It was with a relieved high-five we walked out of the Tom Baker Centre into the cool spring sunshine after the third round of chemotherapy was finished. As usual the staff were effecient and friendly, and during treatment Charl was comfortably resting his eyes in bed with the mildly noticeable din of conversation from patients around him. I read pretty much non-stop, other than to offer Charl encouraging glances, food we brought from home, or to fetch us nice hot lattes.
In clinic yesterday, the Dr informed us that Charl's neutrophil count was back up to normal, as was his white blood cell count. This is good - we have that nasty injection to thank for that. They also told us that they would do a CT scan after the 4th round, to see how much the chemo has shrunken his tumour, and a PET scan after the 6th round to see if there is any cancer still lurking within any remnants of the mass. We are anxious for good news, solid results, percentage of improvement, key performance indicators, something concrete, to tell us that he is doing marvelously well, and this treatment is doing exactly what it should. But we have to wait for that, and rest in the knowledge that his improved lung capacity can only be an indication of the chemo working, otherwise he would still be coughing and out of breath at the least strenuous of tasks.
So today marks Hump Day - the official half way mark of Charl's journey through chemo. God willing, just three more to go..
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Glad to hear that the treatment is going well!
ReplyDeleteThe improved lung capacity is a good sign.
I liked the project manager's use of business lingo....don't forget about benchmarks and benchmarking..ie Who's best? How good are they? How do we get that good?
Sometimes a good laugh is all you need to get over the hump day!
Have a good weekend.
Greg
Wow. How time flies. Charl's already on the forth cycle. I shall continue to keep you in my prayers and will wait for the good news.
ReplyDeleteYeah! That is such great news. Charl, surely you be so tired at times, even though you are improving. Thank God. You are fighting the good fight. We are so proud of you. My dad would often get so tired and even the worst prognosis, his chemo was working in Stage 3. They never considered that his chemo would work but it did! You are in far better health than he was and along with God's willing hand, we will continue praying for you!
ReplyDeleteMel
Go Neutrophils! They are my favorite! Glad to hear that things are going so well. We're praying for you!
ReplyDeleteThe Crazies