Update & Request for Prayer: September 23, 2009

Today I have visited the sweltering tropics and the frigid Arctic. And I did this all from the infusion chair at the cancer center! I arrived before eight today - knowing a very full day awaited me with the IV antifungal and my regularly scheduled (every 28 days) IVIG treatment for my immune system both scheduled for today.

The IV antifungal makes me chill and grow colder and colder with each drop of medication that infuses. The drug representatives "generously" gift the oncologists with blankets embellished with the names of the expensive cancer drugs they sell. The standard Tennessee-orange Rituxan blanket has become my standard wrap of choice through these three weeks of daily cold-inducing IV Micafungin. If all goes well and as planned - pray, cross your fingers, knock on wood, cross your eyes whatever you choose to do - then tomorrow will be my LAST IV until next month. I have been coming twice weekly and then daily for IV's of some sort since June, so this escape from IV infusions will be embraced with all of my being. And my veins shout in agreement, "AMEN!"

After completing today's IV Micafungin, wrapped in my orange blanket and shivering away, the second treatment was started. Within fifteen minutes or so, I became sweaty and so warm I thought for a moment I had been transported to the tropics. All of these medications make for a very groggy, confused brain. The Rituxan blanket was tossed on the chair, my hair was pulled up in a hair twist, and all remnants of the shakes and shivers evaporated.

We still do not have the Identifications or Sensitivities for the two positive lung fungal cultures - perhaps Friday will reveal the much awaited information. Hopefully, these results will validate that the fungal infections responded to the treatment I have been receiving.

I will have to continue on the Amphotericin (Ampho-Terrible) intranasal irrigations for 3-4 additional weeks, according to my Infectious Disease doctor who called me yesterday.

The second urine culture again showed drug resistant e.coli. However, the benchmark of 100,000 organisms is usually used to initiate treatment for urinary tract infections and my reports are showing in the 60,000 range for the e.coli organisms. Please pray that this does not grow into a full fledged infection.

My platelets are back to 80,000 - with that decline returns my "Stage IV" designation. I am hopeful that all of the medications are causing this decline and that once they are completed, the platelet count will recover and I will be restaged to my "Stage II" leukemia level that I had achieved with this summer's Rituxan treatment. Kind of pitiful for someone to be excited about a Stage II cancer diagnosis! But it beats Stage IV all to pieces.

Thank you for your continued prayers.