Week 2 of Chemo

I was back in Ann Arbor getting more chemo today. My white blood cells have dropped again, so I have to start being careful not to pick up an infection. The last week I have felt great. The only side effect I had after last week's chemo was due to the high dose of decadron given before the chemo. Decadron is a steroid, and can keep you awake. Last Thursday night I was wired when I got home from chemo, and I did not fall asleep until 8 am Friday morning. This week may be the same thing. The Taxol I am getting can cause an allergic type reaction, so they give a high dose of decadron to counteract that the first two weeks. If there is no reaction they will lower the dose of the decadron next week. Of course, my appointment is first thing in the morning next week, so it likely would not have effected me as much anyway. So no noticeable side effects from the chemo, just difficulty sleeping due to the effects of the drugs to fight the chemo's side effects. Sometimes you can't win.

I have had a busy week since starting chemo, which is good because now I have to tone it down again due to the drop in my blood counts. They are not as low as they were with previous treatments, but they are low and will likely continue to drop.

On Saturday I went Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals. I took my Dad with me and we had a blast. It was a great game, and hopefully the Red Wings will make it 3-1 tonight. I have the game on right now, so I guess if I can't sleep I have something to watch for a little while now.

I have one more week of chemo in this round, then I will have a week off and they will check my HCG between the two rounds of chemo. When I started the chemo last week my HCG was up to 250. That was up from the 95 it was the week before, indicating that the live cancer cells are growing. The good news is that it is still a relatively low number that is increasing at a slow rate. I continue to exercise and eat well. I feel very strong and plan to continue with the Livestrong program. I am beginning to think about jogging soon. I am walking a couple miles every day, and I jogged about ten strides the other day. That may sound silly, but the last time I tried I did not have the muscle coordination to jog. I have gained that back, so now I may just start jogging a little during my walks. We will see how I feel the next few days following today's chemo.

The Wings just tied the game at 1. Go Wings!! Ethan is asleep, but the last game I recorded and watched the following morning with him. He was running around our coffee table holding on with one hand, one of his favorite pastimes. After the Wings scored I would hold up my hand and he would give me a giggling high-five as he passed by. He continues to walk more, wave goodbye, and now high-five. We had some family photos taken in Ann Arbor on Wednesday and will post some soon. Ethan will be 10 months old tomorrow.