I was worried that the blog was going to become mundane and boring by this point. How many times do people want to read "I'm feeling good today" or "I'm feeling crappy today". I know you get it, anyone doing chemo will have good days and bad days, that's expected. But I must say, the side effects I've been getting have kept things somewhat interesting. I also write this blog so that others having to face chemo, especially my specific regiment, can have an idea what it's all about. For them, I think I've covered most of the things that can happen. The one thing I will say is that most people don't have this rough a time, so if you are one of those people reading my blog and about to start chemo, you will probably do better than I.
My doctor, prior to starting chemo, thought that because I was young and healthy, I would fly through the chemo. He said that I wouldn't be asking for more at the end, but that it would most likely go pretty well. He has since changed his opinion, and knowing what he knows now he probably would have recommended radiation instead. So much so that this week he consulted some world renowned experts in BC on how to move forward with my treatment. Again the concerns are my blood clots combined with low platelets, my nausea, lack of veins to actually get chemo into me and the overall effect chemo is having on me. He was debating abandoning chemo after 2 cycles. From there we would hope that the chemo had done it's job in only 2 cycles or we would switch to radiation which again was the other very viable option of treatment. After consulting they decided it wouldn't make sense to quit at this point. I've made it through 2 cycles and just have to get through 1 more. So we push forward as planned next week with the last cycle. The only change is that I may be admitted to hospital for a portion of my next cycle. The 7-10 days which affect me the worst. That depends on the availability of a bed which are apparently hard to come by.
This week has been much of the same. My temperature flares up to 37.9 degrees and I feel very fluish. I take tylenol and for the most part it drops back down and I feel better. It's an ongoing 4 hour cycle. I also have a sore throat so today I started antibiotics in case it's bacterial. I had more blood work today which showed that my neutrophils are back to safe territory meaning my body has means to fight infection. But my platelets are still on the cusp, so we will continue to monitor them closely. I also had a CT scan today of my chest. The good news from the scan was that there showed no signs of damage from the Bleomycyn which is great. The bad news was that the slight shortness of breath and mild cough is probably being caused by the blood clots in the base of both my lungs. The blood thinner injections are the proper treatment for those, it will just take time.
Hopefully I don't have anything new to report for a few days.
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