Red Cells and White Cells and Platelets, Oh My!

BOX SCORE Element Current Std. Range Trend Hemoglobin 11.5 13-17 v Platelets 33 140-375 v ANC 1450 1800-8300 ^ The sun is shining; the temperature is low; the last roses of summer are still clinging to the canes. It is definitely fall in Dallas. My next round of chemotherapy begins today. For the next five days, I will receive injections of medication that is aimed at halting the assault of cancer cells on my bone marrow. In addition, for the next ten days, I will take oral medication that has the same target. These treatments are not difficult in and of themselves, but there are some caveats involved.  During "Chemo Week" (which totals 12 days) I need to be mindful to t...

BOX SCORE Element Current Std. Range Trend Hemoglobin 11.8 13-17 ^ Platelets 89 140-375 ^ ANC 950 1800-8300 v Notwithstanding my previous post about being at the Nadir of my blood counts, as you can see from the BOX SCORE above, my ANC has dropped into the unsafe range. So, we are in quarantine again. On the brighter side, my hemoglobin and platelets are both up. Not only are those the two counts that most affect how I am feeling, but I consider batting 0.667 is pretty good in any league! So, the long and short of it is that I am feeling good, but I can't hang out with anyone for a while yet. It also puts a crimp in our style where doing things like fetching groceries and such are concerned. ...

BOX SCORE Element Current Std. Range Trend Hemoglobin 11.1 13-17 v Platelets 46 140-375 ^ ANC 1680 1800-8300 v Have you ever had the oxymoronic situation where you were glad to see something negative happen in your life? Say, what? During each chemo cycle, my blood counts take some wild swings. Mostly it doesn't bother me too much, but there are a couple of situations that I don't like to see. When my platelets get too low, for example, there are a couple of worries. If they are WAY low, like around 10-20, I may need a transfusion. Transfusions are not painful or particularly invasive, but they require a fair amount of time in the infusion room, say, an hour or so. I always feel bette...

BOX SCORE Element Current Std. Range Trend Hemoglobin 12.3 13-17 ^ Platelets 83 140-375 v ANC 2610 1800-8300 ^ There are lots of Christmas songs that talk about the wonderful feelings most of us share during the Christmas season, which by the way is closer than we think! Many of the songs lament that we don't keep that Christmas joy throughout the rest of the year. If you want to get really cynical, a satirical song writer named Tom Lehrer offers his song, "A Christmas Carol," which includes the following verse: On Christmas Day you can't get sore Your fellow man you must adore There's time to rob him all the more The other three hundred and sixty-four ...

BOX SCORE Element Current Std. Range Trend Hemoglobin 11.1 13-17 v Platelets 102 140-375 v ANC 1750 1800-8300 v  Sometimes, you just need to go to the beach. Know what I mean? Well, that's exactly what we did. We left Monday afternoon for Gleneden Beach with a reservation at a condo that was recommended to us by my friend and fellow AML fighter, Brian. We didn't know what to expect, quite, but Brian and Rita said they have been staying at this place for 30 years, so it must be something special. We checked in and then proceeded to our unit. We were met with the above pictured view from our living room. Wow! Thanks Brian and Rita! We had a lovely time enjoying the views, t...