 1980s, patients with MM experienced a slow, progressive decline in quality of life until death approximately 2 years after diagnosis,[2] but the advent of high-dose alkylating agents increased the probability of remission and prolonged overall and event-free survival. During the past decade, important advances have been made in understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms of MM, leading to the development of even more effective treatment strategies,[3,4] including stem cell transplantation, the immunomodulators thalidomide(Drug information on thalidomide) and lenalidomide, and the first-generation proteasome inhibitor bortezomib(Drug information on bortezomib).

Currently, MM is an active field of research for novel pharmacotherapies, with a number of agents in phase II or III of clinical development. This supplement describes several therapeutic advances in the context of the underlying molecular mechanisms. The objective of this article is to put these advances into the current clinical context by providing an overview of the epidemiology, etiology, and clinical features of MM, along with the prognosis for patients with this disease.

More Here

For DETROIT area MM patients.....

2011-12-02T18:05:00.000-06:00

"We are pleased to welcome Karmanos Cancer Institute to the MMRC's esteemed clinical network," said Beverly Harrison, VP, Clinical Development. "Like all MMRC Member Institutions, Karmanos was selected to join this exclusive network based on its outstanding reputation for clinical excellence, its demonstrated commitment to rigorous research, and its true spirit of collaboration and team-science. We have no doubt that Karmanos will prove to be an invaluable asset in our efforts to rapidly shepherd the next generation of treatments through the MMRC."

More Here

Multipe Myeloma patient runs marathons!

2011-12-02T16:44:00.000-06:00

Saw this on HLN this morning.

In case you missed it, here's a link to the video:

Video Link

Salvage transplant safe, feasible for multiple myeloma

2011-12-02T15:02:00.000-06:00

Salvage autologous hematopoietic cell transplant should be considered for patients with multiple myeloma who have relapsed after initial transplant, according to the results of a restrospective analysis.

The study included data from 44 patients with multiple myeloma who had undergone a second salvage autologous hematopoietic cell transplant between 1992 to 2008.

JUMP TO STORY

Federal ban on selling organs does not apply to sick children who need bone marrow transplants to survive,

2011-12-02T00:04:00.000-06:00

A federal ban on selling organs does not apply to sick children who need bone marrow transplants to survive, the 9th Circuit ruled Thursday, finding that modern technology has made the once painful and invasive procedure little different than donating blood.

The ruling gives new life to the California-based nonprofit MoreMarrowDonors.org, which has stumbled in its plan to offer donors $3,000 "awards," such as scholarships or housing allowances, because bone marrow is classified as an organ that can't be legally bought or sold under the National Organ Transplant Act.

The nonprofit and a group of plaintiffs who have personally been affected by the ban challenged that classification as irrational and unconstitutional given a new, less invasive method of extracting marrow cells that has been developed over in the last 20 years.

http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/12/01/41879.htm

VA Recognize These Diseases as being Linked to AGENT ORANGE

2011-11-29T15:34:00.024-06:00

More than 40 years have passed since the U.S. military used Agent Orange in Vietnam, but only in recent years have health care costs escalated rapidly.

In a report by The Institute of Medicine, an association between exposure to Agent Orange and illnesses including soft-tissue sarcoma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, Hodgkin lymphoma and chloracne has been found.

The report requests further research to determine whether there could be a link to other illnesses such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, tonsil cancer, melanoma and Alzheimer’s disease.

Federal officials estimate that 10,000 more veterans have sought medical compensation for diseases related to Agent Orange over the last two years than projected. Over the next decade, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is expected to pay $50 billion for health care compensation for only one of the 14 diseases the VA says is associated with Agent Orange exposure.

Last year, ischemic heart disease, Parkinson’s disease and B-cell leukemia were added to the list of diseases the VA associates with Agent Orange exposure. According to a VA report, ischemic heart disease alone added $236 million in 2010 and $165 million this year in compensation costs.

Alan Simpson, former chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, is among those questioning how the VA will afford the compensation claims without increasing the strain on the national budget. He maintains that today’s veterans could become subject to longer delays for disability-compensation claims, primarily because of the backlog created by veterans from previous generations.

Here is a list taken directly from the Department of Veterans Affairs of diseases that are currently recognized as being linked to Agent Orange:

Acute and Subacute Peripheral Neuropathy

A nervous system condition that causes numbness, tingling, and motor weakness. Under VA’s rating regulations, it must be at least 10% disabling within 1 year of exposure to herbicides and resolve within 2 years after the date it began.

