(Lookin’ good, Laura! Nice to see the hair finally coming back!)
CagePotato HQ received some incredible news yesterday from our dear friend Laura “angrylittlefeet” Nicholson — who you’ve supported with your cash and kind words during her treatment for Hodgkins Lymphoma this year. Check out the update she sent us (after a celebratory margarita), and show her some love on twitter and Facebook!
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Hey there my fellow Taters! Many of you have been with me throughout my fight against cancer so I wanted to share the news with you all…
ALF defeats Hodgkins Lymphoma via KTFO rd 3!
I had a PET scan on Tuesday and just got results back and it was good as it could be. All my nodes are fine now and all internal organs are back to normal — no more swelling is present. Just some scar tissue from the lung surgery but that’s to be expected. Now I just go back in 4 months for a follow up scan and if all is still well they cut me loose except for semi annual checkups.
Many thanks to everybody who supported me during this ordeal!
ALF
(Lookin’ good, Laura! Nice to see the hair finally coming back!)
CagePotato HQ received some incredible news yesterday from our dear friend Laura “angrylittlefeet” Nicholson — who you’ve supported with your cash and kind words during her treatment for Hodgkins Lymphoma this year. Check out the update she sent us (after a celebratory margarita), and show her some love on twitter and Facebook!
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Hey there my fellow Taters! Many of you have been with me throughout my fight against cancer so I wanted to share the news with you all…
ALF defeats Hodgkins Lymphoma via KTFO rd 3!
I had a PET scan on Tuesday and just got results back and it was good as it could be. All my nodes are fine now and all internal organs are back to normal — no more swelling is present. Just some scar tissue from the lung surgery but that’s to be expected. Now I just go back in 4 months for a follow up scan and if all is still well they cut me loose except for semi annual checkups.
Many thanks to everybody who supported me during this ordeal!
Greetings Taters! It’s been a while since I’ve checked in so I thought I’d take a few moments and let you guys know what has been going on in Alf-Land. My schedule hasn’t changed much. Still chemo every two weeks followed by that lovely Neulasta shot that never fails to make me feel like complete and utter shit for a few days. On the in-between weeks I go to have my chemo port flushed and they run more blood work. I have good days and not so good days just like anybody else who’s fighting this battle with cancer.
It’s been kind of good news / bad news lately. Let me explain.
Good News: My Doc feels that I have been responding really well to my treatments and wanted to do a CT scan to check progress since it’s been almost six months now.
Bad News: The hospital refused to do the scan because I cannot pay for it and all my attempts to get any financial help are still “pending”.*
Good News: (And this is really keeping a long, tortuous story short here) The awesome lady in charge of my cancer center was finally able to knock some heads together and get them to agree to do this one more scan.
Good Good News: Scan showed that while the cancer is not gone yet — I am winning this fight!
(ALF, trying out life as a blonde in September. Photo via her Facebook page)
Greetings Taters! It’s been a while since I’ve checked in so I thought I’d take a few moments and let you guys know what has been going on in Alf-Land. My schedule hasn’t changed much. Still chemo every two weeks followed by that lovely Neulasta shot that never fails to make me feel like complete and utter shit for a few days. On the in-between weeks I go to have my chemo port flushed and they run more blood work. I have good days and not so good days just like anybody else who’s fighting this battle with cancer.
It’s been kind of good news / bad news lately. Let me explain.
Good News: My Doc feels that I have been responding really well to my treatments and wanted to do a CT scan to check progress since it’s been almost six months now.
Bad News: The hospital refused to do the scan because I cannot pay for it and all my attempts to get any financial help are still “pending”.*
Good News: (And this is really keeping a long, tortuous story short here) The awesome lady in charge of my cancer center was finally able to knock some heads together and get them to agree to do this one more scan.
Good Good News: Scan showed that while the cancer is not gone yet — I am winning this fight! The original tumor is gone and the other spots have shrunken to half or better in size since we started treatments. I still need to continue treatments of course but this is so amazing to me. When I started this whole thing my cancer Doc gave me a 50/50 shot at survival. My battle isn’t over by any means but I’m pretty sure my surly, stubborn attitude is also helping to save my own ass!
On a more vain level… more good news for me is that my hair is already starting to grow back! Okay, it still looks like shit. But think more Monchhichi… less Yoda.
