Today was supposed to be my second treatment. As it were, Isaac and I arrived at the office only to discover that my white blood cell count was low and my neutophil count extremely low.
I guess we know the chemo is doing its job.
This means a couple things. One is that I am extremely prone to getting really sick right now. Honestly, I'm a little surprised I didn't end up in the ER after my visit home this past weekend. I disobeyed the "no little kids" rule, the "no hugging" rule, the "limited sun exposure" rule... probably a few others, too. I'm sure if the doc had known exactly how low my counts were going to dip and how disobedient I'd be, he wouldn't have let us go. Secretly, I'm glad he didn't know. (Although, I'm not sure I'd feel the same way if I were hospitalized right now.)
Also, this means that my chemo was delayed a week... which reduces its effectiveness... which means I might have to be in treatment longer.
It also means that the day after my session next week, I have to get a shot that it supposed to make my bone marrow pump out white blood cells like crazy.
I'm not particularly excited about this shot.
I've come across it while reading up on my specific type of treatment and over and over again I see two things about it repeated. First, it's expensive. One man's wife needed them and they weren't insured. It cost them over $12,000 a week. I can't even image--thank goodness for insurance! As much as people gripe about ObamaCare, I'm very thankful for it right now, or Isaac and I absolutely would have declared bankruptcy already.
The other thing I read about this shot is that it apparently makes your bones ache like you have a fever.
Oh, joy.
Thankfully, the chemo will probably knock me out for a few days anyway, so I'll be able to take care of all my miserableness at once, rather than stretching it out. That's one upside.
On another note, my hair is still in tact. I often find myself running my hands through it, like I'm petting a dog--except I'm petting myself. It just feels cool. Occasionally, I'll reach up and pinch some of it and pull to see if any will come out. The most I've gotten was two hairs at once. I was under the impression that it would have fallen out by now--although, since shaving it, I've learned that about 3% of people undergoing my treatment keep their hair.
I'm sure that'll be my luck--but only because I already shaved it. And because I was looking forward to it coming back different. Maybe red and curly...
I'd be game for anything.
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