During second cycle of Gemzar.

The MDs stuffed me with NESP (that's what some people think professional cyclist take to enhance their aerobic performance and to slow down the process of acidity of blood when they have to perform beyond their anaerobic threshold) and Neupogen and blood transfusions.

NESP didn't work at all with me. Or maybe my blood would have been even worse - on some days, my hemoglobin was down to 8.2, with my Erys down to 2.7M and a hematocrit of 22.

During such days, it's almost impossible to do anything. Simple things like walking up a stair can be a challenge.

During the 1990s, I was a marathon runner; I used to run 18 km a day 6 days a week - easily.
I was able to cycle a constant 250 Watts on an ergometer, which for an amateur at a weight of 60 kg was quite OK (I think).

Now, when I was sitting on my Ergo, my level of performance was so low that at the lowest resistance my ergo was providing (25 Watts) I was reaching my absolute limits...