20 years
ago, on this day, Stefano and I got married. One of the happiest days of my life.
I’ve written wedding anniversary posts before, so I’ll keep this one short…I just want to say how lucky I am to have found such an extraordinary man…brilliant, funny, supportive, loving, wise…the list goes on…
Thank you for all these years, Stefano…and for the ones to come!
Ti amo.
Buon anniversario! (Source: Margaret's Corner)
Source: Margaret's Corner - May 8, 2019 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Margaret Tags: Blogroll wedding anniversary Source Type: blogs
Taking off
Just briefly…I wanted to say that tomorrow Stefano and I are zooming off for about 10 days (= holiday…yaaaaay!) with a couple of our friends. I don’t know if I’ll have access to Internet during that time, so I just thought I’d publish a quick post.
Well, I hope you’ll have as much fun as I plan to have!!!
Take care, everyone! Ciaoooo! (Source: Margaret's Corner)
Source: Margaret's Corner - April 18, 2019 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Margaret Tags: Blogroll Source Type: blogs
A terrible loss for everyone
Since yesterday evening, this is what I’ve been hearing on the news: it’s a terrible loss for Catholics, it’s a terrible loss for people of all faiths…
Of course it is, but let’s not exclude anyone. What happened yesterday in Paris is a terrible loss for everyone, even for non-believers like me.
I broke down and wept when I saw the footage of the fire devastating the medieval cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. Horrifying…
Simply horrifying…
Stefano and I were in Paris in August of 2018. We were very lucky to have a great view of Notre Dame and the surrounding area from our hotel roo...
Source: Margaret's Corner - April 16, 2019 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Margaret Tags: Blogroll Notre Dame Source Type: blogs
High school principal dies after donating bone marrow …
Thanks to Karen for providing the link to this incredible story. At first, like other readers, I thought he’d donated his stem cells to try to save the life of a teenager in France, but no, he’d donated his bone marrow.
Still, I’d never heard of anything like this…I wonder if he had an allergic reaction to the drugs…? Anyway, I suppose we’ll learn more in the coming days…
Here’s the CNN article: https://cnn.it/2P4nV0z
I’m feeling rather stunned… (Source: Margaret's Corner)
Source: Margaret's Corner - April 11, 2019 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Margaret Tags: Blogroll high school principal dies after donating bone marrow Source Type: blogs
Specific criteria needed for different types of myeloma
Yesterday I came across a Science Daily article discussing a recent study on the need to have different diagnostic criteria for the kappa and lambda types of myeloma. Apparently some patients with the lambda type go undiagnosed, based on current criteria.
Here’s the link: http://bit.ly/2GfulHf
And here’s an excerpt: “Current testing trends lean toward looking in the serum only which also can lead to problems detecting lambda-associated conditions.”
I wonder how many have had that problem…? (Source: Margaret's Corner)
Source: Margaret's Corner - April 10, 2019 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Margaret Tags: Blogroll lambda myeloma Source Type: blogs
Exposure to permethrin increases risk of developing multiple myeloma
I just read a bit of news that I thought I’d share here on the blog.
A new study shows that exposure (NOTE: “a high lifetime exposure“) to an insecticide called permethrin increases one’s risk of developing MM. This insecticide is used in public health mosquito control programs, for example. Eeeeek!
Here’s the article, for those interested: http://bit.ly/2G1haJN
I’ve been reading some interesting stuff lately…I just have to find the time to post about it all! Anyway, have a great weekend, everyone! Ciao! (Source: Margaret's Corner)
Source: Margaret's Corner - April 5, 2019 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Margaret Tags: Blogroll insecticide myeloma permethrin Source Type: blogs
Let it cool down!
I already knew about the dangers of drinking very hot tea, and this is confirmed by a new study: it can almost DOUBLE your risk of cancer, esophageal cancer. I read about it a couple of days ago in this CNN article…interesting read, have a look: http://goo.gl/F6jC6N
Here’s an excerpt: “Researchers found that tea drinkers who liked their beverage to be warmer than 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit) and consumed more than 700 ml of tea per day — about two large cups — had a 90% higher risk of esophageal cancer, when compared to those who drank less tea and at cooler temperatures.R...
Source: Margaret's Corner - March 24, 2019 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Margaret Tags: Blogroll esophageal cancer hot tea Source Type: blogs
Tough germs
Well, well…well.
I mean, you try to be oh soooo careful whenever you set foot outside your house, especially during the flu season…For example:
you never go food shopping during peak times
you avoid seeing friends if they have the slightest sniffle
you never shake hands or kiss anyone, or, well, you try not to…
My “try to avoid getting sick” list goes on and on…I repeat, I try to be sooo careful. I always carry a little bottle of hand sanitizer in my purse, for emergencies, such as, well, let’s say that, due to social circumstances, I’ve been forced to shake hands with some...
