CHEMO DAY 20 OF 20!

It's caboose day - the end of the infusion train!  The nurses cheered when Dave walked in the chemo room; either they are glad to see him go or they are happy for him.  I believe it's the latter.

Dave's white blood cell count was lower today, near the 'danger zone' so Dr. S. recommended Dave get a half dosage of INF.  If Dave wanted to forego the last treatment all together, he could have, but the two of them decided to get in the last possible amount of INF while still being smart about it.

Now to back up a little, Dave seemed to have a mild allergic reaction to some spicy food he ate Wednesday evening.  His skin got slightly mottled and red, and this was in addition to the rash he's had.  The rash cleared up some, but has not gone away, in fact he is still getting some new breakouts.  We're not positive his new reaction was due to spicy food, but it is not an uncommon effect, so we suspect that was the culprit.

On Tuesday, Dave proclaimed he was tired of being a slug and agreed to go on a walk around our street/circle.  It's 1/3 mile.  Wednesday HE brought up the idea, and we walked the circle again.  Yesterday, he decided he would do a longer walk, and we went almost a mile.  He said he was struggling by the time we finished, but he didn't feel like a slug!

Dave lost another pound or two.  With all the fluids he gets, it's hard to gauge his real weight because it can vary by two pounds every 24 hours, but he was down over a pound this morning.

Dave will be back for blood work on Wednesday to see if his white cell count has improved, and we'll meet with Dr. S on 11/11 for a review and decision on when to start the 48 weeks of injections.  I've been saying the injections will each be 10 units (of whatever scale is used) but Dr. S. said today they will be 20 units each.  My understanding is that he is getting 40 units intravenously, so going down to 20 units isn't as much a drop as I thought it would be.  I will have to clarify.

Dave is in the chemo laz-y-boy; I hope he doesn't miss these comfortable chairs when he's not coming here every day.  I am not buying one for his den, even though he deserves a treat after this ordeal.  Maybe I'll get him a new pair of walking shoes.