Red Cells and White Cells and Platelets, Oh My!

You've heard of Wacky Wednesday and Taco Tuesday, right? Well, today is Marvelous Monday. This is the first Monday since August 2, 2021 that I have been both of the following simultaneously: 1) not in the hospital AND 2) not required to go to the clinic for a blood draw! We almost didn't know what to do with ourselves. I won't have another blood draw until March 21st!  But wait, there's more! (Didn't I hear that on TV somewhere?) As you know, if you follow the blog, we have been struggling with understanding how careful we need to be as we come out of quarantine. Part of the problem is that we couldn't seem to get clear information about whether I am actually immunocompromised, and if so, to what degree. A couple of emails to my oncologist have yielded some vague information, most of which comes from the CDC guidelines about Covid precautions. Today we got something we can sink our teeth into. About two weeks ago, the Nurse who did my blood draw said that there ...

After forgetting to post my good news last Monday, I decided to be Johnny-on-the-spot today. I had my first blood draw in the new era of APL (After PICC Line). This was a mixed blessing. Whereas I had to be poked in the arm (no big deal), I also didn't have to make an appointment (just show up at the lab), then again there was a bit of waiting without an appointments. I didn't realize how many people show up first thing on Monday morning for lab tests!! Jill also needed to have a blood draw today, and by the time we were both finished and got to our next stop, which was Walmart half a mile down the street from the clinic (for our grocery pickup), only about 35 minutes elapsed. Acceptable in my book!  And now for the news you have all been waiting for. My lab results!!  PARAMETER VALUE NORMAL RANGE RBC count 4.4 4.0-5.5 Hemoglobin 14.1 ...

Do you ever get so excited you forget to do something important? That's what happened to me this week. If you read my last post, you know that I was OKed by my oncologist to have my PICC line removed. And so, on Monday my old friend was removed from my arm and with no problems. The last time I had one removed there was some bleeding afterward that was not serious, but it was annoying. Francisco, the RN at the Nurse Treatment Center who removed this one just stood by my side and held finger pressure on the exit wound while we chatted about different things. After, perhaps, ten minutes, he put a pressure dressing on the wound, told us he was going to miss seeing us (since I will now have to have my blood draws done by a phlebotomist in the lab), and bid us adieu.  I was like a kid at Christmas. As much as I appreciated having the PICC line when I needed it for frequent blood draws and transfusions and chemotherapy infusions, it was a bit bothersome having to be sure I kept it dry whe...

We had a consultation with Dr. Waugh, our oncologist, yesterday. Bottom line: I'm officially in remission. Praise the Lord! My latest bone marrow biopsy (BMB) showed no sign of disease in my marrow and the KIT16 mutation that was associated with my Systemic Mastocytosis is gone. In fact all of the mutated genetic markers that were previously found are gone. There is one genetic factor that is of mild concern, but whether it actually causes leukemia is unknown, and it sometimes shows up after chemotherapy and in people who never develop any disease. Dr. Waugh will consult with Dr. Cook at Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU) to get her opinion in the matter, but for now no further treatment is currently recommended, except for monitoring my blood counts.  Even the blood draws will be reduced to once a month, providing they continue to be good by the end of this month. That really boils down to how my labs come out on February 21st, my last scheduled draw this month. Less freque...

You know what it's like when Christmas morning finally arrives, after you have waited for it for weeks or months? You know what's better? When you've waited months and it finally happens that  your hemoglobin level climbs back into the normal range. Today is the day!! I think I'll call it Hemoglobinmas Day.  Today was the day for my biweekly blood draw, and I was hoping for some improvement in my hemoglobin level, which is all related to my Red Blood Cell (RBC) count. Two weeks ago my hemoglobin had slipped from 12.4 to 12.3 (normal is 13-17). I was so happy two weeks ago when Dr. Waugh said I only need blood draws every other week, instead of weekly, and now this news: my RBCs are at 4.19 (normal is 4-5.5) and my hemoglobin is at 13.4 (normal is 13-17). The hemoglobin jumped 1.1 in two weeks, and that's huge.  Once again, I am amazed by and grateful for the amazing body that God designed for me and gave me 75 years ago. It has bounced back yet again. Can't help...

I got a preliminary report on my bone marrow biopsy. It reads in part,  “- No morphologic or immunologic evidence of previously diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia.  - Molecular analysis: genomic microarray and NGS pending."  The pending studies, from what I can learn on the web, are used to study genes or parts of genes. I'm not sure what they may be looking for with those studies, but everything in the report I received indicates that none of the cells they looked at are abnormal. I suppose these gene sequence studies are meant to take the search that much deeper. I give my medical team high ratings for their thoroughness. I have an appointment for a consultation with my oncologist scheduled for a week from tomorrow. I expect the pending studies will be complete by then, and Dr. Waugh can interpret all of this stuff for me. Praise the Lord; it all looks good from here! This report is very encouraging to me and especially so to Jill. Still, we choose to live one day at a ti...