WEDNESDAY, JULY 31st, 2019 Today, Chris had his blood draw and meeting with Dr. Shah. At the meeting, Dr. Shah discussed Chris's PET scan results from Monday. His PET scan looks significantly better, but there is still some residual disease. Additionally, there are two new areas of concern; one in the left axillary lymphatic region and a second in the prevascular (chest) lymphatic region. They are relatively small, but were not noted on the first PET scan. Also of concern is that one of the areas of affected in his abdomen has worsened. As a result, Chris is getting a biopsy of the left axillary lymph node of concern today. He will also have a LP tomorrow to check his CSF for involvement again. The possible involvement of his retina makes CSF involvement concerning. Chris will not be starting chemo today. Dr. Shah will be changing Chris's chemo regimen based on the results of the biopsy, LP, and meeting with the ocular oncologist on Monday. We will be meeting w
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TUESDAY JULY 30th, 2019 Yesterday began a long week of hospital visits and appointments for Chris. He had his PET scan yesterday, and we will hear the results of them tomorrow, at his appointment with Dr. Shah. Today, Chris has his opthamalogy appointment to assess his double vision. The doctor said his eye vision straight, right, up and down looks normal and his vision to the left is about 90% back to normal. Unfortunately, while taking a picture of his left retina, they found three white spots which they were concerned about. The spots could be a result of low blood counts throughout chemo, but they could also be lymphoma. As a result, Chris will be seeing a retina oncology specialist next Monday, the 5th. We should have a better idea of what's going on with his eye after that. I will update again tomorrow, following our meeting with Dr. Shah regarding the PET scan. V
TUESDAY July 23rd, 2019 Chris received the results of his brain MRI earlier this week. The MRI was negative for any signs of lymphoma; however, it did show that Chris has intracranial hypotension. Intracranial hypotension is a condition in which there is negative pressure within the brain cavity, and is likely the result of a Cerebral Spinal Fluid leak following his lumbar puncture. Typically, these CSF leaks will self heal in 2 to 3 weeks following a lumbar puncture, however, Chris has to get a lumbar puncture every 3 weeks with his chemo; thus, explaining the persistent headaches. As a result, Dr. Shah recommended Chris get a consult with an anesthesiologist specializing in pain management. He wanted to see if Chris was a candidate for an epidural blood patch. An epidural blood patch is a surgical procedure that uses the patient's blood (inserted into the epidural space) to close a hole in the dura mater of the spinal cord, usually as a result of a previous lumbar punctur
FRIDAY JULY 19th, 2019 Chris had his second post chemo (round 2) blood draws today. Each time he has a blood draw, he has an appointment with a nurse to follow just in case he needs to receive blood or fluid based on the results of the blood draw. Today, all of Chris's labs look great! His hemoglobin was 9.6 (still low, but normal for oncology patients; no need for a blood transfusion). His WBC count was still slightly above normal thanks to his Neulasta shot post chemo. His LDH was 266 (high end of normal is 225; Chris's was at 8,000 before starting round 1 of chemo.) From a labs perspective, everything is going great. Unfortunately, Chris's headaches have still not resolved. He thinks his double vision is playing a role in the headaches, but the doctor was a bit concerned that they have been continuing persistently this long. ***I should note that you can also get headaches as a result from a lumbar puncture (which Chris had on Tuesday). These heada
SUNDAY JULY 14th, 2019 Round two of chemo is finally complete! Although Chris was pretty tired of carrying around his stylish fanny pack, he was happy to be home during his treatment. (He got to hang with his little man this round, and the kitties were happy to have him home as well; see the pictures.) With round 2 complete, Chris is 1/3 of the way through his chemotherapy. So far, he is feeling fairly decent, although his fatigue increases slightly with each additional day of chemo. We are hoping the next couple of days are a little better than they were for round one; although we are expecting them to be a bit rough. Chris will need to get another Neulasta shot tomorrow to help stimulate bone growth and WBC growth after his chemo. He will be back again Tuesday as well, for another blood draw, nurse's appointment (in case he needs blood or fluid) and a spinal tap. As always, I'll try to continue to update with any new news. Thanks for the love and support. V
WEDNESDAY JULY 10th, 2019 Well, day one of Chemo Round 2 is in the books. It was a long, but good day overall. Chris had another lab draw this morning, and all of his labs looked good; which meant he could start round two of chemo today. His LDH is down to 544 (225 is high end of normal) His AST and ALT (liver enzymes) are still both normal. His hemoglobin and platelets are normal as well. After the lab draw, Chris had an appointment with Dr. Shah. He was impressed with Chris's response so far, and is optimistic about the upcoming treatments. After Chris finishes this cycle of chemo, he will have another spinal tap and another PET scan to assess how his body is responding. Lastly, Chris had an appointment at the day hospital to start his chemo. We were a little surprised that Chris was starting his treatment today with the Rituxan first; it was given on the last day for the first cycle of chemo. The Rituxan was given in a rapid dose (over 2 hours vs 4 hours the first
WEDNESDAY JULY 3rd, 2019 So Chris had another blood draw today. Unfortunately, after his blood transfusion on Monday, his hemoglobin only came up to 7.8 from 7.0. The doctor would prefer to keep Chris's hemoglobin above 8.0, so he received another unit of blood today. Chris's AST (22) and ALT (42), both enzymes used to measure his liver function are both, finally, back to normal today. His LDH (950) and his Alk-Phos (250) are both slightly elevated from Monday's labs, but that is to be expected since he received his Neulasta (bone growth stimulator) injection, and it is likely starting to take effect. Chris received a new medication on Monday for his headaches, and overall, it seems to be helping. The headaches aren't gone, but they are certainly more manageable. Lastly, Chris started losing his hair today. It is something he (we) knew would happen, but it was a little bit of a shock once it actually happened. As a result, Chris shaved his beard today, an
MONDAY JULY 1st, 2019 Chris's had his first of three lab draws for the week today. Almost all of his labs are still trending in the right direction. His LDH is down to 902 from 1726 on Friday; his ALT is 63 (normal) today, down from 163 on Friday; his AST is 17 (just above normal) from 47 Friday. Chris's absolute neutrophil count (the type of WBC that fights infection) is up to 0.88 (normal is 1.9 - 7.8) from 0.05 on Friday; and his overall WBC count is up to 1.7 from 0.8. Unfortunately, Chris's hemoglobin dropped from 8.9 to 7.0 since his last draw, which warrants a blood transfusion; which is what we are currently doing, and is allowing me time to update the blog. Hopefully, we'll be good to go after this. Lastly, Chris's headaches are still an issue, but he was prescribed a new medication that should hopefully help with that. Otherwise, things are going pretty smoothly overall. I will update again with any more news as the week progresses. We&#