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.