Yesterday, I went for my first post-chemo follow up visit with my Oncologist, and made this short video of the experience.
lymphoma
‘Tis the Season to Light The Night
With my teammate, Sue, at the Finish Line.
In September, I took part in the Light The Night Walk to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The funds we raised will provide cancer patients with lifesaving research, financial assistance, education, programs, advocacy, and personalized assistance. To date, my team has raised over $5,000, thanks to the generosity of family and friends. If you’re looking for a worthy cause to help in this season of giving, please contribute to my Light The Night fundraising efforts. Making your gift in someone’s name is a great idea for holiday present. Donations can be made through December 31, 2013, and are tax deductible on this year’s return as allowed. Thanks for helping me Light The Night, and have a very happy and safe holiday season!
Amazon Will Donate Part of Your Purchase to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Saw this on Facebook and wanted to share:
Contribute to LLS when shopping on CyberMonday – and throughout the holiday season – with Amazon Smile! Visit http://smile.amazon.com/ search for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, “select” us as your organization and Amazon will donate 0.5% of your purchases to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society! Happy holidays!
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society held the Light The Night Walk that I did in September. My team has raised $5,432.00, so far, and donations can be made through the end of the month, so please consider us if you’re looking for a cause for your holiday giving. Donations are tax deductible as allowed by law.
Goodbye, Mass
In August, my chest x-ray showed that the mass in my chest had shrunk from the size of a grapefruit to a golf ball. Last week, I shared the preliminary results of my second PET scan. Today, after repeating the old adage, “a picture is worth a thousand words,” Dr. R. showed me the images you see above. (FYI, despite the fact that my body looks larger in the second scan, I haven’t gained weight, but in fact have lost some.) He’s very pleased with my progress, saying the scan shows, “near complete response after 4 cycles of chemo, and the patient appears to be going into remission.” Best news I’ve heard in months!
Chemo: Four for Four
Selfie, taken this morning. Note my Mac Classic on the book shelf!
With round four last week, chemo is two-thirds done, and I’m happily still sailing through!
Side effects continue to be minimal, and I actually felt a little better this round than the last one, when I felt great except for some fatigue. That’s somewhat of a surprise, since chemo has a cumulative effect, with each round having the potential to tax your system a little more. The only new side effect is a slight tingling and numbness in my hands, which is common, but it doesn’t interfere or hurt at all.
Some have been concerned that instead of “no news is good news,” the radio silence (should we update that to internet silence?) has meant that I haven’t been feeling well or up to blogging. In fact, it has been very much the opposite. As the dust has settled and treatment has become more routine, I’ve been able to work steadily and focus on other aspects of life, so my posts here have been less frequent.
I will be going for another PET scan on Thursday, and will find out the results when I start round five the following Monday. As of the last chest X-ray, following round one, the large mass had shrunk from the size of a grapefruit to that of a golf ball. Want to venture a guess how small it will be in the PET scan? Just add a comment!
Thanks and lotsa love to everyone who has reached out to ask how I’m doing, and has continued to keep me in their thoughts and prayers.
Many Big Thanks for Helping Me Light The Night in NYC
Mouse over or tap the image to access the controller to stop the slideshow.
On a beautiful evening this past Wednesday, I took part in my first Light The Night Walk, with my teammate Sue and I raising over $5000 together for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society!
Thanks to the generosity of our families and friends, we’ll help fund therapies and treatment advances for blood cancer patients. Whether you gave $5, $50, or $350, know that you’re saving the lives of people like me who have these diseases.
The walk kicked off at Pier 57, now renamed SuperPier. (On a side note, as a publication designer, I thought it was cool when I read in The New York Times that the name came from a 1952 Popular Mechanics article.) It took awhile for everyone to get outside, but once we did, the walk along Hudson River Park was a very nice way to spend the evening. Sue and I were members of the Bright Lights Club, having raised over $1000 each. Everyone who raised over $100 was a Champion for Cures, and carried a balloon, which had a light inside it, in one of three colors: white for survivors and patients, red for supporters, and gold in memory of loved ones lost.