AL Amyloidosis

A rare disease caused when an abnormal protein, amyloid, enters tissues or organs.

Chloracne (or Similar Acneform Disease)

A skin condition that occurs soon after exposure to chemicals and looks like common forms of acne seen in teenagers. Under VA’s rating regulations, chloracne (or other acneform disease similar to chloracne) must be at least 10% disabling within 1 year of exposure to herbicides.

Chronic B-cell Leukemias

A type of cancer which affects white blood cells.

Diabetes Mellitus (Type 2)

A disease characterized by high blood sugar levels resulting from the body’s inability to respond properly to the hormone insulin.

Hodgkin’s Disease

A malignant lymphoma (cancer) characterized by progressive enlargement of the lymph nodes, liver, and spleen, and by progressive anemia.

Ischemic Heart Disease

A disease characterized by a reduced supply of blood to the heart, that leads to chest pain.

Multiple Myeloma

A cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell in bone marrow.

Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma

A group of cancers that affect the lymph glands and other lymphatic tissue.

Parkinson’s Disease

A progressive disorder of the nervous system that affects muscle movement.

Porphyria Cutanea Tarda

A disorder characterized by liver dysfunction and by thinning and blistering of the skin in sun-exposed areas. Under VA’s rating regulations, it must be at least 10% disabling within 1 year of exposure to herbicides.

Prostate Cancer

Cancer of the prostate; one of the most common cancers among men.

Respiratory Cancers

Cancers of the lung, larynx, trachea, and bronchus.

Soft Tissue Sarcoma (other than Osteosarcoma, Chondrosarcoma, Kaposi’s sarcoma, or Mesothelioma)

A group of different types of cancers in body tissues such as muscle, fat, blood and lymph vessels, and connective tissues.

Photo thanks to vsai under creative commons license on Flickr.

Dom's Latest Numbers

2011-11-29T14:50:00.000-06:00

From November '11

HCT: 36.1

WBC: 5.3

ANC: 3330

PLATELETS: 157

Since they were sticking him, anyway.....

LIPID PANEL-

Cholesterol: 150

Triglycerides: 112

HDL: 56

LDL: 86

All of this fell into the "Optimal Range"

We're very pleased, as are his doctors.

Onyx Pharma Says FDA Accepts NDA For Carfilzomib To Treat Multiple Myeloma

2011-11-29T13:04:00.000-06:00

Onyx stated that carfilzomib data makes it a suitable candidate for accelerated approval in the relapsed and refractory treatment setting. The company expects a decision from the FDA in the next few weeks regarding a priority or standard review.

Carfilzomib achieved an overall response rate, which is a partial response or greater, of 24.1 percent and a median duration of response of 7.8 months in 003-A1 study, an open-label, single-arm Phase 2b trial. The median overall survival for all patients in the study, regardless of response to drug, was 15.6 months.

LINK

Our Fabulous Thanksgiving Week- We're Truly Blessed

2011-11-29T11:55:00.000-06:00

Hi gang-

I trust that everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We had non-stop fun. Dear friend, Chris arrived on Wednesday morning. The 3 of us hopped in my car and went to Crystal's Trip. Wendy and Bubs met us there for beers. As I was designated driver, I limited myself to 2.

As I refused to cook anything until Thursday, the 3 of us went to Yo Yo's Mexican Restaurant and loaded up on great food.

Got home around 4 pm. I got busy in the kitchen with prep-work for the feast while the boys shot pool. Joe and Ping arrived around 6pm. We had a fun evening of pool, darts, catching up.... basically whooping it up.

Dom cooked breakfast for the gang on Thursday morning. (he's a wonderful help to me on holidays!) I banished everyone from my kitchen and got cooking:

*22# Turkey.... cooked ala Martha Stewart ... cheesecloth, wine and butter
*Cornbread, cranberry, sausage and pecan stuffing
*Mashed Potatoes and gravy
*Carmelized Balsamic Pearl Onions
*Corn Pudding
*Lima Beans
*Sweet Potato/Pecan Casserole
*Spinach/Arthichoke Casserole
*Store bought Pecan Pie and Pumpkin Pie
*Butter Pecan and Vanilla Ice Cream
*Beaujolais Nouveau
*Bubbly

I stayed in the kitchen sipping on wine and cooking all day. The others did a little target shooting. I'm fond of the picture of Ping shooting.... you can see the smoking gun!

Had dinner by candlelight with The Nutcracker and Johan Strauss playing. Very festive. Alot of fun. Ended the night in the hot tub for awhile.

