~find-a-kernel
Find a Kernel
$ ls tags/
16 results tagged #cancer clear
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02-18-24 4:06 pm
320 Days
It's been 320 days since my first surgery. Over these ten months I went through two surgeries, six weeks of radiation, and eight weeks of head and neck rehab. The last few weeks have been good ones. No sign of tongue cancer so far. I'm feeling good enough now to get back to posting some fun stuff...
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08-04-26 1:30 pm
About Me
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08-22-17 10:00 pm
Blood Cancer Journey
If you are reading this while facing your own diagnosis, know this: you are not alone.
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05-16-12 5:00 pm
Blood Disease, What? Me?!?
August 2011 through May 2012 Something Was Not Right Even before August 2011, people often asked if I was okay. "You look pale." "You look tired." I was always tired. I assumed I was just busy. I worked hard. I helped others before helping myself. I spent time hiking, trail racing, bicycli...
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06-27-12 6:00 pm
Induction Chemotherapy
May 2012 thru June 2012 Part of Research Before starting treatment, I participated in a cancer clinical trial. I have always believed in helping others, and I wanted to contribute in any way I could for future cancer patients. Clinical trials are research studies designed to find better ways to...
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08-14-12 8:30 pm
Consolidation Chemotherapy
July 2012 thru August 2012 HiDAC While still being evaluated for a matched unrelated donor transplant, I was re-admitted on July 8 for consolidation chemotherapy with high-dose ara-C, known as HiDAC. Because of the high dose, I had to pass cerebellar and neurotoxicity checks before each treatm...
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09-28-12 3:45 pm
High Dose Myeloablative Chemotherapy & Bone Marrow Transplant
August 2012 thru September 2012 More Warnings On August 14, my family, including Jolynn, Ando, my parents, and my brother, met with Dr. Matsui to review the bone marrow stem cell transplant and its potential side effects. For me, much of it repeated what Dr. Schweizer had already explained the...
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11-21-12 8:00 am
Acute Graft versus Host Disease
September 2012 thru November 2012 Tummy Pain On September 30, my stomach started hurting badly. The pain came in waves. I had constant diarrhea and could barely eat. Even touching my stomach hurt. I vomited several times. I called IPOP and explained what was happening. They paged a doctor,...
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01-14-14 4:30 pm
Recovering and Moving On
December 2012 thru January 2014 A Card from My Unknown Genetic Twin At the end of December, I received a card in the mail from my donor. Because of hospital policy, I was not allowed to know who my donor was for one year. Her name had been blacked out before the card reached me. From the handw...
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08-22-17 9:00 am
Five Years Later
January 2014 thru August 2017 Five Years Later It has been five years since my bone marrow stem cell transplant. So far, there have been no issues with my blood. I often think back to 2012 and 2013. Those years feel both distant and close at the same time. People sometimes ask me if I woul...
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02-19-26 6:30 pm
Tongue Cancer Journey
If you are reading this while facing your own diagnosis, know this: you are not alone.
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03-27-23 9:30 pm
Cancer Again?!?
Fall 2022 through April 2023 Recurring Ulcers on My Tongue For about a year or two, I kept going to Patient First because of recurring ulcers on the right side of my tongue. They tried different medications, but none of them really helped. I may have convinced myself at times that they did, but...
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04-05-23 10:15 pm
First Surgery: Tongue Resection & Skin Grafting
April 2023 Options I received an email from Dr. Pierce the day after meeting him, just as he promised. He was trying to fit me into the operating room the following week if possible. The challenge was staffing. They often do not allow surgeries to go past 5 PM unless absolutely necessary. He g...
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05-09-23 9:45 pm
Second Surgery: Neck Dissection
April 2023 through May 2023 Oklahoma or Bust We left in the afternoon on April 6 and headed for Oklahoma. Jolynn drove because I was on medications. I tried to keep her company as best as I could. It was almost funny. She was taking care of me on the road. Making sure I was comfortable and res...
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07-13-23 8:30 pm
Radiation Treatment
May 2023 through July 2023 Must Continue Three weeks after the surgery, with Jolynn still in the hospital, I had to keep going with my treatment and continue working full time. Thankfully, Ando was there to help me. I met Dr. Adedamola Omogbehin, known as Dr. Mola, a radiation oncologist, on M...
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02-20-26 10:00 pm
Slow Recovery
July 2023 through February 2026 Follow Up with Doctors and a Dentist I continued follow-ups with Dr. Pierce and Dr. Mola. I had a PET-CT in October 2023. Another injection of radioactive tracer. Everything appeared good, despite lingering pain since surgery. Dr. Pierce warned me the pain mig...