tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24543918506299307352012-02-02T18:47:19.159-07:00My second love affair with Hodgkin's DiseaseDarrel Halehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180372412511376490noreply@blogger.comBlogger381100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454391850629930735.post-15593416995876582582008-01-04T19:12:00.000-07:002008-01-04T19:13:25.785-07:00

I just wanted to take a moment to update all of you on the results of my 9 month post-transplant scans. These three month check-ups have become part of the nerve-wrecking pattern that my life has now assumed, at least the next few year. Not fun, but important and unavoidible. This Decembers scan was especially taxing because it was this time last year that my scans showed what would become a

Darrel Halehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180372412511376490noreply@blogger.com116tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454391850629930735.post-51775981829693882442007-09-04T11:38:00.000-06:002007-09-04T11:41:39.422-06:00

"Then, when it was about midnight, Zarathustra went his way over the ridge of the isle, that he might arrive early in the morning at the other coast; because there he meant to embark. For there was a good roadstead there, in which foreign ships also liked to anchor: those ships took many people with them, who wished to cross over from the Happy Isles. So when Zarathustra thus ascended the

Darrel Halehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180372412511376490noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454391850629930735.post-21332016956660454932007-08-21T23:23:00.000-06:002007-08-31T00:51:48.575-06:00

Hey everyone- I am back. I took a little break from posting here mainly because I got to a point where I was trying to rein some of my emotions about my treatment and I felt that many of philosophical musings need more time cure before they would be fit for the printed word. I am back because my life is becoming so hectic that don't have enough to reflect, something I enjoyed about treatment. I

Darrel Halehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180372412511376490noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454391850629930735.post-22950556943898649342007-07-08T23:10:00.000-06:002007-07-09T11:14:39.087-06:00

This was me on July 1, 2007 day +80 with my good friend and cycling buddy, Johanna

Darrel Halehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180372412511376490noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454391850629930735.post-64839428223540252862007-07-04T11:17:00.000-06:002007-07-04T12:06:43.317-06:00

And just like that the war was over...Many of you know from my last blog, I went in on Monday to have my three month scans. This is the first in a series of many scans I will have to ensure that my Stem Cell transplant has secured me a remission. The PET showed four very bright spots which the tech that read my scans was confused about. "Too bright to be tumors, but too big to ignore." My doctor

Darrel Halehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180372412511376490noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454391850629930735.post-62844682674300265932007-06-28T23:57:00.000-06:002007-06-29T00:04:28.895-06:00

I got the call from Children's this afternoon to set up my first set of post-SCT scans for Monday, July 2. I'll start with a PET and CT on Monday and if those are clean I'll get the Cardiac Stress Echo and yet other round of test for my lungs. All and all things continue to go well...I have a few rants and thoughts saved up (if you have been rude to a man in a blue mask, your day of judgement is

Darrel Halehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180372412511376490noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454391850629930735.post-91958682009045700442007-06-20T14:29:00.000-06:002007-06-20T21:18:56.474-06:00

It's been awhile since I have posted here, and to be honest that's a reflection of how well things are going at the moment. I find that I have used this blog as a vent, a place to work things out. My family has worked on the "no news is good news" premise and this blog seems to mirror that. Most of my future life at the moment hinges on whether or not my masters programs is willing to let me

Darrel Halehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180372412511376490noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454391850629930735.post-40363646146360100182007-06-11T20:30:00.000-06:002007-06-11T20:53:02.798-06:00

Hey everyone!As my lung function has started to improve over the last week I have finally decided that it is time to step up my recovery curve. The Children's Hospital holds a fund raising bike tour through the Rocky Mountains. The full tour is called the Courage Classic and is a 154 mile ride over three passes in three day. I will be riding with a good friend on the shorter single day Taste of

Darrel Halehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180372412511376490noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454391850629930735.post-74366103331960275142007-06-04T16:38:00.000-06:002007-06-07T09:37:42.438-06:00

Well, one of the those major side-effects seems to have caught up to me, if only just enough to slow me down. I had a lung function test last week (PFT) that showed my lung function at 60% of normal, a 10% decrease from my test before transplant. Everything about my cancer and treatment is damaging to the lungs. The tumor itself is still taking up area in my chest in the form of scar tissue. Many

Darrel Halehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180372412511376490noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454391850629930735.post-37807123433951379182007-05-29T11:50:00.001-06:002007-05-29T13:50:02.238-06:00