Everyone left on Friday morning. Yours truly did not even get out of bed until after noon. SERENITY NOW!

Had a lazy weekend. Wendy and Bubs came over for a day of pool, darts and beer on Sunday.

Got our wonderful call from Tulane Cancer Center..... Dom continues to be in Complete Remission/Response ..... 28 months post Stem Cell Transplant!

Last night, our Saints demolished Eli Manning and his NY Giants. GREAT GAME. GREAT WEEK.

GREAT to get back to normal!

Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cells: Prime Source for Transplants and Future Regenerative Medicine

2011-11-29T08:15:00.000-06:00

The 5th ITERA Life-Sciences Consortium Symposium took place in Maastricht, the Netherlands, and showcased the progress of stem cell research and promising therapeutic applications. Thanks to solid scientific data, researchers confirmed that umbilical cord blood stem cells are one of the prime sources to be used in current stem cell transplants, ongoing research and future regenerative medicine.

Cord blood is one of the prime sources for stem cells, more and more used for stem cell transplants

Jump To Story....

Dom Continues to be in Complete Remission/Response..... YAY!!!!!!

2011-11-28T13:28:00.000-06:00

Just hung up the phone with Tulane Cancer Center.

His latest M-Spike test showed ZERO..... he's now been clean for 28 months!!!! Modern medicine is marvelous, isn't it?

Bone marrow cancer hope as scientists identify gene that increases risk by 30 per cent

2011-11-28T12:01:00.000-06:00

Related to last evening's post:

*Relatives of those suffering from multiple myeloma are four times more likely to develop cancerous cells

*First time genes responsible for the disease have been identified

MORE HERE

Scientists identify first genetic link to myeloma

2011-11-27T22:42:00.000-06:00

Although we've been convinced that Dominic's MM was a result of Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam, this was interesting.... we live in amazing times, gang.... best of luck to all of you!

"Rather than identifying who will or won't develop the disease, the researchers hope that the study will help to identify drug targets or further information about the disease's causes."

Good read here: http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/news/archive/cancernews/2011-11-27-Scientists-identify-first-genetic-link-to-myeloma

Emerald Coast Cruisin'

2011-11-16T14:07:00.000-06:00

This was quite the impressive event. Over 3000 classic cars and rat-rods were in town last week. Our dear friend, Donn gave us VIP Tickets for this event. Free entry and preferred parking.

We strolled around the event on Friday afternoon and looked at cars. These pictures were taken then. When we headed back on Saturday, we were alarmed to see Back Beach Road literally STOPPED with cars waiting to pull in. We blew it off. At 10 bucks per person per day, and 3 dollar parking per car, they made a BUNDLE. Thanks again, Donn.... you saved us money, honey!

Saturday night, we strolled over to Pineapple Willy's http://www.pwillys.com/ via Coyote Ugly Saloon and Dee's Hangout. They were hosting the FIRE SHOOTING CONTEST. Unfortunately, my camera batteries died, but it was alot of fun...

Emerald Coast Cruizin

Dee's Hangout Does it Again!

2011-11-16T12:53:00.001-06:00

The gang at Dee's Hangout never fail to blow us away with their food and service. This has turned into our favorite joint on the beach.

Whether it's po-boys, baked oysters, burgers or plates, this is our MUST STOP place.

Went in a couple of nights last week. Wanted to share pictures of their JALAPENO BAKED OYSTERS.... delicious! Washed 'em down with ice cold pints of beer for only a BUCK!
Visit Dee's on Facebook

Check out Dee's Menu

Pier Park on Veteran's Day..... Nice Job!

2011-11-16T12:23:00.001-06:00

We were in town for the Emerald Coast Cruisin' event, and took a drive through Pier Park on Friday. They truly outdid themselves this year! I don't know if I've ever seen so many flags before. Just lovely.

Pier Park has it all.... retail, restaurants, bars.... the works. Also beautiful landscaping. Huge place that runs between Front Beach and Middle Beach roads.

Trip Advisor Link

Pier Park Directory

Novel Therapies Put Multiple Myeloma 'On the Ropes'

2011-11-16T11:43:00.000-06:00

SAN FRANCISCO – A sweep of new agents are poised to deliver what could be a knock-out blow to multiple myeloma, according to the director of the myeloma program at the University of California, San Francisco.

Some are second- or third-generation agents in a mainstay class that appear to have less toxicity than and/or overcome resistance to their predecessors, Dr. Jeffrey L. Wolf said at the annual Oncology Congress here. Others come from classes not previously used in this disease.

