Drove down to Kennebunk and back like a real person.

My childhood friend, Kirk Hotte, and his family are visiting Maine from London. I had not seen them in almost 4 years, and so, even though they are staying all the way down in Kennebunkport, I took the last two days to drive myself down to see them. I stayed overnight in Brunswick, but the next day, I drove down to Portland, saw my two nephews, had some lunch and then drove the remaining hour to Cape Porpoise. Usually that drive is not a full hour, but there were a stunning amount of road closures.  and then, after hanging out with them and their two great boys, I made a simple dinner, and then drove the three hours back home. For me, it was a remarkable trip. I have not been able to do something that required that much energy since slightly before I was diagnosed, way back in April.

Of course, I am tired today, and will take some extra naps and recharge. But the fact that I could do it at all is exciting. I also was able to run a few simple errands - two at big box stores, which even when I am feeling at my best I find tiring. This morning I am at the camp - so relaxing, but after lunch I am going to try to rally and at least unload the car down at the house. That takes so work because our drive is actually quite a climb from the front door. It will be a good workout.

Good bloodwork, and exercise.

I had my bloodwork done today, and it looks GREAT. My neutrophils are in the normal range, my red blood cells and platelets are only a little below normal. My oncologist did not expect these sort of numbers until my bloodwork next week.

I have started my exercise program to get back into some sort of shape. I have lost about 30 lbs of muscle, and I recently heard that on average, a person loses 50% of their muscle mass for every 2 weeks of bed rest. Considering that I have had been in bed rest for about half the time over the past 4 months, that is a lot of muscle lost. I need to get some back before I go into Dartmouth, because that will be almost 4 months of continual bedrest. I can not imagine what I would look like if I can't gain a little bit back before I go in.

My "workout" right now consists of a 15 minute walk every other day, alternated with a light upper body workout with the therabands. Every day has stretching. I hesitate to call it yoga, but that is what I am aiming for. I had a good walk yesterday, I try to get my breathing up to the point where I can carry on a conversation, but I am definitely working. I am not sure that I will be able to get the point where I am running before I have to go to Dartmouth, but that is a goal. My upper body goals include an actual push-up or 3, and some dumbbell shoulder presses. We will see how far I get. For now, it is a little at a time.

Survived, and made it back home.

I got out of the hospital late Friday, and we drove back to Brooks. I don't remember a lot of the last 2 weeks. They have this 1 through 10 scale, that the nurses use for pain. I have a new rating for 10. That is when you pass out. There was quite a bit of pain. I have a high pain threshold, and I don't particularly like using drugs, but I think that I really need to err on the side of more morphine. I was authorized for morphine every 15 minutes for most of my stay, and I think that I should have taken more advantage of that and brought the pain level down more quickly. I do remember being on oxygen, having a heart rate of 140, building a pillow fort, sticking my arm out for the nurses to draw blood from and not coming out for a day and a half. Most of the time was pretty much a blur though. I actually had to read Becky's posts to find out how the weeks went.

I am home now, and although on Saturday, I still felt pretty bad, I have been getting substantially better every day. I lost a lot of muscle, and as of yesterday, weighed in at 148, which is about 30 pounds below what I think of as my typical weight. I have a lot of work to do to regain that muscle. I have started a workout program, which consists of walking 10 minutes a day, doing my stretches, and some work with the therabands - which are therapeutic rubber bands that have different resistances. I have about 4 or 5 weeks before they send me off to Dartmouth, I think, and I would like to gather some strength before that happens. I know that I will lose it all again while I am laid up there, but still. It is hard to not be able to lift more than 20lbs, or walk 10 minutes.

On Sunday, I had a group of friends over to the camp, and that was really nice. I have not seen my friends for nearly 2 months, first because I was in chemo, then because I was neutropenic (which means that I did not have any white blood cells, and so had no resistance to disease), and then I had the fever and was back in the hospital for 2 weeks. But as of Friday, my white blood count is low normal, so I am able to see people again. I have some wonderful friends, and it was so nice to be out and somewhat social again.

