I am happy to report that we are still trending in the right direction. The spleen is still down. My stomach is almost as flat as my fitness self. More importantly, I can eat normal sized meals again. My appetite has returned and I am craving some of my favorite cuisines again – Ethiopean, Korean, […]

I started taking the Zanubrutinib (Brand Name: Brukinsa) last Monday evening. 2 80mg capsules in the morning, 2 at night. One week in – I have no negative side effects, the spleen is down to the point where I can lie on my stomach in bed for the first time since November, I’m off the […]

It’s official – we are moving from first line (the Rituximab + chemotherapy drugs) to second line therapy. I have a much better shot at getting relief with the new drug, Zanubrutinib. Zanubrutinib is a BTK (Bruton Tyrosine Kinase) Inhibitor. Mantle Cell Lymphoma is a B-Cell Lymphoma. The rough idea behind the BTK Inhibitors is […]

The spleen has gotten worse since the last update. It’s almost as swollen and sore as it was when I went into the hospital in January. I had hoped that it would go down over the week – no dice. The oncologist was not happy. He was also prepared. This is the same pattern we […]

As part of my last treatment – I received a Neulasta (Pegfilgrastim) injector. The Neulasta mitigates issues with my white blood cells and infections during chemotherapy. This device is a tool in my mission to stay out of the hospital during this treatment cycle. For this to work, there is a narrow window when the […]

I went through another round of treatment this week. The bone marrow biopsy results indicated we needed to make some adjustments to the plan and move quickly. The treatment plan now looks like this: 6 rounds of a chemoimmunotherapy protocol called RBAC – Rituximab/Bendamustine/Cytarabine The difference between this and our initial plan is that we […]

There are certain advantages to being a morning insomniac – such as being alert and awake when the oncologist calls you at 5:30am on a Tuesday morning telling you to go to the ER because your pre-treatment blood labs tell him that things are going sideways. Wake up the partner, go back to the Inova […]

Warning: You may find the images in this post uncomfortable. Needles and blood are shown. If you wish to just read the weekly update, scroll to the bottom of the page. As part of my cancer treatment, the oncologist requested that I get a Medi-Port installed. After an excruciating week post-treatment 1, I looked forward […]

In an ideal world, I would have had this initial PET Scan before going into the first treatment. Between being in the hospital, the cancer moving quickly, insurance approvals, and scheduling – we weren’t going to get this particular test done until after treatment 1. The day before, they asked me to go on a […]

Each of the three Rituximab/Bendamustine treatments will be spread out over 2 days. Treatment 1 happened February 10 and 11.  Day 1 is the long day – 8+ hours in the oncologists’ office sitting in a comfy chair as the oncologist and his staff manipulate bags of IV drugs. Day 2 is the short day […]