Merry Christmas!!! Notice I didn't say "Happy Holidays"??? We have gotten so politically correct that the holidays we have grown up with are being diluted for the sake of not offending anyone. True, the USA is made up of all different nationalities and religions but I reserve the right to be able to wish anyone a Merry Christmas without being crucified just as my Jewish friends can wish me a Happy Hanukkah, my Muslim friends can wish me a Happy Ramadan and my African American friends can wish me a Happy Kwanzaa. At the end we are all wishing each other the best for the holidays.
Things are progressing well medically wise. I'm into my 3rd week of the new chemo pills with little side effects. I also am feeling a little more energy. Potassium and calcium are still teetering back and forth so hopefully today's blood test will show progress. Also need to carefully monitor my liver enzymes as this chemo is hard my the liver. My only issue with this new regiment is I'm am not able to drink grapefruit juice (I love grapefruit juice and usually drink a gallon a week) as it intensifies the drug effects in your blood stream (which results in worse side effects). I just read an interesting paper written by two physicians at the U of C Medical Center on the very subject. In a nut shell the drug company that developed this chemo and wrote the protocol for trial testing states you have to wait one hour before or after eating when taking the pills as well as no grapefruit juice. I take five 250mg pills or 1250mg at a time. If I would be able to take them with grapefruit juice or a high fat meal I would probably be able to only take between 250mg and 500mg and have the same coverage with less side effects (i.e. diarrhea, etc). But since the drug cost $5,000/month for 150 pills reducing it to 30 - 60 pills would greatly decrease their PROFITS!!! So unless they run another trial with a different protocol (which you know they won't) we pay the price.
I wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I hope you all have magical holidays whatever you do.
Until next time keep those feet moving and KEEP DANCIN'!
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