Tag Archives: velcade

Looking back at 2021

Posted in Blood test, budgets, California, camping, cancer, minimalism, Myeloma, swimming, travel, Uncategorized, Walking by

For us, 2021 was a really great year in spite of Covid. For lots of people, it was horrible but we managed to accomplish some very BIG Goals. # 1 was buying Rubi( the RV), which was exactly what we wanted), then Chevy, after realizing the Santa Fe was just not going to cut it with towing, and then going on camping trips especially the new addition of Refugio State Beach.

I started chemo in January, 3 weeks on 1 week off until June. My numbers went back into the normal range almost immediately after just the first treatment but you still need to do the full course of 6 rounds. I’ve had a great 6 months but my numbers are now slightly out of high normal so it’s a matter of how quickly they will increase. I’m waiting now for this week’s labs, so we’ll see. My guess is I’ll be back on Velcade in June. Amazingly, last time ( 2016) I had 4 1/2 years of remission. Not this time and it’s questionable how long Velcade will work before it’s on to the next treatment option. Well, that’s not today so…

I m swimming in March and I continue to love it. I wish I could get more than the 2-3 times a week in but it’s just too far and too much gas to do more than that. But it is incredible.

We did quite a few projects around the house and yard including the privacy fence along the driveway. We replaced the sunroom windows that were water damaged and will do the other 2 this summer. We redid the whole laundry room. It still needs some siding up around the window and I’ll bug my son to finish that when the weather is nicer. Let’s see, what else… I painted the bathroom, and ??? I’m sure there are more things…

Today is New Year’s Eve. We’re going to have the fondue we didn’t use for Christmas and I think to watch the new Witcher series. We had a lovely walk this morning and still no dog walker. That’s very odd, so we think either he got covid or moved?? We never knew his name so can’t check it out. But really it is wonderful to not have him stomping by or trying to run us off the path. Still, he is a dark walker( early morning) so there’s that connection. Not many people do that.

I plan to go to Target tomorrow as I need my calendars for 2022. I like their very simple inexpensive ones. Not sure they’ll have any left but I’ll try there first. I do plan a no-spend January but that’s just extra stuff that I don’t need( like candles). My January budget is set including the increase of our Part D Medicare plans.

I lost count of how many books I read , maybe 75? 100? I read a lot so I don’t think it really matters how many. Sometimes I read 3 books a week. It all depends on the type of book. Maybe I’ll keep count next year except I have tried that and then give up because it starts to be too many.

Velcade, Round 5, shot #3.

Posted in cancer, cooking, Walking by

Today is my shot 3 and the last in this round. I’m really glad to be over this. I had another day of what I think is, toxic overload, and I feel just kind of lousy for a day. It does pass but it’s the only thing that I can think of that would randomly occur. This has happened twice before on day 3 or 4 after my shot so I’m pretty sure it’s connected. Today I won’t take Dex because tomorrow we need to be at the RV dealer and I cannot deal with stuff if on Dex. So I’ll have to delay it till tomorrow afternoon. It’ll be interesting to see how I feel without the dex after my shot.

Things are moving along with the RV purchase. Today after my shot I will meet B over at the dealer to leave the Santa Fe to get the anti- sway bar put on and trailer brakes. I’m definitely concerned about towing with the SF but it is what it is and by all accounts it should be able to do it. I think, though, next year we will have to look at a used truck. We can’t use any more savings this year so hopefully all will be fine till we can get a truck. I’m also pretty sure going up to Tahoe will be SLOW. It’s quite the climb and towing will be a challenge I’m sure. Going down toward Capitola though the only real climb is Hwy 17 and we can actually go down to Watsonville and bypass 17, so we probably will do that.

I’ve been cleaning out the fridge and freezer and using up odds and ends. I’m writing some menus based on what to use and it’s going well. I had to throw out some moldy cheese that I didn’t get to but that’s ok. so far we’ve had green chili enchiladas, nachos with beans, peppers and sausage( not yet but soon), and breakfast for dinner as we have lots of eggs.

