Thursday, April 8, 2010

Platelets and WBC back up

Quick report on a few lab things.

This last Tuesday, platelets were up to 85 from 65 the week before.  I went off Revlimid per my usual schedule on Monday, so they should continue to climb until I resume that particular wonderdrug on next Tuesday night.

WBC was up to 3.7, probably in response to this lingering chest cold which is down to about ten productive coughs a day and a few nose blows, so it's not that big a deal.  Will be glad when it's gone.  The over under on how long it takes me to get a new one is about two weeks.  We'll see if I can beat that this time.

Everything else more or less steady as she goes.

I've got bad heartburn, despite taking Protonix, so I may pop another one.  That's what's keeping me up.  I was tired enough (long days at the office) to try to sleep last night without Ambien -- that was a mistake on the day after I took Dex.  Oh well.  More learnings for next month I suppose.

Feeling good, though, and with each day, more and more happy that I found BB and went through the aggressive treatment.

For those who might be new to this blog, I have a quick summary of some facts up on the blog of a friend, Phil Brabbs, who is a young guy that went for aggressive therapy in Michigan after meeting us in Arkansas.  His protocol is slightly different and in some ways not quite the uber-aggresive approach that BB uses, but it nonetheless incorporates multiple chemo, a (single?) stem cell transplant and maintenance with the objective of curing the disease.  Phil is an absolutely remarkable guy and we love his wife Cassie as well.  They've been featuring other MM cases on their blog in an effort to educate people about various treatment options and experiences.  I'm their guest for this week and my blurb can be found here.

4 comments:

  1. Tandem. ;) (And so much good info in your featured post... thanks for doing that!)

    Glad to hear you're doing better each day! Keep on truckin', friend. =)

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  2. It's tough to say which one is more "aggressive"...seven cycles of RVDD before transplant was no joke..hahahaha :P

    Keep dominating Nick, your story is full of encouragement to many...including us.

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  3. Just read your blurb on Phil Brabbs blog and I feel so much better about my upcoming transplant. Thank you for that.

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  4. Dear Nick,
    My name is Jean and I’m a volunteer with the National Bone Marrow Transplant Link. Our organization helps patients, caregivers, and families cope with the social and emotional challenges of transplant from diagnosis through survivorship by providing vital information and personalized support services. We subscribe to Google blog alerts, where we found your story.
    To learn more about nbmtLINK programs and services,including "Celebrating Second Birthdays" survivor recognition, please visit www.nbmtlink.org or call 800-546-5268.
    All the best!

    ReplyDelete