Repaving the Path Ahead...

Y'know, I had a hunch this might happen. And I thought that if I blogged about "The Path Ahead" and laid it all out there in cyberworld as The Plan of What Was to Happen in the Near Future for Randy... that things would change. And they did. And no, this repaving is not a "shovel-ready" part of the Stimulus Package. Here's the scoop:

Okay, I talked in a previous posting about how the radiology doc felt he could proceed with my rad treatments since they would not further decrease my white blood cell count -- but that the chemo doc had reservations about doing so, since the chemo would definitely decrease the white blood cell count.

But today, the chemo doc outlined the reasons he felt we could proceed. So I am scheduled for the third pair of chemo sessions this coming Thursday and Friday, the 6th and 7th. Chemo in the morning, radiation in the afternoon. The "double whammy" is back in business.

I will be getting blood tests on Thursday morning, and if my white blood cell count doesn't show the continued improvement that the previous week has shown, the doc can still "pull the plug." But that doesn't sound likely.

Although the white blood cell count is still marginal at best, the chemo doc likes all the other facets of the blood work. My kidneys and liver are functioning well and are ready for the stresses that the chemo will impose on them. And the number for "neutrophil" (I think I've got that right) is okay as well. Finally, there is a fairly new drug called Neulasta, which is supposed to support the white blood cell count after strong chemo doses -- like the ones I'll be getting on Thursday and Friday. So a shot of Neulasta on Sunday morning should keep the one parameter that has the chemo doc concerned from falling too far.

I think that my overall good health and consistently good recovery from previous treatments also played into the chemo doc's decision to proceed. Plus it was obvious to him that I wanted the treatments.

The chemo doc explained that cancer treatment was a matter of pushing the patient's capacities as far as seemed reasonable (i.e., staying this side of life-threatening) in an effort to eradicate the cancer cells completely. The stronger the patient, the harder the treatment regimen can push. If the treatment winds up creating short-term issues for the patient, but successfully eliminates the cancer, that's a good trade-off. And who could argue with that?

So the chemo doc would probably like to have postponed his pair of treatments for another week or two, but the radiation treatments wind up on Monday. So it's kind of a "now or never" situation.

Sometimes, you just get the feeling that yes, prayers are answered. And I thank you, dear reader, for that.