Good news

Last Doc's appointment went well. WBC at 8.1. Molecular studies results in 2 weeks. Hope all had a good chirstmas and Happy New Year!

Settlin' in

Got on my new medication and have finally settled in. Side effects were a little worse than on the old meds, but I am getting better with them. The "worst" side effect is that now, I get a headache if I drink more than two beers! That kind of stinks, but I have adjusted. Dec 27 I will see if the blood work is getting more in line with what the doc wants.

Happy Holidays!

Some drama....

Well today was a weird day. I had my 18 month checkup and it went ok. While my counts remain stable, my genetic testing is not where he would like it at this point. So, we have decided to stop Gleevec and go onto a new, better medication called Sprycel. From all the reading, this is superior to Gleevec in many ways and will likely become the primary treatment for many patients soon. I am a bit apprehensive since I am now one step closer to the dreaded Bone Marrow Transplant, but still a long ways off. Chrissy did not handle the news well at first. Since I have read up on all these medications, I was aware that the new medication can cause a cardiac condition known as Long QT syndrome. When I brought that up to the doctor, she became upset. They ran an EKG to make sure I am not at risk, and I will start sometime this week!

More Fame!

Hey all! I was notified that my blog was judged to be one of the top cancer blogs of 2010 (award on right). I want to thank the annonymous person who nominated me. I just want to say, this award is for you, my fans. Without your encouragement, support, love, devotion, thoughtfullness, well wishes, smiles, gifts of charity, humorous quotes, etc... I wouldn't be standing here in front of you today. (Pause for applause).

I just want you all to know that because of your support, I feel that we all have Leukemia and are going through this together! (that came out wrong, but you know what I mean.)

I have recently discovered many secrets of life through my journey and I am going to share them with you right now. The first and most important is that you must ALWAYS........ (music starts up letting me know my time is done, then cut to Old Spice commercial)

Old Spice Commercial

Docs Appointment and fame.

Yesterdays Dr. appointment.....went good! He comes in with test results, says everything is progressing at a good rate in the right direction, and seems kind of guilty he doesn't have to spend more time talking to me. He does some feeling around for swollen lymph nodes, asks about any ill effects, seems happy and sends me on my way.

I also had an article done about me in the Kane Republican. It was for the Relay for Life series. When you check it out, please be aware that even though the paper has had my face in it MANY times for concerts, festivals, etc....the caption under the picture read "Joe Thornburg, center, was diagnosed with Chronice Myeloid Leukemia, a treatable form of the disease."

Article here!

Ummmm......

No news is good news! Maybe sometime in the future I can have some plot twists, introduce some new characters, keep you all in suspense. But for now,I don't have a reason to post here every few days. Leaving for Cape Hatteras in a few days with Mom, Brother, Wife, Sister and the GREAT UMBERTO (he is allowed to travel out of Nashville now that he is no longer an illegal alien, thank you Arizona).

On the way down, we will be stopping to see Rog-DM, Q, and hopefully Chowderhead.

Peace!

A shout out!

This shout out goes to Courtney a.k.a."St. Courtney" a.k.a. "Fleet Week." She was the bartender at the hotel in Oil City who made sure the pub stayed open for the thirsty directors. Thanks Courtney!

Happy Anniversary!

Today is my first anniversary! No cake, no special dinner, no going out. One year ago, I was told I had Leukemia. All in all, I am doing VERY well. When I was first diagnosed, I was a mess inside. I read all this stuff on the Internet about "5 year survival varies, but is around 35-50%" I read horror stories of people on this medicine having headaches for days, severe fluid retention, platelets dropping or rising, muscle cramps that would keep people in bed, etc...



I have had some mild to moderate side effects, but nothing debilitating. I have put on weight, but have recently started to exercise to try to fight it. It is still hard for me to look 3-4 years down the road. I just take things day by day now. I have changed some personality wise, for better or worse. I have become much more accepting of people and especially students. I don't fret about little things like my flutes not being able to play a passage as well as I would like, or the fact that sometimes my friends are going to make poor decisions. I enjoy kids idiosyncrasies now and find it interesting to see how they interact with each other. I don't fret about money as much. I enjoy little things like snuggle time with honeybear, or having a Guinness (which I found out and confirmed is considered a lite-beer).

When I first started, I really looked forward to writing on this blog to give you all good news. Now, I just hope I can continue posting every 2-3 months with "nothing is new." I appreciate all the comments from friends and people who have found this blog through other avenues. Alright, now that all the sappy-happy crap is out of the way, time for what you all came here for (no, not hardcore pornography)...cool youtube clips! Enjoy...

Bobsled Top 10

Mr. Rogers Censored

Evan Lysacek Top 10