The Impetus for Travel
Now that we are home, I reflect on the reason we planned this trip to Germany. And since I have a little more first-hand knowledge, I thought I might share more about Dendritic Cell Therapy.
If you have never heard of dendritic cells, you are not alone. First identified in 1868 by German anatomist Paul Langerhans, they were not “rediscovered” until 1973 when scientists at Rockefeller University recognized them as part of the immune system. And it wasn’t until 1992 that scientists in France were able to cultivate them from bone marrow stem cells.
Rare, because dendritic cells only represent about 0.2% of our white blood cells. Young white blood cells called monocytes can grow to be either dendritic cells or macrophages. Valuable, because these cells are the key to our defense system. They capture foreign invading microbes or viruses, convert them to antigens or peptides, and present them on their surface. Once in the lymph nodes and spleen, antibody making B-cells and killer T-cells get educated by the dendritic cells as to what they should be looking for. This is how vaccines for the flu and tetanus work.
The work with dendritic cells and cancer comes from years of AIDS research. My doctor in Germany spent quite a few years working at UCSF trying to figure out HIV. Seems the HIV virus can hide in a dendritic cell and wipe out T-cells causing AIDS.
In my case, they drew blood and isolated the small percentage of dendritic cells from my white blood cells. Then they introduced an antigen that would be present in a cancer cell. The dendritic cell chops it up and presents it on its service, thus considered activated. Prior to being injected with this, I was told that my serum contained 0.21% dendritic cells with 98% activation. Half of the shot went into the vein in my arm and a ¼ into each shoulder. The hope is that my immune system will now ramp up a response to the cancer tumors in my body. The procedure needs to be repeated each month for 6 months and then every six months for a couple of years. Guess I will be a frequent flyer.
While talking with the doctors in Cologne, I was told that about 75% of all cancer patients in Germany are receiving Mistletoe injections. Mistletoe extract has been shown to kill cancer cells and boost a patient’s immune system (not FDA approved). Not being one to pass up an alternative cancer treatment, I brought home a two-month supply. Unfortunately, that means I have to inject myself twice a day with a needle that looks like an insulin shot. Time to empathize with some diabetics out there. Oh, and since it is the season, if I am under the (influence of) Mistletoe, does it still warrant a kiss?
Doug on 12.13.06 @ 09:19 AM PST [link]
Monday, December 11th
Rhine Castles to Heidelberg
Well, we spent a great evening and day with Jeanette’s friend from Avaya, Henry and his wife Jennifer. They put us up for the night in their home in Bonn and treated us to a tour of Marksburg Castle (the only one on the Rhine that was never in ruins) and a walk through the lovely town of Linz.
Sunday, we jumped the train for Heidelberg and are spending our last two nights here. It was our second day in a row for a long hike to a castle. Unfortunately, for strategic reasons, they placed these things high on the hillside. Heidelberg’s castle is beautiful with great views of the old town. And the town holds a couple of good memories from when my brother Chris and I visited fresh out of college more than 23 years ago. It is a beautiful college town on the Nekar River with great history, food, beer and sites. It’s very popular with the tourists, even in the winter and for good reason.
I decided from the start of the trip that I would give up on the vegetarian diet and the sobriety. It made it a lot easier to absorb the culture. I don’t think we have had anything but a great dinner and you can’t beat the beer. I am hoping that I put on a few needed pounds.
Tomorrow morning, we jump a train for the Frankfurt main train station that is connected with the airport. We have a 2pm flight home and after 14 days of fast travel and suitcase living, we are ready to get back to our own beds. We also dearly miss our little girl and look forward to smothering her in kisses.
As for my health, I am feeling pretty well. Today was my second day in a row without Ibuprofen to ease the pain in my neck and arm. I still take one at night for sleep, but am optimistic that this is a good sign.
Doug on 12.11.06 @ 12:01 PM PST [link]
Saturday, December 9th
Luxembourg and Koblenz
Been out of Internet access the last few days. I will do my best to catch you up.
Staying with our “flexible” itinerary, we headed out of Amsterdam for a long train ride down to Luxembourg. We arrived around 9:30 PM with no idea where the city was or where we were staying. A comic cab ride with driver that only spoke French managed to land us in the center of the city. We then started dragging our bags over the cobblestone pedestrian area in search of a hotel with space. At about ten, we lucked upon the Hotel Fancais and the proprietor was able to put us up in a penthouse apartment that looked out over the old square. Dropping our bags, we headed for dinner.
This is a beautiful city located in the tiny principality. It’s history dates back nearly two thousand years. The ancient fortifications in this city are so impressive that it is called the Gibraltar of the North. As we spent a couple of days wandering around, it was amazing to see ancient ramparts, next to medieval buildings, alongside baroque. The bridges and architecture takes your breath away.
