With CLL, I Try to Make the Best of Everything

Chester Freeman was diagnosed with bladder cancer and most recently with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Read Chester's blogs here!

The aphorism of “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” has been around for centuries. It’s something I believe, with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. 

Recently, I have been a little disappointed in my blood work. My platelet count has dropped from 44 to 38. I’m not happy, but I’m also glad it didn’t drop back to 31. My white blood cell count is high, at 26.9. I’m not thrilled about that either. But we must take what we get and make the best of it with cancer. I will consult with my oncologist to see what our next plan of attack will be. So, I keep looking up and I let the sun shine in!

We’ve all heard the aphorism, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”

The backstory of this aphorism began in Wales in 1866. The original version at that time was, “Eat an apple on going to bed and you’ll keep the doctor from earning his bread.” One can assume from the aphorism that people at that time were not happy with the service that physicians were providing. It wasn’t until 1913 that the expression we use now came into existence. We all know that medical practices in the 19th and 20th centuries were not as sophisticated as they are today. And no one wanted crude medical services performed on them by a physician.

If you love apples there is no better place to be during apple season than in upstate New York. All the apple research in New York takes place at The New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva. Many years ago, I befriended the director of the Apple Research Department and he gave me 20 apple trees that he was parting with. Unfortunately, only five of those 20 trees survived because the many deer in my area ate them. And of those five remaining trees, I was fortunate to have three Crispin apple trees and two Gala apple trees.

Each year, I asked one of the pruners from the experiment station to prune my trees to ensure that I was taking proper care of them. These trees produced so many apples that we put a stand in front of our house to give a lot of the apples away. People loved getting bags of apples from us.

About eight years ago, I decided to make my own apple cider. I asked a local mill a few miles from my home if they would press the apples for me. They told me I needed to have a certain number of apples in order to make it worth their time. So, I harvested all the apples from the trees and saved them for the apple press. When I had enough apples, I asked a friend with a truck to pick up the apples and take them to the mill for me.

I decided I wanted to make a unique type of apple cider, so I asked the mill to press the gala apples and the Crispin apples together. It was so much fun to watch my own apples being pressed by the old-fashioned wooden press.

All my apples produced 52 gallons of cider. The taste was remarkable and unique. Everyone loved it and raved about the taste of the cider. Since the cider was right out of the press, I decided to give a gallon of cider to all of my friends. So, I loaded the trunk of my car and began delivering cider all over the area, in Geneva, Seneca Falls, Canandaigua, Oaks Corners and the town of Stanley. When I was near the end of my supply, I began to give my remaining friends two gallons because I knew I couldn’t store the cider in my refrigerator at home. I was really pleased and happy with the way my cider turned out.

As I’ve learned, the apple is a great source of fiber and antioxidants. I do believe that apples can help us on many different levels. Epidemiological studies show that apples contain phytochemicals that have a chemo-protective effect. However, in order to receive the full health benefits of an apple, one must eat the whole apple, including the skin. I say that because I have some friends who don’t like eating the skin of an apple. 

The fall season is when apples are picked and some of my favorite varieties are:

The Gala — my favorite for making apple crisp,

The Honeycrisp — my favorite snacking apple,

The Crispin — my favorite for making an apple pie,

The Fuji — good eating apple and has a long shelf life,

The Zester — great apple for salads,

The Jonagold — makes great applesauce,

The Jonamac — good for a sauce, and

The Northern Spy — great apple for baking.

There are so many different varieties to choose from, so I’m looking forward to getting some apples at our local farmer’s market. And I’ve been eating an apple a day and it seems to keep me going.

Let’s eat an apple a day, hoping that it will help all of us!

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