I decided to geek out a little over the lab results MSKCC handily provides on my patient portal. Here is a little snapshot of my progress over the past year(s). (The numbers from the past three years have a lot of variance, shown below.)
For hemoglobin n00bs, check out wikipedia.
Past 3 years:
Past year:
This is a picture of wellness. This is improvement. This is living.
For hemoglobin n00bs, check out wikipedia.
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| Hemoglobin levels from diagnosis (August 2010) - to now (October 2013) Hemoglobin indicates your blood's oxygen-carrying capacity. (Mayo Clinic) |
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| My Hemoglobin levels over the past year (Oct 2012-Oct 2013) . 11.5 (g/dl) - 16(g/dl) is "normal", highlighted in red. (g/dl is grams per deciliter) |
As you can see, there was a fairly steady drop from Nov 2012-Dec 2012 of last year, when I was "most sick" (comparatively). A non-bleeding ulcer discovery and several units of blood later, I was all shiny (ruddy) and new(ly treated).
You'll notice another big drop from March 2013-April 2013, when I had a major bowel obstruction resulting in an intestinal "cut-and-paste". I was then hospitalized for two weeks, learning how to eat and digest (again).
I began consistently hitting Hemoglobin levels in the "normal" range (highlighted in red) from May 2013 onward and have been vacillating between 12 (g/dl) - 13 (g/dl) since then.
This is a picture of wellness. This is improvement. This is living.