Walking is going fine and we are out there at 5:30am. AH is still there and doesn’t seem to ever take a break. After running into B last week he has backed off when he passes us and stays somewhat to the right. He never apologized or anything but after that incident he has stayed more to the right. He was walking in the middle of the path with his dog on his right when he knocked shoulders with B. B could have fallen and hurt something. Anyway, we’re walking and it’s all okay.

Here’s a couple of photos of the Ooni pizzas

This was the best one that I made for lunch a few days later.

This was the marguerite. There’s definitely a learning curve but I quickly was able to time each pizza and turn. It’s about 60 seconds for the first turn and then about 20-30 seconds for the second and third turns.

Velcade, Round 5, shot #1

Posted in California, cancer, cooking, home stuff, Multiple myeloma, Myeloma, pets, travel, Walking by

I went down to Rocklin yesterday and started the next round. It went fine except I couldn’t remember which side of my belly they gave the last one. I’m fairly bruised up on both sides so I’m not sure it really matters. Then, Barclay had come with me, we headed down to the RV camping world to look at a Coleman. I will share the outcome tomorrow. We’ve been pretty set on an R pod, but there are absolutely none available within 3 hours, so then we looked a a new model of Coleman that an SUV can pull. It’s nice.

Today is Dex day and yesterday I took the 12mg ,down from 16mg and today feel good. Not too dexed out. I even walked 2 rounds at the park and wasn’t short of breath. ( a dex side effect). So I’m very pleased with the results. He said I could even try 8mg. The reason being is that since I’m back in the normal range of things, Dex isn’t as crucial in bonding with Velcade. It’s still important just that I can do well with less. So I’m pretty happy with that.

Today is just a puttering around day. I watered my plants, and ‘m cooking a chicken in the oven for tonight. I plan on making a potato salad and we still have some lovely asparagus from Costco. I wanted to try a new way of baking tofu too I read about in the NYT. You wrap the tofu in a paper towel then microwave it and it removes the moisture. Then you bake with tamari and oil. It’s worth a try. I usually just press it with a cast iron top.

We are all excited to have a cat show up near our barn. It is getting friendlier. We checked all the missing cats on our neighborhood watch but nothing showed up. She’s( we think it’s a she) has been her @ 10 days.

Not the best photo, but she’s cute and is now sitting inside the barn door. My son , who is NOT, a big animal person has really taken this on. First he named her Sgt Pepper, which I liked, then he didn’t think it fit her so now she’s Siri. I do hope she sticks around as we could really use a barn cat.

Friday Things and back from Capitola!

Posted in Blood test, California, camping, cooking, travel, Uncategorized by

We had a great trip to New Brighton State Beach.

The weather was picture perfect too. Lots of sun and temperatures in the high 60’s and low 70’s.

The ride down took about 4 hours and the only real traffic was near Los Gatos going over Hwy 17.

We thought it an accident but turned out just tons of people going to Santa Cruz. All in all a nice drive down. We got there and set up in out spot.

We did both realize that we really are going to have to get a new/used trailer as this one has seen better days. But we do still love it and it has taken us lots of places. At New Brighton, there are showers and bathrooms so a tent trailer works fine.

The view from the upper cliffs in the campground.

We had lots of good food. The first night was beans, macaroni salad and hot dogs. The next night we had BBQ chicken/tofu, twice baked potatoes from Gayles and salad. We had a pizza night order but it was terrible. Do NOT go to Village Pizza in Capitola. The last night we had bean tacos with trimmings. A lodge dinner would have been fun but I hadn’t really planned it out.

Another view from the bluffs.

Tuesday we drove over to Santa Cruz and walked the lighthouse trail.

This where the surfers go in the water to catch waves.

Nope, not a surfer:)

Gayles was great and I bought a bunch of treats to bring home including a loaf of their Capitola Sourdough sandwich bread. Delicious.

Today is my last shot of this round. Velcade Round 4, shot 3. I plan on putting together a falafel dinner so my son can cook that up later. I’ll take Dex after lunch.