I have a blood draw tomorrow morning, so I will update you on exactly how it is going, as well as having a meeting with my oncologist. So I hope to know more about when I will be going to Dartmouth and how that will all work. I know that I have a short (2 day) chemo session in a few weeks to keep my cancer in remission.

Recovering nicely

Posted by Becky
Leif's been snoozing all day, except when I was out of his room for a few hours, so I haven't actually talked with him much today.

His oncologist just stopped by and says that he's doing great. They're stopping all his antibiotics, his chest xray looks almost clear, his blood counts look great, and she thinks he will be able to leave the hospital tomorrow! His nurses report that he's needing a lot fewer painkillers, which I assume means that his bone pain is diminishing.

He still has a rash, red face, and puffy eyelids, probably from an allergic reaction to one of the multitude of antibiotics he's been on over the past week. The rash popped up when they discontinued the steroids; possibly they were suppressing the reaction. At any rate, the vast quantities of Benedryl he's been taking for the rash are likely related to his sleepiness. Also, he had a rough couple of weeks and the eyelid puffiness makes it hard for him to keep his eyes open, so sleeping probably feels like his best option.

Zzzzzzzz

Posted by Becky
It looks like they've found a painkiller dose/combo for Leif that has taken the edge off. He's gotten comfortable in a couple of chairs lined with pillows, and is taking a snooze. I'm hanging out keeping an eye on his breathing, since they had to give him quite a bit of morphine. I am hopeful that since they've gotten his pain under control, they can keep ahead of it now.

Ouch ouch

Posted by Becky
Starting yesterday evening, Leif's been in a lot of pain from his big marrow bones. He's been getting shots of Neupogen, which increases his neutrophil production. That's a good thing. But, it has a side effect of aching bones. When he's not in the hospital he gets an extended-release version of the same drug, Neulasta, which makes him achy. But yesterday's shot of Neupogen seems to have put him over the edge and he's been needing a lot of pain medicine, which still isn't doing the trick. He didn't sleep well last night, and hasn't been able to do much today except lie down and make faces. The doctor increased his pain med prescription, but that hasn't really helped yet either.

He also has a rash/facial flushing. The doctors think this is probably a reaction to an antibiotic, but of course they can't tell which one since he's gotten so many, and the amount of time from dose to reaction can vary widely. The rash itself isn't too bad - not very itchy - but it could be the beginning of a more severe reaction. So, they've decided to stop all the antibiotics he was taking heretofore and put him on cefepime. That only gets dosed IV for a couple of hours a day, and the rest of the time, Leif can be unplugged from his IV pole! Once the bone pain simmers down, I know he'll appreciate the increased mobility.

Still no conclusive information about what bug was making him sick.

Currently Leif's getting a chest xray to see how his lungs are doing. His white blood cell counts more than doubled since yesterday, thanks to the Neupogen. His other blood counts are going up, although not as fast. So Leif is still doing what needs to be done to get out of here, although we don't know when he'll be able to go home yet.

Still improving

Posted by Becky
Leif continues to improve daily. His health does, too. He had three doctor visits today - pulmonologist, infectious disease specialist, oncologist - none of whom had much to report. They are still investigating what bug(s) he has, so they can figure out which antibiotics he needs, for how long, and which they can discontinue.

His blood counts are up, although not spectactularly so. He hasn't needed platelets, although he's scheduled to get blood sometime today. His appetite is improving. Speaking of appetite, he's been working with the hospital nutrition staff to improve what they can give him to eat. Proof of his success:

In case you can't tell, that's a slice of quiche, with sauteed mushrooms, kale, and arugula. Real Leif chow!

No word on when he can get out of here, yet. Not until the end of the week at the earliest.

Monday doctor visits update

Posted by Becky
Two visits today, from the pulmonologist who's here today and Leif's oncologist.

