Day 8 of 10 - October 5, 2010

There was quite a bit of unexplained congestion on the NJ Tpk between Exits 11 and 14 on the way in this morning but the rest of the ride in was clear and we arrived a few minutes past 10.

Another successful blood return, yay! Shortly after we arrived Dr R and A came in to talk with Pete. Apparently they had been "Skyping" back and forth several times each day during Dr R's absence and she had been keeping him abreast of what was going on with his patients. He was right on top of what had transpired with Pete and his unintentional withdrawal.

Both he and A seemed very pleased when he examined Pete's legs and couldn't feel either of the tumors. They discussed the upcoming scan and Pete will be calling his insurance company to see if they have any restriction on another full-body PET scan. Dr R seemed to be very interested in having one done IF the insurance would cover it, otherwise, he would just order the CT scan of the chest/pelvis. As A explained, if the tumors in his lungs are shrinking and the doctor can't feel the tumors in his legs anymore, then it's a clear sign that the chemo is working.

Infusion Pump and Hydration Pack

A short time after they left D came in and told Pete that his white blood cells appear to be tanking. She was going to have to confer with Dr R to find out if he wants to proceed with the treatment or shorten it by one day. If shortened, Pete would have to stay the full day today so he could get the 4 hr Mesna infusion and then come in tomorrow for the Neulasta shot and blood work. Pete started to grin when he heard he might be able to go home without the pump and tubing attached.

Infusion Pump in Case

After she spoke with A and the doctor, she returned and gave him the decision. She said that she felt the numbers were still high enough to go one more day, A was hesitant and felt it should be shortened, but the decision was Dr R's and he said to continue, so Pete will be hooked up one more time.

Pete spoke with D about the difficulty he's been having getting the sodium bicarbonate down and she suggested taking "Alka-Seltzer Gold" in its stead. D2 had mentioned the same thing the other day when he first began to have problems drinking down the bicarb but we hadn't been able to locate that type of Alka-Seltzer. D explained that Alka-Selzer contains the required amount of sodium bicarbonate, but is a bit easier to "stomach". The Gold does not include an analgesic, in this case, aspirin, but it contains as much sodium bicarbonate as the 4 pills that Pete has been directed to take.

We got home sometime around 3:30. Bruce and I went right out to Costco to pick up Pete's antibiotic. He'll be taking that again for a while as a precaution because he is so susceptible to serious infection now that his white blood cells are on the decline. D predicted that they'll probably be close to zero in the next day or so, that's why it's critical to have the Neulasta shot 24 hours after the finish of chemo.

Tomorrow is the long day, then just the shot and blood work on Thursday which will take an hour or less. The doctor will give him the prescription for the scan either of those days.