Treatment Update

I had my third maintenance treatment on Friday.  It was a pretty smooth day – no complications or hiccups.  Just the way I like it.

I am always surprised by two things on treatment days: 1) How quickly Ativan starts to work and 2) How crazy relaxed it makes me feel.  :)  It’s like I have no cares in the world.  They could tell me they were going to stick 50 needles in my arm and I would likely tell them to go ahead.  ha ha!!

Dr. Daniel reviewed the CT results with us and was pleased to see no change in the left kidney from the scan I had in February.  There is a 2-3 mm “thickening” on the surface of my left kidney which measured the same as it did four months ago.  Best case scenario would be for there to be no thickening whatsoever, but I’m happy with no increase in size.  :)

The labs they drew Wednesday before the CT were a little off, but not enough to cause alarm.  My white count was 2.3 and granulocytes were 1.5, which is pretty low but not dangerously low.  When they were 2.0 and 1.0, respectively during my primary treatment, he gave me that icky Neulasta shot.  This time, he decided to re-do the labs on Friday and my white was back up to 3.0 which is acceptable.  It’s supposed to fall between 4.5 and 10.5 so it’s still low but not enough to require any form of intervention.  He believes the low counts are the result of the Bendamustine that I received from August – January because it’s hard on the marrow and said we would keep an eye on it.

I’m also having some kidney issues that aren’t necessarily bothersome, but important enough that I had to mention them to Dr. Daniel.  I honestly didn’t want to mention the symptoms to him, but Barry told me I had to.  :)  I just knew he was going to send me to Dr. Young which would be like sending me to the principal’s office — but he didn’t.  Yay!!  He ordered some more tests and put me on five days of Cipro for a kidney infection.  I can’t say I’m enjoying the Cipro because it makes my stomach upset, but I’ve seen some improvement in the symptoms already so that’s a good thing.

And that’s about it on the cancer front for now.  I’m doing well and enjoying life.  Can’t ask for more than that!
♥ Rachel

Headed to Chemo Today

It’s that time again.  It seems hard to believe, but it’s been eight weeks since my last maintenance chemo treatment.  This morning, I’m going for #2.  Only 10 more to go!  Hmmm….maybe I won’t think about it that way.  :)

This is me after the past couple of weeks:

source: pinterest

I’ve had such a tough, crazy-busy two weeks that I think I’m actually looking forward to today.  Is that bad??  :)  Chemo drugs aside, it will be nice to sit in that recliner for a few hours with nothing that I have to do other than just be there!  Ha ha!!

Yesterday was interesting – anytime my thoughts wandered forward to today and treatment, I got cold chills and goose bumps.  Funny how we can have such strong physiological reactions to negative experiences so that even the anticipation of it or thinking about it can create a physical response.  Fortunately, today’s treatment shouldn’t be very negative.  It’s just Rituxan, which is the more friendly drug of the two I received during my initial treatment.  It shouldn’t make me sick – just fatigued thru the weekend.  It’s definitely nothing to complain about.

Happy Friday, friends! Hope you have a beautiful day and a blessed weekend.
♥ Rachel

Sending Cancer a Reminder

I actually feel like I’m embarking on a long journey today and this is the first leg of the trip.  It’s going to take me a while to arrive at my destination, but I’m going to get there.

This is more about patience and endurance than about hitting it hard and strong.  I’ve already done hard and strong.  Now, I’m reminding the cancer that it has no place in my body – that it is not welcome here.  And I’ll remind it of this every eight weeks for two years, or until it gets the message.

It feels a little strange to resume treatment after an eight-week break.  Sort of like being on summer vacation and now it’s time to go back to school.  I didn’t like it then and I’m not all that crazy about it now.  ha ha!!  :)

I feel a little nervous (not sure why because I’ve done this before), but I’m anxiously excited to get started on this next phase of treatment.  I’ll get labs done in the morning, see the doctor and then settle in for what should be a fairly short treatment because I only have to get one drug.  I should be done around mid-day and then can go home and rest off the Benadryl and Ativan.