Leif is off supplemental oxygen as long as he's awake; he needs to check his oxygen level before going to sleep, and if it's low-ish, he'll get extra for when his breathing slows down. His temperature remains normal, and his heart rate continues to improve. Yesterday's chest xray is slightly better than the previous one, though still significantly abnormal. Leif reports that he's able to take increasingly deep breaths before hitting the point that makes him cough. He's continuing to take breaths up to that point, deepening his breathing as he can. The vision in his left eye is improving.

The blood cultures that have come back so far are all negative, so they still don't know what he has. They've ruled out pneumocystis.

His doctors have checked into the hallucinations he's been having, and changed his voriconazole from IV to pills, which have a lower incidence of these effects. The hallucinations don't particularly bother Leif since they are expected to go away when he stops taking the voriconazole - i.e. the effects aren't permanent. And really, when you're stuck in a beige room for a week or two, unable to read, why not take an hallucinogen to pass the time?

His neutrophil count is up from 0.5, to 0.7; just creeping up, but going in the right direction. He'll be on prednisone for a couple of weeks of gradually decreasing doses.

The amount of time Leif needs to remain in the hospital depends on what antibiotics the infectious disease specialist thinks he needs to stay on, for how long, and of course how he continues to recover. After he's completely off antibiotics for one week with no fevers, he'll get some gentle chemotherapy to keep the lymphoma down, and maybe some more chemo 3 weeks later, to give him time to build up his strength and be healthy enough to get a stem cell transplant.

Sunday doctor visit update

Posted by Becky
Leif's definitely doing better. His neutrophil (i.e. the part of his immune system that's working) count is up past the threshhold where his body can fend off infection. His platelets are still hanging down - he got one unit of them today. He looks better in person as well as on paper; he spent the day in a chair rather than in bed. He was able to enjoy his visitors and phone calls. He's on less oxygen than he was, so his lungs are improving. There was quite a bit of fluid in his lungs; that's clearing out, although he still has pneumonia.

They will reduce his steroids gradually and see how he does.

The echocardiogram showed some fluid around his heart. They're going to just monitor that; nothing needs to be done about it at this time.

The vision in Leif's right eye is improving, although it's still providing some special effects to go along with the visual hallucinations he gets from the vorconazole. He's also still pretty fatigued. That causes him to doze off while sitting up, and see dreams overlaid on what's going on around him. Never a dull moment.

Looking forward, Leif needs to recover thoroughly from this infection before going forward with any more lymphoma treatment. He needs to be hale and hearty going into the stem cell transplant, since that's more rigorous than what he's done so far.They are likely to give him some "gentle" chemotherapy between now and the transplant to keep the cancer at bay, depending on how long it takes for him to get strong enough.

And now, a couple of photos from this week's adventure:

Friday night, smokin' his nebulizer to enhance his oxygen uptake. Note the fancy white plastic moustache. He got a nebulizer of lidocaine right before his bronchoscopy, too, enhanced by a Q-tip of lidocaine gel resting in each nostril. I was not bold enough to take a camera into the ICU to take a photo of that. 

Today: up, at the computer, and smiling. Go Leif!  

Feeling better

Posted by Becky
Leif's temperature is down to normal, he's alert, though tired and not his usual quick self, and it looks like he's on the mend. His heart rate is better and his oxygen levels are going up, too. His nurse says that his blood counts are up somewhat, although I haven't seen them yet.

They still don't know what bug is making him sick, and there are still incursions in his lungs. He got an echocardiogram and another chest xray this morning. He's still on the four antibiotics (gentamycin, Zosym, vorconazole, and Bactrim). They're giving him some platelets this morning.

One of the effects of low oxygen is pareidolia, which has been keeping Leif entertained.

