November 1, 2010 - Chemo 6 PM

Finished my chemo in record time!  I'm home early!  Nice to enjoy some extra time on this summer fall day away from the shop.

My lovely neighbor and friend, Bev, dropped me off at Ridgeview at 9:00 this morning to get my weekly blood draw, and then I walked across the parking lot to the oncology clinic.  I picked up the A section of the Strib to kill some time, and a few minutes later they called me in.  My appointment with Dr. B wasn't scheduled until 9:30, but he doesn't like patients to wait.

After Nurse Florence took my weight, blood pressure, pulse and temp and recorded them in the computer, I again picked up the newspaper I had taken with me.  Immediately, Dr. B came in.  (Is there something in the paper I'm not supposed to read today?)  We talked a little about how I've been doing - still no nausea, no digestive problems, heartburn was way less this time, no mouth sores at all this time.  He concurred that this drug I'm getting now, Taxol, should be less harsh on my system, even though the treatments are longer.

I mentioned to him that I did have some pretty good foot, ankle and lower leg pain the day after the shot (enough so I had trouble getting to sleep, even after taking a Vicodin), and that I also was surprised that I was fatigued for four days following the chemo, rather than the "normal" (for me) 1-2 days.  He checked my blood report (which, paradoxically in this high-tech world, had been shoved under the door while we were talking) and said, "Well, no wonder!  Your white count was going through the roof at that time.)

Normal white count readings are 4.0-11.0.  The highest I've had to date (a week after the Neulasta shot, which is designed to promote blood cell production) was 26.0, coming back down the second week to 17.0.  Last week, it registered 48.6!  (Today it was down to 19.8.)  That means that my bones were producing white cells like crazy (much more than necessary) and my body was reacting -- with foot pain and fatigue.  Tomorrow I go in for another shot, but this time he's cutting the dosage in half.  He thinks that should solve the pain and fatigue problem.  We then spent some time discussing the Steig Larsson books and Swedish movies versions (which are on Comcast On Demand, by the way).

So, that consultation only took a half hour.  By 9:45 I was walking into the chemo room.  By 10:00 I was all situated, my vein plumbed and ready for the meds -- pure saline, followed by benadryl, followed by an anti-nausea mix, followed by the Taxol - normally a 4-hour routine.  I should have been done by 2 PM.

But around 12:45 I looked up and the Taxol bag was nearly empty.  I called Michelle, the technician who worked with me today, and said, "I have someone picking me up today, and I'd like to give her an idea when I'll be finished.  Can you tell from looking at this bag approximately when I'll be done."  She looked and said, "I'd say 10-15 minutes."  I immediately called Bev, who was nice enough to jump into her car on short notice and head to Waconia again.  Sure enough, by 1:00 PM I was picking up my stuff and heading for the door.

So, it was nice to get out early.  (Gee, I sure hope they didn't forget something.)