Dr. Raj Alappan « Voice of the Valley

Side Effects

With my 800mg dose today, I’m five days into my first month of oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor, Votrient. Thursday afternoon, I was driving down the road near the John B. Amos Cancer Center and because I just didn’t feel right, I whipped in to see if I could get someone to check my blood pressure. [...] [...]

No Call, That’s All

Jill and I are getting ready for the trip to lower Manhattan on Friday. Someone with access to a plane has generously given us some of their flight time for this trip, so we’ll be leaving early Friday morning and coming back on Friday evening. The opportunity to go up and back is a real [...] [...]

It Took a Village (Repost)

FYI: This is a repost of my last blog post that many of you didn’t get a chance to read before our hosting company (justhost.com) dropped the ball and left our website inaccessible. They have also said they don’t have a backup after Nov. 23, which means my last two posts have disappeared into nowhere, [...] [...]

Round Two is Over

Here I sit, finally back home, in my leather chair and completely exhausted. We stopped by the office for a few hours late this afternoon to get some pressing things done. I made a few phone calls, mostly to family, but I made one very special phone call to my friend (not my doctor at [...] [...]

FUBAR (I know you know what that means)

The good news, and believe me the only good news of yesterday, is that my MRI with contrast has been completed to Dr. Stapleford’s requirements. [...]

We Have a Plan

The pain in my back seems to be moving. It is not so much in my back at the place where Dr. Gorum’s incision gave him access to my spine, but in my upper left hip. The pain is sharp and it sizzles like a live wire. A nerve that is waking up after a [...] [...]

Contrasting Opinions

I’ve had conversations within the last 24 hours with Drs. Stapleton, Alappan and Vahjen. Dr. S gave her approval of my having the MRI done down here at The Medical Center with Dr. V officiating. I have communicated with Dr. V today via email and he is most concerned about exposing me to a heightened [...] [...]

Where’s Your Wallet?

I’m back! Our website’s — and therefore this blog’s — migration to the new hosting site did not go well. Hence your inability to see our web presence or this blog for the last 48 hours. I’m happy to be back up on the wire. [...]

A Change in Direction

I have chosen to be transparent during my cancer journey. Part of that decision, as you’ve heard me say before, is a selfish desire for support. My community of readers has become invested in my family’s situation and if you’ve chosen to be a regular reader of this blog, you’re riding this roller coaster with [...] [...]

Great News

I just left Dr. Alappan’s office and got the results of the very extensive testing that was done on Strainer. I have spent a lot of time in doctor’s offices over the last 11 months and I’ve been told quite a bit of bad news. I was told that I had cancer and that I [...] [...]

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