Very sorry for going dark. I acquired a bad virus that had me down for a number of days and I’m still not really over it. Oh, forgot to mention – it is a computer virus!! I’ve always liked the bad-news, good-news approach! Lonni said I was mean to lead with this but… well I’m writing it and I could never be as consistently sweet as her, right? Plus I’m doing too well – need a little drama to keep my readers.
As I mentioned before, no news is good news. I write this with my chemo pump on my hip. As with all rounds this 7th time my pump friend will be with me until around 10am Friday when Lonni removes the tether. It really is not hard to manage, amazing what the body and mind can adjust to! So things continue to proceed well. I have not had the white blood cell booster shot for this last three treatments; this one makes the 4th in a row. This means my body seems to be able to recover from the chemo assault pretty well. My blood counts are all in the lower range of normal.
I take this as another sign of a successful treatment path, complete with much support and prayers. This time around, because things are so stable the Physician Assistant and I had little to talk about – the no news good news thing. But next time will be different because I had thirteen tubes of blood drawn to do my follow up “comprehensive terrain”. This deal is looking at and comparing to the baseline terrain first done when I started. Results will tell us how the supplements and diet have worked to address my areas of deficiency (besides all those that you all know about.) I’m looking forward to getting that objective feedback and will report out here.
I continue to enjoy meeting other patients and hearing their stories. It is amazing how consistent each has been. In Penny Block’s noontime group we get to interact a bit and then more later between treatments, massages et al. I have yet to meet a fellow patient who came to the BC in their first round so I consistently ask them to compare and contrast their experiences. Everyone is so much more pleased with the BC. This week I spoke to a lady from out east. She has pancreatic cancer and went to a number of places including Johns Hopkins. She, like others, spoke of the mass treatment approach of – get in, get hooked up, get out. Just soooooooooooo different from the Block Center of family feel, relaxed and even fun place. Lots of joking and laughing – not the norm, in other places.
NOTE HERE: I hope I am not coming across judgmental or critical of traditional places. I think people who chose to work in oncology are special folks choosing to take on the weight of so much sadness and suffering and help many people to be sure. It is just that this “integrative” approach seems to hold such promise and dispenses hope so well.
Obviously I am a true believer and a Block evangelist!
Thanks for the prayers and interest. God has been so good to me… so have you!