We then left Luxembourg and landed in Koblenz, Germany. This is where the Mosel River flows into the Rhein. It is referred to as the Deutches Eck or Germany Corner. We have had a couple of beautiful days walking this town. The food has been fantastic, we are more comfortable speaking German and the Christmas market is wonderful.
Last night I took the train up to Cologne and back to get my injections of my own Dendritic Cells. That story will require its own posts.
Doug on 12.09.06 @ 01:17 AM PST [link]
Tuesday, December 5th
Amsterdam
After enjoying our time in Brussels and Bruges, Belgium, we headed for Amsterdam. If you are familiar with Amsterdam and its “culture”, you will know that it is an interesting city to take a 12-year-old boy to. With the legal use and sale of soft drugs and sex, it creates an excellent teaching opportunity. Alamo is certainly a sheltered community and one of our goals was to expose Nick to the world.
That said, Amsterdam is a beautiful city with incredible architecture and waterways. We have even found the food to be quite good. There are so many languages spoken here, that it seems everyone has settled on English. This past evening we took in a movie (Casino Royal) at a beautiful art nouveau theater. All carved wood and frescos with three levels and boxes. People brought in a bottle of wine and dinner to enjoy the movie. Incredible! For dinner, we went to an English pup. I found one of the quotes on the wall to be fitting (Ellen E., this one is for you), "If you can keep your head through all the confusion, then you don’t understand the situation."
We have been staying at a hotel on Amstel St. (Have I mentioned how good the beer is?), which is right on one of the main canals near the center of the city. It has been an easy walk through the districts and to the museums. We got a chance to visit the Rijksmuseum that houses many Rembrandts and other famous Flemish artists of the Golden period. The realism, vivid colors and sharp contrasts are something to see. We found this statue of cupid at the top of the stairwell. Then we walked over to the Van Gogh museum to see an incredible collection of Vincent’s work. Did you know he only lived to be 36, didn’t start painting until his mid 20’s yet produced over one thousand pieces? Considered one of the most famous painters, he sold only one piece of work while he was alive.
Today (Tues 12/05), we may be traveling again. We are looking at altering our route and heading south to Luxembourg. From there we will circle around and up the Rhine or Mosel back to Cologne by Friday. We are having a great time. I am dealing with some pretty good pain off and on but I believe it is from constant movement of my neck looking at the amazing sights. In this photo, Nick enjoys a big pot of muscles.
Doug on 12.05.06 @ 12:01 AM PST [link]
Saturday, December 2nd
Bruges, Belgium
Doug on 12.02.06 @ 10:31 PM PST [link]
Friday, December 1st
Brussels, Belgium
Now here is a favorite. I think Jeanette has exclaimed several times that she could live here, usually following a sip of their great coffee or beer. The Belgians are best known for their beer, chocolate, lace and food. Now I am not a big lace fan, but they got me on the other three,
We landed in a great little 2 star hotel, a short walk from the Central train station and right in the middle of the old town. You could throw a cobblestone from here to the famous Grand Square. This is a huge area that is flanked on all four sides by beautiful buildings. Last night, they started a Christmas light show with music. They also have a nativity scene that is life size and stocked with real sheep. And of course, the lit booths of the Christmas market spills down the pedestrian-only side streets.
Yesterday, we took in their massive cathedral (picture of Nick in St. Michael’s) and three museums – all next to each other and close by. The first museum was a Sphinx exhibit that fit nicely with Nick’s 6th grade history. Next, we visited the ancient art museum that has a geat collection of paintings from artists such as Bruegel (the father and son), Rubens and Van Dyck. We found lunch in a great place near our hotel that sat us underground in an arched-brick room. Then Nick and I took in the Comic Book museum. Here, we got to see the origins of old cartoons such as Tin Tin and newer ones like The Smurfs.
The language here is mostly French and the architecture is truly amazing.
Doug on 12.01.06 @ 11:10 PM PST [link]
Past Posts
I am not sure how it happened. He is certainly exposed to a lot of different music. Jeanette and I listen to everything from The Dixie Chicks to Stevie Ray Vaughn to Miles Davis. But somehow, Nick got hooked on The Beatles. He loves them. He has an iPod Shuffle and it only contains Beatle albums. Wanting to encourage his love of music, we have bought him most of their CDs. The new LOVE album came from Santa this year. Jeanette has stopped encouraging the obsession. She wants him to branch out a little. His teachers and other adults relate, but his peers do not quite get it (at least not yet).
As expected, this is an emotional Christmas for the family this year. Last year, I had just finished my first round of chemo and had not heard that it had spread. We were celebrating with the thoughts that we were done with cancer and I could get my life back on track- something to be Merry about.
We were excited to go over to Europe the first couple weeks of December. Here was an opportunity to escape our flood of commercialism and a chance to enjoy the quaint Wienachtsmarkts (Christmas Markets) of Europe. These are a collection of booths set up in town squares selling everything from food and wine to gifts. 