Myeloma Rocket Scientist: A Christmas Carol
Many people think of “It’s a Wonderful Life” as the most archetypal Christmas film. For me, however, the best holiday film is “A Christmas Carol,” and not just any version, but the 1951 one starring Alastair Sim.
Sim was in many famous British films from this period, and was quite an actor. His interaction as Scrooge with a boy outside, below his window, on Christmas morning is something that I could watch year after year. In fact, I do. To the inconvenience of my family, I have developed a tradition of watching a DVD of this film at teatime every Boxing Day – the holiday celebrated the day after Christmas day in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth nations – while having tea, fruitcake, and Stilton on crackers.
The strong blue cheese Stilton is definitely one of my favorites. A hardship associated with my stem cell transplant was that, when my immune system was particularly low, I was not allowed to eat such things as blue cheeses that contain high levels of bacteria. Salad bars at restaurants were also ruled out-of-bounds, but I didn’t find that quite so hard to take.
I had my transplant as an in-patient, and another rule of the transplant unit was that we were not allowed to drink tea. They apparently had some theory that microbes could live on the tea leaves. I tried to argue that the water is thoroughly boiled when making tea correctly, killing off all potential microbes. I also mentioned the scientific fact that “Doctor Who” once had his life saved by a cup of tea, but all to no avail. Not being allowed tea and Stilton was rather hard to take!
Fortunately, my transplant was in January, so these prohibitions did not affect my Boxing Day traditions that year. In fact, the only problem that Christmas was that I was pretty tired and fairly lacking in hair, both of which were a result of the pre-transplant chemo that was used to aid in stem cell harvesting. The harvesting was in early December, around six weeks before the transplant, which puts it pretty much 10 years ago from when I am writing this column.
Next January 19 will be the tenth anniversary of my transplant. I have already written a couple columns on various anniversaries, so I won’t go on about this one too much. However, I will just mention that things have turned out far, far better than I imagined 10 years ago. At the time, I expected to only have around three more years, during which I would presumably feel pretty ill for a lot of the time. You just never know. Also, you should never underestimate the effects of the new treatment options that are being developed all the time!
This year, I may have to go to work on Boxing Day, to get ready for a spacecraft maneuver a couple days later. (Time and orbits wait for no man.) So, to be on the safe side, I went with my younger son to see a stage version of “A Christmas Carol” earlier in December. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it was very enjoyable. Some parts were familiar from the film and other parts different, for instance resetting the action from London to Baltimore. There were some other lines that were not from the film but had the ring of authentic Dickens, and so were presumably from the book. (I am ashamed to say that I started reading it once but didn’t get much beyond the first page.)
Cancer somehow worked its way into the show. After the play was over, the theater company made an announcement that they were raising funds for a charity that helps families with seriously ill children (an actress described them as “the real Tiny Tims”), including those with cancer.
This announcement reminded me of how much worse it is for children who have cancer than it is for us adults. Even though I thought that being diagnosed with multiple myeloma at age 51 was “too young,” I had had a good long time of being healthy up until that point. Being diagnosed when you’re just getting started in life must be very hard.
Also, no matter how confusing treatment options sometimes are, adults have at least a reasonable chance of understanding what they are going through, and why the treatment side effects are worth it in the long run. This has to be very difficult for a young child to take in. It must also be a real trial for their parents, who have to make such difficult decisions on their behalf in very difficult and frightening circumstances. It makes me feel like I really do have it easy.
I would like to wish all families in such circumstances, and everyone else reading, a happy holiday season and a healthy new year!
Trevor Williams is a multiple myeloma patient and columnist at The Myeloma Beacon. You can view a list of his columns here.
If you are interested in writing a regular column for The Myeloma Beacon, please contact the Beacon team at .
Great article, Trevor!
They denied a man from Britain his tea. That's just wrong! I really enjoyed your article, Trevor! Merry Christmas from
Canada.
Sue
You have a very important point there about getting cancer as a child or adult. I was diagnosed at 37, one year ago, and while still trying to understand this serious disease and what it means, being a mother of two young children, I often think about how glad I am that it is me who got cancer and not one of my children, or any other child really.
It comforts me to read that your ten years since diagnosis has been much better than you first thought. It is easy to think that things are just getting worse every year after diagnosis and it's good to know that it doesn't have to be that bad.
I also totally agree that A Christmas carol is one of the best Christmas films/stories. Recently I watched the 1984 film version but will now try to find the one you mention.
Thank you for sharing and happy holidays to you and you family
Thanks, Trevor, for the nice column. I remember having to avoid blue cheeses and unpasteurized cheeses, as well as going to salad bars or buffets, during and after my transplant. That was in January of 2010, and for a present that year my family took me shopping for a wig. I didn't really like being bald! The wig was warm and stylish too. I can't imagine not being able to have tea, either caffeinated or herbal though.
Best wishes to you and your family, and I hope you have a super holiday season together!
Happy Holidays Trevor. I too have thought about how difficult it must be for children with cancer and other diseases and for their family. It is easy for me to feel sorry for myself, until I think of the children and other folks that have a much tougher lot in life.
Happy Boxing Day! A little while ago I watched my “A Christmas Carol” DVD while eating Stilton on crackers and Christmas cake, so it really feels like the holidays now.
Jack – Thanks very much!
Susan – Thanks for the comments. You and Nancy, being from Canada, understand the importance of tea!
Myosotis - I agree with you about illness and your children: it is harder to take when anything happens to one of them than when it happens to you. Having said that though, being diagnosed with myeloma at 37 sounds really young to me. I hope things are going well. I’m glad that you found my discussion of being 10 years after transplant comforting. Things have gone so much better than I had expected at diagnosis that these days I do sometimes (especially when I am particularly busy with work) almost forget about myeloma for a while. I am sometimes afraid that writing about my experiences will annoy people who are having much more difficult experiences, so I was really happy to read that you found it encouraging.
I’ve never tried the 1984 version of the film, but really should sometime. I’m definitely a creature of habit. Happy holidays!
Nancy – I hope you and your family are having a happy holiday break too. Yes, having no tea was bad! The first things I did when I got home after the transplant were racing around the house savoring the freedom of not being tethered to an IV pole, and having cup after cup of tea. It didn’t seem to do me any harm! On the question of hair, I didn’t bother with a wig, but I think it’s a lot easier for men to be bald.
Mark – Thanks for your comment. Yes, that’s exactly what I was thinking too.
Dear Trevor,
I enjoyed you tying your memories of your stem cell transplant to Boxing Day and the Christmas Carol. What I remember about the Christmas Carol is the message of hope and renewal in the character of Scrooge. Good for us with the chronicity of multiple myeloma.
In February 2011, it was bitter cold in Denver, and I felt overwhelmed by the limitations in eating. I remember potato was always the safe choice – French fries, baked, roasted, stuffed. I survived a month on that. Yet I sympathize with the ban on tea. I would have rebelled if someone had forbidden coffee.
Happy New Year and keep writing.
Maureen
Hi Maureen, Happy New Year! Yes, I agree with you about the message of Scrooge. I wish I could say that I become a bit less curmudgeon-like after watching it, but I’m not sure about that!
Have you seen “The Martian”? The mention of your potato diet reminded me of it. It’s a pretty good space film, and even quite accurate.
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