Saturday doctor visit update

Posted by Becky
Yesterday's chest xray shows that Leif now has diffuse pneumonia. He's going to get an echocardiogram today, to see how his heart is handling the stress. They're also going to start him on steroids, to help with oxygenation. The plan is keep supporting him until he responds to the antibiotics and his white blood cells start coming back. His neutrophil count is up a little bit, and his platelets are holding steady; typically platelets are the first blood cells to come back, so that's a positive sign. If you'd like to send good juju, give an encouraging cheer for Leif's bone marrow.

Last night his oxygen levels dipped, so they put him on a different oxygen mask style (a stylish white plastic handlebar moustache) and gave him a nebulizer, which helped. If his oxygen levels dip too low, they'll put him on a ventilator, but that hasn't been necessary yet. Some of his lung congestion may be due to excessive fluids, so they're putting him on a diuretic during the daytime. He'd like to hold off getting diuretics at night if possible, because it's hard to sleep when you have to pee every 20 minutes.

Leif's not bouncing back from visits the way he was earlier, so please call before coming by to see him.

Still working on a diagnosis

Posted by Becky
Leif's infection hasn't been responding to the antibiotics he's been on so far. He continues to have a high fever and to feel very tired and out of it. They are keeping him on Tylenol for his fever, oxygen, IV fluids, pain medications, and miscellaneous drugs. His blood counts remain low, so he's been getting blood, platelets, and injections of Neupogen, a drug that stimulates production of neutrophils, which are the white blood cells Leif needs to be producing more of.

The transplant specialist suspects that his lungs have Aspergillus, a fungal infection, so they started him on Vorconazole, its treatment of choice. The infectious disease specialist thinks Aspergillus is less likely since Leif hasn't been neutropenic for long enough, and suspects Pneumocystis, so they've started him on Bactrim for that. The cultures that might provide a clear diagnosis won't be ready until Monday, so Leif will be getting both of those antibiotics, plus Zosym (the broad-spectrum antibiotic) and Gentamycin at least through Monday. Both Aspergillus and Pneumocystis are always present in everyone, but they can become invasive in an immunocompromised person.

They've discontinued the Vancomycin, since its main target is MRSA, and Bactrim will also work on MRSA. Leif's MRSA cultures have come back negative, but they still want to make sure they cover it. The Vorconazole has a side effect of visual "disturbances" - things sparkle and turn cool colors every once in a while - which has been keeping Leif mildly entertained.

Another medical adventure that Leif enjoyed was the MRI to check out his eye. He heard that MRIs were loud, so he brought his high-decibel earplugs. They also had noise-canceling headphones, and he chose to get classical music piped in. The machine is a clean tube with a bright, straight cobalt line shining in it. When they turned the machine on, it pulsed his back and neck, and he said it felt like a great massage. He found it so relaxing that he went to sleep. Apparently, that is not a common reaction to getting an MRI.

He also got another chest xray yesterday afternoon, to check how his lungs are doing.

This weekend will involve waiting to see whether Leif's fever and other symptoms respond to any of his new meds, and hang on until Monday when they can get closer to a diagnosis. He's up for short phone calls. If you'd like to visit, please call first since he's pretty wiped out.

But the good news is...

Posted by Becky
The results of Leif's PET scan were good. There was "no uptake;" the scan did not detect any cancer. This means a couple of things: that Leif's cancer is sensitive to chemotherapy, and that he's done with the aggressive chemo regimen he's been getting! Depending on how long it takes him to recover from these infections, he may need some gentler chemotherapy to prevent the lymphoma from coming back before his stem cell transplant. And, of course, the transplant process itself involves some drastic chemotherapy.

So the goal now is to control these infections, and then Leif will need some time to recover his health from being this sick. They won't want to do any more chemo or start the transplant process until he's strong and his blood counts have recovered enough. That is likely to take at least a couple of weeks. I'm not thinking very far ahead at the moment, but it's encouraging nonetheless.

