5/11/2009 Test Results and El Pinto

If the previous several posts didn't deter you, thanks for hanging in there and stopping back by.

This month's m-spike was the lowest it has been yet at .19 mg/dl. I'm not overly excited about this because the test is subjective and this number is relatively close to the other six. Be that as it may, it represents close to a 60% reduction from .32 gm/dl recorded 12/1/2008. There has been a downward trend for the last six months which is encouraging.

Another encouraging item is an absolute neutrophil count of 4077. This is an exponential leap from past test results. I suppose I will have some idea of how accurate it is when I get the same test done at Emory clinic 6/2/2009. Of course, it varies over a two week period so it very well could take an exponential leap in the opposite direction. My white blood cell count was 5.9 (1000/mm3). The reference range is 3.5 to 11.8. Also, the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio is not inverted for the second month in a row which is good. My oncologist told me whatever I am doing, keep it up.

What I am doing is increasing the dose of decadron from 20 mg to 40 mg one week a month and taking GNC brand 95% curcumin. I implemented these changes a little over a month ago. I am up to 2 gm curcumin daily, 1 gm AM and 1 gm PM. I plan to eventually work up to a therapeutic dose. The decadron hits me so hard on crash days it is all I can do to make myself take the extra dose. I will try to keep it up as long as the test results continue to support the changes.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading through all the techno babel. If you like spicy hot Mexican cuisine, you will LOVE what I found in my local Kroger store. I don't know if other Kroger stores stock this or not.

Well, actually, I found two somethings but one is chips. If you haven't found the perfect corn chips, look for On The Border brand (same as the restaurant, On The Border - same chips as in the restaurant). Most Kroger stores stock these. Ours just started. You will notice the "Cafe Style" disappear first. That's because they are low in sodium, thin, crispy, not greasy, they are just about everything you look for in a corn chip all rolled up into one chip. They are just about perfect.

This El Pinto green chile sauce is about perfect too - http://elpinto.com/

I purchased the MEDIUM Green Chile Sauce. It is great with the chips mentioned above or as an ingredient in one of your recipes. As Emeril would say, BAM! I'm sure their other sauces are equally as BAM. I wouldn't try HOT though. Medium is about where it needs to be in my opinion. If you can't stand anything spicy hot, don't try this. Well, maybe try it just this once - you might actually like it. I mix it with Otiska salsa (which is only available from a restaurant in Artesia, NM 505-764-9411) and a little catchup. The Otiska salsa doesn't list green chiles in the ingredient list. It is more of a tomato/onion/jalapeno salsa but it is good too. You need to add something to thin out the El Pinto because it is very chunky. The little bit of catchup sweetens it up a bit. It's BAM!