Month: October 2006

Today I started the stem cell harvest process, and I just got word of today’s count: 7 million. We’ll go one more day (tomorrow) so there are enough for 3. Since I expect to live a long time, I want to have those extras on ice for the future. We’re getting them all now so that I won’t have to worry about what future treatments might do to my ability to harvest more later. It’s a big relief to have this done.

We (doc & I) disagree on letting me have a break in treatment for a few months though. He wants me to have my transplant on the 30th, and I want to wait. I called Dr. Durie to talk about this a little, and I know how to present my case to my doctor here now.

Today I had my last CBC before going in for the harvest on Monday morning. I feel ok, but my counts are all lower than ever.

Cytoxan is powerful stuff, eh?

I took the staff at my oncologist’s office some treats today. They’ve been so nice that I wanted to reward them somehow. The treats are not on the neutropenic diet though, so I was unable to sample. :( Oh well, if all goes as planned, there will be plenty of time for that later on.

I’ve been having CBCs every other day. Yesterday (Wednesday), my WBC was just .5! I’ve never had a low WBC before. My HGB was up to 10.1, I think. That’s good. Still lower than it’s ever been, but I know it’s only temporary.

Sunday night I’ll go to the Hawthorne Inn and check in, so I can be on time for my stem cell harvest (day 1) Monday at 8:00. There’s no being late for a stem cell harvest!

Pretty soon I’ll be having my third dose of Cytoxan for today. It looks like it says 2925 mg. I’ll have to ask, to be sure. I’ll also have my Ativan, and to help with a headache I have, some Tylenol.

The psychologist just stopped by to see me. I remember reading someplace that all the specialists who poke their heads in your hospital room door get to bill you a tidy sum for their visits. I’ll have to look at my bill to see what the charges are.

I’ll stop writing now, because I have a headache. It’s annoying, but not severe. I’ve found that the time lapse between asking for meds and getting them can be 1/2 hour to 45 minutes. I should have asked hours ago.

I just had 3 tablets of Zofran. This is what Chris had told me is the “Rolls Royce” of anti-emetics. My chemo is set to start at 10:00 AM, which is a little more than an hour from now. I’ve been told by a few people that this isn’t going to be so terrible, and I’ll be ok.

It’s 10:40 AM now, and my Cytoxan/Mesna has been started. The Cytoxan (cyclophosphamide) will go for an hour. It has such a charming name, doesn’t it? Shouldn’t chemo have pleasant and yummy sounding names to go along with the happy, smiling people in the ads? The Mesna will drip for 24 hours, and when that runs out, I’ll have about 6 hours more. I will get to leave here about 5 PM tomorrow (Friday, October 6). I just asked for some Ativan so I could be a little bit more calm. I actually asked for a bowl of them, but I’m pretty sure I’ll just get one.

The “lunch lady” just came around to see what I want for lunch. I’m so nervous that I can’t imagine eating. I ordered cream of mushroom soup and bottled water.