"There is a rush to develop new drugs in myeloma," Dr. Wolf told attendees. "We [understand] some mechanisms that the disease seems to favor, so we can interfere with those."

The prospects, in turn, are excellent: "We have made such tremendous headway in myeloma, except for those exceptional cases with 17p deletions and some other adverse prognostic features," he said. "As a disease, it seems to be on the ropes."

More After the Jump

Multiple Myeloma: Challenges and Progress

2011-11-09T15:45:00.000-06:00

This story is a bit of a downer, but has a nice ending:

“Hopefully, the impressive response rates being reported are durable and will translate into meaningful and long term improvement in survival if not yet cure,” Dingle and Rajkumar concluded.
Link to Entire Story

Diabetes and the Stem Cell Promise

2011-11-09T11:59:00.000-06:00

We certainly live in amazing times!

"Another approach to the autoimmune problem is being tested by ViaCyte. The company is working on an embryonic stem cell-based therapy that will enclose beta-cell precursors inside a membrane envelope, then implant them under a diabetic patient's skin. The pouch will allow insulin to flow out of it, into a patient's bloodstream, but won't allow cells of the immune system to get in and attack the implant (or allow rogue cancers from the transplant, should they arise, to escape into the recipient's body).

Finally, diabetes researchers face the same challenges as any other scientists working with stem cells: They need to figure out how to produce large numbers of the beta cells and make sure they're safe and stable.
Over the long term, the best solution would probably be to study how stem cells generate beta cells to figure out how to teach a patient's body to regrow islets for itself from stem cells, and possibly even other types of cells, already in the body, Firpo says. "We could have stem cell therapies that don't actually involve a stem cell being transplanted into a person."

FULL STORY HERE

2011-11-07T14:15:00.001-06:00

Multiple Myeloma: A Clinical Overview

By Kenneth C. Anderson, MD¹ | November 7, 2011

ABSTRACT: Multiple myeloma (MM) is the second most common hematologic malignancy in the United States, affecting slightly more men than women and twice as many African Americans as Caucasians. Older age is the primary risk factor for MM, but obesity also increases risk. MM is incurable, but treatment advances in the past decade have more than doubled the duration of survival. MM is a progressive plasma cell tumor in which an initially stable clone becomes malignant via a multistep process. Causative factors implicated in this process include radiation, environmental toxins, chronic antigen stimulation, and genetics. The malignant plasma cells interact with other hematopoietic and stromal cells within the bone marrow microenvironment to disrupt homeostasis among cells and within the extracellular matrix. These tumor-host interactions lead to MM cell proliferation and migration, angiogenesis, osteolysis, immunodeficiency, and anemia. As a result, patients often present with osteolytic bone lesions, recurrent infections, renal insufficiency, and fatigue. The Durie-Salmon and International Staging Systems are used to stage MM, with the latter providing prognostic information based on readily available laboratory data. However, a number of cytogenetic markers are emerging as prognostic indicators, introducing the possibility of more refined disease staging systems and tailored treatment strategies based on genetic profiles.

http://www.cancernetwork.com/multiple-myeloma/content/article/10165/1983377?pageNumber=1

This was Fun!

2011-11-07T13:23:00.000-06:00

You'll be surprised at how this works. BE HONEST and don't look at the movie list till you have done the math!

Try this test and find out what movie is your favorite. This amazing math quiz can likely predict which of 18 films you would enjoy the most. GUARANTEED!!

Movie Test:

Pick a number from 1-9.

Multiply by 3.

Add 3.

Multiply by 3 again.

Now add the two digits together to find your predicted favorite movie in the list of 18 movies below.

Movie List:

1. Gone With The Wind

2. E.T.

3. Beverly Hills Cop

4. Star Wars

5. Forrest Gump

6. The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

7. Jaws

8. Grease

9. The Defeat of Obama in 2012

10. Casablanca

11. Jurassic Park

12. Shrek

13. Pirates of the Caribbean

14. Titanic

15. Raiders Of The Lost Ark

16. Home Alone

17. Mrs. Doubtfire

18. Toy Story

Dom's New Project- His '72 Corvette

2011-10-27T13:03:00.000-05:00

Well, I can't seem to slow this guy down. (And couldn't be any happier that he's feeling so well!)

Dom has a '72 Corvette that he loved. About 6 years ago, a lightning strike caused a fire in his barn. (shown in the distance of one of these pictures). The insurance company declared this car a "Total Loss", and allowed Dom to buy it back from them.

