I just completed Cycle 1 of my experimental treatment at NIH
and “donating” 12 tubes of blood. My white blood count has increased from 69K
on Day 1 to 135K on Day 28. One more cycle of climbing – dumping those bad boys
from my lymph nodes into my blood – and then I will brace myself for the decent
to a normal range, which is 4,500-10,000 white blood cells
per microliter (mcL).
Hemoglobin has remained steady
at 13. The average for adult women is 12 to 16 gm/dL. Low hemoglobin level
means a low red blood count or anemia.
Unlike normal cells, platelets
do not have nucleuses. Their lifespan is only twelve days at most. The main
purpose of these cells is to form blood clots. Platelets
have gone from 150K on Day 1 and continued to rise to 191K. The normal range is
150K to 400K platelets per microliter (mcL), so I am headed in the right
direction.
The NIH computer had issues, so
I will get my full blood work numbers mailed to me by Susan Soto, the NIH
nurse.
I had my first real symptom on
Day 27 – a massive leg cramp in my left Tibialis anterior. I had never had a
leg cramp there. I was suddenly woken in the middle of the night and did not
know which way to pull or push my foot. I finally figured out I needed to push
it like I was pointing my toes in ballet. I did my Lamaze breathing and
massaged the muscle until the cramp went away. It seemed like it took forever.
The doctor did not know if it was caused by the drug or my overdoing it at the
gym on the cycle. One teaspoon of mustard is supposed to help, along with
eating my bananas for potassium and replenishing my electrolytes. Mercy!
One of my Ibrutinib colleagues
suggested a book for me to read called The Emperor of All Maladies: A
Biography of Cancer, (2010). It was written by a physician named Siddhartha
Mukherjee. I believe I will put it on my wish list. Still reading the bio of
Steve Jobs, along with a couple more books on my night stand.
Just started Cycle 2…
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