I could have been an NBA star...

Well, this morning as I lay peacefully in bed, I heard the term "Chronic Myeloid Leukemia" on the TV. I awoke immediately and turns out the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was diagnosed with the same type of leukemia I have. Kind of cool in its own way. I mean, I can't count the time people have said "Thornburg" and "Kareem" in the same sentence. The evidence is right in front of you. The same smooth drop step. The deft touch around the rim. The silky smooth transition game. The ankle breaking crossover. Its all right there. Our genetic code lets us dominate on the hardwood. However, it also let us down in the marrow department.

On a more seriuos note, I am very glad he went public. Maybe this will become a hot topic and this disease will get some press, more donations etc... Just like what Lance Armstrong did for testicular cancer, Patrick Swayze did for pancreatic cancer, and Michael Jackson did for just plain being a weirdo. It only affects around 25,000 in the US (yours truly included), so its not the most prevelant cancer percentage wise. However, it is still devasting for those who have it. I will gladly accept your donations and put them to good use (roulette wheel). Just tell me which color you want me to bet on.

The Big Switch....

Well, I did it. I had my first appointment with my new hem/onc on Monday. I decided to forgo the treatment at West Penn and went to their rival, UPMC. While much can be said against a huge entity like UPMC, it has some distinct advantages. Their resources are incredible there. They have their own phlebotomy lab right in the doctors office! I don't have to take paperwork over to the outpatient lab (which was below par at West Penn), then wait to have my name called, then wait for the paperwork, then wait for the technician to call me in. The nurse told me they were going to do tests, I went to the lobby, sat down for 2 minutes, then was called in and had blood drawn! My whole appointment (including wait time) took 45 minutes. At West Penn, I would average about 3-4 hours for an appointment (most of it waiting). Not that my treatment at West Penn was bad, far from it. Its just UPMC made the whole experience so much nicer. All is still well here. Counts are normal and the UPMC staff seemed very happy with my response to the meds to this point. Just for fun, here is a cool link to an experiment with wood spiders......

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