CHEMOWORLDSurviving the cancer unitBy Sallie TisdaleSeveral years ago, I began working on a small oncology unit at Providence Portland Medical Center in Portland, Oregon. The unit, known as 5-K, is shaped like a T and can hold twenty patients at a time. Its small size, the closely knit team, the long relationships with returning patients, felt exactly right. Nurses who come to 5-K usually stay a

Darrel Halehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180372412511376490noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454391850629930735.post-67803730121971013762007-05-25T20:19:00.000-06:002007-05-25T20:47:20.486-06:00

Reading over the past few post I realized I haven't said much about the state of my physical health. Emotionally, things have been very difficult but health-wise I am doing very well. The doctor's say that I am about 20 days ahead of schedule as far as my blood counts are concerned and even went as far as to clear me to return to school in the Fall, something they had originally told me would not

Darrel Halehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180372412511376490noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454391850629930735.post-1985934299926492412007-05-23T12:22:00.000-06:002007-05-23T20:52:17.020-06:00

May 23th, 2006-an anniversary that rings with more potency then most. It was one year ago today that I was first told that I had cancer. It's hard to believe that a year has slipped by under the deadening routine of chemo, radiation, and weekly doctors visits. I have a vague recollection of a time when this was not my life. When my being was healthy and vibrant, but after six months of symptoms

Darrel Halehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180372412511376490noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454391850629930735.post-91397520729188601182007-05-17T11:54:00.000-06:002007-05-17T12:19:40.540-06:00

It's amazing to me that as the days crawl on in a mass of homogony that it should still find a way to subversively slip quick by. The dull march of recovery has started forward. On one hand I am thankful for the uneventfulness. Uneventfulness=No complications. On the other, I wish I had the strength and freedom to do the things I really want to be doing this summer i.e. riding my bike outside,

Darrel Halehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180372412511376490noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454391850629930735.post-71846184998645339592007-05-03T19:37:00.001-06:002007-05-07T10:49:22.664-06:00

Just a quick note to update what has been going on. The first few days after my release were stressful. The cleaning of the house had yet to be completed so I was sent to a hotel downtown for a few days so things could be wrapped up. During this time needed someone to be with me at all times, which was quite a change from the hours a spent alone in the hospital. I hadn't realized what a loner I

Darrel Halehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180372412511376490noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454391850629930735.post-29847857786980481622007-04-25T17:28:00.000-06:002007-04-25T18:12:17.131-06:00

After spending a large amount of time in hospitals over the past 11 months I have learned there is one hard and fast rule that governs all- nothing, and I mean nothing, ever happens on time. This was once again proven to be an infallible truth when it came to my discharge. A number of things conspired against my Day+ 13 exit on Tuesday. First was the weather. for those of you not from the Denver

Darrel Halehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180372412511376490noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454391850629930735.post-30822999155007849672007-04-22T15:34:00.000-06:002007-04-22T15:58:48.289-06:00

As quickly as my counts were destroyed they started to recover. I hit rock bottom on Day +7 when my ANC count reached an negligible 4.3 (a healthy number is somewhere between 2,500 and 6,000). Since then, though, my stem cell have start the process of engrafting into my bone marrow causing my counts to return steadily by a factor of three. (4 to 12 to 36 to 140). In order to be released from the

Darrel Halehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180372412511376490noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454391850629930735.post-85966957496042155932007-04-20T21:25:00.000-06:002007-04-21T10:52:04.527-06:00

There is but one fundamental question that all people must answer every single day of their existence. That question- Is my life worth living? Whether it be conscience or not, all of us answer this question daily. Conversely, everyday some of those among us consciencely conclude that their existence has cease to be worth the effort and choose for themselves an early exit. On some level one has to

Darrel Halehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180372412511376490noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454391850629930735.post-2240181640063839702007-04-16T12:48:00.001-06:002007-04-16T12:48:33.217-06:00

Darrel Halehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180372412511376490noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454391850629930735.post-29959561935214617182007-04-15T18:57:00.000-06:002007-04-15T19:33:15.993-06:00

All illusions about this being easy have vanished over the past few days. A plague now besets me as my innards churn and boil. The downward slide has finally begun. The only way out now is through... What lengths would you travel to live again?(at least I have plastic dinosaurs to play with...small victories)

Darrel Halehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180372412511376490noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454391850629930735.post-45155120083174824812007-04-12T21:33:00.000-06:002007-04-12T21:48:54.999-06:00

It seems that with chemotherapy over with, that is should be the new title of my blog. I received my hematological "do-over" yesterday starting at 10 am. Over the next six hours I regained 4 bags of stem cells that I had harvested back in February. Four bags works out to six million stem cells per kg of body mass (I weight @ 88 Kg). Most people would think of a transplant as a huge climatic event

