Conclusion & Resolution

It has been weeks since my last intensive chemotherapy and well over six months since there was a cancer cell in my body. I began Maintenance this past Tuesday, - and even though I am on steroids and chemo still, but in lower and non-intensive doses - I feel good. My hair is growing back, slowly but surely, and I continue to push my body in order to regain strength and endurance. I am on the road to recovery and there is no looking back.

I end this blog, quite appropriately, on the final day of 2009 and the final day of this decade. Over the horizon there is incredible potential as I hold the rest of my youth, and lifetime, ahead of me. I have beat cancer once... at nearly 21 years old, that is more than anyone should ever have to say. Hell - at any age, that is too much to say. There is still a lot of work to be done. I may have survived but the fight to eradicate life-threatening diseases across this world still remains. People are suffering every waking moment for often unimaginable or incomprehensible reasons. It is wrong, and together we can change this. Please continue to make an impact in any way you can: donating blood and platelets, volunteering at health clinics, running in marathons, raising money for cures, lobbying our lawmakers for research funding, etc.

Yes, tomorrow is the start of a new year and a new decade, but there is nothing new that I will wake up with tomorrow... I carry with me - as I have this entire year - the tremendous love of my family, the great support of my friends, the intelligence and skill of my doctors and nurses, and my fighting attitude.

"I thank whatever gods may be / For my unconquerable soul ..."

Así es la vida

Friday I had a count check in the doctor's office. My platelets - even with Tuesday's transfusion - hadn't increased, so the doc wrote for two more units to be transfused. We went upstairs to the clinic to get the transfusions. After the second unit, my throat started closing up and I was wheezing. I also got some hives on my neck and head. The nurses gave me steroids and benadryl for the allergic reaction, and the doctor put me on the oncology floor for observation. I had a fever for an hour or two, but then it came down.

Saturday morning the doc was happy that my reaction hadn't come back overnight. He is concerned with the sores in my mouth and rectal pain I've been having for a couple weeks (Hey - nobody forces you to read this blog). He thinks they should be healing quicker than they have been. So I've been on a bunch of anti-bacterial, anti-viral stuff for two days.

Today my counts were not much improved. But white cells and ANC were up, which is good. I am getting more transfusions - red blood cells today - and more antibiotics. I'm getting a CT scan of my pelvis to make sure nothing is wrong with my booty. And if that's all good, we should be outta here tomorrow... really this time!

Adventures in Chemotherapy

Last Thursday I woke up with a raging headache and was having shortness of breath when I stood up... in addition to the weakness and achey feeling I had all last - and now this - week. We went to the office to get my blood checked and my hemoglobin was low. The doctor admitted me to the hospital for a short stay to get blood transfusions and - just as a precaution - a CT scan to check for clotting.

Needless to say, we didn't leave the hospital Thursday night. I got two units of blood and a unit of platelets, but there was also a blood clot in my left lung. I got my last Ara-C on Friday as well... which gave me severe headaches Friday and Saturday which are only now beginning to taper off. They did more tests on Friday and a repeat CT scan Saturday morning. They think now that the clotting may be coming from the port in my chest... so it looks like I'll be having a procedure done to remove it when I go on Maintenance in a few weeks. The clot was no smaller on Saturday morning but blood was still flowing past it in my lung so they decided against any further treatment since I am already on blood thinning meds (and my platelets were very low). I'll get it checked out again with a CT scan on Monday.

As of this morning, my ANC and white blood cells were nearly zero which means I will have much difficulty fighting off any infection if I come into contact with one. This also means I continue neutropenic precautions, not eating fresh fruits and vegetables, until it gets much higher. It also means I have to wear a mask when I go to the hospital or doctor, and that I can't really have any human contact. My hemoglobin was better, almost normal. My platelets were nearly nothing, and my arms and stomach are getting all bruised from my Lovenox shots. I got another platelet transfusion this morning before chemo.

Yesterday I went and had a doppler study done of the veins in my arms, legs, and neck to check for any other clotting - there was none. This morning I had a doctor's appointment for a count check. After that we went to the outpatient clinic for the platelet transfusion and two IV chemos.

Good news is... I have now completed Cytoxin, Ara-C, and PEG - all of which are nasty evil chemo drugs. Never again will my body be tortured with them again. I also got vincristine today, which I will get next week... Then I'll be on Maintenance!!! Sores that have not healed for weeks now because of my low counts will finally heal. My counts will begin coming up within the next week and in about two weeks I'll be on the road to recovery and starting to feel good.

Crappy

I feel pretty crappy today! Achey, tired, sore, weak. Some wounds of mine aren't healing because I don't have any good cells to heal them!

But --- on the positive side --- if you're in the Phoenix (Chandler) area this weekend, you should stop by the Elephant Bar restaurant at Chandler Fashion Center this Sunday December 6 between 11 AM and 10 PM. My dad has coordinated a fundraiser to help raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's team in training. This is the organization that my friend Lydia is training with to run her marathon in January. 20 percent of all sales with the flyer will be donated back directly to the LLS - funding research, education, and patient care. If you're interested, even if vaguely, please e-mail me at jacob.harvey@yahoo.com and I will send you a flyer - in order to benefit Team in Training's efforts, you must give a particular flyer to your server.