My life is completely different than it was six months ago but I’m adapting. I have to go see a neurologist in a week or so for some issues that arose as a result of the chemo drugs. One problem is what they call Foot Drop. It’s like my whole right foot just gave up working properly. When I walk it’s like step – drag, step – drag. Yeah I know. Sexy. The other big problem is my short term memory is just shit anymore. Plus some trouble concentrating. Sometimes I feel like my brain is just mush and my thoughts are disjointed as hell. So if this update seems to meander everywhere and still get nowhere — welcome to my world. Don’t get me wrong though. I’ll take absent minded and gimpy over the alternative any day! They actually have recently dropped one of the components of my chemo blend becasue of this and it does seem to be getting a bit better since.
So for now just one day at a time continues. And I am damn grateful that it does
Thank for reading. Later Taters.
ALF
* You may be sick of hearing it but tough shit I am going to say Thank You again to everybody at CP for the fund drive you all did for me. As previously stated I am receiving no assistance at all yet so the money you all generously donated is what I am using to pay utilities, eat, and still have cable and internet! You all rock
When we last updated you on Thursday, our “Fight for ALF!” fundraiser had brought in just short of $3,200, which meant we had virtually no chance of hitting our $5,000 goal by Sunday night’s deadline. Maybe it wasn’t a total victory, but it was still an amazing display of the Potato Nation’s support for a struggling comrade, and nobody appreciated it more than angrylittlefeet herself.
So, I woke up this morning and found out that an Australian dude named Nicholas Troy donated $1,719 in the last hour of the official donation drive, bringing our total up to an even five grand. It’s a damn miracle. We did it. Thank you, Nicholas — we’ll never be able to say that enough, but we’re blown away by your generosity. Thanks so much for making this happen.
Our second-place donation was a whopping $500 from a member of the MMA industry who wishes to remain anonymous — but we have a pair of MMA gloves signed by Bas Rutten if he wants ’em, courtesy of Chris Colemon.
And fourth place, earning “whatever we have left,” is pumpkinking11, who donated $150.
We’ll be in touch with all you guys soon — as well as with all the folks who pledged $50 and have a CagePotato t-shirt coming their way — to get your mailing info and start sending out the prizes. Thanks so much to everybody who kicked in some money, or helped spread the word on Facebook and Twitter. And please follow Laura Nicholson on twitter @angrylittlefeet, where she’ll continue to update us on her battle against Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Love y’all.
(BG)
When we last updated you on Thursday, our “Fight for ALF!” fundraiser had brought in just short of $3,200, which meant we had virtually no chance of hitting our $5,000 goal by Sunday night’s deadline. Maybe it wasn’t a total victory, but it was still an amazing display of the Potato Nation’s support for a struggling comrade, and nobody appreciated it more than angrylittlefeet herself.
So, I woke up this morning and found out that an Australian dude named Nicholas Troy donated $1,719 in the last hour of the official donation drive, bringing our total up to an even five grand. It’s a damn miracle. We did it. Thank you, Nicholas — we’ll never be able to say that enough, but we’re blown away by your generosity. Thanks so much for making this happen.
Our second-place donation was a whopping $500 from a member of the MMA industry who wishes to remain anonymous — but we have a pair of MMA gloves signed by Bas Rutten if he wants ‘em, courtesy of Chris Colemon.
And fourth place, earning “whatever we have left,” is pumpkinking11, who donated $150.
We’ll be in touch with all you guys soon — as well as with all the folks who pledged $50 and have a CagePotato t-shirt coming their way — to get your mailing info and start sending out the prizes. Thanks so much to everybody who kicked in some money, or helped spread the word on Facebook and Twitter. And please follow Laura Nicholson on twitter @angrylittlefeet, where she’ll continue to update us on her battle against Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Love y’all.
Our fundraising drive officially ends this Sunday, so if you haven’t donated already, please visit our Indiegogo page and do so! Every little bit will cover some of Laura’s medical expenses, and help bring a smile to her face. And that, my friends, is priceless. Thanks again, and read on for the final installment of angrylittlefeet‘s Fight for ALF blog. -BG
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Can you believe it, ‘Taters? As I write this there are only four days left in our Fight for Alf campaign. Time flies. Whether you’re having fun or not, apparently.
Anyway this will most likely be my last update. Therefore I want to say a huge Thank You one last time to every single one of you who were able to donate a little something and also to everybody who has been behind me this whole time with kindness and words of encouragement. (The haters and the spammers can eat a bag of dicks.)
Everybody knows that cancer sucks. Bad. It completely changes your life whether you like it or not. That being the case, I have decided to end this last update with some positive things that have come from this situation.
