Wednesday, 1/12 -- Medical Update – So what’s going on?

Tuesday’s weekly doctor’s appointment went pretty well. Some interesting things came out of the day.

Blood Work: My platelets and my hemoglobin both went down a little, but nothing to be alarmed about. These levels are expected to go down while getting chemo bug juice. They are still at “strong” levels.

Weight: I’m now at 192 pounds. The most I’ve weighed in months. This is a great sign, I think, because I’ve been eating so much these past three weeks. All that rich holiday food. All the extra helpings due to the steroids. I’d be worried if I didn’t gain a few pounds.

Chemo: I didn’t get juiced this week! The doctor and NP decided that since I’m getting a CAT Scan on Wednesday and my blood levels are a little down this week... we’ll change the parameters of the cycle.

Here’s what’s going on.

I’m now going to be following a Two Week ON, One Week OFF cycle. So my week off came a week early.
The CAT Scan I had today will be evaluated for next Tuesday. Depending on the results, the chemo treatment may need to be adjusted or changed. They want me as “clean of chemo” as possible so we can get started on the new stuff... if necessary.

One BIG DEAL that needs to be pointed out here is that the chemo treatments are being adjusted DOWN because I am doing so freaking well. My clinical signs, physical signs and mental signs all point toward an overall positive response to the therapy.

I am not showing any new symptoms, nor am I demonstrating any signs of “bad stuff”.

Yes, I am dealing with the daily side effects that I’ve mentioned before.
Yes, my back still hurts, but is getting better. Slowly.
I do experience pain and discomfort in my hips/pelvis region due to the original tumors back in July. That hasn't changed.
Fatigue and weakness are a part of my daily existence.

I’m still a sick little monkey, but everything seems to be progressing positively.

I had my CAT Scan this morning. I love having to drink the contrast dye and then be injected with radioactive dye. It’s wonderful. The results will be ready on Tuesday.

The focus of the scan is my lungs. The last scan, a few months ago, showed what might be new growth... but they weren’t sure. Too small to tell. They will look to see what has changed.

During the weekly appointments, they give special attention to my breathing. They all listen to my lungs as I do deep breaths. In, and out. In, and out.
They never find anything to worry about.

Also, the chest X-Ray I had when I was hospitalized before New Years was also clean.

I almost hate to be sharing all this good news before the results of the CAT Scan. Those are the results that will have meaning for my future. All this other stuff is circumstantial evidence, the real, solid info is yet to come.

I just can’t help but be excited.

And now something completely different:
I saw a Scion xA on the road yesterday. It is just about the cutest little hatchback car I’ve seen in a long time. I want to put it in my pocket.