The weekend will be low profile as I’ll be out of it tomorrow. Sunday I’ll do my Flylady chores.

Happy St. Patrick’s day

Posted in California, cancer, cooking, freezer cooking, home stuff, meal planning, Myeloma, reading, Uncategorized by

That really does say it all.

Today is Velcade day. Round 3, shot #2.

This last cycle has been a little tougher. Not sure why. I feel a little more run down even though my labs are ok. My lymphocytes are a little low but not out of normal. Maybe it’s just a build up of stuff in my system.

I had a good drive down to the infusion center. They are very nice and very with it. I decided to go back into Costco before my appt for two reasons. One, they had some sweats on sale for $10 and I bought one the other day and they fit nice and are heavy enough for cold morning walks so I wanted a second pair. Since my wardrobe is very limited and small when I like something I try and buy multiples. The other reason is I had seen a nice rug for B’s office ( our entryway) and it was just $50. That’s for a 5×7 rug which is an excellent price. Costco was very empty even compared to Monday when we went and I was in and out in 15 minutes.

This morning I started chopping vegetables for Tucson stew which we are having tonight. We’ve had this on rotation almost every 2 weeks, it’s that good. My daughter will make some brown rice later. Then after I got home I made up some taco meat( from last night) pintos, cheese burritos to freeze.

Then I had a piece of steak I’d defrosted and needed to use so I cut it up into small pieces and cooked it over high heat. It seared nicely. I’m not sure what I use it for but it’s done. My son was thinking of a beef stew/shepherd’s pie. So now I’m relaxing till I take Dex about 1 or so.

Exciting news!! Our garden shed showed up yesterday. It’s wrapped in plastic so if it rains it should be ok. Plus we got our stimulus money so that amount covers the price of the shed( $999 on sale, plus tax). There’s enough left to save some and maybe start buying what we need for the barn fence.

Well, I’m off to read some before Dex time.:)

Friday’s things…

Posted in California, cooking, covid-19, Multiple myeloma, Myeloma, simple foods by

This was the big day. I got my second vaccine. HIP HIP HOORAY!!!!

Barclay got his yesterday and only had a sore arm so I’m hoping that’s all I get. I will report back though.

I ordered raspberries, asparagus,,blueberry plants from Johnny’s. I decided that we should have an asparagus patch after all this time. It will take a few years to produce but that’s ok. We have lots of golden raspberries but last year when I tried to make jam it just didn’t come out very well. Maybe too many seeds even after I strained them out and the flavor fresh was great but not so much as a jam.

This week I made the Mediterranean white bean soup again and man, it is so good.

Then I made a big batch of granola.

I also whipped a batch of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I didn’t get a picture of them and now they are all gone.

Tonight is pizza night and we’re going to order out. I’m gonna leave it to my son to decide where he wants to get it. We don’t do take out very often so I’m okay with $30+ for pizzas although homemade is pennies on the dollar.

I need to do a shop in the next few days as we are out of a lot of things. I’m thinking Trader Joe’s as it’s been ages since we’ve been there.

Our neighbor( old Leo who’s 95) fell again in his house. His son was there so he called 911 but he did break his hip in 2 places. It’s unlikely he will come home again. We need to be ready with fencing along the driveway as once Leo is gone his son will put the house on the market. Our driveway is right along his property line and too close for us as we see his parking area( which is quite big). We are concerned that some ‘rednecks’ will buy it as it is not the greatest house or property. If we had the money we would buy it but sadly we don’t. Oh well.

I start my next round of Velcade next week. My doctor visit was good. He didn’t say anything about our ‘plan’ but there’s time yet. I figure this is round 3, so at least thru to round 4. All good.

Velcade, Round 2, shot #3 or 6 depending on how you look at it.

Posted in Blood test, cancer, Multiple myeloma, Myeloma by

The ride down to Rocklin was uneventful. It’s a bit windy here and there but temps still nice.

They had tried to call me about needing labs but I had blocked their number by accident so I didn’t get it but it was fine. They just took blood and did the labs there. At least I don’t hve to go in Monday then for that.

