Bunny's Warren

Zion Adventure

Battle Bunny — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 03:29:40 +0000

Well.. it’s been along time since the last post. I had my quarterly check-up this last week and my numbers are still prrrfect. AND my liver levels are the best they’ve been since I started on my meds. Yeehaw!

Other than that, life has been pretty normal. I love my new job and no bunnies have been on death’s door. Kell and I went to Zion National Park last weekend. It was a crazy blinding snow storm on the way down but gorgeous once we got there. After crawling on every rock that would stand still we took a side trip to Red Cliffs near St. George. It was cool to stomp around a place with so many childhood memories.

Some pics..

Got a New Jobby Job!

Battle Bunny — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:21:11 +0000

Seven months ago I decided that I needed to protect myself by getting a job with a stable company with great benefits. So I quit my job as an IT project manager at an advertising agency and moved into a project scheduler position for the construction department of a hospital. And while the job delivered on stability and benefits it didn’t meet my needs in an array of different ways. I’ve been working on a floor two levels below the ground under florescent lights in a small room with only a couple of wonderful, but quiet, coworkers. There’s not a ray of natural light, the ceilings are unfinished and the door next to my office is marked with a radioactive materials warning. And to top it off I took a substantial pay cut and find one of my superiors infuriating.

The other day, after coming home angry and crying, my sweet boyfriend gave me a gentle but strong push to start looking for a new job. The market out there sucks. I put out endless amounts of resumes for places that I’ve never heard back from and been denied interviews for positions that I feel I’m completely, if not overly, qualified for. I totally feel for anyone unemployed right now. The whole process can really take a hit on your self-esteem. Luckily, I’ve made some amazing friendships and an ex-coworker recruited me to work with him at a different advertising agency to be an IT PM again.

I can’t express how happy I am! I’ll be working in a big beautiful office with natural sunlight and lots of opportunity for social interactions. Plus I’m getting a big bump in pay and will still have pretty fantastic benefits. I’m going to miss my coworkers and my direct supervisor a lot. Change is always scary and I really hate sucking at my job which seems to be inevitable when you’re new. But I’m super stoked and can’t wait to get started! One week to go!

Birthday Miracle

Battle Bunny — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 21:07:25 +0000

So I’ve been dreading my next bone morrow biopsy because that’s what I do.. dread them. It’s currently scheduled for early February, just a few days before my birthday. Apparently I did something to please the birthday gods. The study coordinator just called to say that somehow my testing schedule has gone off-cycle (probably when I switched jobs and got new insurance) and so she is going to cancel this one and reschedule it for May! Happy happy me.

Study Vaccine Elimates Leukemia Cells

Battle Bunny — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 13:47:33 +0000

John Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have developed a vaccine made with leukemia cells which may be able to reduce or eliminate the last remaining cancer cells in some chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients taking the drug Imatinib mesylate (Gleevec). This would not only reduce a patient’s risk of going into the later stages of leukemia but may ultimately allow CML patients to discontinue use of their medication, which is a pretty big deal in my head. However, leukemia drugs are major earner for drug companies. I could see them fighting to squish this one.

Read the article here.

Monterey

Battle Bunny — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:17:39 +0000

I’m finally getting around to posting about the Monterey part of the San Fran / Monterey trip!

On Monday morning we met our friend Katherine and her little one at the Oakland airport. From there we rented a car and drove to Monterey. The drive was super easy and only took a few hours. We checked into the Monterey Hotel, which is a charming little Victorian hotel located downtown and staffed by a small but friendly bunch. After checking in we grabbed some grub and then hurried down to the beach to climb rocks and throw sand at each other before it got too dark. We didn’t really know what to do with ourselves after that so we drove around until we ended up at the IMAX theater where we watched The Polar Express which, in 3-D, was almost as good as an amusement ride.

The next morning we got up early so that we could have as much aquarium time as possible. I’ve been wanting to visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium for around 3 years now so I was a little worried that I’d built it up too much and would be disappointed. Turns out I had nothing to worry about. It was everything I’d imagined and more.

The Kelp Forest was awesome and the seahorse exhibit breathtaking, but I think that my favorite part was the Outer Bay. The viewing window was ginormous and dark enough that I felt a little like I was under water with the hammerhead sharks. It was incredible. According to their site, “the main viewing window into the Outer Bay exhibit is 56.5 feet long, 17 feet tall, and 13 inches thick!” Another interesting fun fact from their site is that the water in the Outer Bay is heated via the visitors whose body heat is captured in an efficient heat exchange system. We spent over 6 hours running from one exhibit to another, catching every feeding time possible. I got to see a tank of cuttlefish too, which was a high point for me because I’m obsessed with the strange little creatures.

Here’s a slideshow of some of our adventures.

18 Month Checkup

Battle Bunny — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 20:17:15 +0000

I had my 18 month checkup today and my numbers still look great! My white blood cell count was at 4,900 which is within normal range and the exact same as my last checkup three months ago. All of my other counts were normal as well. The only thing that has changed is that I’ve gained 4 pounds. Damn holidays!

They gave me my next three months worth of pills today too. I’m lugging them around in my backpack because my car is in the shop and I’m on foot. All of a sudden I realized that I have $12,000 worth of medication in my bag. It’s insane. I can’t believe I’m swallowing roughly $150/day. I’m really lucky that I was able to get on this study, even if they want to punch a hole in my lower back every 6 months. Speaking of which, my next bone marrow biopsy is in early February so I have that to look forward to just in time for my birthday.

