The new year has brought great news.... I am officially in remission from Non Hodgkins Lymphoma. I found out on Christmas Eve that my final bone marrow biopsy showed that I was cancer free. GREAT NEWS!!!
In the last few weeks I have started to get my strength and stamina back. We decided to do our first trail run by going to Quartzsite for a short week. All went well.
After 6 great years of travel 2019 turned out to be a bust of a year for us. I can count on one hand the travel days in our RV. Good Bye 2019, be gone, don't bother coming back.
Now to look to our future. We have replaced Mazatlan, Mexico as our home base. We've had a new home built in Buckeye, Arizona and this will be our new base to return to as needed.
Our Spring/Summer plans are to cross Canada from British Columbia to Nova Scotia. We will be moving slowly and are planning a 5 month journey. We are going to travel under 200 miles every third day. Our plans are loose enough that we can stay longer in any place that we love. I hope to return to Buckeye, AZ refreshed and not worn out. We will adjust our travel speed to make that happen!
Between now and Spring we are going to enjoy camping around Arizona to experience the desert blooming. We were out ATV'ing in the White Tank Mountains this morning, the bloom is starting. (we've added a Yamaha ATV and trailer to our RV) Until my full strength returns we will be 4 wheeling instead of hiking.
It's great to be alive. It's great to be back RV'ing. Life is good.
GTM41261 said
07:29 PM Jan 26, 2020
great news
LarryW21 said
08:41 PM Jan 26, 2020
Happy to hear of this!
PIEERE said
08:19 AM Jan 27, 2020
Don't forget to Thank God every day!
bjoyce said
08:44 AM Jan 27, 2020
I agree, great news.
NWescapee said
09:47 AM Jan 27, 2020
Great news!!
RonC said
12:42 PM Jan 27, 2020
Congratulations!!! That weight is heavier than most think. Time is your best friend when recovering from a serious illness. Happy for you that it is in your rear view mirror ... keep your "I love you's" up to date as we all are on the same bus ride.
Terry and Jo said
09:00 PM Jan 27, 2020
Definitely good news to hear, Russ.
Stay optimistic and traveling.
Terry
jrzygrl64 said
02:28 PM Jan 28, 2020
So happy to hear this awesome news!
Sounds like you have an excellent plan to celebrate and enjoy your new health status!
If you find yourself anywhere near southwest PA, please reach out! Would love to see you guys!
Bill and Kelly
BiggarView said
04:44 PM Jan 28, 2020
Great news!
vannchan said
08:11 PM Jan 28, 2020
Definitely great news!
arcaguy said
06:02 PM Jan 30, 2020
Great news. I lost my best friend 18 years ago now to non-Hodgkins lymphoma, glad to see you beat it! Enough of the downer stuff. Enjoy your trip through Canada, I've been to most of the provinces and don't really have a favorite but the trek along the St. Lawrence Seaway is filled with history. There's also some really, really good fishing along the way it you're into that sort of thing. Happy travels.
Someday said
03:31 AM Feb 4, 2020
Awesome news on the health front Russ, and here's to many a happy mile ahead.
Russ Ranger said
06:00 PM Feb 6, 2020
I want to thank everyone for their well wishes. I’m feeling better each day as my strength returns. We are in the RV attending the Copperstate Fly-In at the Buckeye Airport in Arizona. It’s a nice way to spend a warm winters weekend watching air shows and hot air balloons.
Life is good.
jayc said
02:54 PM Feb 8, 2020
Great news, now go out and enjoy life.
Russ Ranger said
01:57 PM May 15, 2020
Well here we go again. Last time I wrote I had just gone into remission. We were planning a trip across Canada for the Spring and Summer. Then the whole Covid 19 thing closed up Canada and we saw our plans go down the drain. It was time for plan B. We would camp around the west coast this Summer. Wrong. My oncologist, radiologist and a bunch of scans tell me I will be spending my Summer dealing with a “reaccurance of Lymphoma”. It looks like we will be staying around Arizona this Summer. That’s OK with me because we can still RV between chemo sessions. We’ve purchased a UTV and trailer to tow behind the motorhom, so we are set to get to know our new state. Life is good....even with changing plans.
Thought: Start RV‘ing as soon as you can and as often as you can and for as long as you can.
-- Edited by Russ Ranger on Friday 15th of May 2020 02:06:26 PM
vannchan said
09:04 PM May 15, 2020
Good luck. And keep us posted.
PrairieRV said
08:24 AM May 17, 2020
Russ Ranger wrote:
It's great to be alive. . . . Life is good.
It is, indeed.
I’m sorry to hear about the current situation. Keep remembering that it’s good to be alive.
NWescapee said
09:03 AM May 19, 2020
Sorry to hear about the recurrence, wishing you the best on your treatments this summer.
Sushidog said
12:46 PM May 20, 2020
Keep us posted Russ. Our prayers are with you.
Chip
Someday said
10:09 PM May 20, 2020
Huge virtual hugs from Canada here Russ for you and Terri, followed and thoroughly enjoyed (Alaska/Europe etc) your travel logs from the beginning. You will be so much in our positive sending thoughts this summer so do keep us updated.
Russ Ranger said
06:34 PM Aug 12, 2020
A little update on my fight with cancer. My Non Hopkins Lymphoma remission only lasted for 4 months. The new cancer was diagnosed as stage 4 Relapsed Mantel Cell Lymphoma which is an incurable form of Lymphoma. My plan is to get through the new chemo and to go into remission. I always have been a complete optimist so that’s my plan. I am 4 weeks into the new chemo and all is going great.
We went out today looking for a place to RV next week. Found Lake Pleasant north of Phoenix. We’ll need air conditioning because temperatures we be over 110* all week. (High will be 116*).
