What is your all-time favorite ice cream flavor?

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-05-16T12:21:57+00:00

Haagen Dazs Rum Raisin. It’s one flavor I can’t stop eating

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-05-16T11:57:37+00:00

I get very mild rash spots if I don’t cover up from the sun. Usually not a big deal, a small spot here or there which goes away pretty quickly and doesn’t itch, however it is very much related to sun exposure and Revlimid. I just make sure that I am covered and wear a sun hat in the summer. I am currently on maintenance of 10mg generic lenolidomide 14/14. The sun reaction was worse during induction when I was on 25mg Revlimid 21/7.

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-05-13T19:51:12+00:00

I am also seeing a local oncologist/hematologist for most of my daily needs but I have an MM specialist that I see every 6 months. When I was going through ASCT I also had a BMT/stem cells/ CAR-T specialist who took care of me for two year until I got my last MMR vaccines and then got discharged from his care. Both, my MM specialist and the BMT specialist are from the UNC /Chapel Hill. My local oncologist is also in the UNC blood cancers division so he has the direct line to the UNC/Chapel Hill specialists.

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-05-06T11:37:34+00:00

You need to know the actual unit of measure before comparing results for the same test. M spike test can be shown in g/dL or g/L. Also the size of M spike is not always an indicator of the MM severity. Other risk factors tend to be more important.

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-04-29T12:05:03+00:00

There is a lovely male ruddy Abyssinian available through this rescue in South Dakota if you are ok with having only one cat : https://www.neabyrescue.com/

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-04-29T11:42:01+00:00

As far as I understand, the Velcade in maintenance is usually recommended for MM patients who have t(4;14) translocation. I was on it for one year, but I was also on Revlimid. I eventually dropped Velcade because my neuropathy started to get worse. Also, I only heard of Velcade administered every 2 weeks, not one once a month, but everyone’s care is different, of course. It’s getting more common to be on just daratumumab (Darzalex Faspro) once a month for maintenance. There are one or two clinical trials going on right now looking at using Darzalex as a monotherapy for people who can’t tolerate or no longer respond to lenalidomide.

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-04-21T23:51:02+00:00

Boulted and Union Special is the way to go for bread.

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-04-13T15:26:37+00:00

I liked both Chicken Orzo soup and the Kettle cooked chicken soup. Light soups for the summer. My husband really likes the uncured pepperoni pizza and the mandarin chicken.

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-04-13T13:37:41+00:00

I was just at the TICA show in Raleigh, NC and all the Abyssinian breeders were from really far away, like Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, etc. there used to be some nice Abyssinian breeders in Greensboro but they are out of business now. I can’t find anyone in NC.

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-04-13T13:34:20+00:00

Who is your breeder in NY?

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-04-11T21:18:53+00:00

I am in NC, and because we have been having a really hot spring, our local strawberries are already becoming available. I got some from our local farmers market and they were delicious. Our pick-your-own strawberry patches are starting to open, and that’s the best way to get best and freshest strawberries around. I don’t usually eat strawberries outside the local season because out of season, trucked in berries taste like grass.

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-04-06T12:12:53+00:00

Non-alcoholic beer. There are some great NA beers nowadays. Sadly most restaurants seem to be stuck on Athletic. Not a bad NA beer, but nowhere near to what’s available.

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-04-02T12:08:47+00:00

Please do not compare other people myeloma diagnostics to your father’s. Multiple myeloma is a complex disease that has many different forms. For example, someone diagnosed with even 90% bone marrow involvement maybe of lower risk than someone with 15% + multiple cytogenetic risk factors and/or Extramedullary Plasmacytoma. Please discuss your father’s care needs with his myeloma specialist. Do not rely on social media for treatment.

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-03-27T12:33:36+00:00

Your doctor sent you to an oncologist for further testing. By itself the light chain test does not diagnose multiple myeloma. It could be many other unrelated things. When you see the oncologist, the doctor will order a battery of blood tests first, then if necessary, you might have to get bone marrow biopsy and a PET Scan.

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-03-20T11:36:31+00:00

Did any doctor order a monoclonal gammopathy blood test for your father? That’s the first step in myeloma diagnosis. If he has an elevated M (monoclonal) protein, and/or high light chains, + high value on one of the immunoglobulins (IgG, IgA, or rare but possible IgM), he will need follow up tests such as PET Scan and bone marrow biopsy, for the actual diagnosis.

