So Stinking Close

Mar 21, 2018 | Brain Tumor

Got my CBC results yesterday, and my platelets were 93. Close, but not quite the 100 we were looking for, and my doctor is a bit of a stickler for these things. That means Chemotherapy Round 6 is delayed by yet another week, pushing me about three weeks past the ideal six-week dosing.

I currently have mixed feelings about the delay. I mean, I really want to get done with all the chemo crap. This roller coaster of feeling like a steaming turd and then being throat punched by another dose of gleostine just as I’m starting to feel human again is making me cranky.

But! Going this long between doses has also given my wrecked body a little bit of a break. My appetite is better, my energy is up slightly, my neuropathy is less intense, and my dehydration is manageable with enough sports drinks and electrolyte pops. As a result, I’ve had just enough energy to accomplish a few necessary items on my to-do list—including renewing my driver’s license and getting an eye exam.

Not that I drive right now.

I’m lucky in that I don’t have seizures and my doctor has not revoked my driving privileges, but I’m not comfortable driving. I get vertigo looking left or right, and I still don’t have full range of motion when turning my head. I find the thought of getting behind the wheel really unsettling. But I thought it would be easier to keep my license current than let it lapse.

And now it’s back to trying to get a standing order for IV fluids. (I love my team at Washington University, but they’re kind of far away. Things get complicated when it’s time to coordinate the little stuff that needs to happen close to home.)

Happy Wednesday.

Just the Facts

Mar 8, 2018 | Brain Tumor

Repost from Facebook in case you don’t get updates there:

1. We are home from another 6-week checkup at Siteman Cancer Center in St. Louis.

2. My platelets are up from 51 last week to 64 this week. So they’re finally climbing again instead of tanking.

3. My platelet count has to reach 100 before I can take next my chemo round, but the oncologist sent me home with the pills and told me they’ll call me when my weekly labs reach the magic number. In the meantime I just wait.

4. If my platelets had dropped under 50 at any point, they’d have lowered my chemo dose. The nurse chuckled when I told her they were 51 last week. (It’s like I’m getting the highest possible dose without going over.)

5. The oncologist wants me to get with my primary doctor here in Urbana to set up a standing order for IV fluids. That way I can get them before it becomes an ER situation and keep beds open for people who need more than a couple bags of saline.

That’s all I got for now.

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