Checked in and Ready to Go!

Hi Everyone!

It seems like a long time since I last wrote a post to this blog. Eric and I had a nice trip down to Indy this morning. We started off with getting his blood checked (everything looks good!) and speaking with the hematologist. We had A LOT of our questions answered and feel pretty good about this next step of the treatment. Eric will be getting the same chemo he did back in December (which is good because we know it is effective), but it will be a smaller dose. And though they expect the white blood cells to bottom out again, it should take a shorter time for the bone marrow to recover. This is because he is starting out with healthy bone marrow. Also, the pharmacist said that his body is more used to receiving the chemo, so this should help with the overall recovery time and help decrease the intensity of some of the side effects, like mouth sores. We also got a few answers to the frequency of treatments. They expect him to be fully recovered from this round in about 4 weeks, meaning that he should feel about like he does now. At that point, he will have his normal 1 month check-up with the hematologist, where they will check him in for a repeat performance. This should be the last time he will have to get the IV chemo. He will be getting the spinal tap chemo both now, and when he is checked in one month from now. This is delivered in one dose each time. In between, he'll be taking ATRA for about 2 weeks. After all of that is complete, he'll have intermittent ATRA treatment, and may have some more chemo delivered through a pill, but no one is really sure about that. Our normal hematologist is on Spring Break, so we were discussing these future plans with someone else. They said that the highest chance of relapse is within the first two years, so they will check him out every month for the first year, and then every other month the second year. After 5 years of being in remission, they will consider him cured. : ) All in all, it sounds like all the drama (doctor's word) typically happens with the induction chemo that we've already been through, and that people tend to handle these next two rounds pretty well. Once we get discharged at the end of the week, they'll check his blood twice a week to monitor his blood counts (and make sure he doesn't need any transfusions), which can happen up in Lafayette. He'll have to be very careful to avoid sick people and big crowds, but he'll be able to go through the recovery time at home. Obviously, we need to call if he gets a fever, but they'll be giving him prophylactic antibiotics and antifungals like they did the first time. This time through, he does not have all the catheters and ventilation tubes, which will be huge in reducing the chance of infection.

Also, we found out they are taking him off of the blood thinners!! They are not even concerned with checking on the blood clot, since there are no symptoms of it. Also, we should be getting a visit from the Neuro team, to discuss whether he still needs to be on the anti-seizure medicines and when he can drive. It'll be GREAT to get him off some of his drugs. It was starting to look like we were conducting a drug ring from our living room. ;)

Finally, the rooms on the hematology floor are GREAT!! They are MUCH more comfortable than the ICU. Not only do we have less equipment in the room (SO nice not to need it), but we have a flat screen, DVD player, AND a mini fridge! No need to worry about finding a hotel room in Indy during the final four, just stay in our room! ;) They also have a couch that is wide enough for a bed when you take the back cushions off. Very nice.

I think that is all for now. They just started his first dose of chemo. Here we go!

Love,
Melissa

P.S. Eric's weight is now up to 208 lbs, which is a MUCH better weight than the 160-some pounds he was the last time he stayed at IU.