Erika's Treatment Update -- Week 4
Hi everyone, hope you all had a nice 4th of July weekend and one or two enjoyable days off from work!
I can't believe it's already Week 4 of my treatment updates, amazing how time flies...
This one should be pretty short, not much change has taken place since last week, I don't think anything could top the eventful Monday I had last week going in for multiple transfusions and hoping on a plane with no more than a few minutes to spare.
Yesterday (Monday), I went into Stanford for chemo. I had a high dose of VP-16 (1,000mg to be exact which is much higher than the 90mg I had 3 times a day three weeks ago). I also had another platelet transfusion so Chris and I were there about 5-6 hours. Everything went went well until I got home, made it to the first stair, and started pucking. That continued throughout the evening until I finally fell asleep. Not how I expected to react to the chemo considering I had done so well during the first round. I woke up feeling much better today however and Chris and I even managed to go for our 1 hour walk this evening :)
My counts (aside from the platelets) have come up, hurray! As of Monday afternoon, WBC = 7.4, Hemoglobin 11.6, and Platelets 18 (before transfusion). I will be starting daily shots of Neupogen this coming Saturday to stimulate my bone marrow into producing lot's of white cells so they don't drop again like they did last week. My dad who can't stand needles is so excited about this since he gets to administer the shots. Any volunteers that would like to relieve some stress for him? J/K.
Good news on the donor situation. My case manager just informed me today that the person has been contacted, has agreed to donate, and has agreed on the transplant date of August 6th!! He/she will be going in for a full physical exam by the end of the week and a few more studies next week and we should be all set to go. I should find out by the end of the week the age & sex of this individual. How exciting!
I've received lot's of emails from people offering to help with rides, meals, visits, etc. Thank you to all who are willing to help out, I'm so overwhelemed by the amount of support. I am currently working with someone on putting together a schedule for volunteer help, so if you're interested in helping at all let me know what days/times are best for you and what you would like to do (rides, meals, visits at hospital). I love having visitors at the hospital, but it can get a little hectic with too many people at once especially considering that the rooms aren't always accommodating to a lot of people, so having a schedule might work a little better. The only restrictions to visitors are that they must be gowned and masked (which they will provide) and no plants, flowers, and/or balloons can be brought in. I will be in the E1 Unit of Stanford Hospital, however I don't know the exact details yet, I will provide them as I receive further news (again I'm not scheduled to be admitted until July 25th).
One more little side note, my friend Abby is putting together a team on my behalf called "Erika's Angels" for the Light the Night walk on October 2nd in Palo Alto. We had a team last year "Snoopy's Steppers," which was a great success and we all had a blast. If any of you are interested in joining us (it's only a 2 mile walk) you can register at www.lightthenight.org under team name "Erika's Angels" or team captain "Abigail Caldwell." If you have any questions please feel free to email me.
Okay one more fun little thing I had to throw in...Lance Armstrong is teaming up with Nike to raise $5 million dollars for his foundation www.laf.org by selling 5 million $1 LIVESTRONG yellow bracelets (yellow is the color of the winning Tour de France jersey). You can only get these bracelets at NikeTown and or on the www.laf.org website and I've already had numerous people ask me about them when they see me wearing one. Chris and I had bought a whole bunch when we visited NikeTown in Seattle and have some extras so if any of you are interested in getting one let me know (I only have youth sizes which fit most women)! Lance's foundation provides support to young cancer survivors and their families.
Well that's it for now until next week...thanks again for all the emails, they definitely make my days a go by faster and make them brighter :)
Love always,
Erika
I can't believe it's already Week 4 of my treatment updates, amazing how time flies...
This one should be pretty short, not much change has taken place since last week, I don't think anything could top the eventful Monday I had last week going in for multiple transfusions and hoping on a plane with no more than a few minutes to spare.
Yesterday (Monday), I went into Stanford for chemo. I had a high dose of VP-16 (1,000mg to be exact which is much higher than the 90mg I had 3 times a day three weeks ago). I also had another platelet transfusion so Chris and I were there about 5-6 hours. Everything went went well until I got home, made it to the first stair, and started pucking. That continued throughout the evening until I finally fell asleep. Not how I expected to react to the chemo considering I had done so well during the first round. I woke up feeling much better today however and Chris and I even managed to go for our 1 hour walk this evening :)
My counts (aside from the platelets) have come up, hurray! As of Monday afternoon, WBC = 7.4, Hemoglobin 11.6, and Platelets 18 (before transfusion). I will be starting daily shots of Neupogen this coming Saturday to stimulate my bone marrow into producing lot's of white cells so they don't drop again like they did last week. My dad who can't stand needles is so excited about this since he gets to administer the shots. Any volunteers that would like to relieve some stress for him? J/K.
Good news on the donor situation. My case manager just informed me today that the person has been contacted, has agreed to donate, and has agreed on the transplant date of August 6th!! He/she will be going in for a full physical exam by the end of the week and a few more studies next week and we should be all set to go. I should find out by the end of the week the age & sex of this individual. How exciting!
I've received lot's of emails from people offering to help with rides, meals, visits, etc. Thank you to all who are willing to help out, I'm so overwhelemed by the amount of support. I am currently working with someone on putting together a schedule for volunteer help, so if you're interested in helping at all let me know what days/times are best for you and what you would like to do (rides, meals, visits at hospital). I love having visitors at the hospital, but it can get a little hectic with too many people at once especially considering that the rooms aren't always accommodating to a lot of people, so having a schedule might work a little better. The only restrictions to visitors are that they must be gowned and masked (which they will provide) and no plants, flowers, and/or balloons can be brought in. I will be in the E1 Unit of Stanford Hospital, however I don't know the exact details yet, I will provide them as I receive further news (again I'm not scheduled to be admitted until July 25th).
One more little side note, my friend Abby is putting together a team on my behalf called "Erika's Angels" for the Light the Night walk on October 2nd in Palo Alto. We had a team last year "Snoopy's Steppers," which was a great success and we all had a blast. If any of you are interested in joining us (it's only a 2 mile walk) you can register at www.lightthenight.org under team name "Erika's Angels" or team captain "Abigail Caldwell." If you have any questions please feel free to email me.
Okay one more fun little thing I had to throw in...Lance Armstrong is teaming up with Nike to raise $5 million dollars for his foundation www.laf.org by selling 5 million $1 LIVESTRONG yellow bracelets (yellow is the color of the winning Tour de France jersey). You can only get these bracelets at NikeTown and or on the www.laf.org website and I've already had numerous people ask me about them when they see me wearing one. Chris and I had bought a whole bunch when we visited NikeTown in Seattle and have some extras so if any of you are interested in getting one let me know (I only have youth sizes which fit most women)! Lance's foundation provides support to young cancer survivors and their families.
Well that's it for now until next week...thanks again for all the emails, they definitely make my days a go by faster and make them brighter :)
Love always,
Erika
posted by Randy @ 9:04 AM
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