WE Did It!

Yesterday was the big day of my PET scan that would determine whether or not my cancer was still present. After a sleepless night and a day of jitters waiting for the results, I finally heard from Dr. Reeder at about 2:30 pm this afternoon. And it was great news, the cancer is no longer present! After nearly a year, three different chemotherapy treatments and a bone marrow transplant this thing is finally out of my system!!! I still have a few years before they consider me completely in remission and I will now have to undergo about two weeks of low dose radiation but this was the first big step! 

Thank you very much again to everyone that has been supportive throughout my entire journey, I couldn't have done it without you guys! 

Radiation

I just returned from my meeting with Dr. Shild who is going to be my radiation oncologist. Because of the recurrence of the mass in the past and the size that is was they are going to go ahead and give me some radiation. How much is going to be determined by a PET scan that I will have sometime in the next few weeks. If the scan comes back "cold" meaning that the cancer is no longer present I will have a lower dose of radiation that will be for about 2 weeks. If it comes back "hot" meaning that the cancer is still present I will have a much higher dose that will be for about 4 weeks. Once the results come back it will be up to my platelet counts as to when they will start. If they are high enough they are going to be starting as soon as possible, if they are still low it could be another 30 days before they even get started. If this is the case I could be here in AZ until February. 

I wanted to let everyone know that just because I am missing home a lot as mentioned in my previous blog, in no way does this mean that I am going to give up! I am just ready to get this thing over with and get my life back on track!

Recovery

So recovery since I got out of the hospital has been much harder than I thought that it would be. Despite my counts going up everyday, I am still very weak and feel lightheaded a lot of the time and I am finally starting to realize that recovering from a possibly fatal dose of chemotherapy is going to be much harder than all of the other treatments. It is a very frustrating since it only took a few days to recover from each ABVD treatment and about a week from the ESHAP but I have a feeling that this one is going to take a few months. I started to workout today and was able to ride for 10 minutes on the stationary bike and lifted 5lb weights. I know it doesn't seem like much but it is truly the best that I can do right now. My goal is to increase the time by 1-2 minutes each day and increase the amount of reps as well but it is easier said than done. 

I am also missing Hawaii a lot and knowing that I cannot go home for another month or two has been making me feel depressed. It is just something that I have to work through and know that home will always be there and my getting better is the most important thing right now. But it is hard when I am stuck in a house in AZ all day long and almost everything that I know and love is going on without me in HI. 

I Escaped from Mayo!!!

So as some of you already know, I was released from the Mayo Clinic yesterday after 3 long weeks! It was a big surprise since my nurse told me in the morning that my white blood cell count numbers had jumped significantly but that I would still have to stay one more day for monitoring. But when I met with Dr. Reeder an hour later he over ruled her and said that I was in good enough shape to return home!!! It was a little strange leaving the hospital after such a long stay but I think that I am getting used to being home now after a nights sleep in a real bed... Now I am going to be going through weekly blood tests and then probably some radiation just to make sure that everything is completely killed before I get sent back home to Hawaii!!! By the way, if anyone out there in Hawaii is looking for a roommate or knows of a place to rent that isn't going to cost me an arm and a leg please let me know as I need to start planning my return!

Home sweet, home!

Day +11 Update

Today is November 3rd which is considered day +11 meaning it is the 11th day from the transplant. Things have been going okay but the last week has been pretty rough. First I got nauseous and sick for a few days so they had me on a strict regimen of anti-nausea medication which caused me to become very drowsy. I then developed a bad rash all over my body that didn't bother me but didn't look great either. And finally I got a sore throat that has been so bad that I have not been able to eat or drink anything for the last few days (I have lost 19 lbs in the last 9 days). In fact they have me on a morphine drip pump that gives me a constant flow of morphine but also allows me to push a button every 8 minutes and get an extra burst just to try and fight some of the pain. So suffice to say, between the anti-nausea medication and the morphine I have been pretty stoned over these last few days.

Dr. Reeder was on rounds this morning and stopped to check on me and let me know how my progress was going. According to my lab results I may be able to leave the hospital as early as this Wednesday! I cannot wait to get out of here and breathe some non-circulated air!

Stoned!

My sister Malia flew down for the weekend!

Transplant Day: October 24, 2008

Yesterday was the big day for my transplant! After suffering through 7 straight days of intense chemotherapy, my stem cells were reintroduced into my body. The entire process took about 12 minutes, which according to the nurse was extremely short. The shortness was because my original harvest had been so good that I only needed to infuse one bag rather than multiple bags. I have been feeling very week these last few days and had gotten some of the unfortunate side effects of the chemotherapy, burn marks on my hands and mouth sores. But in about 5 days they will begin the nuprogen shots that will boost my white blood cell counts and that should take care of the side effects. Sorry if this is poorly written and a little rambling as I am still really tired but I wanted to put up a post and let people know that I am still hanging in there and everything is going according to plan!

Five Million frozen stem-cells

Hanging the stem cells for transplant

Close-up of cells going down the tube and into me.

Day One

I checked into the Mayo Clinic this afternoon at 1:00 pm. They gave me a huge room which is great but unfortunately I don't have a view of anything. The day has been spent meeting with the doctors and nurses and going over everything that is going to be happening while I am here. I am being filled with fluids as I write this to keep me hydrated and I will also be given two drugs one to prevent seizures and another to protect my liver. They weighed me the second that I checked in and will weigh me everyday at 4:00 am and then again at 4:00 pm. It is essential that my weight remains the same while I am in here as too much weight loss is not good and any weight gain at all can be a negative sign of one if the chemo drugs. Other than that I have just been getting settled into my new "home," it is probably a bad sign that I already want to break out of this place as I am going crazy but my mom has confiscated my wallet so there will be no taxi rides to the airport for me :(

Starting tomorrow I will begin the chemotherapy at 8:00 am and be given one of the drugs every 4 hours for the first three days. Following that I will have the remaining three drugs over the last three days. They have stressed multiple times that these drugs are not going to be fun, in fact one nurse said I am going to feel like I have been beaten by a Louisville Slugger, but what does not kill me will only make me stronger. Below are some pictures of me in my room: