Chapter Three

It has been 4 weeks since our last infusion, (having skipped one dose because we were in Atlanta), so here we are, right on schedule, in the infusion room.  We saw the doctor who showed us the chest scans from yesterday.  They showed no growth in any of the lung tumors, but the fluid around the left lung has increased noticeably, so we will go in tomorrow and have it drained.  I am not sure what all that entails, but will report on it after it happens.  The scans also show a collection of “lesions” on my spine and some other bones that the scans could see.  This corroborates what the scans from last week showed; namely that the cancer has spread to my bones.  Radiation has proven very effective in bone cancer, so I get to go back there and get zapped a few times.  The plan now is to lay off the chemo for a month or so and see what radiation can do for the bone tumors. 

So what am I doing in the infusion room?  Well, it turns out that the chemo has been kind of hard on my red blood cells, and the counts are quite a bit below where the doctors like to see them before giving radiation.  The quickest way to get the red blood cell count up is to add to a person’s blood supply.  This means a transfusion.  This is done in the infusion room, because the processes are quite similar.  They are giving me two units of blood, each of which takes two hours.  However, before they can do that, they need to make sure that all the parameters are correct, which takes some time.  And then they have to get it from the lab at the university all the way up the hill to the Huntsman Cancer Center.  Maybe the courier had other stops to make, but we came in here at 10:00 am, and the blood did not arrive until after 2:00 pm.

The transfusion is supposed to make me feel better and think more clearly.  I hope it works.  I have needed that for a really long time.  After the draining of the lungs tomorrow, we will get fitted out with whatever is needed for the radiation.  Among other things, I suppose this means a few more tattoos. I hope they do a better job this time.  The last ones were so small you couldn’t tell the sailing ship from the dragon.  Even with a magnifying glass.

The doctor was optimistic; we have kept the lung tumors from growing and doing any damage – he feels that this can happen also with the bone tumors.  It appears that they have been growing more slowly that most stage 4 tumors, so he feels that we have a good chance of repeating what happened with the lungs.

As always, I am glad to be here, and am looking forward to the next bumps on this roller-coaster ride.  I am also grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  It gives me assurance that what lies ahead need not be feared or cause concern.  At a time like this, that assurance is a very valuable thing.

Oh, yes.  About the title of this post.  I figure the first chapter in this experience was the surgery, radiation and chemo that was focused on the parotid gland.  Chapter two, then, dealt with the lungs.  Now we have the bones to deal with, so we will consider the next several posts in this blog as part of Chapter three.  How many chapters do we get?  Stay tuned.  I am as interested in that question as you are.  And, by the way, I have been led to believe that a blog is supposed to be a two-way deal.  I write something, and other people post comments.  If the system prevents you from responding, let me know.

Martell Gee  

geemj@geenet.org