I just finished round two of consodation chemo.  Got six doses of chemo over the past five days and now I get a few weeks to recover before starting round three.  The idea with this consolidation process is if there are any cancer cells hiding somewhere the additional chemo will kill it off.  The medical community has 20 years of data that says this works so I will stay the course.[...]

It has been a good weekend of eating whatever I want.  Had plenty of salads and avocados.  I am starting to go a little stir crazy so Karen and I made some field trips out of the house to do some shopping for stuff we don't need.  I don't think we even bought anything.  We bundled up and went for some walks in the rain and cold.  You would think I have been bald long enough that my head would not get cold anymore....not the case.  [...]

I am out of the hospital and back home as of yesterday.  My fever broke and my numbers started coming up so I was able to come home.  My numbers are high enough today that I can have raw fruits and vegetables again so I am looking forward to a big salad tonight.  [...]

I am still in the hospital, but I am getting better and getting closer to going home.  Since getting here it has been rounds of antibiotics, fevers, blood tests and low blood counts due to the chemo.  As of today I would say that we have turned the corner.  I have not spiked a fever in the past 20 some hours and my blood numbers finally starting to come up.  My hope is that this continues and I can go home in a couple days.[...]

This week has been crazy.  Sunday's numbers were low so I had to go to urgent care and get an infusion of platelets.  I thought I would start feeling better after the infusion but that did not happen.  I was really run down and did not feel like doing much.  It makes sense since all my numbers are in the tank. Thursday morning I went in for my normal blood draw.  I got a call from oncology about three hours later freaking out that my platelets were critically low and I needed to get to the ER right away.[...]

I can't believe it has been so long since my last post,  I thought it was a couple days ago.  Today is considered day 11 of my 21 day chemo cycle. Day 1 was the first when they hung the first bag and day 21 is approx when I go back to start the next round.  Doctors told me days 7 to 10 would be when I will be at my lowest blood counts and most run down physically.  I would have to agree that days 9 & 10 I did not feel like playing tennis, sitting around watching Netflix was more my speed setting.  I would also have to say that day 11 has not been much different than 10.[...]

This week has been busy.  This morning I finished up my 6th dose of chemo in the past 5 days.  I was in and out of the hospital for the doses but it went pretty smooth, they have it down.  I now have roughly two weeks off before going back for the next round.  The doctors and nurses all agree that over the next few days I will get beat down by the chemo I just got.  It will push all my blood cell / platelet numbers back down which is when I start getting tired and food loses it taste.  On the up side they also agree that it should not be as bad as before and I should recover faster.[...]

Yesterday was the big day for starting my consolidation. I got to the hospital at 8:00 am as requested and had my reunion with the nurses that took care of me for the first 30 days I was there.  They are all good people and it was nice to talk to them, but I still did not really want to be there.  I would have preferred to meet them in a bar.[...]

Not much new to report.  I went to the hospital this morning to get my blood samples drawn per normal twice a week schedule.  I got part of the results back already.  My white blood cell count is now at 2,760 which is great and means I have about 1/4 of a normal immune system.  I will still avoid big groups and will wear my mask at the grocery store, but I do feel a little safer knowing my numbers are up.  I have not seen the red blood cell or platelet counts yet, but they were doing good after the last test so I assume they are higher now.[...]

On Thursday Karen and I had a busy morning.  We had to go to hospital to get a bone marrow sample extracted.  I lay on my stomach, they numb my hip bone and then they drill a hole to extract the samples they need.  It is not that bad but it is not fun either.  It leaves you sore for a couple days.[...]