Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.


The short version: nothing has changed. The long version: nothing has changed.

Literally. The M-protein level that we track so assiduously has stayed at the exact same level for four months running. The exact same level down to the hundredth of a gram. I’m beginning to wonder if I’m just being humored and they’re only pretending to do the lab work. The guy is nuts about his M-protein level. Just mark down 0.58 and forget about it.

Everything else is stable and relatively normal too. My immune system is, of course, compromised by the chemo meds, but it remains in tolerably good condition. My red blood cells are fine. My platelet count is sometimes a little low, but not enough to be worried about. I go through weird cycles of fatigue (Friday was unusually bad, for example), but nothing close to what happened during the initial rounds of chemo. Mostly I just have to take naps more often than I used to. My neuropathy is annoying but seemingly fairly stable. And now that I’m off the evil dex, I’m no longer gaining weight. Sadly, I’m not losing it either. Even cancer can’t kill off my weakness for chocolate.

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate