I'm finishing up this week's final dose of chemo. The current schedule is one dose each day for three days and then three weeks off to allow the chemo to work and for my system to handle it and then get better enough to handle the next three doses of chemo. So far, I'm not as tired as I have been, although that's because I've been on the upswing. The worst time frame for this type of chemo is between 7 – 10 days out from the start of dosing, so we'll have to see how I feel by next week.
We had some really good news on the blood work and liver functions. We came in for lab work last Friday and when we got the results on Monday we discovered that all my liver functions have come within normal range or close to it. Considering that at diagnosis on March 13, I was in first stage liver failure that is a huge change. Basically, this means that the cancer is being killed by the chemo, although we won't know how much reduction in cancer I have until my next CT scan, which should be in about another month. Also, the liver counts indicate that the rest of my liver, the healthy part, is able to handle the load from my normal metabolic processes. Since I am also able to eat, and I've also gained back about 6 lbs of my weight loss, the healthy portions of the liver are doing a pretty good job of getting me back on track. We still have a long way to go, and the chances of complete remission are still slim, but we've had our first miracle already. Please visit the "Journey of Faith Update" section to learn more about the nature of this first miracle, and thank you for your faith and prayers on our behalf.
My blood counts on Friday were still low, so we were unsure if we would be able to continue with chemo on Monday. Luckily, however, they reran the blood counts and found that over the weekend my white blood cells and other immune cells had come back up enough to make the next round of chemo. They are also going to give me a shot at the end of today that will encourage the growth of the immune cells. I'm grateful for that, especially since I've started to develop a viral lung infection with a shallow cough. I'm pretty sure it's viral since a couple of the kids seem to have the same thing, and I haven't had a fever to go along with it. With some rest, it should resolve itself, especially with an extra boost from the shot to keep my immune cells elevated. I'll let you know how it's going in the next update.
One final note, it looks like I will be losing my hair. More and more comes out each morning. So far, the hair loss has been fairly even, and since I like to keep my hair short anyway, you can't tell yet that it's falling out. One of Crystal's friends had offered to do a family portrait for us and was willing to accommodate us when we called her yesterday in a panic and explained that we may not have much time left to get the portrait done before I was bald. So, we should have some updated pictures for the site in a few days.