On the way home I stopped at Flour Garden Bakery and bought some bagels to bring home. We haven’t been in for ages and it was nice to see them busy. Only patio setting but still good their still in business. We started going to FG in the early 1980’s when it was just a tiny shop. After Sachi was born in 1985, many of us ‘new parents’ had coffee and bagels there. Funny note: Sachi would ( eventually) have a sliver of bagel with a whole pat of butter. She loved the butter.:)

Speaking of which, she is making dinner of spaghetti and meatballs with a broccoli salad.

Anyway, all is good. The dex is starting to hit so I’m off for now.

Velcade, Round 2, shot #2.

Posted in cancer, cooking, covid-19, instant pot recipes, Myeloma, Uncategorized by

Today is my next shot and it should go quickly. I still have bruised areas from the other shot but eventually it will fade. Also there is still some foot neuropathy going on but it’s not too bad. That just doesn’t go away quickly. It can take months after treatment has ended but I’m ok with it at this point.

Yesterday my daughter got her first Covid vaccine. so hurray!! Just a sore arm so that’s good. It actually went really quickly so these health care workers and those coordinating are doing a phenomenal job.

My son got back from Tahoe and went and had a rapid covid test and it was negative. But he’s still only coming in the house for food and bathroom breaks. Tomorrow he goes for the 24 hr test so then he’s in the clear, I hope.

I made the other Seville orange marmalade and I think the recipe is better. It came out properly jelled so maybe it was using the candy thermometer that did it. You want the temperature at 220 or 218 about and then it jells. It definitely did that.

I’m making a mediterranean white bean soup for dinner. I soaked the beans yesterday and put in the IP this morning. So far when I tasted it,it is delicious! I had B pick up a Truckee Sourdough baguette to have with it and I will grill up some sausage if the meat eaters want that too. Actually my daughter will do the rest as after I take dex this afternoon I’m not good for much.

Round 1, Velcade, shot #2

Posted in Blood test, bread, cancer, cooking, Myeloma by

I was able to watch the swearing in of Harris and Biden and it really brought me to tears.

Then I left to go to Rocklin for shot #2 and was able to listen to quite a bit on the radio.

This nurse wasn’t quite as good as the first one. She did a blood draw which they need to check my WPC and RBC and she didn’t seem very seasoned in where a vein was on my arm. They do it always in the same place at Quest so not sure what her thing was but she did it and did leave a bruise. A good draw never leaves a mark at all.

This is the injection site. The red lasts maybe 3-4 days. Yesterday she did the opposite side and did leave a little bruising. So the other nurse did seemed to do a better injection. Other than that no complaints and of course, I just want it to work again.

I made a loaf of sourdough seed bread. It came out very nice.

I also made a chocolate sheet pan cake and it’s disappeared so I guess it was good.

Today is just a home day due to dex but I hope to get a few things done.

I should know better than to do business, so I went to pay a bill and and instead of putting in Feb 1st( due date) I left it as today. So I had to move money over from savings to cover it as it will come out tomorrow. Oh well, just a reminder that dex messes with your mind:)

Happy Birthday to me!!

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Actually, I’m a little surprised to still be here.  When I was diagnosed in 2005 with myeloma, the average survival rate was 3-5 years. I remember my first radiation appointment and the radiation oncologist said oh, 3-5 years survival. I just about fell over right there.  But here I am. And even more amazing, after 5 years of Revlimid and then Pomalyst for 6 months, I started Velcade and voila… I am in remission.  Six sessions of Velcade or over 7 months.  who knew. Pretty amazing and I am enjoying it for all it’s worth. I know I’ll relapse again, but for now, I’m a pretty happy camper. Although getting older means more aches and arthritis stuff, generally I feel good.

My son made me an amazing breakfast with cinnamon rolls, eggs, cheesy hashbrowns, and bacon. Yumm. Plus some lovely gifts.

Tonight is pizza night which I am cooking!  I’m going to do a marguerite one,  a bacon and chicken one, and ?  I’ve been cutting the pizza dough in thirds and that seems to be just the right size.