Source: Margaret's Corner - March 21, 2019 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Margaret Tags: Blogroll germs and myeloma Source Type: blogs
Ufbp1: a potential new target for multiple myeloma
Some interesting news this morning: for the first time, a group of researchers has reported on the essential role that a specific protein, called Ufbp1, plays in the development and function of plasma cells.
Now, we don’t really need to know all the complicated steps involved in this process…Here’s what’s relevant to us: when Ufbp1 becomes upregulated (that is, when there is too much of it), the development process of plasma cells can go wacky and give rise to allergies, autoimmune diseases, and, tada!, multiple myeloma.
Therefore, if researchers can find a way to manipulate and control the expres...
Source: Margaret's Corner - March 15, 2019 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Margaret Tags: Blogroll multiple myeloma Ufbp1 Source Type: blogs
Busybusybusy!!!
How did I let a month, well, almost a month go by without posting even something silly??? Dear me!!!
Thing is, I’ve been super busy, with a million and a half things to do, including some long overdue house improvement projects, which have been taking up a lot of my time, especially since Pandora, = one of the two incredibly adorable kittens we adopted about a year and a half ago, simply loves to, er, HELP me. She follows every move I make, and often intervenes. And so, thanks to her, a task that should ordinarily take only one hour to complete can take up to two hours…Of course, she’s such an entertainin...
Source: Margaret's Corner - March 5, 2019 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Margaret Tags: Blogroll Source Type: blogs
Diamond Jubilee Galleries and the circadian rhythm
Lately, I’ve been so caught up with stuff to do that I haven’t had time to post anything, not even a simple, quick post about our recent long weekend trip to London, which mainly turned into a Harry Potter tour (see last photo…and yes, I stood in line for about a half hour so that Stefano could take a photo of me waving a wand at Platform 9 and 3/4, King’s Cross station; I now am also the proud owner of a lovely Gryffindor scarf, currently my most precious possession ).
Note: we also met with a good British friend of ours AND visited a couple of museums. OThe best, though, was our tour of Westminste...
Source: Margaret's Corner - February 7, 2019 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Margaret Tags: Blogroll circadian rhythm Source Type: blogs
The Terminal
I had a FANTASTIC time in London last week with my friend and Stefano, but I’ll tell you about that another day. Today I wanted to let you know what happened at the airport on Sunday, because it might be useful to anyone who has future travel plans to Europe…
Let’s see. I went online to get my boarding pass on Saturday evening. Everything was fine up to the very end, when I got a message stating that there were some problems with my travel documents, and that I needed to go to an airport check-in desk the following day, that is, departure day.
We left the hotel a bit early in order to see what the “...
Source: Margaret's Corner - January 23, 2019 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Margaret Tags: Blogroll passport expiry Source Type: blogs
London!
First things first. I’ve been trying to sort through my Alsatian photos…Yes, we were in
Alsace, lovely Alsace!, for the holidays…I wanted to surprise you, but too much time has passed, so I might as well…fess up!
Here, finally, are a few photos of Strasbourg, where we spent the first part of our trip, including Xmas. The first photo shows a view of what is called Petite France, a lovely area of the city…
Anyway, as I mentioned, I have been trying to sort through my photos, but life keeps getting in the way, so much stuff to do, blablabla.
You know how it is.
This evening, for example, eleve...
Source: Margaret's Corner - January 12, 2019 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Margaret Tags: Blogroll Source Type: blogs
Auguri!!!!!!!!
Stefano and I are leaving today for France where we will be spending the holidays…in a region we’ve never visited before. Very VERY exciting!
Before leaving, I wanted to post a photo of our kitties with a festive look (so cute!), but I’m having a few computer burps this morning, no time to fix them, so I’ll just have to say: Happy Holidays, Buone Feste!!! And may 2019 bring several IL-17 antagonists (!), good health (yessss!) and happiness to all of us! Yaaaay!!!
Take care, everyone! See you…next year!
BUONE FESTE!!! (Source: Margaret's Corner)
Source: Margaret's Corner - December 22, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Margaret Tags: Blogroll Source Type: blogs
Distracted
I try to focus on my Prevotella heparinolytica research, I really do!, but stuff keeps popping (or pooping, hehe) up to distract me, such as this BBC article on wombat poop: http://goo.gl/y2TYwD. Wombat poop? Yep!
(Aren’t they just the cutest animals?)
Did you know wombats are the ONLY creatures in the entire world that are able to poop out…cube-shaped poop? They apparently use these small cubes to communicate and attract other wombats. Hmmm. Anyway, yes, a fascinating article, accompanied by photos of said poop, too.
Another “distraction”: I’ve begun my annual routine of Xmas cookie b...
Source: Margaret's Corner - December 14, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Margaret Tags: Blogroll BBC wombat wombat poop Source Type: blogs
