Back On Track

Well I guess the question on everyone’s mind is, what’s the word from the doctor’s appointment on Thursday. ……Chemo is ON…….

Labs and kidney tests all have shown improvement and that will mean going camping in Portland starting Labor Day and treatments on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. It will also include the first step of the Transplant process, Autologous Stem Cell harvesting…. Uhhhhhh wut…..

Florence has agreed to have her own stem cells (Autologous) used during transplant. Considering the type of Leukemia and the risks involved in the different types of transplants, her doctors felt this was the best treatment plan for her.

So you might ask, ‘how do they do that????’

Sunday, following Florence’s chemo week, she will start a series of injections to move her marrow stem cells into her peripheral blood stream so that they can be collected by a special machine. Injections and lab tests will be done daily for 3 to 5 day until levels are high enough for harvest. Harvest (collecting stem cells) will usually last 1 to 3 four-hour sessions, one session per day.

Following harvest, we get a break at home until the first of October. October will start the heavy-duty chemo, transplant, and recovery. This will take 3 to 4 weeks while being a patient at OHSU to be followed by 2 additional weeks close to OHSU as an outpatient, probably at the RV Park again.

That will take us into November and the hope of staying clean for 5 years and then being considered CURED.

So the next few days will be getting ready to go and mentally preparing to do battle with the wild creatures of Tualatin.

Have a great Labor Day and be safe,
Larry