Approaching One Year

It's been almost a year since I was diagnosed with CLL. Looking back it was pretty hellacious, but I continue to do well and my doctor is very, very pleased. She was very excited by the numbers from my last CBC. I'm out shooting a great deal and posting to Flickr. In fact I finally posted the Alcatraz essay to my Flickr page this past weekend. You can see it here.

Next month on the 17th I'm planning a special post here. I think I'll manage it, so stay tuned.

Thanks for staying in touch. - Dave

An Update From Dave

Shooting down town with Anna. Our reflection in a window. Anna's first roll of cross processed film. ©2008 Anna L. Conti

Thanks for all the e-mail, calls and comments on the blogs.

Things are going well. Anna and I have been busy working and getting life back on an even track. Since ending chemo in September or October the side affects have diminished and I've recovered from the anemia. I have more energy than I've had in years. In the past few weekends I've taken long walks racking up 3 to 4 miles a day. It's hard to sit still these days.

The last biopsy, taken in January, indicated that the CLL was down to less than 5%. That's better than my Doc had hoped for. She would have been happy with 10%. But I figured why mess around ;-) The Rituxan therapy is easy, no side affects, just four hours with my feet up, once every two months. I'm hoping that the Rituxan and new therapies being tested will keep me in remission for a long time. Fingers crossed.

The blood clot in my leg is slowly reducing it's self. My leg still looks like a tree stump by the end of the day, but it could be worse. (This is unrelated to the CLL and due to years of living with badly injured knees.)

Hanging out in Dale Erickson's studio. ©2008 Anna L. Conti

Generally I'm feeling great. I'm going to work at the Museum every day (actually I never stopped working...needed the health insurance), taking walks in the evenings, hikes on the weekends, and shooting a lot. So it's all good news.

If we don't post frequently that's only because little is changing right now. But we will try to post regularly without boring you to distraction. Send e-mail and leave comments. I'm always glad to hear from you and trade thoughts.

Dave