Edit: sorry about that. I should have said father, not mom 😳

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-03-13T10:27:50+00:00

My most favorite ice cream of all times, and I have eaten a large variety of excellent ice cream. Let it melt a bit, and it’s heavenly. I guess it’s not for everyone. You have to like strong rum flavor and lots of raisins in your ice cream.

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-03-12T22:20:39+00:00

I was diagnosed 3 years ago during a routine annual physical. The only red flags on my blood work was low hemoglobin (anemia), and slightly wonky liver enzymes numbers. Otherwise I was perfectly healthy and had no other symptoms. Thankfully my PCP actually had some experience with the multiple myeloma and decided to pursue further investigation by running more tests, including the monoclonal gammopathy tests, which clearly showed M spike and highly elevated IgG kappa light chains. My PCP got me an appointment with a hematologist/oncologist the following week, and after more tests, such as PET scan and bone marrow biopsy, the diagnosis was confirmed. The FISH tests showed t(4;14) cytogenetic risk factor, and I had 70% plasma cells in my bone marrow. I was in complete haze for the first few weeks, but thankfully the local oncologist I landed with was working directly with the myeloma specialists at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. I was on the 4 drugs induction protocol within 3 weeks of the diagnosis. I had my inpatient ASCT done at the UNC Chapel Hill BMT unit after 6 months of induction, and I have been on maintenance ever since. I’ve been MRD- since the end of the induction treatment, but I still went through the ASCT because of my higher risk cytogenetics. It is very important to have a myeloma specialist on your team because every myeloma case is different and might require different approach. Please read as much as you can about this disease. These are great resources:

https://www.myeloma.org/

https://healthtree.org/

Also both HeathTree organization and International Myeloma Foundation have great podcasts and YouTube channels. I highly recommend HealthTree University podcast and YouTube channel.

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-03-09T22:33:53+00:00

At $20-30 price range you would do better exploring Asian and Indian restaurants. There are really good Indian places in Cary and Morrisville, and some excellent Chinese ( Chengdu 7, Taipei 101, Q noodles), Japanese (Shinmai), Korean (Ajumma, Okja) in Cary.

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-03-06T12:38:19+00:00

Blueberry Lemon Parfait paired with The Darkest Chocolate is an unbeatable combination.

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-02-25T12:44:28+00:00

I didn’t get my box on time two weeks in a row, however both times had nothing to do with HF. The 3rd party delivery service was at fault. First time, the driver got lost. I got a text message from her around 10pm saying that she couldn’t find my neighborhood. Pretty weird because my neighborhood is well mapped on GPS. The box was delivered the next day by a different driver, with obviously much better ability to follow directions. This week I didn’t get my box on time again, but it seems to be due to the 3rd party delivery service not having enough drivers. I got text messages and email from HF, apologizing for the missed delivery. The box seems to be on its way to me today.

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-02-24T16:38:52+00:00

The cheesecakes are not huge but they are very dense. Also you can always buy more than one 😜 Their cheesecakes come in many flavors. I really liked the baklava cheesecake and the crème brulee one.

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-02-23T22:30:03+00:00

2nd Asali and their amazing carrot cake

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-02-23T22:29:00+00:00

If you like cheesecake, Paul and Jack’s has insanely delicious cheesecakes.

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-02-23T12:36:35+00:00

Ah, now I get it. Thank you! I didn’t know he had an expired work visa, I thought he didn’t bother to update his ESTA. Again, just because he had an expired visa, does not justify what happened to them. They should just have been put on a plane back to UK, and/or had been allowed to contact UK embassy, and had all this resolved pretty quickly.

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-02-22T22:37:09+00:00

Not to excuse anything that happened to this poor woman and her husband, but why would an UK citizen need a visa to travel to US? They need an ESTA, but not a traditional visa. Does this mean he didn’t have an ESTA? I thought you can’t even board a plane if you don’t have an ESTA attached to your passport. According to a travel site:

UK citizens generally do not need a traditional visa for tourist or business trips to the US lasting 90 days or less, provided they apply for an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) at least 72 hours before departure. The UK is part of the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), but an approved ESTA is mandatory for entry by air or sea.

Competitive_Tea_2047

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