My white blood cell count came in at 5400 so they are going to let me go home today. Just a matter of paperwork at this point. Can't wait for them to take this IV out of me so I can walk around w/o dragging it around w/me.
I'd like to thank the various people who helped me get through this one. My mother, who was visiting at the time, who stayed here w/me through my first couple of days. Min, who helped me get in here on Saturday and has visited every day since. Lorraine, who put my mother up and ferried her back and forth. My sisters and father, who called frequently (multiple times per day, in some cases) to keep my spirits up. Thanks everyone.
I'm feeling good today and looking forward to a weekend of feeling good before going the next round on Monday. They weighed me the other day and the good news is that I haven't lost any weight this week - gonna try to gain some this weekend ;)
Looks like it's time to go,
--Dr. D
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Still in the Hospital, but Feeling Much Improved
And I now have my laptop and internet access.
So a quick recap of what's happened over the last week or so.
As I've mentioned, my chemo treatment is 2 weeks on/1 week off. The reason for this is because chemo reduces your blood cell counts and it's cumulative such that the second week is worse than first in that respect; you get the third week off so that your body can recover and build up blood cells. One thing that can happen, particularly in the second week, is that your white blood cell counts can get dangerously low, the main symptom of which is a fever. This is not so much dangerous in-and-of-itself but rather because you now effectively have no immune system so you can get sick very easily.
Last week, my second week of chemo was going pretty well. Thursday I was a little tired and Friday a little queasy but, all in all, nothing too bad. The only thing was that on Friday I felt a bit chilly all day at work. After work, I ran a few errands then went home and went to bed early. That night, I had chills and some really weird dreams, both of which were probably caused by fever. Saturday, I felt pretty decent in the morning but in the afternoon the fever returned so I called MSKCC where the doctor told me to go to the Urgent Care Center and get checked out. Luckily the Urgent Care Center is only a block from where I live so I was able to get there pretty quickly/easily. There they determined that 1) my temperature was now 103, 2) my white blood cell count was dangerously low, and 3) I was going to be staying for a while. They put me in isolation to keep me from being exposed to any illnesses, started pumping me full of antibiotics, and gave me an injection of something which stimulates white blood cell production. My temperature stayed around 103 most of the night but started falling eventually early Sunday morning and was eventually back to normal around Sunday afternoon and I was feeling pretty decent (though still tired).
Since then, it's pretty much been a waiting game. I haven't had a fever and the blood tests have been negative for any evidence of infection. My white cell count has to get above 1000 before they will release me (and 1500 before they will do chemo). On Saturday, my white cell count was down to 300, Sunday it went up to 400, Monday to 500, but yesterday it went back down to 400. Today, my white cell count was measured at 1300 - so it came back pretty strongly. They plan to keep me for another day or so to make sure that it doesn't dip again but everything's looking good.
I talked to my oncologists office yesterday. Dr. I has been monitoring my progress and plans to continue w/my second round of chemo this Monday. He will adjust the treatment somewhat so that it does not have the same impact on my white cell count - I'll be talking to him more about that on Monday. I was relieved by this because, despite the problems, each day of treatment gets me one day closer to being cured and that's the important thing.
So a quick recap of what's happened over the last week or so.
As I've mentioned, my chemo treatment is 2 weeks on/1 week off. The reason for this is because chemo reduces your blood cell counts and it's cumulative such that the second week is worse than first in that respect; you get the third week off so that your body can recover and build up blood cells. One thing that can happen, particularly in the second week, is that your white blood cell counts can get dangerously low, the main symptom of which is a fever. This is not so much dangerous in-and-of-itself but rather because you now effectively have no immune system so you can get sick very easily.
Last week, my second week of chemo was going pretty well. Thursday I was a little tired and Friday a little queasy but, all in all, nothing too bad. The only thing was that on Friday I felt a bit chilly all day at work. After work, I ran a few errands then went home and went to bed early. That night, I had chills and some really weird dreams, both of which were probably caused by fever. Saturday, I felt pretty decent in the morning but in the afternoon the fever returned so I called MSKCC where the doctor told me to go to the Urgent Care Center and get checked out. Luckily the Urgent Care Center is only a block from where I live so I was able to get there pretty quickly/easily. There they determined that 1) my temperature was now 103, 2) my white blood cell count was dangerously low, and 3) I was going to be staying for a while. They put me in isolation to keep me from being exposed to any illnesses, started pumping me full of antibiotics, and gave me an injection of something which stimulates white blood cell production. My temperature stayed around 103 most of the night but started falling eventually early Sunday morning and was eventually back to normal around Sunday afternoon and I was feeling pretty decent (though still tired).
Since then, it's pretty much been a waiting game. I haven't had a fever and the blood tests have been negative for any evidence of infection. My white cell count has to get above 1000 before they will release me (and 1500 before they will do chemo). On Saturday, my white cell count was down to 300, Sunday it went up to 400, Monday to 500, but yesterday it went back down to 400. Today, my white cell count was measured at 1300 - so it came back pretty strongly. They plan to keep me for another day or so to make sure that it doesn't dip again but everything's looking good.
I talked to my oncologists office yesterday. Dr. I has been monitoring my progress and plans to continue w/my second round of chemo this Monday. He will adjust the treatment somewhat so that it does not have the same impact on my white cell count - I'll be talking to him more about that on Monday. I was relieved by this because, despite the problems, each day of treatment gets me one day closer to being cured and that's the important thing.
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Quick Update
All This is Dr. D's sister. Just wanted to let you know we had a slight set back this weekend. Dr.D's white blood cell count got low (a common side effect of Chemo) He needed to be hospitalized to bring down a fever and help avoid any additional infection. His fever is back to normal today, but they are going to keep him in the hospital a few more days to make sure his white blood count gets back to were it should be to fight infections. Please keep your good thoughts and prayers coming. Dr. D's family appreciate all the love and support you provide to him.
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