Bronchoscopy today

Posted by Becky
Today we got to see the inside of Leif's bronchial tubes. Which was cool, but it's not something I'd recommend someone do for fun. Sedatives don't work that great on Leif, so it was uncomfortable for him. They pour some wash fluid into the lung and then draw it back into the scope, in order to get a sample to test. The goal is to determine what, precisely, they saw on the CT scan, so they know how to treat it. Because his reflexes were working just fine when the wash fluid went into his lungs, he started coughing and they had to finish up rather quickly. They did get enough sample back to be able to culture and test, just not as much as would have been ideal. Fortunately, the sedatives they gave him prevent him from remembering the most unpleasant part. Hurrah for drugs.

He's running a fever, and is getting oxygen, a smorgasbord of antibiotics, an antifungal pill, Tylenol, etc. One more unit of blood is scheduled for this evening, and then with any luck they'll be done checking his vital signs so often for the night. I'm hopeful that he can get a good night's sleep rather than a series of interrupted cantaps like he's been getting. He's been holding up well considering, and earlier today was feeling alert enough to do something besides sleep. Now he's awake and drinking plenty of liquids, but feeling quite wiped out from the procedure, fever, etc. He is planning to eat some supper once his antinausea medication kicks in, since he had to fast all day today prior to the procedure. He fasted most of yesterday, too, because they were still hoping to do the bronchoscopy then.

Leif's main oncologist came by this evening about 6:45. She talked with the transplant specialist at Dartmouth, who has suggested another antifungal to give him. That they should know more about the best way to treat the lung situation tomorrow, once information from the bronchial sample starts coming back. Data will trickle in over a number of days, since some tests are cultures, which take time, and some are sent to other locations to be tested. The antibiotics he's been getting so far do not seem to be getting to either infection, either the one in his lungs or the one in his GI tract. The lung one has the doctors more worried, but the GI one is causing Leif more immediate pain.

He's been getting so many platelets to so little effect, that a couple of things might be happening. One is that his spleen is so large, the platelets they're infusing are getting sucked up by his spleen, which has been swelling as he's been getting all these transfusions. The other thing that is probably happening is alloimmunization. His body forms antibodies against the foreign platelets, and takes them out as fast as they infuse them. This is likely considering the huge amount of platelets he's gotten over the past two days, and the small increase in platelet levels in his blood. The transplant doc made some recommendations about how to infuse platelets that might get around that response somewhat. He thinks that Leif's spleen will continue to shrink on its own. Once his bone marrow starts making a decent quantity of platelets again, these two effects will diminish. But in the meantime, they need to do everything they can to keep his platelet levels up. Having blood that won't clot is risky for a host of reasons.

I mentioned a few days ago that Leif is having vision problems in his left eye. They've determined that it's from retinal bleeding (due to low platelet count). There is nothing along his optic nerve, and nothing wrong in his brain. Therefore, when his platelet count improves, his body should clear the blood away on its own with no lasting ill effects.

Busy day getting tested for things

Posted by Becky
Leif had a long night last night, getting blood, platelets, and oxygen. Today, he got two CT scans. The first is for his left eye. He has a spot in his vision, like a floater, but his vision at the edge of the floater is distorted. So they're checking that out. In the meantime, he's wearing an eye patch because the distortion gives him a headache. So although he feels bad, at least he looks piratical.

The second scan was a neck-to-groin one to see what's going on with him infection-wise. He got a visit from Dr. Courtney, an infectious disease specialist, today, who says that it appears he has pneumonia in both lungs. This was not visible in the chest xray he got in Belfast last Tuesday, so it's new since then. Dr Courtney did approve of the type of antibiotics Leif started taking last Tuesday (Augmentin and Levofloxacin). Part of each lung is fine, which is why he's not noticeably short of breath, but the doctor is concerned. So, he has contacted a pulmonologist, who may do a bronchoscopy tomorrow, to determine whether the infection is bacterial or fungal. Depending on the response to the antibiotics he's been getting, he may not need a bronchoscopy, but they want to be prepared if he does. He's been on IV Zosim for the last two days, which is a broad-spectrum antibiotic. 

