One Quarter Blind

New Year's Eve

Took a couple of pictures on Colorado Blvd.  I was coming back from Quizno's, and I saw a bunch of Wisconsin fans.  That's still irritating for me ... Michigan State beat them 34-24, but they shit the bed on one game, losing Iowa 37-6 a few weeks later, and it wasn't even that close.  The Hawkeyes were up 30-0 in the first half, and that is what completely changed the BCS system for the Badgers.  Since the Spartans, Badgers and the Buckeyes tied at 7-1 conference, the Badgers were actually won the bid for the Rose Bowl.

Hence ...

And here ...

Thanks guys!  Tonight, I'll have to drink a little more.  ;)

 

 

lee

 

Black Swan

After I only saw "Inception" in theaters for most of 2010 (I saw that twice), I finally went to the theater through the holidays to see "Tron: Legacy," "Black Swan," and "True Grit." 

I still think that "Inception" is the best movie I've seen in a while, but "Black Swan" was really close, a psychological thriller that showed something different for Natalie Portman that I wasn't expecting.  Different range for her, especially towards the second half.  So fragile for her.  I loved it.

Finished the fourth infusion on last Monday, eight more to go.  This one was easier ... not easy, just easier.  Taking Ritatin for three days after the infusion helped, and it felt like I could control myself a little more.

The funny thing is, the only thing that makes me feel "off" is just when I take the chemo, nothing more.  When I get to back to normal, I feel completely fine.    That's just the in-between days where I know I have to adjust.  

 

lee 

 

 

 

Rain, Rain, Never Goes Away

It's raining and cold .... and while I know that the most of the rest of the world couldn't give a shit about "coldness" while every one else has to deal with real cold and snow, it is still annoying that it's been dry for the longest time, and it gets wet, no one in that area remembers to adjust their brakes when it rains.

I had a MRI on Wednesday ... no change with the new frontal lobe spot.  Dr. Rudnick told Dana and I that sometimes those MRI's are too soon to fully understand where Irinotecan is really working, but the object is that it makes a lot more sense to be aggressive and diligent as opposed to do nothing.  Because of that, we'll know a little more in February with the next MRI.  

I took Avastin and Irinotecan two weeks ago, and then I'll take #4 on Monday, then I don't have to deal with that again until after the New Year's.  The first infusion was the harshest anyway ... it's getting easier with every subsequent infusion.  Although, getting easier isn't the same as being completely easy.  I had already got the prescription for Ritalin for a stimulus to help with the tiredness, but I hadn't taken it yet, so Rudnick explained it in more detail, so for the next infusion, between hydration and Ritalin, I should be able to adjust even more positively.

lee

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Artist:  Mogwai

Album:  The Hawk is Howling

Track:  I'm Jim Morrison, I'm Dead

 

01 I'm Jim Morrison, I'm Dead

 

 

 

Irinotecan + Bevacizumab (Avastin)

 

I saw this website though Google News, regarding about the Society for Neuro-Oncology (SNO) 15th Anniversary.  

 

        December 1, 2010 (Montreal, Quebec) — A large study of patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme suggests that the addition of 2 agents — bevacizumab and irinotecan — to standard chemoradiation can extend survival, compared with historic controls.

 Of course, at least one doctor is upset about the fact that this study is too wide.  

"It's flatly outrageous. It should not have been done," he said in an interview with Medscape Medical News after the session. Dr. van den Bent is past chair of the European Organization of Research and Treatment Brain Tumor Group, and professor of neuro-oncology at the Daniel den Hoed Cancer Center, Erasmus University, in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

I guess I'm most curious about this is, it's always about newly diagnosed patients.  With the combination of Irinotecan and Avastin, it is also new for me, as well, but I'm no longer one of the most recent patients who are hoping to extend to 20 months.  I'm just starting to add Irinotecan after two and a half years with a (still) great success with Avastin, and for a long time, Tarceva (no longer working, hence the need to start with Irinotecan).  

I have another MRI with Dr. Rudnick on December 15, 2010, after I have a third infusion at Dr. Nassir's clinic on Tuesday.  Rudnick told Dana and I that the next MRI results might be too soon to truly know if we're see good improvement with this new spot.  I'm kind of irritated that I didn't go to imaging center at Cedars after I had the MRI and pick-up a CD.  I'll definitely be doing that this time, because I had actually get both of those scans, and see if there's a clear difference.

 

lee

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Band:  This Will Destroy You

Track:  Threads

 

 

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