2016 Chemo Round 4

I’m going to keep this update short and sweet because quite honestly, that’s how this round of treatment felt. Short, and sweet. Monday started with a checkup with my doc which went really well. My white count was a little low but that is to be expected at this stage of treatment. Given my incredible response to the chemo and the fact that my white count is starting to take a hit, it’s quite possible that this will be my last treatment cycle. We’ll know more in two weeks at my follow up appointment. But that’s the gut feeling we are going with right now.

Monday’s “long day” of treatment went much faster than the previous three cycles. Although I did have a mild facial rash start to develop, it was quickly tamed with some extra Benadryl and a temporary suspension of the Rituxan. Even with that, I was out of the chair much much quicker than in treatments past. This just means that I was tolerating everything very well so they were able to accelerate the drip rate. That doesn’t always happen for me. I was a little punk-like Monday night when I got home but nothing too serious. And nothing a little rest on the couch couldn’t take care of. I was even pleasantly surprised that I was able to get a good night’s rest even with the Decadron steroid holding Olympic trials in my body. In the past, this has always kept me awake. But for whatever reason, I got great sleep on Monday and woke up Tuesday feeling very fresh and energized.

Tuesday was my short day and only took about an hour and a half. I felt so good after that session that we made our way to Veterans Memorial Park and I ran 3 miles. I felt like I could have run all day. I followed my run by jump squatting up Battle Cry hill. And I certainly did not feel like I had just gotten up from the chemo chair. It was a good day. And to top it off, I got great sleep Tuesday night as well. Again, a rare anomaly with Decadron. I am lucky and I am blessed.

Today I received my Neulasta shot to bring my white blood count back into range. I may or may not experience some bone or joint pain with this. It’s hard to say as I’m a tad on the unpredictable side. So now we rebuild and recovery and hope for minimal residual side effects. Then we check in again on October 24^th to assess the situation and make a determination that a little more treatment might be beneficial or that our work here is done.

Stay tuned, and thanks for your support.