He rubbed out most of the smoke damage himself. The rag-top wasn't damaged, thankfully. He tried working on his brakes numerous times. Even trailered it to a local mechanic. He couldn't do anything, either.

Now that he's got his new garage, he moved it up here. Presently talking to a guy who's showing interest in coming over on weekends to work on it. (brakes, headlights, etc.)

Was hoping this would be my car, but nope. Once it's fixed, getting that car will be MY NEW PROJECT!

(Looks like I need to fix the date on his camera!)

My LIPID PANEL came back..... "GREAT" !!!!

2011-10-24T14:09:00.001-05:00

Hey gang....

Got a great phone call a little while ago. My latest blood work was EXCELLENT!

Total Cholesterol: 248 (not too hot) but......

HDL (Good Cholesterol): 152 "Great" (optimal HDL more than 60)

LDL (Bad Cholesterol): 81 "Great" (optimal LDL less than 100)

Triglycerides: 73 "WOWIE ZOWIE!" (optimal Triglycerides less than 150)

That's down from a whopping 331 a few months ago!

I am absolutely giddy, guys!

The nurse said, "Wow... you really HAVE been busting your ass, Nan!"

So, the 3 months of not smoking, walking 1.5 miles 5 days a week, working out at the condo, and going heavy on the Omega 3 through diet and fish oil worked!

I'm going to celebrate tonite with a BIG ASS CHEESEBURGER!!!!!!!!!!!!! (no bun!)

Our Beautiful Visitor

2011-10-18T16:21:00.000-05:00

What a pretty girl!

October on the Beach with Joe and Ping

2011-10-18T13:17:00.000-05:00

Hi Gang-

Hope this post finds everyone healthy and happy. We've been home for 1 day, and Dom's sinuses are acting up again. He felt great in Florida. *sighing*

We headed to PCB on Wednesday morning. Our first stop was Smokin' Vapor for my liquid nicotine, then on to Pier Park and a Cowboy Burger at Tootsie's . Great stuff!

Spent some time across the street with Travis, who is now managing the joint. (Donn has moved on to bigger and better things.)

We hit our fitness room every morning. Much to my delight, Dom is enjoying it. I'm becoming quite fond of the steam room after working out.

On Thursday, Happy hour at Coytoe Ugly was fun, but the bartenders weren't very pleasant. I miss the summer crew.

Ate at Dee's Hangout afterwards His food is absolutely incredible. Dom had his usual.... an over-loaded shrimp po-boy. I had a dozen jalapeno/cheese baked oysters. Hit the spot with their dollar pint draft beers!

Spent alot of time on the beach. The water was gorgeous, but a little chilly.

Dom's cousin Joe and his wife joined us on Saturday. Ping cooked us her signature noodle dish with chicken and soy "Italian Sausage". Great stuff. Hung out playing on the beach all day with them, then ventured across the street where Tina was working... had big fun.

They left on Sunday morning after our work-out. I spent a little time at the beach, then we settled in for a DISMAL Saints game. Horrid. Absolutely horrid.

Hit the road at 9am yesterday, and arrived home 5 hours later.

Fall is Upon us.... FINALLY

2011-10-10T14:16:00.001-05:00

Hello gang. Hope this note finds everyone well.

Things have been busy, busy around here. Now that the temps have dropped into the mid eighties, we've been spending alot of time outside.

Cut the grass for what will hopefully be the last time until Spring. Dom poured gravel at the entrance of his new garage, so as not to bottom-out his car.

He's been fighting some kind of upper respiratory thing for weeks. Finally got him to the doctor on Thursday. He dropped me off to get my hair cut and colored, and saw our Nurse Practitioner in Slidell. It turns out it's a bad sinus infection. (he's allergic to Bahia (??) Grass.... unfortunately, we've got acres and acres of it). Gave him a shot in the fanny and sent him on his way. Over 70 bucks of meds later, he's still spitting crud up. He's promised to start wearing a mask while bush-hogging the property.

While waiting for him to pick me up, I stopped in an upholstery shop. I've got my maw's Queen Anne Chairs which are beginning to look a little rough. Met the owner and liked him. LOVED his many fabrics. Going to drop the chairs off to him soon. I'm going to have a helluva time trying to pick out the fabric.

Dom picked me up and we put the top down a drove back roads.... put a couple hundred miles on his little beauty.

Had a late lunch at Yo Yo's Mexican Restaurant, did a little grocery shopping and came home.

