A Thousand Better Ways to Spend a Friday Night

Yesterday evening my left side started hurting. Pain in the same area of my ribs that preceded my diagnosis last spring. When the ache hadn't dissipated by midnight, I called Dr. Sharma, who told me to get it checked out at the E.R. for peace of mind.

The CAT SCAN and blood counts came back normal, and there were no irregular cells when Dr. Sharma looked at a blood sample under the microscope this morning. However, she thinks it's worrisome that I'm having this same rib pain, so she'd like me to come into her office Monday to have blood drawn for a PCR test. The PCR test, which assesses the blood on a molecular level, is much more precise than a CBC (count of blood cells) or examining a slide under the microscope.

Junk Mail

Friday I received a form letter in the mail announcing that a certain hematologist was switching practices. I was only his patient for two days. He was the one who examined my blood sample and prepared transfusions to have on hand in the operating room before the high-risk procedure to remove Lily. He was also the one who discharged me from the hospital the following day, despite my complaint of acute side pain and my abnormal blood counts.

Another hematologist, who knows him, has told me he felt terrible for missing my diagnosis. I am sure he did. It took us weeks of effort to get my records from those two days. Maybe there was some fear of litigation. It was unfounded. His form letter Friday brought back a flood of memories that kept me up that night.

Final Day of Daunorubicin

Today is my final dose of Daunorubicin, ever! I'm near my "lifetime limit" of the class of drugs, so even if I were to relapse, I wouldn't be given more of the glowing red juice. In the off chance I have a relapse, my bone marrow would be prepped with other drugs--presumably ones that also glow--for a stem cell transplant.

The plan is to avoid that. The plan is to finish this Daunorubicin cycle and the two years of the maintenance drug, and move on with living.