Getting kind of late, but I just wanted to put together a short journal entry tonight. Finished my last treatment of Fludara and Cytoxin last Saturday. My good friend Brad kept me company during the treatment. Everything went smoothly. No fevers. No nausea. About the only side effect was being pretty tired on Saturday afternoon and evening. I was dragging at Tanner and Kyler’s basketball games.

Since Saturday I have felt pretty good. Tank runs a bit empty by days end, but that will improve in time. I had an appointment with my local oncologist, Dr. Ostensen today. He ran a blood test and I was happy to see the results. My white blood count has went from 108,000 to 41,000 (normal 7,000 – 11,000)…cancer cells are dying, my hematocrit has come up from 31 to 32(normal 36 to 44) and my platelets are up from 41,000 to 46,000(normal 120,000 to 150,000). Pretty good results considering I just ended my first treatment series on Saturday. I thankful for the good test results, however, Dr. Ostensen did say he expects my platelets and hematocrit to drop in the coming week. Fotunately, it is nice to know that these falling counts will be a result of the chemo and not the cancer. It is my hope that I can have pretty normal counts in a couple of months. Dr. Ostensen will check my counts again in a week and if they drop too much I will need to get some blood products to keep me from getting into trouble. The big risk during these treatments will be opportunistic infections. The chemo suppresses my immune system, making me more susceptible to infections. I’ll have to wash my hands all the time and ask those around me to do the same. I will also try to avoid sick people like the plague. (A bit difficult when I teach school for a living.) I do plan to ask students to wash their hands upon entering my class.

Except for weekly blood count checks and possible blood transfusions, I am done with treatments for three weeks. I am glad for that. Dr. Ostensen wants me to get a port before my next treatment so my veins don’t get destroyed from all the needles. I know it is probably best, but I really wish I didn’t need to get one. Another cancer patient showed me her port on Saturday during my last treatment. I had never seen one before. Actually, they are pretty amazing. The port is completely under the skin, so I won’t have a bunch of tubes hanging out like I did when I had a Hickman Port during my transplant. It’ll just look like a bump in my chest. Perhaps I could fool people into thinking it was new muscles developing from all the working out I have been doing. Doubtful.

Well, I have to wrap it up so I can get to bed. Goodnight.

‘Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all you that hope in the Lord.’
Psalm 31:24