Darrel Halehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180372412511376490noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454391850629930735.post-34250601853623006432007-04-10T19:26:00.000-06:002007-04-10T22:18:17.307-06:00

Today started much earlier than I would have like it to. Earlier in the week I had expressed to the doctors that I wanted to have an ultrasound to assess the state of my clot. They took my suggestion seriously, at 7 am this morning. It actually turned out to be a great way to start the day. First, getting an ultrasound meant I had to go to radiology on the first floor (BMT is on the fifth floor)

Darrel Halehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180372412511376490noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454391850629930735.post-55734433443779703562007-04-09T20:19:00.000-06:002007-04-10T10:29:14.973-06:00

The past few days have been so chalked full of excitement that I've hardly had time to sit down and update the old blog...oh, wait, did I say excitement? I misspoke, I meant almost completely uneventful. For that, I am grateful.As we speak, I am just about to get my last dose of Ara-C and after that only 15 minutes of Melphalan stand between me and NEVER having to receive chemotherapy again.

Darrel Halehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180372412511376490noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454391850629930735.post-50395499596718761632007-04-06T20:37:00.000-06:002007-04-09T21:14:58.612-06:00

Today- amazingly uneventful. Once again my breakfast was a disaster. I ordered some waffles, fruit, and milk and all I got was FRUIT!. Fruit is great, but Watermelon doesn't make much of a meal. I received Ara-C and VP-16 for today's chemo cocktail. It worked out to about 2 hours of goodness but was much easier than yesterdays hour of BCNU. The BCNU is prepared in alcohol and by the end of the

Darrel Halehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180372412511376490noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454391850629930735.post-65954655324014030622007-04-05T11:35:00.000-06:002007-04-09T21:17:17.709-06:00

Well, things have begun. I started this morning by getting a breakfast I didn't order. The problem with things you don't order is you never know what the person that did order it was thinking. For example, I got some cereal this morning, with chocolate milk to put on it. I also got toast, with syrup instead of jam. Good times! I have a feeling it might take a few days for me to get the food thing

Darrel Halehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180372412511376490noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454391850629930735.post-59235970915017175442007-04-04T19:50:00.000-06:002007-04-04T22:02:22.335-06:00

Alright! Time to get serious about this blog thing. It has been an eventful past few weeks and as I start my high dose chemotherapy tomorrow I should catch up on a few things. The major event of the week of the 11 of March was getting a additional central line placed. For all of my therapy I've had what is called a port, which is a central line access that is placed under the skin. The port is

Darrel Halehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180372412511376490noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454391850629930735.post-58784309027859051642007-04-04T00:18:00.000-06:002007-04-09T21:18:09.835-06:00

"When Zarathustra was thirty years old, he left his home and the lake of his home, and went into the mountains. There he enjoyed his spirit and his solitude, and for ten years did not weary of it. But at last his heart changed—and, rising one morning with the rosy dawn, he went before the sun, and spake thus unto it: "Thou great star! What would be thy happiness if thou hadst not those for whom

Darrel Halehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180372412511376490noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454391850629930735.post-47314453744144220062007-03-30T21:35:00.000-06:002007-03-30T21:41:02.462-06:00

"If I did not believe in life, if I were to lose faith in the woman I love, if I were to lose faith in the order of things, even if I were to become convinced, on the contrary that everything is a disorderly, damned, and perhaps devilish chaos, if I were struck even by all the horrors of human disillusionment-still I would want to live, and as long as I have bent to this cup of life, I will not

Darrel Halehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180372412511376490noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454391850629930735.post-13093488171438421702007-03-19T21:49:00.000-06:002007-04-09T21:18:57.625-06:00

"Examine the lives of the best and most fruitful people and peoples and ask yourselves whether a tree which is supposed to grow to a proud height could do without bad weather and storms: whether misfortune and external resistance, whether any kinds of hatred, jealousy, stubborness, mistrust, hardness, greed, and violence do not belong to the favourable conditions without which any great growth

Darrel Halehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180372412511376490noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454391850629930735.post-42108507146986964142007-03-16T20:17:00.000-06:002007-03-16T20:18:35.779-06:00

SEATTLE — May 18, 2004 Patients with leukemia or lymphoma who undergo hematopoietic-cell transplantation (HCT) and survive can expect full recovery to take 3-5 years, according to a study published in the May 19 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).Hematopoietic-cell transplantation (bone-marrow transplant or stem-cells transplant) is an effective and widely used

