clinic 6/30

He likes when I roll him up like a burrito

Our clinic visit was pretty good yesterday.  The port access went pretty well, not as well as last week but still much better than usual.  Maybe we've turned a corner?  The de-access was pretty good because I reminded him that we couldn't go see our friends's new baby until it was taken out.  He was pretty excited to see the baby and that cute little guy did not disappoint!  We were very glad that they were at the same hospital as us so we could go visit!  Anyway, Carter's counts have dropped pretty low over the last week.  White blood cell count is 1400 with ANC of 600.  Hemoglobin 12 and platelets 269,000.  Next week we have an appointment to check his counts again, but no chemo.  I can cancel it if I'm feeling good about how he's doing.  The doctor told me that the chances of him needed a transfusion next week are pretty low, but to bring him in if I'm at all concerned.  So we're all done with chemo for the first half on Delayed Intensification.  He's still on steroids for another week, though.  He's feeling pretty tired today.  He's already fallen asleep twice this morning and it's only 11:00.

At the time of diagnosis, the doctors gave us a 75% chance of curing the disease.  I asked the doctor yesterday when that number will increase.  At the start of maintenance, it will go up a little, maybe to 80% and then about every 6 months it will go up a little more.  She also told me that 50% of all reoccurances will happen before maintenance is over.  Also, she said that the more time that passes between diagnosis and a reoccurance, the easier it is to cure.  Not that I want to think about these things, but it's interesting information and some of it is good to know :)  She went on to tell me that so far, Carter is doing awesome.  He was a rapid early responder (went into remission after Induction), his counts recover pretty quickly after chemo, he tolerates the treatments well, hasn't had delays for low counts, hasn't had a lot of bad side effects, has stayed relatively healthy throughout, and has had good energy and happiness levels.  In her years and years of experience, these are all good signs.  She couldn't tell me that they mean anything solid, but just from what she's seen, they are good signs.  Hearing that made me very happy!