Phase 4 Month 2 Round 2

I went to the doctor's office for a count check today: they've all dropped a lot. Yesterday I was getting short of breath and dizzy when I would get up - today not so much. This is from my hemoglobin getting low. I may need a red blood cell transfusion later this week if it gets worse, I'll definitely get one within the next week because my counts will continue to drop. I'm losing hair again, but some of it is still hanging on. Tomorrow at 6:45 AM we're going for another spinal tap w/ chemo, and then tomorrow through Friday I get the Ara-C shots again... but then I'll be done with them forever!

Thanksgiving

First thing's first - yesterday was Thanksgiving.
I honestly am simply thankful to be alive. I was diagnosed with a life-threatening cancer seven months ago, and as corny as it may sound, I am so thankful for the small things in life, just to wake up and be alive. My experiences with leukemia throughout 2009 have taught me many things, but I think the most powerful thing I will take away from this experience is that.

I got the four shots of Ara-C this week, and all the other stuff on Tuesday. My expectations were for me to feel crappy, and even though I have, it hasn't been as bad as I thought it was going to be. Is my body finally just used to this nasty toxic stuff floating around now? I hope not... it's just not natural. Nevertheless, I've conquered one week. One more to go next week.













I wrote this down today. Much of this has been part of my life mantra for a while now. Other parts have been definitively shaped by leukemia.

Seek out beauty everyday.

Don't take anybody's sh*t.
Speak your mind.
Fight for what you believe in.
Reject negativity.
Make your dreams come true.
Embrace those you love.
Be thankful for life, for it is a gift.

The Big Day

Tomorrow morning I'm going in the clinic for a spinal tap with chemo. I'll also be getting 5 hours of hydration with Cytoxin (chemo, third and final dose) and the first of my Ara-C shots of the week. I'll get a chemo shot Wed-Fri as well, and then Tues-Fri next week. I'll also be starting 6TG, a nightly chemo pill, that lasts for two weeks. FUN FUN FUN!

WEAK

Well I'm still recovering from my fun with the steroids... my muscles (if you can even call them that at this point) are incredibly weak. A 15-minute walk today in the neighborhood took the wind out of me, and walking down into the greenbelt felt more like hiking down into a mountain. The shift of body fat all to my middle has me feeling a little off-balance. I still had insomnia last night and woke up with the sweats. Hopefully this nastiness will leave my system soon and my body can start fighting back!

One day and week at a time

Well this week on chemo and steroids has been slightly less horrific than two weeks ago. In fact, it has been much better: no halter monitors, no skipping heart beats, no constipation. My mood has been stable so far (we've got until Tuesday people, though) and since yesterday I have had plenty of energy to work on my school work. I had the usual exhaustion, fatigue, body and head aches, and general not-feeling-well, but I keep reminding myself that the end - the end to all of this high-dose, highly-toxic CRAP - will be over in just a matter of weeks now. And so I think I'm too excited to actually be getting back to a normal life and normal routine, that I just don't care how much I suffer the next few weeks... the light at the end of the tunnel is within reach now! Take a look, I pretty much have four more weeks left before Maintenance:

This week (11/15-11/21) : Stop steroids Tuesday, no chemo, and a count check with oncologist on Tuesday.

Next week (11/22-11/28) : Chemotherapy shots (ARA-C) 4x /week, oral chemo nightly (6MP), and a spinal tap procedure (Methotrexate) with IV-Cytoxin (final dose ever).

Week of (11/29-12/5): Chemotherapy shots (ARA-C) 4x/week (12/4 scheduled to be my last dose ever!) & oral chemo nightly.

Week of (12/6-12/12): Final dose of Peg (which means no more blood-thinning shots three weeks after this dose), and IV-Vincristine. I will most likely need blood and platelet transfusions early in this week as I recover from the ARA-C shots. This week will be rough, but my body will begin to recover and I will be on the road to maintenance!

An Opportunity for You to be a Hero

I received this alert from a friend. Long story short - a young man named Lee in the Phoenix area was diagnosed in July with Leukemia - just the type that I have (ALL). Unfortunately for Lee and his family, he is in need of a bone marrow transplant and his family members have not come up as matches for a transfusion.

If you will be in the Phoenix area Friday November 13th they will be sponsoring a drive at Allstate's Regional Office from 11:00a-5:00p
5343 N. 16th St.
Phoenix, AZ 85016 (first floor in the Maddison Room)

To participate in the Online drive (for anyone not in the Phoenix area) please follow the instructions below:
1. Visit www.bethematch.org BEFORE NOVEMBER 30th
2. Click on "Join the Registry" --> Join Now
3. Fill out the required information
4. Enter promo code: Lee
5. Fill out the consent form online
6. Please only make a monetary contribution if you feel inclined, this is not required
6. A swab kit will be mail to your house. Swab and send the kit back ASAP

If you can participate, PLEASE DO - you can help save this young man's life!

One Box Checked

Today I got the final dose - EVER - of Doxorubicin. Yes!!!! That's it there to the right. I also got Vincristine and started another week of steroids (dexamethasone). My counts were pretty good overall, and I get a week off chemo next week. I felt decent today but this evening the cloud is coming over, and I can start to feel the bus as well.

This week

I did not feel well at all this week until Friday. I have felt pretty decent since then. I got the H1N1 vaccine this week. Tuesday I get the final dose of doxorubicin (amen) and then start another week of steroids...