* The ‘ice cream rx’. I can’t seem to keep my weight above 95lbs. Therefore I have been given carte blanche to eat whatever I want whenever I want. I love ice cream and chocolate and treats. And soft pretzels at 2 in the morning. This most definitely does not suck.
* My day starts when I goddam well feel like it. When I was able to work I was up every day promptly at 5 am. No longer getting paid…That shit ain’t happening. It brings great joy to look at the clock around 8am, tell said clock to go fuck itself, roll over and go back to sleep.
Our fundraising drive officially ends this Sunday, so if you haven’t donated already, please visit our Indiegogo page and do so! Every little bit will cover some of Laura’s medical expenses, and help bring a smile to her face. And that, my friends, is priceless. Thanks again, and read on for the final installment of angrylittlefeet‘s Fight for ALF blog. -BG
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Can you believe it, ‘Taters? As I write this there are only four days left in our Fight for Alf campaign. Time flies. Whether you’re having fun or not, apparently.
Anyway this will most likely be my last update. Therefore I want to say a huge Thank You one last time to every single one of you who were able to donate a little something and also to everybody who has been behind me this whole time with kindness and words of encouragement. (The haters and the spammers can eat a bag of dicks.)
Everybody knows that cancer sucks. Bad. It completely changes your life whether you like it or not. That being the case, I have decided to end this last update with some positive things that have come from this situation.
* The ‘ice cream rx’. I can’t seem to keep my weight above 95lbs. Therefore I have been given carte blanche to eat whatever I want whenever I want. I love ice cream and chocolate and treats. And soft pretzels at 2 in the morning. This most definitely does not suck.
* My day starts when I goddam well feel like it. When I was able to work I was up every day promptly at 5 am. No longer getting paid…That shit ain’t happening. It brings great joy to look at the clock around 8am, tell said clock to go fuck itself, roll over and go back to sleep.
*Plenty of time to read now. Each chemo session lasts about 6 hours. The first mixture of it they put in some nice ativan which induces nappy time. But the next mixture is where they add in my steroids which seem to wake me up so I still have 5 hours or so to read. So yeah — guess I couldn’t pass any piss tests these days.
*Also plenty of time to catch up on TV shows. Working my way thru The Wire still. Next is The Sopranos. If anybody has any good suggestions for after that I’d love to hear them. No porn please you fuckin savages.
* Yeah – I’m that asshole who has way too much time to lurk on Twitter
There are other positive things too – but I’ve probably already crossed over into TL;DR territory for some of you.
Thanks again to you all. It’s been real fun writing these for you guys. Well, that and it’s not like I had a whole lot of anything better to do
Sup Taters? It’s me again with another update. Since I last wrote something to you guys I’ve had my next chemo. Yes the hair is gone. No…I cannot talk about that. I fucking look like Yoda. Enough said.
The shot from the day after chemo, Neulasta, was one mean bitch. I’ve been hobbling around all this week like an old dog with bad hips and arthritis. But…that bitch of a shot did its job! Its purpose was to help my bone marrow produce the white blood cells that I need to fight the disease. I was back to the hospital Monday and my blood work came back all good! That means that for the very first time since treatment started — my white blood cells are holding their own! No transfusion needed this time! I still have a long road ahead but this is a very encouraging sign.
On a crappier note — now my goddam eyelashes are falling out. You know how annoying it is when an eyelash falls out and you need to dig it out of your eye? Now imagine that 10 or more times a day. What a freakin pain in my ass. Of course you know the hair on my legs continues to need to be shaved. Some shit just ain’t fair at all.
Have a good weekend my Taters. I have no Dr. appointments till next week, so I plan to as well.
Alf
PS: If anybody wants to buy me a beer…I’m allowed to have one or two again now 😉
Sup Taters? It’s me again with another update. Since I last wrote something to you guys I’ve had my next chemo. Yes the hair is gone. No…I cannot talk about that. I fucking look like Yoda. Enough said.
The shot from the day after chemo, Neulasta, was one mean bitch. I’ve been hobbling around all this week like an old dog with bad hips and arthritis. But…that bitch of a shot did its job! Its purpose was to help my bone marrow produce the white blood cells that I need to fight the disease. I was back to the hospital Monday and my blood work came back all good! That means that for the very first time since treatment started — my white blood cells are holding their own! No transfusion needed this time! I still have a long road ahead but this is a very encouraging sign.
