Monday I paid my my monthly visit to the Farber. The news is still good! My blood work came out fine and I got the printout of my annual bone marrow biopsy pathology report. In my last post, I mentioned that the bone marrow aspirate contained 7% plasma cells. I lied. Actually, it was 8%. Last year it was 6%. I asked Mary about this, and she said that Paul Richardson had reviewed the report and said it is no problem. Whew! I still find that a little worrisome, however, since the standard criterion for complete remission is less than 5% plasma cells. I might just have a little chat with Paul about this one of these days.
The best thing about the bone marrow pathology report was the conclusion: "Diagnostic features of involvement by a plasma cell neoplasm are not seen". I find it amusing to read doctor speak. Notice the circumlocution and passive voice of this sentence. It's as if the author doesn't want to take actual responsibility for this conclusion and chooses to cloak it in obfuscatory language (like what I did just now).
So what is a neoplasm anyway? It sounds a bit ominous. The term "neoplasm" is medical terminology for abnormal cell growth. So why couldn't they just have said simply, "We found no abnormal plasma cells"? That would be straight to the point. I guess that wouldn't sound erudite enough for the medical community, so they have to use pompous officious-sounding verbiage to impress one another. I've gotten used to reading this kind of crappola over the last number of years of research and trying to translate it into understandable English. Anyway, hurray! I'm closing in on 5 years since my initial diagnosis and it's all good!
Only 4 days to go until the MMRF Boston 5K Walk/Run event in South Boston! I'm overwhelmed that we have over 30 registered participants who plan to either run or walk with us in support of Team Epic for Bill on Sunday. I'm also pleased that our fundraising is going very well, with over $9,000 of contributions to date. We're still a little short of our $10,000 goal, but I am delighted with the outpouring of support we have gotten for this worthy cause. I am very thankful for the many family members and friends who have made donations. Because of our successful fundraising efforts, the MMRF has designated Team Epic for Bill as a "Top Team", so they will provide us with our own tent where our team can congregate. Great!
It's still not too late to make a donation! Here is the website:
http://support.themmrf.org/site/TR/RaceforResearch/General?team_id=41495&pg=team&fr_id=2362
The weather is supposed to be good on Sunday with no rain and temperatures in the 50s. This should be a lot of fun! After the race, we will host a brunch gathering at the Coppersmith restaurant in South Boston. It's a way to say Thank You for those who are taking the time and effort to participate in this event.
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