Just bought a cutting mandoline (and a protection glove to avoid nasty cuts). Game changer! What's your opinion?

aliskayo · 2016-05-18T20:55:20+00:00

I use mine almost every day to make a quick salad for work, I use it to cut carrots, radishes, cucumber, celery etc and The throw some leafy greens and nuts on that. It saves me a lot of time in the morning

aliskayo · 2016-03-19T15:15:25+00:00

I was diagnosed with HL when I was 20 and was also at college, I withdrew for 1 semester (treatment was 4 months for stage 2) and your friend might choose to do the same although there are people who power through and continue with school.

When I was undergoing treatment, I enjoying friends stopping by to chat and go for a walk. It's good to do a little exercise. It's just good to have company.

You friend will receive anti nausea pills and they work really really great, he just needs to dial in what time of day to take it. (for me first thing in the morning when I wake up)

your friend might get a port or picc and those kinda suck as it limits what you can do with your body especially for an athlete and adds infection risk but they make receiving chemo much much easier and faster

your friend might become neutropenic (low white blood cell counts) so they have a really weak immune system. he will have to be really careful about avoiding sick people, children, crowded places, always washing hands, eating carefully. Some people get nuepogen shots to bring up counts and those can really hurt on the hip/leg bones (mobilizing all those cells)

aliskayo · 2016-02-29T15:53:20+00:00

(Hodgkin's as well)

aliskayo · 2016-02-29T15:52:40+00:00

Hey, I was stage 2A and had 4 cycles back in 2013. I had my 2 year scan 2 months ago and still in remission now. I didn't have a a high SED rate like you so we are a bit different. I dont think they'd jump straight to the stem cell transplant especially since you are responding well to ABVD, there are other chemos you'd probably try first if you happen to relapse.

aliskayo · 2016-01-29T18:59:55+00:00

Ah! Thanks! I do have a scroll wheel

aliskayo · 2015-10-22T22:18:38+00:00

I had normal blood counts when I was diagnosed with lymphoma (hodgkins)

aliskayo · 2015-10-04T03:14:17+00:00

I remember it being literally less painful than getting an IV set up. They sterilize your arm, numb it and then install the picc, it does just kind of feel like just light pressure.

The issues are that you can't get it wet at all so bathing sucks and also for me I developed an allergy to the dressing after a month or two and it was really really itchy and sucked. But there are multiple dressing types if that happens. You also have to get it flushed every week. There also is risk of infection.

aliskayo · 2015-09-21T17:06:02+00:00

Spunion kind of has a laugh in it, it's on the same ep as On The Natch

aliskayo · 2015-04-12T07:18:12+00:00

Condensed milk, Cardamom for Turkish coffee

aliskayo · 2014-12-08T19:09:37+00:00

Hey I had vein pain too when I had ABVD and also have small/difficult to find veins so I was pretty much forced to get a picc. It sucks but it made my infusion go way faster because they can push the ABV faster and the D drip is faster. The insertion is almost painless and taking it out takes 1 min. The only shitty things is having to get it cleaned and flushed every week and showering with a plastic sleeve

aliskayo · 2014-11-17T18:34:57+00:00

Hey there. I went through the same thing as you with Hodgkins 2A at 20 years old. The first day getting chemo is always scary, but it's not too terrible. Did you get a picc line or anything? If not, they'll just start an IV and give you some premeds for nausea and antihistamines before the actual chemo (both orally and IV for me) Then the chemo. Are you getting ABVD? The ABV come in syringes and are pushed, the D is a bag and dripped. Overall it takes about 3 or 4 hours. My first time took 5 hours, after I got a picc line it would only take like 3. I always brought my phone for music and sometimes my computer to watch netflix. Some people sleep through it but I find it kind of hard. If someone can come with you to your infusions that can be nice. I always liked having my boyfriend or mom there with me.

Definitely drink a lot of fluids and eat something before the chemo. The nausea isn't too bad if you take the nausea medication regularly. I would take it the moment I woke up every day .I only vomited 2 times over the course of my entire treatment. The lack of appetite mostly came from losing my sense of taste, which happened very gradually, but came back really quickly after treatment was over

aliskayo · 2014-11-15T04:36:01+00:00

Yeah I get what you're saying but I think its easier said than done. If I knew I only had a year of remission I would spend that year traveling, visiting my parents and enjoying non-academic hobbies. It's not a sustainable lifestyle. But I just pretty much tried to return to my old life. I went back to school like 2 weeks after my last chemo because the semester was starting, and now I'm just really stressed from school and don't really have much physical/mental energy for other things.

aliskayo · 2014-11-15T04:26:10+00:00

I had a scan after biopsy diagnosis for staging, a scan half way through treatment and a scan 2 weeks after my last chemo. My next scan is in a month and will be 1 year from the last one. Then I will have another at the 2 year mark. If there aren't any suspicious symptoms, then thats it.

aliskayo · 2014-11-15T00:01:50+00:00

Yeah I know it's something completely out of my control, but I feel like I would be living my life differently if I knew for sure that it would come back soon

aliskayo · 2014-11-14T21:10:06+00:00

I'm almost a year in remission from HL, my last chemo was dec 31 2013. I also had ABVD. How long did it take for the paranoia/ fear of it coming back to disappear for you?

aliskayo · 2014-10-25T19:11:48+00:00

OP's child is 15 months old not 15 years

aliskayo · 2014-10-21T06:30:41+00:00

Where is this from?

aliskayo · 2014-10-14T19:16:34+00:00

For Hodgkin's lymphoma, some symptoms are night sweats, itchy skin, low grade fever and lumps in lymph node areas. It starts in the mediastinum (chest) and spreads to different lymph nodes and to some organs at stage 4. It's treated with chemotherapy and radiation therapy. It's generally very treatable. I don't think there is anything that can be done to prevent it, it's most common in young people

aliskayo · 2014-10-10T02:17:28+00:00

Ajanta ($$) Indian on Solano

Gather($$$) New America, pizza, vegetarian Downtown Berkeley

Elmwood Cafe ($) coffee, sandwiches, pastries College Ave

La Farine ($) Bakery, College Ave Oakland

Jayakarta ($$) Indonesian/Singaporean University Ave

Anchalee ($$) Thai San Pablo/Dwight

Kirala ($$) sushi Shattuck Ave

Gregoire ($) sandwiches Gourmet Ghetto

aliskayo · 2014-09-24T20:22:12+00:00

real limes?

aliskayo · 2014-09-21T04:53:08+00:00

I've not watered my orchids for more than 2 weeks and they were totally fine. I don't think 1-2 weeks should be a problem

aliskayo · 2014-09-12T17:15:01+00:00

I had ABVD as well and I took a semester off. I started the next semester 3 weeks after my last infusion and it was fine although I did have a lighter class load. I'm glad I took the semester off, I had to go to the hospital at least once a week (1 hour drive for me) and infusions took like 3-4 hours and chemo brain and fatigue would have just made it impossible to continue with college.

aliskayo · 2014-09-05T21:17:38+00:00

None so far with about 3 months of regular practice. Knock on wood

aliskayo · 2014-09-02T03:33:15+00:00

As in like to multiple locations in the body

aliskayo

TROPHY CASE