The event was very inspirational, and I’m proud that my team surpassed its fundraising goal. If you wanted to give, but didn’t, there’s still plenty of time. Donations will be accepted through the end of the year, and can be made online through my fundraising page, or if you’d prefer to give by check, please click here to email me for the address. In the meantime, I’m sending everyone a big hug of thanks for all your love, support, and generosity!
Countdown to Light The Night
Light The Night Walk is this Wednesday, and thanks to many generous donations, I’ve raised over $3100, so far! There’s still time to make a donation, or join Team Joe_C at SuperPier in NYC. I’ve set my team goal at $5000, and we’re only $1,100 away from reaching it. The money we’re raising will fund therapies and treatment advances for blood cancer patients. Your generosity will save lives.
Balloons are the symbol for light the night. Read how they also played a part in Live A Big Life Celebration Day, a powerful tribute to my friend Jerry’s late nephew, Cam.
Image: Graphicstock.com
Midterm Report: Chemo Trifecta
Ten weeks have passed since my Lymphoma adventure started. I continue to do very well, and had a great week on the journey I’ve been taking.
I finished round 3 of chemo last friday, and the side effects were, again, minimal. The most significant has been the fatigue, which an afternoon catnap and a tall half-caf from Starbucks pretty much takes care of. My biggest worry, like last time, was reacting to the Neulasta shot that I get to reduce the risk of infection while my white counts are low, a condition called neutropenia. People often experience bone pain, which I did pretty severely after the first round, but much less so after the second one. This time, it was about the same as round 2, maybe even slightly less so, and was again manageable with a little Tylenol.
I was able to connect in person with some friends for lunch and coffee—nice to see you Linda, Gloria, Joni, Ted, and Bill—some others for dinner and Scrabble—good game Jim and Kristy (btw, check out their sites if you need a massage or copy editing, respectively)—and also meet face-to-face for the first time with Zeth, my new Cancer Pal and colleague at NYU SCPS CADA. (Seriously, everything at NYU has to have at least three words in its name and an acronym.)
On the career front, I continue to stay busy, which is helpful to keep me from going stir crazy as treatment becomes more and more routine. I’m focusing on my online teaching, which lets me work from home and have a flexible schedule. That’s a huge plus if I have appointments or just want to take a break and rest a bit. My new course, Design For Coders, for new client LearnToProgram.tv, is open in early access for beta testing, and I self-published another, Interactive PDFs with Adobe InDesign: No-Code Digital (click here to get it for free through the end of the month). I was also excited to be honored with a 2013 American Graphic Design Award!
It’s a little hard to believe that I’m over the halfway mark, but I’m looking forward to continuing full speed ahead through the second half, and having a strong finish in November. Thanks to everyone for your continued love, support, and positive thoughts/prayers/vibes/energy. Lotsa love to you all!
Oh, and PS: I ordered the 32GB iPhone 5s in Space Gray. 🙂
Cancer Pals
Hollis, my friend, colleague, and fellow cancer survivor (yes, I unapologetically will take the liberty of making that prediction) wrote this in a message to me, after learning the news of my diagnosis:
Something that will surprise you (as it did me) is that you may make a circle of cancer pals.”
One of those cancer pals, is Zeth. My friend, CM, who is also a survivor, knows his sister-in-law, and realized that he and I both teach in the same department at NYU, were both diagnosed with the same type of lymphoma, and both have blogs about it. What are the odds?! Zeth included me in a post in his blog, and so I’m returning the favor, with a thanks to him and all my pals, cancer and otherwise.
Over A Thousand Dollars in Three Days
Click photo for origami instructions.
Since the event is over a month away, I’ve set the bar higher, and set a new personal fundraising goal of $2000. If you’d like to donate, please click to visit my personal fundraising page, and if you’d like to walk with me on September 25 in NYC, click to join Team Joe C.
Every amount, no matter how small, will help fund life-saving research and make a difference. Only have a dollar to give? No problem! Better yet, ask four friends each to match you, and now you’ve got five dollars. What, you say you can each afford to give two dollars? Awesome, now you’ve raised ten dollars that will help fund research for treatments that will wipe out cancer!
For everyone who has donated so far, again, thank you so much, and thanks in advance to everyone who will be giving. One last thing, please be sure to ask your employer if they’ll match your donation and make it count twice!