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Eden Zasloff - Journal

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Posted 2017-05-12T04:37:33Z

Time is Flying - more than 50% done with chemo

Happy Spring. Where to start...well, let's start with health. A week ago, Eden started cycle 4 of a potential 6 cycles of chemotherapy. She launched into this cycle with a lot of gusto, ready to take it on and get herself ever closer to finishing all 6 cycles. To review, each cycle is 8 weeks, with the first four a mix of 3 different drugs taken at various, but specific intervals. The last four weeks are rest, giving Eden's blood counts an opportunity to recover before the onslaught of the next round. Her blood has definitely taken a hit - some of the most critical measurements include platelets (for clotting), neutrophils (white blood cells critical to fight infection), ALCs (Absolute Lymphocyte Counts, also critical in fighting infection). All get blasted by the chemotherapy and take time to recover. These reductions impact Eden's ability to fight infection, so she wears masks on planes, avoids cleaning out the barn, and steers clear of downtown Beijing. In all seriousness, this is pretty important stuff, and so she gets her blood drawn weekly so that the doctors can keep tabs on a couple dozen factors that could impact her ability to both tolerate treatment and fight germs and other bad stuff. So far, so good.[...]