Monday, August 24, 2009

Not today

Sherrie was rejected for chemo again today. Her blood count was 27 on Friday (not 17 as I reported) and was 1.7 today. She has to have another round of 5-6 Neupogen shots this week and we'll try again next Monday.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Over the hump

Sherrie made it over the hump around Thursday night or Friday. She's been much better since then. Her white count was high enough on Friday (17 I think) that she should be able to receive the second part of this round of chemo on Monday.

Sherrie was feeling so well that she went mountain biking with me on Saturday. We went up Logan canyon and road up the dirt road that follows Beaver Creek up into Idaho. We rode a little over four miles up the road, stopping to rest a couple of times in the shade. We then had a nice coasting ride back down to where we had parked the truck. We saw what appeared to be active beaver dams and lodges along the way. It was beautiful and we had a fun time together.

The end is in sight. If all goes well tomorrow, we can start to say, "only one more round of chemo!"

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

A bad few days

Sherrie has had a bad few days since her treatment. She has vomited a few to several times each day, and has trouble sleeping at night. She's getting very bored laying around, but doesn't feel well enough to do anything else. This "nasty" treatment has been harder on her than any of the others. She's in good spirits considering what she's going through, but it's hard on her.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Chemo cycle number five begins

Sherrie began chemo cycle number five today. We met briefly with the oncologist, who looked over her lab reports and gave her an exam. He said her white count was less than ideal, but that she could still go ahead (yeah!). He scheduled her to begin receiving Neupogen shots tomorrow, and a lab for Friday. If her count is okay, she'll get the second part of this treatment a week from today (Monday).

The chemo infusion went according to routine, except that as the nurse began, Sherrie said, "I think I'm going to throw up." The nurse went looking for a barf bag, and I watched Sherrie turn white, close her eyes, put her hand to her mouth, and will it to stay down, which it did. After an interminably long time, the nurse finally found a bag and brought it to Sherrie. She had a dry heave or two, and then was okay for the rest of the treatment. Whether it was the large cup of red Sobe we bought on the way to doctor, or the nurse in her blue smock, something set her off.

So we now have a few days of some vomit and bad nausea, and then the worst of cycle five will be over.

Friday, August 14, 2009

From 40 to 2.6 in a week?

Sherrie had a lab today, preparatory for chemo on Monday. Her white count last Monday was 40, but today it was 2.6. Is that a record for a rapid white cell count drop?

So, we are a bit worried that chemo may not go on Monday. We think that last time, they just took the lab results from a few days prior and went with it. We are hopeful (?) that they don't do another test and find a count that is too low. Or, maybe we should hope that they do a test and find it is too low and give her more shots so it's not dangerous? 

Monday, August 10, 2009

CBC update

Sherrie just finished a week of Neupogen shots, and her CBC today was over 40. That is very high; can it be too high? We hope that it stays up high enough over the next week that she can start chemo on schedule next Monday.

Sunday, August 09, 2009

Chemo was successful

Sherrie's chemo on Monday was successful, in that her blood count was high enough (22!) and she had the treatment. This one was the "easy" one, so it's been relatively low impact. She's felt pretty well all week, though she's a bit more tired than normal.

She started on Neupogen shots on Tuesday, and will have them through Monday (tomorrow). I think she's going to have a CBC tomorrow as well, so we'll likely know if her count is good or not.

Sherrie is scheduled for another round of chemo on the 17th. She's supposed to have a lab on the 14th to see if her count is high enough; hopefully it will be.