Greetings, Mudcatters. Winters Wages (Lloyd) asked me to update you on his lymphoma and treatments. Things are looking a little better lately, and he is feeling more hopeful.The good news is that the node under his arm is receding. He is getting chemo and radiation treatments. His hair hasn't fallen out yet, but his doctor expects that it will after another round of treatments.

His daughter is a vet tech, and her boss is his unofficial medical advisor. He calls Lloyd every other day to advise him on what to do, and on what to tell his doctor to do. It's a good thing he is. He told Lloyd "Why aren't they doing a bone marrow stick?" Lloyd passed that on to his doctor, and his doctor said "Oh, yeah, we need to do that." He was having severe stomach pain. The vet explained that "Chemo works where the cells divide the most. In your case, the lining of the stomach. Take Pepcid AC or Tagamet." Lloyd did, and after 40 minutes the pain was gone. Where was his doctor on that one? Lloyd urges everyone who's in an HMO or some other large medical establishment to get involved and "get in your doctor's face" with questions. It's easy for you to become a "manila envelope with stats." So, that's Lloyd's message to you. He's not anywhere out of the woods yet, but it's looking more hopeful. Your continued prayers and thoughts are greatly valued by him.

-chanteyranger