Darrel Halehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180372412511376490noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454391850629930735.post-84678521960070498292007-03-16T19:31:00.000-06:002007-03-19T21:44:57.902-06:00

I guess I should start by saying that I am sorry it has been so long since I have posted anything personal here. I could list all the reasons why I have neglected this task, but it boils down to distraction and stress that have kept me from hashing out my thoughts into palpable form.  With my transplant only 10 days away it's time to sit down and work a few things out and get into the habit of

Darrel Halehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180372412511376490noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454391850629930735.post-89084842421353470992007-03-07T09:01:00.000-07:002007-03-16T20:20:50.564-06:00

From Harvard Health PublicationsFind MoreMedical EncyclopediaMany people undergoing chemotherapy complain of problems with memory, attention, and concentration — a phenomenon called “chemobrain” or “chemo fog.” When we first wrote about chemobrain in October 2002, most of what was known of it came from the anecdotal reports of patients, often breast cancer survivors, and a few studies linking

Darrel Halehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180372412511376490noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454391850629930735.post-77830685204035918412007-03-07T08:43:00.000-07:002007-03-16T20:21:28.170-06:00

I found this on a fellow SCT's blog and thought it might be helpful-Thanks Anne!When you think of a transplant, you may have an image of a major surgical procedure to replace a diseased organ. But stem cell transplants don't involve surgery. And the "organ" involved is bone marrow — not a solid organ such as a liver.If your bone marrow stops working, your body won't produce enough healthy stem

Darrel Halehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180372412511376490noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454391850629930735.post-30301227676995085932007-03-06T19:51:00.000-07:002007-03-06T19:52:57.029-07:00

Got my pre-transplant check-up list today. Looks like a busy week aheadName: Darrel Hale Dates of Evaluation: March 12-16 Admit: 3-26-07 Date Time Place Test/Procedure3/13 8:00 Radiology 1st Fl. CT Scan Neck/Chest/Abd; Chest X-rays; scans at 9:00 NPO at 6:00 – arrive at 8:00 for oral contrast3/14 1:00 Hem/Onc/BMT Clinic Lab Tests3/14 1:15 Hem/Onc/BMT Clinic Meet

Darrel Halehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180372412511376490noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454391850629930735.post-35403137309251768762007-02-01T18:17:00.000-07:002007-02-01T19:29:56.903-07:00

It figures that after my rant in the last post that the world would turn and bring about some change, not that I am complaining =-).The last couple of days have brought so very good news and a lot of clarity to the whole future/life/SCT thing. First, I found out that my brother, Troy, is a perfect HLA match. I have three siblings and not only is great to have one of them as perfect match (my

Darrel Halehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180372412511376490noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454391850629930735.post-27012426750333037222007-01-28T20:36:00.000-07:002007-01-28T20:58:03.906-07:00

Turning and turning in the widening gyre...The Falcon cannot hear the falconerAuto or Allo? In-patient or out-patient? BEAM or CBV? In state or out-of-state? If out-of-state, where to go? MD Anderson? Seattle? Minnesota? How to pay for it?Things fall apart; the center cannot hold;Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world... Will I ever play again? Make it back to school? Get on my feet? Where will I

Darrel Halehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180372412511376490noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454391850629930735.post-86950191280535881742007-01-26T00:18:00.000-07:002007-01-26T00:23:49.348-07:00

This has been one of my favorite poems since high school and captures everything I feel at the moment about the will to live in it's repeated statementsDo not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light.Though wise men at their end know dark is right, Because their words had forked no lightning they Do not go gentle into

Darrel Halehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180372412511376490noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454391850629930735.post-57377205879761218732007-01-24T22:11:00.000-07:002007-01-24T22:42:51.168-07:00

After doing a lot of blog reading today I felt I should amend my position on blogging a little. It would appear that I have spent too much time reading the blogs of high schoolers and 40 year old unemployed unmarried men (just kidding, looking at either would be pretty sketchy). This evening I had a chance to read many blogs from one of the lymphoma messages boards I am a member of,

Darrel Halehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180372412511376490noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454391850629930735.post-84197462269622798372007-01-23T22:44:00.000-07:002007-01-26T00:03:55.770-07:00

"I awoke to find myself in a dark wood..."How else does one find yourself writing a blog? I am, in general, not a fan of the voyeurism that blogging breeds, and have found that a lot of the blogs I read to be a bit shallow and narcissistic. They tend to be more about that persons position at the center of a world wide pity party than anything interesting or insightful. Alas, I have reached a

Darrel Halehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06180372412511376490noreply@blogger.com1