I was supposed to begin my weekly Neupogen injections at the oncologists' office this evening (in an effort to eliminate becoming neutropenic and then giving the Neupogen). I rushed down and they said my ANC from Monday was not low enough for insurance to pay. They redrew my blood and said maybe I can receive Neupogen tomorrow. UGH! I "love" the insurance gurus who dictate my care over what my doctors and I know that I need to stay alive.
The nurses heard my cough and said how horrible I sounded. The nurse practitioner listened to my chest and sent me straight to the hospital for a chest x-ray. I asked to wait and have the oncologist paged as I was convinced pneumonia was going to present on this film. It did not - the radiologist said it was negative. Praise God. But why the breathing concerns with no visual signs of pneumonia?
So, I am back home, continuing to cough and debating if I should desensitize and switch to Cipro before the weekend? We still have no results from the labs drawn last week by my Infectious Disease doctor.
This week's concerns have pushed me to really consider how we approach lung infections in my future (the number one infectious cause of death in this type of leukemia). Maybe I made an error in judgment not to go to IU or OSU (although lengthy commutes) where expedient labs, a pulmonologist and infectious disease specialist would be working as a team in the environment of caring for other stem cell transplant (immune compromised) patients with lung infections. I need to ponder the best plan - my current one appears flawed.
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