So far I’ve managed to survive a week of intense chemotherapy, eight days in the hospital with a dangerous blood infection, and all the assorted side effects that come with cancer treatment.
My response to treatment has been very good (the Docs say) through about every step. I had the weekend off and saw my admitting Doc this morning (Monday). My white cells held at a good number since Friday, my platelets were way up, and all the other blood checks were positive.
So the good news is I see Doc again Thursday for a similar checkup. If all is good Thursday, I can return home. I realized today this weekend will be four weeks since I’ve spent a night in my own bed.
Challenges remain. I still have issues eating enough, I’ve lost 18 pounds. I must avoid people with any cough or colds and the biggest of all is I must regain my strength. Getting the strength back is the really tough one. A walk through Kroger this morning, after seeing the Doc, left me pretty exhausted.
But I’ve been down this street before with recovery. I did an okay job in 2015 during my first big round of chemo for my Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. This time I want to crush it. I want to use the time to really capitalize on my physical health. I want to change some of my eating habits permanently.
There is not much you can do to prevent cancers – but getting the weight down, exercising, and eating well improves quality of life.
The last step is more between the ears. My transplant went well – better than many the docs have said. But there has never been a promise it will work – it was simply my best chance. So in a few weeks I’ll start x-rays and screens to see if any traces of cancer show up. With all I’ve gone through the past three weeks I remain quite optimistic.
I’m hopefully coming home this weekend to tackle my rehab. I look forward to returning to work with my friends at the Purdue University News Service later in June.
I’ll keep posting updates here. But I have to add again and again the amazing effort of my best friend Kathy, several great young guys who became friends while I worked at Wabash college, my best wine buddy, a couple of Crawfordsville locals, and all those who were saying prayers whether I knew it or not.
Today was a very good day.
Lymphoma, My Stem Cell Transplant 