Speaking of grocery shopping.... Because I've been watching my triglycerides for the past few months, I haven't had any bread, pasta or potatoes. Bought some whole grain white bread, which I enjoy. I've always had an aversion to "whole wheat" ANYTHING. But, my little spaghetti-face (as I affectionately refer to him) has been feeling deprived. So, I went ahead and bought a pound of Barilla Plus.... Angel Hair pasta. Super high in Omega 3. Contains flax seed, which I like.

He wanted some clam pasta. So, when buying the garlic, I saw this gorgeous product. Much to my dismay, it was from China. Bought it anyway. DELICIOUS. Uniform cloves, tasty, easy to peel. Probably chemically altered or something sickening.

Made Dom his pasta using the whole grain Angel Hair. DELICIOUS! I fully expected to dislike it, but was presently surprised. I'll have no problem switching to this stuff.

I've been walking to the mailbox 5 days a week (1.5 miles round-trip). Heading into see Dr. Culasso around the 19th for bloodwork. If I haven't lowered them after all of this, I'll have to resign myself to meds. Yuck!

Oh yeah.... our Saints are 4-1!!!!!! WHO DAT!!!!!

Wednesday's Wicked Weather

2011-09-30T14:53:00.000-05:00

Man, did we have a storm on Wednesday afternoon. It lasted a couple of hours with serious wind, rain and lightning. Wish these pictures could have reflected just how bad it got here....

Dom's Garage is Finished

2011-09-29T14:25:00.000-05:00

Man, these guys worked fast! It's finished. Now, as soon as it gets cool, we can restore the game room back to how it was.

I was thinking about doing some landscaping along the side of the garage, but think I might just plant alot of garlic instead.

Mallard Ducks and Deer Sausage from Breaux Bridge, LA..... DELICIOUS!

2011-09-26T18:06:00.001-05:00

I'd mentioned in a prior post that my Cajun girlfriend, Vickie, loaded us up with goodies.

http://www.cajuncountryswamptours.com/html/contact.html ( I HIGHLY recommend this tour!)

On Saturday, I put this together.... 2 Mallard Ducks and 2 links of Deer Sausage, on a bed of chopped celery, onion and garlic. Loaded it up with black and cayenne pepper and a little salt. Put in a BIG blast of Cabernet. Cooked at 250 degrees all day. Served with white rice.

OMG! One of the tastiest things ever to come out of my kitchen. I regret that I did not show it plated, and the "after" picture has some leftover rice in it. (Dem gizzards and hearts were out of this world, Cher!)

Back to the Beach Week 2- SERENITY NOW!

2011-09-20T19:22:00.000-05:00

Hi gang....

A quick report on Week 2 at the beach. I was originally going to come back home a day or 2 later than Vickie, but I felt cheated. Whined to Dom over the phone that the water was gorgeous, had gotten plenty of sun but no swimming time. "Nanette.... I don't give a shit.... stay another week if you want". (He didn't have to tell me twice... yippee! Man, I've got a great husband!)

Went down to our exercise room every morning and worked out on my abs and hips. Told Dom that he's gonna have a "hard-belly" for an old lady! (This, btw, delights him.... can see my flatter gut already!).

Enjoyed the steam room several times, and stuck with my new healthy diet. Might have bummed 5 smokes at the bar the entire week. This E-Cigarette is "the bomb"! Love it....

Hung out on the beach all week.... glorious.

Tropical Storm? What tropical storm?

Check out the eye-contact from a couple of these fellas.

Would make a daily afternoon visit to visit Donn across the street, then back in the condo by 5 or 6 every afternoon. Truly an enjoyable week. Even broke the rules and fed my seagulls a few times.

Enjoyed the solitude! As Seinfeld's Frank Costanza would say, "SERENITY NOW!!!!!"

Kitties in Boxes.... aka "time to clean windows"....

2011-09-18T17:29:00.000-05:00

My Jada and Mimi..... and a catalyst for cleaning my windows!

Dom's Latest Project.... an Addition to the Game Room

2011-09-18T15:46:00.001-05:00

Hi gang....

While I was floundering on the beach, Dom had some action over here. He built our "game room" about 5 (?) years ago. It was absolutely pristine. Bar, pool table, foos-ball, dart board, beer lights, Zappa posters, stereo, television, the works.

And then, along came Multiple Myeloma.

During my cleaning frenzy of our home, in which we've lived for 20+ years, I turned the house upside down. As you who are familiar with MM know, the house needed to be sparkling clean upon his return from his stem cell transplant.

Much of our home ended up in the "game room".

