Pop Culture Cancer

Maybe I'm just more attuned to the slightest whisper of leukemia anywhere outside of my own sphere of existence, but it seems like leukemia is popping up everywhere.

First, in one of the books I read for Cannonball Read (The Road Home, a recent release), the protagonist is a widower who lost his wife to leukemia. And yeah, she was like 35.

Then there were new episodes of House where bone marrow biopsies are performed to rule out a leukemia diagnosis. The depiction of how a biopsy is done was ridiculously off the mark. I mean, hello! Where was the pathologist? Plus, in one of the episodes, House blurts out that a patient needs a bone marrow biopsy and that a donor had been found with such flippancy I almost choked on the absurdity of it all. Now I understand why my friend Dr. Kate gets irritated by this show. If it were not for Hugh Laurie...

Next was the latest Episode You Just Can't Miss of ER with Extra-Special Flashback Containing Dead Characters! In it, Angela Bassett's character (Okay, that woman looks like she was carved out of stone. Her skin is incredible!) remembers losing her young son in the ER. Now The Mister and I missed the bulk of the episode, but reading online, I learned that her son presented with seizures and vomiting blood. Then he died. Of acute leukemia. According to the synopsis online, they tried to flush out his white blood cells or something. Man, I wish I'd watched the episode now so I could have given it my stink eye of skepticism. Dr. Green told her it was "an unusual presentation." No joke.

Finally, there's a new French movie out,Un conte de Noël, starring Catherine Deneuve as the matriarch who's recently been diagnosed with...can you guess...leukemia!

I'm telling you folks; leukemia is the new black. It's the hot disease for the season. What can I say; I've always been ahead of the trend.

For those who are wondering, I'm doing good. I just saw my oncologist today, and we're in a "wait and see" period for this last round of chemo. Right now, I feel just fine, but my blood counts are low. Yesterday I got a unit of blood. As I type this, I am receiving my first of two units of platelets here in Cancerville Clinic. They are tanking me up to keep me going.

The blood drive was a big success. Much thanks to everyone who came out to donate, even if you didn't get a chance. At last I heard, they had collected about 44 units of blood (or somehwhere in the neighborhood). Yeah! You people are awesome!

Spill It

This Thursday, November 13, from 3-7 pm Dumbarton Elementary School will be hosting another blood drive in my honor.

If you're local and you've got blood, head on over and share the wealth. I know I've done my fair share of taking these past months. Call ahead to the school and let them know you'll be there so the VA Blood Services can have a good estimate of attendance.

If you're not local and you've got blood, find some time to donate if you can. It's a worthy endeavor. Sure, the free snacks are nice but saving someone else's life in an afternoon is like superhero awesome.