They also took some more blood (from his port and a peripheral vein) this afternoon to do another blood culture. They specifically are checking for a particular bacteria that can infect ports. They did a culture in Belfast too, but here in Midcoast they haven't gotten the results yet, and it's an important thing to check.

Starting tonight, they've put Leif on two antibiotics, vancomycin (for gram-positive bacteria) and gentamicin (for gram-negative). 

He's also getting two units of platelets tonight - just started the first one - and one unit of red blood cells, and they've been giving him oxygen since yesterday. With the O2 he's not noticeably short of breath, but without it, the O2 saturation in his blood goes down fairly quickly. His nurses are giving him plenty of painkillers, and the nutritionists here have taken him on as a challenge. They sent up a roasted-veggie dish and some good fruit this evening. I have the fridge and freezer stocked with good things too, but his appetite hasn't been so great today.

Unscheduled trip to Midcoast Hospital

Posted by Becky
Today Leif got to ride in an ambulance with the siren going! The new experiences just keep rolling in. The infection that was causing his low-grade fever got worse, and the antibiotics weren't keeping it under control. So we went to the emergency room in Belfast this morning. After he met with the doctors there and got some blood drawn, it was decided to transfer him to Midcoast for inpatient treatment. He's scheduled for chemotherapy here on Friday anyway. Because his low blood counts made him a cardiac risk, they used the ambulance siren this time, and made it from Belfast to Brunswick in an hour. He says that driving Route 3 at 80 mph while lying down provides a nice massage.

The blood cultures aren't back yet to tell us what bad guys, exactly, are causing the infection. He's on an IV antibiotic, and they're couriering platelets from somewhere else -- Portland, I think. As soon as they arrive, he'll get them, and then a couple units of red blood cells. Once the bug is identified tomorrow, the infectious disease specialist will determine what course of antibiotic(s) he should get.

He feels pretty blah because his blood pressure is low, he's running a fever, and the infection is in a delicate location, so it's painful. If you'd like to help take his mind off all that, give him a call in his room at Midcoast at 207-373-6236. His cell phone doesn't work here and he can't call out, but he's always up for a chat. Visitors are welcome unless you think you might be sick or coming down with something. His white blood cell count is basically zero, so he's susceptible to any bacteria or virus that might drift by. He also isn't allowed to have plants or flowers in his room this time around, for the same reason.

Rather low week

Posted by Becky

Leif's B cycle chemo takes more out of him than the A cycle does. Since we got home from Brunswick on August 1st, he's needed quite a few transfusions of blood and platelets. He's been running a fever off and on for the last week, so he's on a couple of antibiotics plus acetaminophen to keep his temperature down. Naturally, this is all rather tiring and has involved a lot of time spent at the Waldo County oncology office, plus a day in the emergency room. Since his neutrophil count (indication of immune system activity) has been essentially zero, he's had to limit where he goes and who he sees, as well. Fortunately he has some projects - wiring around the house, designing some camping gear - to keep boredom at bay. And he's been taking naps. Lots of naps. He was able to forestall the worst of the rash and mouth/throat sores he got during the last B cycle recovery period, by treating them proactively. Leif is a trouper at taking his meds on time and generally taking care of himself, no matter how inconvenient or unpleasant it might be in the moment. 

Since several of his doctors are on vacation, we don't have any official word on what last Friday's PET scan shows. Preliminary indications are that things are going in the right direction, so we have our fingers crossed. No matter what it shows, I believe we'll be off to Brunswick for some more chemo toward the end of next week, and will be taking a trip to Dartmouth for another preliminary meeting sometime in the next month.

One of the medications Leif has been taking is a decoction of several medicinal mushrooms and roots from Avena Botanicals -- thanks, Alicia and John! We ran it by the hospital pharmacist to check for any drug interactions before starting him on it, and she determined that not only is it safe to use with his other drugs, she thought it was a great thing for him to be taking. It's rather unpalatable (I tasted it), but he found after the first few days that it started tasting appealing. So we're pretty sure it's helping his body cope. I mix it into a little miso soup made with kombu broth, and top it with a chive or two.

