Monday, October 13, 2008

Chemo: full-time job

Last Friday was the last day of chemo for this round. Even with the PICC line it still takes about 3 to 4 hours a day to administer all the drugs. It's like my 2nd job! I calculate that I was in the chemo chair for about 18 hours last week. Wow.

Saturday and Sunday were spent resting and relaxing, though we did manage to get down to the pumpkin patch to pick some pumpkins and gourds. Yesterday was also Johanna's birthday and we had fun celebrating that at my parent's house last night.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Steve--
I had a transplant for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in Feb 05 (age 59)with a 10/10 match. My friend Greg had one at the same time (age 39 or so)for AML with 9/10 match and has had less trouble with graft vs. host disease than I have, although mine has been at the irritant level (mainly). Greg now has significantly fewer appointments than I do. I need the GVHD to be able to fight any recurrence of the CLL, so it's not a bad deal.

Your Hickman will be one of your best friends as long as you need it, and you'll be mightily glad to get rid of it when you can. The key thing is to keep it clean because it dumps straight into the superior vena cava. Kathy did a great job--no infection in 2 or 3 months. The bother comes in when you have to cover it with saran wrap for a shower, which takes time and help. On the plus side, there's a nice Versed nap at installation and removal.

Best wishes for smooth sailing (to the extent possible)!