The good, the bad, and the ugly

The visit with the oncologist went well today. The main points of the visit were:

• THE GOOD: our oncologist was extremely pleased with LeeR's experience through chemo. He said LeeR will just start feeling better and better now and that it's too late in the process for him to have to worry about any more nausea or vomiting. His white blood cells and his platelets are normal, so that is remarkable. As far as the extreme weakness and exhaustion, although a little puzzling, the doc thinks the normal extreme fatigue may have been exacerbated by the other factors going on at that time--recent transfusions, recovery from surgery, losing blood, blood thinners, etc. Whether or not that will happen again remains to be seen; but, overall, the doctor was amazed at the lack of other side effects and has tentatively scheduled another chemo series on August 6 and 7.
• THE BAD: LeeR's red blood cells have dropped from 26.5 last Wednesday to 21 today (normal for living at this altitude is around 45). So tomorrow he will be getting 3 units of blood at UVRMC in Provo. The doctor was so kind in suggesting we do it there so that I can work while LeeR is receiving the blood. As he said, "Dealing with cancer is a very big project and consumes all your time and energy. In the meantime you need to live life. Anything we can do to make that easier is worth whatever it takes." So sweet. LeeR won't have to spend the night--it will take about seven hours and then we can come home.
• THE UGLY: no cause yet on the blood loss. The doctor ran more tests today (last week's tests showed everything to be normal) and there will be more tests run tomorrow. Unfortunately, it is looking more and more like an "abnormality" in the bone marrow, causing his body to not be able to replace the red blood cells. We really aren't ready to go there yet--everything else needs to be ruled out first. Of course, it lingers in our minds.

We go back to see the doctor on July 31 to test his blood again and schedule chemo. Around August 27 another CT scan will be done to see how the chemo is affecting those nodules in his lungs. That will be a big day.

On we go...keep walking, keep walking, keep walking...