Life is good.... looking forward to getting out again.
-- Edited by Russ Ranger on Wednesday 12th of August 2020 06:36:36 PM
vannchan said
01:54 PM Aug 13, 2020
Optimism is a strong weapon. I applaud your outlook and hope mine will be that good when unpleasant news comes my way. Enjoy getting out again.
George441 said
02:55 AM Aug 18, 2020
Great news, i am happy to hear from you.
Someday said
09:49 PM Aug 18, 2020
I've always loved your upbeat strong character and personality Russ. Happiness I've always believed is a state of mind. Love your optimistic outlook on everything life throws at you. Looking forward to reading about your travels around your new home state.
Helen.
Tim & Robyn said
02:49 AM Oct 5, 2020
Hello fellow NHL survivor! Great to hear your news. I had NHL in 1999, took the CHOP chemo protocol followed by radiation treatments and have been cancer free ever since... been 21 years now. I remember when I was diagnosed I went through the 5 stages of grief in about 2 hours and then got mad. I decided to fight tooth and nail, eat right even if I wasn't hungry to keep my strength up, and I never missed a day of work. My coworkers were very kind and supportive, but I demanded that they not cut me any slack and treat me as they always had. I wanted everything to be as normal as possible so that I wouldn't fall into the trap of feeling sorry for myself. At any rate life is good. I appreciate all the little things I used to take for granted. God bless and stay well!
Tim
ideshine said
07:44 AM Apr 14, 2021
Thank God! Health is wealth especially in this time of the pandemic.
The new year has brought great news.... I am officially in remission from Non Hodgkins Lymphoma. I found out on Christmas Eve that my final bone marrow biopsy showed that I was cancer free. GREAT NEWS!!!
In the last few weeks I have started to get my strength and stamina back. We decided to do our first trail run by going to Quartzsite for a short week. All went well.
After 6 great years of travel 2019 turned out to be a bust of a year for us. I can count on one hand the travel days in our RV. Good Bye 2019, be gone, don't bother coming back.
Now to look to our future. We have replaced Mazatlan, Mexico as our home base. We've had a new home built in Buckeye, Arizona and this will be our new base to return to as needed.
Our Spring/Summer plans are to cross Canada from British Columbia to Nova Scotia. We will be moving slowly and are planning a 5 month journey. We are going to travel under 200 miles every third day. Our plans are loose enough that we can stay longer in any place that we love. I hope to return to Buckeye, AZ refreshed and not worn out. We will adjust our travel speed to make that happen!
Between now and Spring we are going to enjoy camping around Arizona to experience the desert blooming. We were out ATV'ing in the White Tank Mountains this morning, the bloom is starting. (we've added a Yamaha ATV and trailer to our RV) Until my full strength returns we will be 4 wheeling instead of hiking.
It's great to be alive. It's great to be back RV'ing. Life is good.
Definitely good news to hear, Russ.
Stay optimistic and traveling.
Terry
Sounds like you have an excellent plan to celebrate and enjoy your new health status!
If you find yourself anywhere near southwest PA, please reach out! Would love to see you guys!
Bill and Kelly
Great news!
I want to thank everyone for their well wishes. I’m feeling better each day as my strength returns. We are in the RV attending the Copperstate Fly-In at the Buckeye Airport in Arizona. It’s a nice way to spend a warm winters weekend watching air shows and hot air balloons.
Life is good.
Well here we go again. Last time I wrote I had just gone into remission. We were planning a trip across Canada for the Spring and Summer. Then the whole Covid 19 thing closed up Canada and we saw our plans go down the drain. It was time for plan B. We would camp around the west coast this Summer. Wrong. My oncologist, radiologist and a bunch of scans tell me I will be spending my Summer dealing with a “reaccurance of Lymphoma”. It looks like we will be staying around Arizona this Summer. That’s OK with me because we can still RV between chemo sessions. We’ve purchased a UTV and trailer to tow behind the motorhom, so we are set to get to know our new state. Life is good....even with changing plans.
Thought: Start RV‘ing as soon as you can and as often as you can and for as long as you can.
-- Edited by Russ Ranger on Friday 15th of May 2020 02:06:26 PM
It is, indeed.
I’m sorry to hear about the current situation. Keep remembering that it’s good to be alive.
Chip
A little update on my fight with cancer. My Non Hopkins Lymphoma remission only lasted for 4 months. The new cancer was diagnosed as stage 4 Relapsed Mantel Cell Lymphoma which is an incurable form of Lymphoma. My plan is to get through the new chemo and to go into remission. I always have been a complete optimist so that’s my plan. I am 4 weeks into the new chemo and all is going great.
We went out today looking for a place to RV next week. Found Lake Pleasant north of Phoenix. We’ll need air conditioning because temperatures we be over 110* all week. (High will be 116*).
Life is good.... looking forward to getting out again.
-- Edited by Russ Ranger on Wednesday 12th of August 2020 06:36:36 PM
Helen.
Hello fellow NHL survivor! Great to hear your news. I had NHL in 1999, took the CHOP chemo protocol followed by radiation treatments and have been cancer free ever since... been 21 years now. I remember when I was diagnosed I went through the 5 stages of grief in about 2 hours and then got mad. I decided to fight tooth and nail, eat right even if I wasn't hungry to keep my strength up, and I never missed a day of work. My coworkers were very kind and supportive, but I demanded that they not cut me any slack and treat me as they always had. I wanted everything to be as normal as possible so that I wouldn't fall into the trap of feeling sorry for myself. At any rate life is good. I appreciate all the little things I used to take for granted. God bless and stay well!
Tim