I used to really like mountain dew and pepsi. I really don't like it anymore or chips or anything like that since the transplant. it really changed my taste and cravings. I do drink at lot more Gatorade than I used to. that probably not good for you either.cant take coffee anymore either. hope you and your family are doing well.

dave j

Julie,

I am a DP lover as well and the only time I wasn't drinking it was for the first six months after transplant, when nothing tasted good at all, including my beloved DP. I drank seltzer instead, which I also love, but nothing is as good as my DP. I just returned from seeing my father for Father's Day (it was emotional at times without my mother :( ), and I am on my third glass of DP (with ice of course). Hamburgers and hot dogs are SALTY!!

I would not be afraid of the DP as long as you are not guzzling a case a day! We have gone through too much to give up the things we love. Aspartame is just a string of amino acids. Carbonic acid (in carbonation) is just the chemical combination of carbon dioxide and water. Neither are carcinogens. So drink up, Julie! Let's toast with some ice cold DP.

Cliff

Julie and DaveJ -- great to hear your thoughts. I think there are bad things you can read about any of these artificial sweeteners -- at best they should be used in moderation. Stating that they cause cancer is probably as bad as stating the cancer feeds on sugar ... another common myth that is out there. The only thing I know that they have traced to causing AML is benzene -- I would guess breathing it or perhaps coming in contact with it. They discovered that oil workers were over-represented in AML and traced it to that. We have not had an oil worker on this list that I know of, so our problems are caused by something else (since every outcome has a cause). But we just do not know it. We can say it is a mutant stem cell ... maybe more than one, but probably only started with one (the chances of two stem cells having the identical mutation is probably a billion to one, but I believe that stem cell do have the capacity to produce other stem cells ... please correct me if I am wrong). Regardless this still does not tell us the cause -- what was it that caused the stem cell to become a mutant ... that is the question we would have to answer.

I have heard bad things about Gatorade and those other power drinks as well, but I can see the value in getting the vitamins, minerals, or whatever it is that they give you -- again the trick is to keep the intake down or you can poison yourself with them. Too much of anything is bad (or else it would not be too much).

I am a coffee fiend myself -- drink a small 4-cup pot in the morning and then do not touch it for the rest of the day. I am addicted, but I do not believe those little (actual) cups are in excess.

Hope this helps or at least gets us to thinking -- dave

Thanks Dave J, Cliff and Dave!

The benzene/AML connection is strong and per the article below (American Cancer Society) second-hand smoke is a huge source. Both my parent were massive smokers and used their cigarettes as incense in every room in our house. Interesting tidbit, my Father smoked for 70 years before dying of lung cancer and my Mother smoked for 68 and died with clear lungs-no cancer. Also, I lived in Europe for four years and it seemed to me Europeans come out of the womb with a cigarette in their mouth-ha ha The source of my AML is of little consequence at this point. I will go back to enjoying my DP


http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/othercarcinogens/intheworkplace/benzene

Well, since this thread has sort of gotten into causes, let me add my thoughts on this. It is obviously a highly random things, and must be some combination of something attacking a stem cell and its inability to fight it off. We know that basically one stem cell mutates (in a lot or possible ways), but then it produces blasts that will not mature, and then perhaps other mutant stem cells to multiply the effect. Benzene, smoking, second hand smoke (which probably contains benzene) -- these might attack the stem cells, but in most young people (with notable exceptions on this forum) it has no effect probably due to the body's natural resistance. This resistance tends to break down in the later 60s since that seems to be when most people come down with it. So it would seem to be a combination of something in the environment in combination with a wearing out of the natural defenses. I would not think that we are talking about a cumulative effect. However a continuous exposure to something would increase the probability of it getting through even if it were not cumulative. Sort of like the probability of someone who is not a good shot being able to hit a target given enough shots.

I would guess we are all exposed to benzene and other chemicals that can do a number on just one of our stem cells to get the process going. I would definitely avoid car or any engine exhaust, smoke or any kind of fumes. No sense tempting fate. Something is causing it and we know the correlation with benzene. -- dave

I have had benzene exposure maybe beyond what the normal person would have. In 2000-2001 we were building a new plant for General Motors for the new Cadillac CTS. It was on GM land that had old factory buiidings for Oldsmobile that were tore down. Testing of the soils revealed benzene and some other nasty stuff to the extent that we had to have our people wear haz mat suits to be in contract with the soils and in the trenches. There were times when the excavators bucket would hit rocks and spark and literally start the ground on fire. We had two underground explosions created by the augers for the cassions. I never really had any direct contact with those soils, but i was there at the site for about 2 years. I can also remember trying to sphion some really old gas out of a old hot rod i was working on and taking a swig of that by mistake.

I've stewed over how i got this for a long time and have long since given up on even worrying about it. My doctors have even admited that i will probably never really know what caused this. I just wish they could narrow it down to prevent anybody else from getting this.

Dave J.