Monday, June 28, 2010

A great day!

It began, however, with some apprehension. I had two physician’s appointments scheduled for today, one with my chemo oncologist in Latham, and the other with my stem cell oncologist at Albany Med. I knew very well I would be hearing the results of recent tests, and learning what my future treatment will entail.

Blood tests have indicated a big improvement in my bone marrow, even after the very first treatment. Impressive. Optimism now abounds. Pain levels have improved. Now we have statistical confirmation that recovery is underway.

Nevertheless, we still have a long way to go. Once my bone marrow has reached an acceptable condition, we will be weaned off the Revlimid (thalidomide) for four weeks, and then the stem cell transplant procedure begins. A catheter is installed in my chest, and during a couple of sessions, tentatively scheduled to start on August 12, stem cells are forced from my bone marrow, to be processed and frozen. During this almost three weeks procedure, I will be under a type of quarantine. Luckily, living so close to Albany Medical Center and able to have the eyes of my family watch me for 24 hours a day, I can live at home during this time. The slightest problem means we are off like a shot for the hospital. After this quarantine, in early September, a different, much stronger chemotherapy is briefly used, at which time I will be very much under-the-weather. The healthy stem cells are re-introduced. Slowly I will begin to recover, and by October, I’m told I’ll be feeling quite well, if all goes according to plan.

One of the heroes here is a fantastic Albany Med nurse, also named Donna, who will oversee this procedure. She holds a long conversation with us, and walks us through the treatment. We develop a tremendous respect for and confidence in this lady. All will be well.

I will look back upon today as the day I started my comeback.