Because I’ve been asked by several people, I’d like to explain what this treatment involves.  During the first phase of treatment, I received two drugs: Bendamustine (Treanda) and Rituxan.  For maintenance treatments, I’m only getting Rituxan.  Rituxan is a monoclonal antibody that targets only cancerous cells and leaves the other cells alone.  I’m anticipating the side effects from it being less severe than when I received both drugs.  I’m expecting to only experience some fatigue for a few days and then bounce back a little faster than before.

It’s going to be a very good day.  :)

I hope every single one of you has a fantastic Friday and a beautiful weekend!
♥ Rachel

Time Keeps on Ticking

Tami – This blog title is for you.  Hope the song stays with you all day.  :)

Source: ThinkStockPhotos.com

You know how I said yesterday that these treatments come around fast?  I lied.

I am slightly neutrapenic at the moment.  You’re neutra-what??

Neutropenia happens when the neutrophil (which is a type of white blood cell) count is too low.  This can be caused by the cancer itself or, which is often the case, by the chemotherapy.

My count is not severely low, but it was low enough yesterday that treatment is being postponed for a week.  Uugghhhh…..  Do you know what this does to me mentally?  I was completely psyched up and ready for chemo yesterday.  I had “The Talk” with myself while I was getting dressed, pumping myself up to get ready for what was to come.  I was even having a good hair day, people!  And that is NOT something that happens every day.  :)

I, and my hair, were ready to tackle this cancer!  But, alas, it was not to be.

Because the chemo attacks the white cells, receiving treatment while my count is too low could could put me at high risk for infection.  A low white cell count means that it is easier for me to catch an infection and harder for me to fight it off on my own.  In order to prevent an infection (not just a cold or flu type of infection, but any infection caused by something like germs getting into a paper cut, etc.), I am to do things like:

• avoid sick people, so if I back away from you – it’s nothing personal :)
• wash my hands even more often than normal and use hand sanitizer when I absolutely cannot wash
• brush my teeth gently with a soft toothbrush
• do not touch Pumpkin’s litter box (Barry already does this, bless him!)
• check my temp 3 times a day (call the doc if it’s 100.5 or higher)

I’ll go back next Wednesday, have labs, and hope and pray that the count is high enough I can resume treatment.  If I’m able to get treatment next week, Dr. Daniel wants to follow it with an injection of Neupogen to make sure the white count doesn’t dip too low after the next treatment.  Neupogen will cause my bone marrow to create more white cells.  This is good and helpful, but the downside is that my bones will ache for a while because the marrow is working so hard.  It just gets more and more fun!

Now, for some REALLY good news.  The CT scan I had last week shows that the kidney looks GREAT!!  It continues to show improvement and a significant reduction in the amount of “thickening” that is the result of the lymphoma.  Dr. Daniel said it is possible (hear me – possible, not definite) that there is no active cancer there anymore.  So it seems that everything we’ve been doing is doing exactly what we hoped it would.  Praise God!

The postponement of this week’s treatment means my last treatment will not be the last week of December, but will instead be the first week of January.  I explained to Dr. Daniel that this just did not fit my plans.  Ha ha!  MY goal was to be finished with chemo by the end of the year and start 2012 chemo-free.  He apologized (cause he’s such a nice guy) and then pointed out that I will most likely do what’s called maintenance chemo for two years.  So even if I finished this initial course of treatment by the end of the year, I would still have chemo next year.  Bummer!  I’d read about maintenance chemo and knew it was a definite possibility for someone with indolent lymphoma, so it wasn’t a total surprise.  For me, maintenance chemo will involve one treatment of Rituxan every 2 months and I will do this for two years in addition to periodic scans to monitor the kidney.

While I’m not surprised by the suggestion of maintenance chemo, it does place me face-to-face with my new life in a way that I hadn’t yet allowed my mind to really fully grasp.  Even after these initial six courses are complete, I will be not cured of lymphoma – I will be in remission.  As much as I would like for this race to be a sprint to the finish line from where I could happily wave goodbye to lymphoma, it is actually more like a marathon that is going to take much longer to complete.  Either way, I’m up for it thanks to my God, and you all – my family and friends who are praying, loving, and encouraging me through this.

♥ Rachel