Monday, Final day of chemo

The chemo has been going smoothly. I'm actually gaining a little weight so that's a pretty good indicator that the stomach has stayed settled. I'm aiming to eat 70-90 grams of protein every day and if I slip in a little snack like an ice cream bar, that ups the calorie count considerably.

Plus I have been laying around a lot. Four hours at the clinic to get the chemo, then not a lot of activity at home. I seem to rev up around 5 or 6 o'clock in the evening and go tidying. I walk the halls of the clinic, though they are VERY busy at times. And I've walked the aisles of a couple of stores just to get some steps in.

I expect to see Dr. McGuirk today and get results of the outstanding tests. All the cultures that they have run following the two fevers I've had came back negative. So that leaves the biopsy for which I'm holding my breath.

This all came up kind of suddenly. I do regular self exams of my breasts. But one day in the shower I noticed a very large mass in my right breast. I often get cysts and I'd been drinking a lot of coffee so I assumed that's what it was and I didn't say anything for a week or so. Then I told the nurse I needed a mammogram to look at this weird lump and she said oh, it's probably graft v. host and just have the doctor look at it next week. The doctor said that doesn't feel like graft v. host and ordered a biopsy. This was in the middle of all the 1 year workup tests and I didn't say anything because I didn't want to worry folks, and because nobody at the clinic was particularly worried.

I went in for the biopsy and the radiologist (very pointed head) would not do it because my platelets were only 67. He insisted I had to have an infusion of platelets before he would do a biopsy, pointing out that we weren't in a rush here. So we scheduled another day to go to the clinic and get platelets, then go downstairs and get the biopsy. Surprise, the platelets were 73 and the blood bank wouldn't even send platelets for a count that high. Three hours with needles for nothing.

So I go down for the biopsy and Dr. Pointed Head comes in and blows smoke up my skirt about having platelets on standby if I need them. I'm laying on the table with no IV. I KNOW the blood bank wouldn't send them over, and even if they did by the time the nurse put in an IV and hooked up platelets, simple pressure would have stopped any bleeding. Bite me.

So he proceeds with the biopsy, all the while telling me how good he is at doing it and calling me ma'am. I said "I'm Cathi and I'm fine." He finished and he said "Now that wasn't bad was it?" I replied "That's what I should say to you, you're the one who didn't want to do it." When he came back in to do the second breast he was slightly more solicitous but he is a poster boy for doctors with a poor bedside manner who become radiologists.

Everyone thought, including Dr. Pointed Head, that the biopsy was to determine whether the lumps were graft vs. host or cysts. Nobody was expecting them to be leukemia. The second lump turned up in between the biopsy order and the appointment. It's not as large, but still good sized. Just overnight.

So these are chloromas. Colonies of leukemia cells in tissue rather than blood. The treatment is basically the same. Kill the leukemia. The chemo we are using has a 35% success rate. As always, I might as well be in the 35%. There are some other options, but this looks like the best one.

Dr. Abhyankar gave me a little pep talk about how positive I am and how no matter what happened, I've stayed positive through a long course of treatment. So just keep the positive attitude and we'll get through this as well.

He is careful to say that they don't have a lot of experience with this; that none of the bone marrow centers do. I can tell when one of the doctors or nurse practitioners sees me after they've been chatting and they come up with ideas. They are always more upbeat, sometimes even excited.

Of course today I expect to see Dr. McGuirk and he is always excited so I'm looking forward to that.
~Cathi