Also, after decades of feeling best on a vegetarian diet with some occasional fish, he's been craving red meat. Which stands to reason, considering his current needs for protein and iron; fish, dairy, and legumes alone just weren't cutting it. He's been eating a lot of grass-fed meatloaf, lamb meatballs, and bison burgers. Cuts of meat like lamb chops or stew get caught in his teeth, and with his mouth tenderness and low platelets, flossing them out again is not ideal. So we're sticking to the ground stuff. Kasha and I are reveling in our household's sudden meat bonanza.

After the last B cycle low point, when Leif's blood counts (the levels of healthy cells made by his bone marrow - red and white blood cells, platelets) finally started to recover, they bounced back fast. Even though he's feeling pretty beat up these days, he's a strong guy whose body is working to right itself after every insult. His appetite is for good, healthy foods - meat, greens, mushrooms, nuts, vegetables, sea vegetables, etc., and he's continuing to eat well even when he's not very hungry.

I spent part of last week out of town for work, thanks to my mom and dad helping out. Since I work remotely, I enjoy getting the chance to see my co-workers, and in some cases to meet them in person for the first time. I'm glad I didn't have to miss this opportunity to do so.

It has made my day on many occasions to run into people who say they've been thinking of Leif, praying for him, etc. I feel very lucky to live in such a great community and to know so many caring people.

PET scan today!!

Today I am going in to get my PET scan. This is a big deal, because it will be the first real indication of how well I am responding to the chemotherapy. The scan will take a look at my spleen, and will be able to tell, more or less, how much cancerous material it is harboring. It is still pretty large. If I went in to the hospital today, and they did not know my previous condition, they would be running around in serious concern. However, compared to what it was, WOW, it is looking good. My stomach looks human - without weird lumps and swellings, and my belly button has moved back to the center. So, is it just taking some time to shrink because it was larger than twins, or is it still pretty sick? No-one knows.

Of course, I hope that it is just taking time to shrink, and that my "A" and "B" cycles are done, and I can move on to round 2 of chemotherapy. Unfortunately, the Rituxin reaction is often an indicator of there being quite a bit of cancer left, so I do not have my hopes set on "high". Better living through lowered expectations. I was originally told that there would be 8 treatments total, and I have only gone through 4.  I will let everyone know what we find out as soon as we hear. I will probably have a preliminary report on Monday or Tuesday, but I won't hear the final report until about the 20th, because of Dr. Meehan's schedule in Dartmouth.

For those of you wondering what a PET scan is, it stands for positron emission tomography. It uses a small dose of radioactive material which is injected into one's bloodstream. It then uses a CAT-like  scanner to read the flow of the radiotracer, and the uptake rate by different organs give good indication of how the organs and tissues are functioning in real time and in 3-D. Pretty cool. 

Back home.

Home again. Even though we are wrestling with a mouse invasion, and I can hear the little critters chewing on my house - taking it apart before I have even finished it - it is good to be home.

I finished up the last dose of my chemo by 8am on Wednesday, and was looking forward to leaving that morning as I had already been in the hospital 2 extra days because of reaction to the drugs, but we did not get out of the hospital very early. Because the blood-work came back saying that my red blood cells were low. So, my doctor wanted to give me 2 units of blood before I left. Well, that made sense. I had needed platelets both on Monday and Tuesday, and my red blood cells had been dropping, so I was not surprised. Also, because of nausea, I did not eat at all on Monday and very little on Tuesday, which is always poor for maintaining your health. But, by the time they got the blood typed and crossed (which just means that they make sure that they are giving me the right blood), it was noon, and then it is about 2 hours per unit, and then there was all the discharge paperwork. We did not end up getting out of there until about 6:30pm. You are not in charge of your time after you get your hospital bracelet.