Then, along came his new Corvette. Rag Top.... didn't want the cats anywhere near it.

Rearranged the "game room" to fit the Corvette.

Then, his mother passed away.... more corruption in the "game room".

It's a vicious cycle, gang! LOL.

So.... Dom got a contractor buddy going on a new garage/junk room. We shall soon have our game room back in good condition! He's adding on to the original building. They're moving the overhead door into the new building.

Contractor, Daniel, will be putting in windows and moving the door tomorrow.... has to wait for the gables (??) to be finished.

I'll be posting updates on this entry for those of you who are interested. (Kinda boy-stuff, if you ask me). The Dom is tickled, thus I am, too! (By the way..... doesn't Dominic look great???!!!)

Tropical Storm Lee and Labor Day at the Beach WEEK ONE

2011-09-16T15:51:00.001-05:00

Hi gang! Long time, no see! Time to play a little catch-up.

All is great here. Temps have dipped down into the 80's making it tolerable to putter around outside. Dom and I are both feeling great and enjoying our new "health kick".

The last couple of weeks, Dom was a "groovy bachelor" here at home. He happily worked on a couple of new projects and enjoyed his solitude.

I ventured to PCB on the Wed. prior to Labor Day Weekend. My dear Cajun girlfriend, Vickie, met me at the condo. As usual, she loaded us up on goodies.... Speckled Trout, Mallards, Pheasants and Deer Sausage for the freezer. What a yummy treat. She's an absolute doll and I love her dearly!

Much to our dismay, TS Lee ruined MANY beach vacations. There was a DOUBLE RED FLAG flying for 6 days straight, signifying that there would be NO SWIMMING whatsoever. Anyone caught out too far would be ticketed by the police. Apparently there were some strong rip-tides.

We witnessed one dope get pulled out of the water and rushed to the hospital. Guess he didn't see the airplane flying back and forth all day with a big banner reading "STAY OUT OF THE GULF", nor the police cars and beach patrols with their bull horns. A lifeguard told me that he was conscious when they finally took him away.

So, although it was generally sunny and BREEZY, there was no splashing. Speaking of "breezy".... 70 MPH wind gusts knocked over Donn's big ice cooler outside.... while full of ice! Anyway, I felt horrible for folks who planned Labor Day vacation and came into town to this after working and saving for a beach trip.


Note how the beach virtually disappeared during periods of LEE

As you can guess, Vickie and I had BIG FUN. Tanned every day, ate out alot, drank plenty of beer and spent alot of time with Donn and Tina across the street. Also used our fitness room for the 1st time.... Vickie sprung for Swedish Massages. I fell in love with our Steam Room. Unfortunately for Dom and I, they are NOT co-ed.

I felt compelled to take a photo of Vickie as she was ready to leave the condo. This photo doesn't depict her monster cooler in the kitchen. Boy, that gal LOVES to pack! (All of that stuff was for a 7 night beach-bum vacation! I still have nightmares about watching her pack for our week in Cancun a few years ago....lol)

As we were loading up her truck on the following Wednesday, the YELLOW FLAGS shot up, and the water settled down. By Thursday, the water was gorgeous once again.

Hurricane Irene.....

2011-08-25T22:35:00.000-05:00

Irene is one bad bitch.... be safe, gang!

E Cigarettes and Omega 3...... so far, so good!

2011-08-23T13:02:00.001-05:00

Hi gang-

Things are extremely relaxed around here. I've been so accustomed to juggling doctor appointments, ordering medicines and "taking care" of The Dom, that I don't know what to do with myself!

Dom has some plans in the works.... hiring a couple of guys to build a new garage for his Corvette, put a few things in the local paper to sell, and just enjoying his health. I've been encouraging him to take off for a few days with friends, but he's content just being a gentleman farmer!

Myself, I'm enjoying our new OMEGA 3 based diet, getting creative with Salmon and Tuna, and planning my next beach vacation. (what else is new, huh?)

Dominic is tickled with this new health kick of mine. I even started smoking E Cigarettes a couple of weeks ago. I LOVE it! I'm getting nicotine, but no tar. I don't crave real cigarettes at all. I puff in bed, I puff while I'm cooking, I'm puffing as I post this... it's pretty neat!

I realize that it's substituting one addiction for another, but this certainly seems alot more healthy. I have to head into see Dr. Culasso about my Triglycerides in another couple of months. I'll be curious to see what he thinks about this contraption. He's been nagging me for 25 years to quit smoking.... guess I had to do it on my own.

