Cal Drive Great!!

Although my last entry was a bit of a downer, I do have some really good days that lift my spirits. For example, our Cal Bone Marrow Drive was a huge success. Over the 2-day drive we got 344 people registered. Additionally, over 75% of the people who registered were ethnic minorities. These are amazing results! I am so grateful to the student volunteers that spent hours under the scorching sun to flyer (I haven't sweat that much in a long time). I was impressed at how effective the volunteers were at explaining the process and alleviating people's fears about donating. Everyone did an amazing job.

Thanks to all of the volunteers and people who got registered. Special thanks to Tony Tran (Lambdas), Chen Lu (Engineers Joint Council) and Brandon Hogstad for their extra hard work. Lastly a gigantic thank you and hug to Glenna Lee from AADP for helping me spearhead the event.

This event really showed me that the success of a drive depends on good marketing, good location and most importantly good support from the sponsor group. Who else is excited about Cal Bone Marrow Drive Spring 2008???? :D

P.S. Please check upcoming drives on our calendar. We are going to have a busy November. Additionally, there are a bunch of drives this coming Saturday, November 4th, in Houston hosted by the Lend A Hand VYO, Inc. If you can't make any of these, check out AADP's website for a full listing of upcoming drives in the Bay Area.

I feel like a Blob

Lately, I look back on the day and I get bummed that I really have nothing to show for all of the free time Leuk has given me. Pre-Leuk, my plate of life used to be filled to the brim with work, community service, outdoor activities, exercising, dancing, performing, etc, etc. I used to love checking off a loooong laundry list of to-dos because it made me feel like I was being productive. I know that I am the only one that can motivate myself to get off the couch and make myself useful, but I am just so drained, unmotivated and lazy. A part of me doesn't want to do anything until my counts stabilize and I get the results of my bone marrow biopsy (hopefully in 3 more weeks). I hope I get out of this funk soon because it is turning into a downward spiral of negative energy and it is doing a number on my self esteem.

Cal Bone Marrow Drive!!!!!

We are hosting a big bone marrow drive at UC Berkeley Tuesday and Wednesday of this week (10/24 - 10/25) from 10am-3pm on Upper Sproul near Sather Gate. We also have a 2nd location at the Campanile. I am extremely excited about this drive because we have 10 different student organizations who are co-hosting the event (Lamdas, AXiO, PAPhi, Sigmas, SOPi, VSA, APhiO, SASC, Engineers Joint Council, AAHC). ASUC granted us some money which we used to make really nice t-shirts and flyers. A big THANK YOU to all of the students volunteers who have worked on this event.

Please help us spread the word to anyone you know who goes to Cal or lives in the Berkeley area. Since this is a college campus drive ANYONE (does not have to be a student) can register for FREE (it normally costs $52 for Caucasians to register because there is federal funding for ethnic minorities only).

My fingers are crossed for good weather and a good turn out!

P.S. Our registered donor count is up to 934 after a great bone marrow drive at my sister Melanie's sorority where we got 49 of her sorority sisters to register. Thank you Cal AOPi!!

I love technology

From: MAYKIN,MICHELLE K

Sent: 10/17/2007 12:39 PM
To: Office of Dr. X
Subject: 10/17/07 WBC Count

Hi Dr. X,

I gave myself 2 shots on 10/10 and 10/11 like I normally do when my wbc dips. However, it looks like it's dipping again and today my wbc is 1.9 with an ANC of 874. Should I give myself another shot of Neupogen?

Also, today at my blood draw appt my nurse suggested that I get a flu shot. She said that it is okay for neutropenic patients to get the flu shot, so I opted to get one. Just wanted to let you know.

Lastly, I was hoping to fly to LA this weekend for the UCLA vs Cal football game. Do you think I am well enough to go?

Thanks,
Michelle

RE: 10/17/07 WBC Count

To: Michelle K Maykin

From: Dr. X

Received: 10/17/07 3:30 PM

Yes, resume Neupogen PRN. I trust you and your understanding of your clinical state. Also, it's OK for you to go to LA.

----- Message -----

Above is a typical email that I send to my doctor whenever my counts are low so he can tell me how to proceed. I really appreciate the Kaiser email system because it is the easiest and fastest way to communicate with my oncologist. You can also get your blood results online so that you don't have to call the lab. It saves a lot of time. If only I could book my appointments online too.
As you can see, my white blood cells have not stabilized on their own yet. I am still giving myself periodical shots of Neupogen to boost my white blood cell counts. I am hoping by the end of this week my counts will stabilize. It's been a little over 4 weeks since my 5th round of chemo.

Marshawn Maykin

Meet my new puppy Marshawn. He is a lean, mean three pound barking machine. Van and I got him from a breeder in Nebraska just 2 weeks ago (10/3). It's hard to believe I've only had him for 16 days. It feels much longer because I spend all of my time with him. This puppy has had a very eventful October. He flew on a plane, went to the vet to get his last round of shots, got his hair did at the groomers, met over 80 people, slept in 3 different houses, had a puppy party to meet all of our friends, had 2 puppy playdates, and attended 2 puppy training classes. He is a great addition to our family.