On a crappier note — now my goddam eyelashes are falling out. You know how annoying it is when an eyelash falls out and you need to dig it out of your eye? Now imagine that 10 or more times a day. What a freakin pain in my ass. Of course you know the hair on my legs continues to need to be shaved. Some shit just ain’t fair at all.
Have a good weekend my Taters. I have no Dr. appointments till next week, so I plan to as well.
Alf
PS: If anybody wants to buy me a beer…I’m allowed to have one or two again now
A month ago, we asked you guys to pledge some of your MMA memorabilia to our ongoing “Fight for ALF” fundraising efforts. And while that plea sort of fell on deaf ears — I guess you’re not the obsessed hoarders we thought you were? — two more members of the CP writing staff have stepped up to add some items to the pile. Read on for descriptions of the items, details on what you need to do to get them, and a new update from angrylittlefeet herself.
I was going through some boxes I packed a while back and I found this stuff. A framed signed Georges St. Pierre picture, a GSP action figure from UFC 87 and two Mint Topps UFC GSP cards. One is a “fighter gear relic card” that has a fabric swatch of GSP’s man panties or jock strap or something. The other is a “fight mat relic card” that has a piece of the octagon mat from UFC 100. So long as nobody takes a black light to the photo, all the items are in great shape. Granted, I will play TAPS and cry watching these items go but I already have the life-sized cardboard cut-out of Georges that I shower with and anything I can do to help Laura — I am willing.
A month ago, we asked you guys to pledge some of your MMA memorabilia to our ongoing “Fight for ALF” fundraising efforts. And while that plea sort of fell on deaf ears — I guess you’re not the obsessed hoarders we thought you were? — two more members of the CP writing staff have stepped up to add some items to the pile. Read on for descriptions of the items, details on what you need to do to get them, and a new update from angrylittlefeet herself.
I was going through some boxes I packed a while back and I found this stuff. A framed signed Georges St. Pierre picture, a GSP action figure from UFC 87 and two Mint Topps UFC GSP cards. One is a “fighter gear relic card” that has a fabric swatch of GSP’s man panties or jock strap or something. The other is a “fight mat relic card” that has a piece of the octagon mat from UFC 100. So long as nobody takes a black light to the photo, all the items are in great shape. Granted, I will play TAPS and cry watching these items go but I already have the life-sized cardboard cut-out of Georges that I shower with and anything I can do to help Laura — I am willing.
– Our fundraising drive officially ends on July 28th. At the end of that time, the person who has submitted the biggest donation will win the signed, framed photo of GSP.
– The second-place donation will win the Bas Rutten gloves.
– The third-place donation will win either the GSP relic cards, orthat UFC 127 program from Jason Moles that was signed by everyone from Kenny Florian to Brittney Palmer — your choice.
– The fourth-place donation will get whatever we have left, basically.
At the moment, the highest donation so far has been $500 (!), followed by a $150 bid, so you’ve got your work cut out for you. But as we always say, every little bit helps, so please visit our Fight for ALF Indiegogo page and kick in what you can. Any questions, let us know in the comments. (And if you have any last-minute memorabilia donations to share, please drop me a line at [email protected].) And now onto Laura’s weekly update…
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Hola Taters! It’s Alf again. Just stopping by to let you all know how my latest procedures went.
Monday I had my chemo port installed. They only lightly sedate you for this but I actually fell asleep while they were cutting me open. Yeah. It’s pretty bad when something like this gets to be just another day. It’s much nicer than the PICC line. Nothing actually hanging outside my body to be dealt with. It just looks like an alien implant. Or a third nipple. Whatever.
Tuesday was chemo #2. They went ahead & stabbed right into that brand new port for that. No need to let it heal a little or anything. Reaction to #2 was way less than to the first one thank goodness. We have a nurse in the chemo ward that I swear looks right like Big John McCarthy. Freaks me the hell out. I keep expecting him to shout “Let’s get it on” when he hooks somebody up to their chemo.
Wednesday back to the hospital for another shot. This one is supposed to help my body build my white blood cells back up after chemo. I feel really good today but they tell me that’s from the shot — I will most likely wake up tomorrow with joint pain so bad it feels like I’ve been hit by a truck. Awesome. Don’t sugar coat it. At least my cable should be hooked back up tomorrow I hope. I’ve got episodes of The Wire to catch up on if I can’t freakin move.
So that’s about it. Lotsa procedures, lotsa shots, and a metric fuck-ton of trips back & forth to the hospital.
Oh and I’m back up to 96lbs! That ice cream rx is working!
