Kathryns Walk

Update time. We met with the new oncologist last Tuesday and I’m hoping that he will work out. Bedside manner isn’t a strength of his at first glance. He says that they might recommend the 3 drug induction chemo rather than the 4 drug regimen. The good news about this is that I won’t have to get a port in my chest if they do the 3 drug, since the port is for the fourth drug, and I’m not excited about the prospect of more body hardware. The downside is that the oncologist at Seattle Cancer Care recommended the more aggressive approach, and told us it was likely to extend my lifespan. But it also means more side effects. I will go with whatever the new oncologist says, either way. Another thing is that there is a chance I have Amyloidosis and not Multiple Myeloma. A biopsy has been sent to some specialty center to find out. Amyloidosis is very rare and the chemotherapy is different for that than for Myeloma. We hope to know the answer next week. I will be on some form of chemotherapy pro...

  I started giving blood while I was in the Army in the 1970's. It wasn't altruism at first. In the Army, if you gave blood, you got the day off. Our unit gave blood on Fridays, which meant that giving blood got you a three-day weekend. But sometimes things that begin selfishly become altruistic. I found that liked the feeling of donating blood. You knew you were doing something good that would help others and you got treats too. I always enjoyed that cookie and juice, even though I could easily have just gone and bought my own. It felt good enough that I continued doing it after I left the service. For 30 years I stopped at the blood bank or the mobile van five or six times a year and gave my donation, and enjoyed my cookie and juice. Over the years apple juice gave way to cranberry, but the cookie of choice was always oatmeal. In the mid-2000's though, I started to have an issue. When the technician would poke my finger and squeeze out the drop of blood for testing, the d...