Surprised…

(I would like to preface this with the fact that there is some boring Wikipedia facts in here…they are mostly for my benefit…as this is my running log of the goings on of this cancer…feel free to scan through anything that might hurt your head too much to think about…but stick through to the end because that is when I am going share something good the doctor said…)This morning we got up and went to the cancer center for blood work…to kill some time we went to a few thrift stores (cleaned out my trunk, woo hoo!), and came back for my doctors appointment…magically they were very on time which was nice…what I did not expect was that I was going to chemo today…I thought it had been placed on hold for a while, but I was WRONG…so I’m hanging out here in the cancer center getting chemo #8…it is a good thing that mom took the day off, so she was able to bring me lunch and my computer, and will be here shortly to take me back home…I was completely unprepared…I had brought nothing with me to keep me occupied…The verdict?Since starting the high does of steroids on Monday my liver enzymes have gone down…now this isn’t to say that the problem (hemolytic anemia) isn’t still there…he said that hemolytic anemia can be hard to get rid of (and could result in a splenectomy)…for instance while certain numbers are lower than Monday others are higher…one specifically being reticulocyte which is at 7.46 and should be at the highest 1.59…the nurse has explained to me that it is my bone marrow working…that they (the doctor, nurses, and chemo) are knocking things down in my body and it is fighting back…When there is an increased production of red blood cells to overcome chronic or severe loss of mature red blood cells, such as in ahemolytic anemia, people often have a markedly high number and percentage of reticulocytes…Reticulocytosis is a condition where there is an increase in reticulocytes, immature red blood cell. It is commonly seen in AnemiaI tend to get a little freaked out when numbers are SO much higher or SO much lower than they should be…My LDH which I talked about in one of my last posts went from 560 to 316 which was a good sign…Another concerning number for me are the lymphocytes they should be between 17-40 and mine is at 1 a measly ONE!…Lymphocytopenia, orlymphopenia, is the condition of having an abnormally low level oflymphocytes in the blood. Lymphocytes are a white blood cell with important functions in the immune system…so basically my immune system is suppressed…The doctor said I CAN get a flu shot but that I have to wait until I am done with the steroids…We won’t know for a while if it is JUST the steroids that are helping or if it is going away on its own…I will be on a high doses of steroids for almost 20 days before we will know…I started Monday on a 12 day dose which is turning into 17 days with the chemo I’m getting today…I will be getting blood work twice weekly to monitor all these funky numbers…The PET scan has been pushed back to the 30th of October…My red blood cell count is the highest it has been in A LONG TIME…and it has felt good…right now it is at 10.8! which explains all the energy I’ve had this week to do some organizing…our plans for cleaning the attic may be thwarted by this chemo treatment today but at least some of what I wanted to get done did…OH, how I have missed organizing…it is so flipping satisfying! I can’t handle it! Also the steroids make me a little wired and jittery so that is another reason I have had the gumption to get things done…I had been feeling guilty about taking all week off work but I guess somehow I knew it was the right thing to do because now that I got chemo today there is NO way I could have worked tonight, Saturday, or Sunday…guess that is to say you should trust your gut…In regards to my CT scan, Dr. M said that they look great and show NO signs of cancer…I’m not comfortable saying things are done, but that was great news to hear from him after the rollercoaster the funky numbers have been taking me on…I can’t wait until the results of the PET scan because then I think I will be able to let my heart rest…I’m am guarding my heart the best I can against disappointment and setbacks…which for me comes in being realistic and not too terribly optimistic…

GothBarbie said…Happy to hear about the good news! I know you don’t want to get your hopes up too high too soon but it is GREAT to hear what the dr. found!or didn’t find!Hope this round of chemo isn’t too hard on you- do lots of book reading!JoyAnne said…Woo Hoo! God is good, He fights our battles for us. No more cancer!!