During my last round of chemo, I made up my mind that I was ready to take on a puppy. I've been wanting a yorkshire terrier since college and I figured that now would be a good time to get one since I have some time off until I start working again. Hopefully by January Marshawn will be a well trained gentledog. I am proud to say that we already taught him how to sit, lie down, shake hands and roll over.

I'm sure some people out there think I'm foolish for not waiting until I'm completely "cured." I thought a lot about this and I realized that I can't put my life on pause until I'm clinically "cured" of cancer. I could relapse at any given moment so there will never be a perfect time to get a puppy. I also picked a yorkie because they are more hypo-allergenic than other dogs and they don't shed hair. I am making sure that this puppy is germ-free and clean at all times so my health is not compromised. I think my best friend Mabel put it best when I asked her if she thought I was being irresponsible for getting a dog. She said, "Dude, it's a dog. If it doesn't work out, you can always find it a good home." Ahh Mabes, always the voice of reason. Yorkies are the #2 most popular dog in the nation. Plus some of my friends have already fallen in love with Marshawn, so I know if something were to happen (knock on wood) Marshawn will be well taken cared of.

Missing Michelle

It has been a while since I've posted an entry. I've always said that it's very hard for me to write down my "feelings" on paper. Writing a post takes a lot longer for me than the average blogger. I erase about 50% of what I type because when I reread the material it just sounds lame, elementary or stupid. Written words don't flow from my fingers the way spoken words tend to spew out of my mouth (whether I want them to or not). I wish I was an amazing writer who could captivate my readers with earth-shattering, thought-provoking, profound and witty commentary on social issues, the meaning of life, and my "feelings." Honestly, I never would have considered writing in an online journal if it wasn't for Leuk. Please bear with me as my entries become more sporadic and infrequent. You really have to catch me on a good day when I'm feeling chatty for me to feel compelled to write something (this is one of those days).

Perhaps it's a good thing that I have less to say these days. That just means that my treatment is going so well I don't want to bore people with the minute details of Michelle's daily life. Honestly, it's not very exciting, but here's a breakdown if anyone's interested:

- draw blood every other day
- get transfusions if I'm low on platelets or red blood cells *No need since 10/4 when I got 2 units of blood :D
- take medicine twice a day
- try to rememer to eat 3 times a day
- try to remember to do my breathing/meditation exercises
- read other cancer patient's blogs
- send emails about bone marrow drives
- take care of my NEW puppy Marshawn Maykin (more about him in my upcoming entry)

Thanks everyone for visiting the site to look for my new posts. I know what it feels like to check someone's blog and be bummed that they haven't made a new post in a couple of days (or weeks). However, you can take my absence as a good sign that I am happily recuperating at home.

On a side note, I had my checkup appointment with my oncologist on 10/5 and he scheduled my next checkup for 11/2. He said that we are going to wait until all of my counts stabilize before he performs a bone marrow biopsy and takes out my groshong catheter. My white blood cells are still as stubborn as ever and they refuse to bounce back up. Luckily they are quite manageable with my Neupogen shots (more about this in my upcoming entry).

What happens when you are low on platelets?

My last post was about my platelet transfusion, but I want to take the time to talk a bit more about platelets. Platelets are a type of blood cell that helps your blood clot so you don't bleed out. People with a low platelets have bruises that seem to appear out of nowhere. A couple of months before I was diagnosed I noticed that I had a bunch of bruises on my legs. I thought maybe I was kicking the wall in my sleep or bumping into things without realizing. It turns out that my platelet count was only 10% of the normal level. I've heard cases where people who don't know they have leukemia will go to the dentist and their gums won't stop bleeding. When they go to the doctor's to have it checked out that's when they are diagnosed with leukemia. Bleeding gums and bruising are a few signs that you may be low on platelets - doesn't necessarily mean you have leukemia.


Platelet cells only live for a couple of days. Even if you get a platelet transfusion, you might be low again in just a few days. I always know when I am low on platelets because when I the area where I give myself shots on my stomach gets very bruised from the needles. Here are some pictures from a blood draw just 2 days after my platelet transfusion. (I usually get my blood drawn from the catheter in my chest, but the oncology clinic was closed on Sunday so I went to the regular lab and they drew blood from my arm.) I couldn't believe how black the bruise was. I knew right away that I was low on platelets again and I actually had to get another transfusion the next day. Luckily there were no allergic reactions this time. :D

Before I got sick, I had no idea what platelets were (I missed that part in high school biology I guess). I've come to learn that you can actually donate your platelets similar to how you donate blood. Because platelets only live for about 5 days, there is always a need for platelet donations. To learn more, please visit the Red Cross website or contact your local blood center.