I will play "catch up" on my blog. It has been a medically eventful week (what's new?) so I will review the week's events. This is Week 6 of splenic irradiation for me (I have received 325 cGy of 600 cGy). Currently, each dose (or called a "fraction" in radiation) is 25 cGy. I began at 50 cGy per fraction but my counts could not tolerate that dose, so it was reduced. I had hoped to finish by the end of 2010, however, radiation will continue into January.
I continue to battle the pulmonary problems of coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath. So, I had a CT on Monday and it did not reveal any pneumonia, tumors, leukemic infiltrates in the lungs or fungal masses. That was all good news, however, it leaves us with many questions about what is causing the shortness of breath and cough. PCP (a dangerous form of pneumonia) remains a possibility since indolent PCP often will not reveal itself on CT or x-ray. Today, upon recommendation of my NIH doctor, a PCR test for PCP was ordered. In the morning, I will use a nebulizer with sterile water to collect a sputum sample. We will take that to the hospital and that should give us an idea if PCP is contributing to the cough.
The CT did reveal some new cardiac concerns and degeneration of my spine. I have never had heart concerns, so that was quite a shock. Many of the drugs I have taken can be damaging to the heart. Today, my doctor asked the nurse to perform an EKG. The doctor said today's EKG results are very concerning but her regular nurse was not there and the lady who did the EKG was new to the machine. So, my doctor wants to repeat the EKG early next week when her regular nurse is there before we panic. I truly cannot believe with everything else I am dealing with that now I have a cardiac concern. I knew that I had degenerative changes to my lower spine, but was not aware of the changes in my upper spine. Steroids can be detrimental to bones and I now live on daily steroids due to the failure of my adrenal glands.
Now, onto some better news! I received radiation on Monday, however, my counts were too low and radiation was canceled. Today my WBC is 2 - that is low and most of you know I usually have a high WBC. So the radiation is definitely at work - really working! My hemoglobin was decent and my platelets remain low. The remarkable news is that Monday's CT results revealed that the spleen is shrinking in size and there were no enlarged lymph nodes in my chest (enlarged lymph nodes remain in my neck, abdomen and under my arms).
Most exciting to me is the fact that my lymphocyte percentage today has gone from 99% to 57% (normal being 15%-41%). My ALC (Absolute Lymphocyte Count) has decreased by 96% since beginning radiation! Before long, I will have a normal lymphocyte count and I have never achieved that with any of my past five chemo/immunotherapy adventures! Remember, lymphocytes are the blood cell line that is cancerous - precisely, my leukemia is a cancer of the B-lymphocytes. T-Lymphocytes are included in these lymphocyte counts that are being walloped and I need God to protect as many of the "good" T-Lymphocytes as possible.
A WBC is not without risks to me. I received a Neupogen injection tonight and will tomorrow. With a WBC this low, I am supposed to avoid crowds. However, that will be impossible as our oldest daughter graduates Saturday with her Masters Degree in the Nurse Practitioner program (in a crowd of thousands, so I will be wearing a pretty pink mask!) There is no way I am going to miss that special event!
So please pray for God to protect me from further infections; for my marrow to be able to begin producing cells I need; for my heart concerns not to be serious; and for strength and energy to enjoy our daughter's graduation and reception on Saturday.
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