Results From My Novartis Study!

Battle Bunny — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 15:08:50 +0000

I’ve been on a study with Novartis for the past year and a half, receiving 300 mg twice daily of Tasigna (Nilotnib). Tasigna is already approved in many countries (including the US) as a treatment for CML patients who have become resistant to Gleevec (Imatinib) but not for newly diagnosed patients. The purpose of the study is to show positive results for the newly diagnosed so that it can be approved for this segment of patients as well.

A couple of weeks ago Novartis released their 12-month results which showed that Tasigna is superior to Gleevec! I’ve had wonderful results (both major molecular response and complete cytogenic response) and had very few side effects, which seems to have been the experience of most of the people on the study. Hopefully it is approved before the end of the 5-year study so that I don’t have to switch over to Gleevec afterwards.

This article on Medical News Today reports:

One of the key effectiveness measures used in the study was called major molecular response (MMR). This is defined as the reduction in levels of the Bcr-Abl protein to less than or equal to 0.1% of the level seen before treatment. MMR is an important measure in CML, as data show that patients who achieve MMR are unlikely to progress to the later stages of the disease.(6) With nilotinib 300mg twice-daily, the rate of MMR at 12 months was twice that of patients receiving imatinib 400mg once-daily (44% vs. 22%, p < 0.0001).(1)

Another effectiveness measure used in the study was called complete cytogenetic response (CCyR). CCyR indicates that no CML cells containing the Ph chromosome can be seen in a sample of bone marrow taken from the patient. 80% of patients achieved CCyR with nilotinib versus 65% with imatinib 400mg once-daily (p < 0.0001).(1) Responses were achieved faster in the nilotinib group than in the imatinib group.(1)

San Francisco

Battle Bunny — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 05:23:34 +0000

A couple of weeks ago Kell, Jason and I flew into San Francisco for the weekend before heading to Monterey. Hotels are insanely cheap right now and we stayed at The Opal in Union Square for next to nothing. It was a great central point and there was a place called Mel’s Diner right next door that served espresso floats and milkshakes! I didn’t have one. It has now been added to my list of regrets!

Our first manner of business was to visit Musee Mecanique which is located at Fisherman’s Wharf and claims to be “one of the world’s largest privately owned collections of mechanically operated musical instruments and antique arcade machines.” The place was amazing! We dropped quite a few quarters on everything from flip-book viewing machines of San Fran burning to an arm-wrestling Lucha Libre. We were especially dazzled (detect sarcasm) by a machine called End of the Trail which was staged to look like a deserted old west scene. It looked as though none of the parts moved and we couldn’t guess what sort of delight a quarter would buy us. Upon depositing our money our minds were blown (more sarcasm) when a fan kicked on, simulating wind, causing the tattered fabric of the covered wagon to move… a little. It was pretty great. I found this video posted by someone else who has a keen eye for greatness.

After the museum we took public transit, including a trolley car, to the Haight-Ashbury area. We wanted to enjoy the area on foot so we got off of the bus a few blocks early and walked up the hill. It was a beautiful walk with such cool houses along the way. As we trekked forward we realized that there must have been a Santa pub crawl in action. We saw Santas ranging all the way from sexy to uni-cycling. What a great city! We hit a bunch of second-hand stores and Amoeba Records. After shopping for a bit we had some delicious vittles at Cha Cha Cha’s and then headed back to the hotel.

We started the next day off with breakfast at Café de la Presse which boasts over 200 foreign magazines and newspapers. The cafe is located right at the gates to Chinatown so we had to take a spin through the area. There were wonderful smells and strange, frightening food items like a skinned chicken with purple skin. From there we hopped over to The Mission where we took a neighborhood walking tour to see as many of the incredible murals as we could fit in. The trek took us down 24th Street, Balmy Alley and into Garfield Square where we were might have seen a Diego Rivera mural, but I can’t say for sure since we didn’t have a great description. No matter, those that we did see were spectacular.

The icing on the Mission cake was stopping at a local taco truck, El Tonayense, and getting fantastic al pastor and pollo asada tacos. Once stuffed we continued our walking tour through the Mission Dolores Park and into Castro. We stopped at the “gayest corner on earth” which I think could have been a little gayer and ended up at a little place for a drink. We played some pinball and the guys were delighted by the rather, ehr, uhm, exposed bathroom. The night was topped with incredible Brittany-style crepes at Ti Couz Creperie… probably the best savory crepe I’ve ever had!

The next day we picked Katherine and Ella up from the airport and headed to Monterey… more on that later.

Slide show with a few more pics…

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Sparkington (the Alien)

Battle Bunny — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 11:57:43 +0000

O-M-G! My brother and his girlfriend are so amazing. Check out this incredible piece of metallic delight they got us for Xmas! I am in awe. I want to cuddle him while I sleep but I think for my safety (and his) he’ll have to remain on the mantle next to Buddha’s head. A duo made in heaven!

Front

Back

Right Side

Left Side

Home

San Fran & Monterey: BRB

Battle Bunny — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 14:41:34 +0000

I’m off to California for the next 5 days. Going to spend a couple of days in San Francisco and then the rest in Monterey, visiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I can’t express how excited I am! I’m totally going to wrangle and ride this Sun Fish.

Have a nice weekend!