I’ve made a bit of progress on my dilemma on whether or not to go for the cranial/spinal radiation boost. This morning I ran across a study that ends like this:
“CONCLUSION: Primary chemotherapy based on high-dose MTX and ARA-C is highly efficient in PCNSL. Response rate and response duration in this series are comparable to [...]
We’re getting closer and closer to starting the stem-cell transplant conditioning. Last week we did an LP and an MRI to make sure my CSF was A-OK. Tests were negative, which is a positive sign.
Starting last Wednesday we’ve been visiting the SCCA every single weekday. Well, I had last Friday off. But every other single weekday!
One thing that was quickly clarified: we had in mind that the heart of the process would take 90 days. Bzzt! Wrong! That’s for allogeneic transplants, where the donor and the recipient are not the [...]
And as the first three methotrexate treatments went, so did the fourth. Once more I checked into the hospital on a Monday and then checked out on Thursday.
This time I wanted to do everything I could to avoid suffering through the joint pain on Saturday morning. My lizard brain considered trying to stay in the [...]
The Friday after my first high-dose methotrexate was New Years Eve. We partied with some friends in Wallingford, and then the group walked to Gasworks Park to watch the fireworks at the Space Needle. My legs were absolutely exhausted by the walk to and back. They were not happy at all. The next morning the [...]
To be ready to collect stem cells the CD34+ cell concentration in one’s blood is supposed to be above 8 * 10^6/ml. If the concentration is too low, collecting a viable transplant amount will take too many sessions. And at 4-5 hours a session, fewer is better!
Back on the 9th (a Monday) my CD34+ concentration [...]
Last Thursday I started the last lap around the R-CHOP track.
We started the day by talking with Dr Norman about the schedule for the next few weeks, then went to the Oncology Infusion Center for blood tests. Then back to Dr Norman for more intrathecal chemotherapy. Then back to the Oncology Infusion Center for round [...]
Continuing the story from last time, I was giving myself shots every night to build up my blood counts for the autologous stem cell transplant. I went to the SCCA and they gave my beefy veins the thumbs-up; I wouldn’t need an additional vein catheter to make this happen.
Bring on the bone pain, bring on [...]
It has been a crazy last two days. Crazy in the sense that they were more than expected.
First, we got some good news: the CT scan after my fourth round was mostly unchanged from after my second round, so we’re calling this a “complete response after two cycles” and that the disease has remained stable [...]