Bad news Fridays
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The Steinhaus Family
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The Steinhaus Family
Fridays haven't been kind to us this year—bad CT results, bad news about trials, unexpected pain, all on Fridays. Today has been another tough one for Andrew. He has been so fatigued this afternoon that he can barely stand or walk. He's napped for hours and taken a stimulant, but it doesn't help. The fatigue isn't just hard on his body, but is affecting him mentally and impacts his quality of life.
The good news is that Saturdays are usually good, so I'm hopeful we can turn the corner in the morning.
Andrew was set to get chemo last Wednesday, but due to very low white blood cell and neutrophil counts (which are required to fight infection), he couldn't. The doctor prescribed a shot that stimulates bone marrow to boost those numbers. We went back on Friday to try again, and his WBC were up but somehow neutrophils were down again significantly—so no chemo then either. From last Wednesday to this Wednesday, he took a total of six shots. The side effects are fatigue and bone pain.
We went back to NYU on Wednesday and his WBC and neutrophils were through the roof, so he could get chemo. He was able to get all three chemo meds this week, though one of them was dose-reduced. The combination of getting chemo for the first time in two weeks and the shots has taken away all energy.
Andrew plans to discuss a new plan when we're back for another infusion next Wednesday. Maybe he can put a few more days between chemo doses or add a steroid for a short period in order to get an energy boost—even just enough to walk Vivian to and from school without worrying if he'll make it the two blocks to get there.
Another piece is good news is that his CA 19-9 cancer antigen lab has been trending downward. Last Friday, it hit a low of about 1,700 (down from a recent high of 47,000), suggesting the chemo is working. We'll find out in a couple more weeks what the CT shows. In the meantime, Andrew's rocking a new hairdo, which Vivian says is beautiful.
The good news is that Saturdays are usually good, so I'm hopeful we can turn the corner in the morning.
Andrew was set to get chemo last Wednesday, but due to very low white blood cell and neutrophil counts (which are required to fight infection), he couldn't. The doctor prescribed a shot that stimulates bone marrow to boost those numbers. We went back on Friday to try again, and his WBC were up but somehow neutrophils were down again significantly—so no chemo then either. From last Wednesday to this Wednesday, he took a total of six shots. The side effects are fatigue and bone pain.
We went back to NYU on Wednesday and his WBC and neutrophils were through the roof, so he could get chemo. He was able to get all three chemo meds this week, though one of them was dose-reduced. The combination of getting chemo for the first time in two weeks and the shots has taken away all energy.
Andrew plans to discuss a new plan when we're back for another infusion next Wednesday. Maybe he can put a few more days between chemo doses or add a steroid for a short period in order to get an energy boost—even just enough to walk Vivian to and from school without worrying if he'll make it the two blocks to get there.
Another piece is good news is that his CA 19-9 cancer antigen lab has been trending downward. Last Friday, it hit a low of about 1,700 (down from a recent high of 47,000), suggesting the chemo is working. We'll find out in a couple more weeks what the CT shows. In the meantime, Andrew's rocking a new hairdo, which Vivian says is beautiful.
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