It took me about a hundred bucks to get started. There are "E-Cigarette Friendly" restaurants in Panama City Beach.... I can "vape" away! There's no odor.... you're just inhaling and exhaling vapors. It's like magic!

http://thatsnotsmoke.com/

So.... all is groovy here, gang. Hope all is well with you guys!

Dom's Birthday on the Beach

2011-08-19T15:20:00.000-05:00

Had a wonderful two weeks at the condo.... Dom only stayed for 5 days, but had big fun. Ate out alot, as well as spending quality time across the street with Donn, Tina and Steve.

We spent one day driving East about 100 miles through Panama City, Mexico Beach and Port St. Joe. Ended up on Cape San Blas.... very nice, but NOTHING around but beach houses. No restaurants. No stores. No bars.... not our kind of place.

The next trip, we're going further East to check out St. Vincent and St. George Islands.

The water was at first murky, but pretty much cleared up a few days before I came home. Crystal clear water with a thread of yuck.... Needless to say, I spent alot of time at the pool this visit. Don't like that slimy "June Grass".... especially in August!

Got the Call..... Dom's Bone Marrow is CLEAN!!!!!

2011-08-19T14:12:00.000-05:00

Things just keep getting better and better, gang!

Omega 3 Fatty Acids.... Sounds Like A Dream Come True!

2011-08-01T16:07:00.000-05:00

Hi Gang.....

Thought that this might be of interest to you:
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=112

Lower Your Risk of Leukemia, Multiple Myeloma, and Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma

Fishermen have, in epidemiological studies, been identified as having a lower risk of leukemia, multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, an occupational benefit that researchers thought might be due to the fact that they eat more fish. Now, a Canadian study published in the April 2004 issue of Cancer

Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention suggests that persons whose diet includes more weekly servings of fresh fatty fish have a much lower risk of these three types of cancer. Data drawn from a survey of the fish eating habits of 6,800 Canadians indicates that those consuming the most fatty fish decreased their risk of leukemia by 28%, their risk of multiple myeloma by 36%, and their risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma by 29%. Overall, frequent eaters of fatty fish reduced their risk for all forms of lymphomas by 30%.

Some of the cancer protective effects of fish, such as tuna, may come from its being a great source of omega 3 fatty acids, which have themselves shown impressive anticancer effects, especially important in protection against breast cancer. Recent in vitro (test tube) evidence suggests that this beneficial effect is related to the fact that when omega-3s are consumed in the diet, they are incorporated into cell membranes where they promote cancer cell apoptosis via several mechanisms including: inhibiting a pro-inflammatory enzyme called cyclooxygenase 2 (COX 2), which promotes breast cancer; activating a type of receptor in cell membranes called peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-Î±, which can shut down proliferative activity in a variety of cells including breast cells; and, increasing the expression of BRCA1 and BRCA2, tumor suppressor genes that, when functioning normally, help repair damage to DNA, thus helping to prevent cancer development.

***************************************************************

What an odd coincidence! Dom and I have been on an Omega 3 rich diet since Thursday in order to lower my triglycerides. While looking up fresh tuna, didn't I find the Multiple Myeloma reference. Bizarre!

***************************************************************

All is JUST GREAT here. Went to Tulane on Wed. for Dom's Bone Marrow Biopsy. Without even waiting for the results, they cut him loose..... "See 'ya in 3 or 4 months". We still can't believe it. The past 3 years are a big blur....

POW / MIA - And a Fitting Reflection

2011-07-28T12:55:00.001-05:00

Dominic picked me up a POW/MIA license plate a couple of weeks ago. He put it on the front end of my car. Of course, I HAD to take a picture.... check out the reflection on my hood! Pretty kewl, huh?

My Handsome Big Brother, Ricky!

2011-07-26T22:32:00.000-05:00

This is probably the nicest picture that Ricky and I have ever taken together. Bro....it was AB-FAB!

Wonderful News.... No Signs of Myeloma.... Nothing!

2011-07-26T13:34:00.001-05:00

Hi gang.... I've got some wonderful news. Our patient is still in Complete Remission/Response!

"Myeloma? What Myeloma?"

His M Spike showed ZERO

His 24 Hour Urine showed ZERO

His Body Scan showed NO LESIONS

There is finally light at the end of this 3 year long tunnel! We go in tomorrow morning for a Bone Marrow Biopsy, and then will get the results next week.

We fully expect them to cut Dom loose. No more treatments. Just check ups every 3 months. Thank you all for your prayers and warm wishes!