My parents are arriving here tomorrow from the U.S. (yippee!), so, as you can imagine, I am busier than busy these days. No time to post, answer e-mails, nada de nada…please be patient. Things will get back to normal in a few days, once my parents have settled in and so on. At that point I will try to answer at least some of the messages I have received and do some research.

I have received some very interesting comments recently, so please check them out if, like moi!, you like to read blog comments (the easiest way to do that would be to scroll down this page all the way to the bottom and, on the right, you will find the heading “Recent Comments“ that lists the most recent comments).

For instance, my blog reader Roberto, who has MALT lymphoma, has a few suggestions on how to use feverfew. The important thing, he writes, is to use parts of the whole plant. I think I may try doing just that this summer. My parents are bringing me a parthenolide supplement, but the percentage of PTL is so low that I am not sure what good it will do, if any. If at the same time I drink feverfew tea made with my own feverfew plant, though…wouldn’t that give my myeloma cells a double whammy? (Wishful thinking!)

By the way, to answer Munjid’s question, feverfew is indeed related to chamomile. One of its earliest scientific names was Matricaria parthenoides, and the Latin name for chamomile is Matricaria recutita. They both belong to the chrysanthemum family (fancy that), from what I read. They look similar, but there are differences if you look closely. Stefano’s aunt explained to me the other day that feverfew, for instance, lacks chamomile’s protruding central disk (its centre is flat).

A blog reader privately sent me a question concerning white cell count and creatinine, but I seem to have deleted or lost that message by mistake. If you read this, please drop me a note again. Very sorry about that!

Ok, I must be off, it’s getting late!