THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24th, 2019
The last few days have been a bit of a mental roller coaster.
Chris's confusion has been in and out with his change in temperature. His headache and left leg pain have been pretty significant as well. Dr. Shah ordered a spinal MRI on Tuesday to make sure everything was still ok in regards to the lesions that were previously compressing his spinal cord (thinking that that may be what was causing his leg pain). The good news is that the lesions appeared smaller than they were on the previous MRI and there were no new lesions to report along the spine. Dr. Shah believes the pain (and the radiation burn) could all be the result of a phenomenon called radiation recall.
https://www.texasoncology.com/cancer-treatment/side-effects-of-cancer-treatment/less-common-side-effects/skin-reactions/radiation-recall
Chris was fever free from late Tuesday evening until yesterday night. We were optimistic that this may be the end of the CAR-T side effects. (Chris has to be fever free for 48 hours before discussion of discharge can happen.) Unfortunately, Chris's temp reached 100.8 Wednesday night, so the countdown will begin again. In addition to the temperature spike, Chris also began experiencing severe sweating and diaphoresis. The doctor and nurses think these symptoms could be a combination of the CRS (cytokine release syndrome) that is associated with CAR-T therapy and engraftment, which occurs post transplant.
https://www.verywellhealth.com/what-is-engraftment-syndrome-4147197
Chris was given some Tylenol to help with his temperature and some Demerol to help with the shaking he's been experiencing with his chills. If Chris's symptoms worsen, his team would move towards treating his symptoms with Dexamethasone (a steroid). I'll make sure to update if anything changes.
Thank you, as always, for the continued love, prayers, and support.
V
The last few days have been a bit of a mental roller coaster.
Chris's confusion has been in and out with his change in temperature. His headache and left leg pain have been pretty significant as well. Dr. Shah ordered a spinal MRI on Tuesday to make sure everything was still ok in regards to the lesions that were previously compressing his spinal cord (thinking that that may be what was causing his leg pain). The good news is that the lesions appeared smaller than they were on the previous MRI and there were no new lesions to report along the spine. Dr. Shah believes the pain (and the radiation burn) could all be the result of a phenomenon called radiation recall.
https://www.texasoncology.com/cancer-treatment/side-effects-of-cancer-treatment/less-common-side-effects/skin-reactions/radiation-recall
Chris was fever free from late Tuesday evening until yesterday night. We were optimistic that this may be the end of the CAR-T side effects. (Chris has to be fever free for 48 hours before discussion of discharge can happen.) Unfortunately, Chris's temp reached 100.8 Wednesday night, so the countdown will begin again. In addition to the temperature spike, Chris also began experiencing severe sweating and diaphoresis. The doctor and nurses think these symptoms could be a combination of the CRS (cytokine release syndrome) that is associated with CAR-T therapy and engraftment, which occurs post transplant.
https://www.verywellhealth.com/what-is-engraftment-syndrome-4147197
Chris was given some Tylenol to help with his temperature and some Demerol to help with the shaking he's been experiencing with his chills. If Chris's symptoms worsen, his team would move towards treating his symptoms with Dexamethasone (a steroid). I'll make sure to update if anything changes.
Thank you, as always, for the continued love, prayers, and support.
V
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