Back on the Pill!

It was a quiet day at the Siteman Center today.  The lab techs were hanging around in conversation while my receptionist was enjoy People magazine.  Most of the oncologists are out of the office this week.  Krissy happens to be out of town as well, so my good friend Sarah King  stepped up to the plate this week.  Patients were not scheduled today for appointments because my doctor is out of town.  But since my counts were too low last week I needed to revisit one week later (today) and discuss dosage options with my oncologist's resident and nurse coordinator.  It was nice not seeing them rushed - they were able to relax and stay for a bit and chit chat about more than my irregular diet patterns. 

The good news.... my neutrophil counts are back up to 1500!  So back to the pill!  Not so good news.... They expect my counts to drop below 1000 (minimum amount to stay on the trial) every time from here on out.  There is a drug to help keep this from occurring - Neupogen.  Typically patients take Neupogen for several days before treatment to boost their white blood counts.  I was on this drug my first time on chemo.  Since I do not have weekly/bi-weekly/etc. treatments and I take my pill daily, I will be taking this for 3-4 days up until my blood tests.  This will ensure that I am above 1000 and can stay on the trial.  Why is this bad news?  Well, it's not necessarily bad, it's VERY good news that I'm able to stay on the pill... this drug is just not enjoyable... it's administered by a shot.  Yuck.  I can have my blood drawn, receive IVs, and have shots administered without even flinching these days.  But this is a shot that I have to give myself!  I've done it before, but it's not easiest to give to myself.  I've administered my own hormone shots in years past, but those were a bit more simple.  Neupogen kinda burns when it goes in and needs to be pushed slowly.  SO, I'm going to give it a try and see if I'm okay with doing it myself.  If not.... looks like I'll be paying extra to have one of the nurses at the lab do it for me.  Unless any of you are pros at giving shots and are interested in the job?!  Haha!  The main reason I am not looking forward to the drug is because it causes major lower back pain.  How the drug works is it stimulates the growth of white stem cells in my bone marrow, increasing the cells to divide and conquer!  But when bone marrow is working double duty, I can feel it.  Bone and joint discomfort is expected, especially in my lower back, where a good amount of stem cells are produced.  Usually by the third or fourth day I'm in so much pain sitting is unbearable (I used a big yoga ball in college when I was on it before as my chair - looks like I might be investing in a new one!).  I will return to the lab in 3 weeks to have my blood tested and my doctor will decide how much of the Neupogen I will receive.  Then I will start the shots just days before I start my 6th cycle of the pill and meet with my doc.  Overall, I am very happy that Neupogen exists.  It is allowing me to stay on the trial which is keeping my tumors from growing - this is very very very good.  Time to suck it up again - it's only a shot... it could be (and has been) worse!

The rest of the appointment was calm and relaxing as we discussed my kiddos at school, their recent vacations, own children, and how pleased we ALL are about my current energy level and overall health.  That antibiotic worked wonders!!  There was a lot of discussion about the digestive issues this drug has caused on my body... and I will absolutely not get too much into this... But for the first 3 days off of the pill I wasn't able to keep much of any food down.  I wasn't feeling sick what-so-ever, but it was like clockwork after eating.  So I'm trying a new med and hopefully that will smooth things out (although I think my body is starting to adjust on its own already, phew).  And yet I still somehow managed to gain another 1.5lbs this week?!  Haha!

Thanks again for your amazing kind words and encouragement.  It's going to be several more months until they come up with a dosage of my pill that both my tumors and I can agree on.  So until then, I will focus on my amazing friendships and continue to live my days to the fullest :)