Day 2 of Treatment 6...Exactly HALFWAY there!!!!

Victoria took me into treatment yesterday and it was much much quieter in the treatment room than last time...perhaps for that reason it wasn't nearly as emotional an experience as previous..or maybe it was that Victoria and I had visited her OB-GYN earlier in the week and were still on a high from that appointment.  Our little girl baby is growing and developing normally and is getting more active with each day.   I still haven't been able to feel her kicking or moving but Victoria certainly is.  It's not blissful though as she has been complaining of a band of pain up in her ribs this week and we aren't sure if it's the baby or changes to Victoria's body to blame.  Either way it is painful for Victoria but a good pain in light of the reasons for it.

It was good news and bad news yesterday after the bloodwork came back.  Let's focus on the good news first....I was healthy enough to take another treatment making it now #6 out of 12...or according to my elementary math skills 50% down, HALFWAY THERE...aren't those the lyrics to a Bon Jovi song?

Whooah, we're half way there 
Livin' on a prayer 
Take my hand and we'll make it - I swear 
Livin' on a prayer


And now the bad news.  The nurses were concerned at the levels of neutrophils in my blood...part of the whiteblood cell count that they monitor (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutrophil_granulocyte).  In fact, they were just .2 levels above the baseline for treatment.  So...this makes me at a greater risk for infections, fevers and getting sick generally.  I am immuno-compromised or suppressed.  My Oncologist, Dr. Lingas, looked at the bloodwork from the previous and noted that it wasn't a downward trend to this level...but rather a significant drop in the past two weeks since last treatment where the WBC didn't rebound to a healthier level. So it may just be a blip, a one-time drop or it may be a sign of increased immuno-suppression.  For next treatment, if it drops any further the really bad news is that treatment will be delayed and I will have to undergo several injections of Neupogen (http://www.drugs.com/neupogen.html) to stimulate my white blood cell generation and to bring to me a safer level for continuing treatment.  Let's hope that this won't be necessary but if it is...it is what it is.  And from discussions with the entire Oncology team there is absolutely nothing I can do whether it be through lifestyle or diet to impact the neutrophil count.  It is a side effect of undergoing chemotherapy and I should actually feel good about the fact that I have managed so far without the wbc bottoming out.  I will keep you all posted in two weeks!!!

Working as a Team....using naturceuticals in combination with standard therapy.

So Victoria and I arranged to meet with both my Oncologist and the Oncology Pharmacist to summarize our meeting with Dr. Genuardi, Doctor of Naturopathic medicine this past Saturday and the discusssion with the Oncology team was a good one.  Dr. Lingas gave the green light to most of the diet and naturceutical approaches recommended by Dr. Genuardi, deferring to her Pharmacist for a couple of items including supplements that have been recommend.  The main concerns from the Oncology team seem to centre around the Curcumin supplements and possible interactions / toxicology with FOLFOX treatments and the Probiotic supplement recommendation.  There simply isn't enough clinical data out there that demonstrates clear efficacy and safety of Curcumin extract in combination with FOLFOX so...we will take the safe approach. I have the go-ahead to start these supplements at the recommended dosage (2 X 400mg twice daily) except one day before chemo, during chemo and two days after chemo infusion stops.  There was greater discussion surrounding the recommendation to start a ProBiotic supplement and with doses up to 5 billion CFUs.  The concern surrounds the fact that I am immuno-compromised and that for normal healthy people introduction of these 5 flora into the GI tract would normally not pose a threat...but rather have a positive impact on intestinal flora.  For a patient like me that is compromised there is a slight risk that introducing these bacteria may have a negative impact on my immune system. 


At the end of the day I have lots to loop back to Dr. Genuardi with....communicate what the Onc team said about the naturopathic recommendations with the potential to loop back with the Onc team after this discussion.  After all, we are all working together as a team for my treatment plan.

Day 2 of Treatment #6:  Feeling blah

I will briefly relay how I am feeling today...on day 2. I think I can sum it up in one word 'Blah'.  My fingers and toes are extremely sensitive to anything cold, my throat too meaning that anything I ingest whether it be liquid or solid cannot be cold...it has to be room temperature or else my throat closes up and threatens to choke me on whatever I am ingesting.  Not a pleasant feeling.  My nausea is being managed which is great relief.  Some hiccups today but went away after about half an hour or so.  My energy level is pretty low...fatigue sets in just from short walks or basic activities.  So I had a nap today and it was absolutely necessary and helped.  Lastly...bye bye taste.  I can literally feel and taste my teeth.  Fellow patients will know what I am referring to....no taste buds, my gums and tongue feel like they have been scraped of all cells that give taste...so what is left? My teeth.  Oh well.  I hope it comes back like it has before.

I will end my posting here and follow-up later with more exciting baby news and an update on the 1st Annual Bum Run.  I have registered a team and am gratefully looking for team members and/or sponsors...the team is The Kicking the Crap Crew!  You can access my personal page at http://my.e2rm.com/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=1502857&langPref=en-CA or the team http://my.e2rm.com/teamPage.aspx?teamID=297575&langPref=en-CA&Referrer=direct%2fnone where you can Join or Sponsor the team.

Bye for now and until later...take care, all!