Round 2...Here I Come!

Oddly enough, things went according to plan. What a strange occurance!

Monday was my appointment with the liver doctor. I will spare you the details of my agonizing 1 1/2 hour wait but I did see him and he had good news...imagine that! He took a look at some blood work from a few weeks back and noticed the liver counts essentially went back to normal...I pointed out that was because I was not on chemo for the 2 weeks prior. He was amused but also pointed out that that was a good sign that the liver counts were strickly a product of the chemo. DUH! I could have told you that doc! Well I suppose it's always good to err on the side of caution and rule out any of the scary stuff. All of my tests and ultrasound did just that. Woo-hoo! I then brought up my oncologists questions (1) how high could the counts go without being dangerous and causing serious permanent damage, (2) what is the "uh-oh" number that we just have to stop. He rambling off for a few minutes and then said he would call my oncologist directly and discuss my case. Phew! I've been asking those two to communicate and NOT rely on me to relay this very important information. I would somehow screw it up...I know I would.

Next up was Tuesday, my appointment with my oncologist and then my appointment with my chemo nurse. I asked my doctor if the liver doc had called and he said yes. The two had cleared up that they ARE on the same page and we will proceed ahead. I asked about when my next scan will be since we both suspect the tumors are growing based on my increasing pain. I didn't get the answer I was looking for but he did say that perhaps we should change back to my original chemo cocktail that we knew was working. It turns out that none of my liver counts changed despite the change in dose and the complete change of one of the drugs. So we will go back to the Methotrexate/Vinblastine combo and drop the Vinoralbine like a hot potato! Once we have a few treatments under our belt, we will then slowly increase back to the original doses.

Unfortunately, they didn't have the Vinblastine in the office so I offered to skip this week (aren't I just the team player :-) but sadly they declined. Treatment went ahead as scheduled with the old drug for the last time. This is the drug that makes me sick instantly. I am in a constant fight the minute I am hooked up. It's so weird! The entire rest of the day is a challenge and then I wake up the next day feeling tired but the nausea has gone away. The third day is back to the nausea! Ugh!

This time I lost the fight! I got sick on the way home in the car. Nothing is worse! I hate that feeling. I do have to admit that for a short period of time, I did feel a little bit better once I finally threw up but the feeling quickly returned and it turned into one of the worst days since starting chemo. The whole experience ought to turn me into quite a wreck come next Tuesday. Can't wait!

As for those buggers...my white counts...they were in the 30's which is terribly high and the doctor joked saying I have Leukemia. Uh-not funny doc! These oncologists sure have a strange sense of humor! We are still on 5 shots a week. They were no doubt so high because I had my last shot like 14 hours before I had my blood drawn. With 5 shots, it leaves little wiggle room since there has to be 24 hours between the last shot and chemo and 24 hours between chemo and my first shot. Count that sucker up and you have a full week! I could volunteer to get chemo every 2 weeks but they probably wouldn't ever go for that. I may just give it a try though :-)

I know I sound like a broken record but I am truly, truly strengthened and lifted by all of the support and love shown to my family. Not a day goes by without you asking me how I'm doing, how you can help or you are bringing my family the most incredibly gracious meals. With that help I can go to a baseball game, do a load of laundry and help the kids with their homework without ever having to worry about having the energy (and strong enough stomach) to prepare food for the kids to eat. Thank you just doesn't seem to be enough.

Thank you