Checking in from the Spa

Well, here I am at the Juravinski Resort and Spa...been here for 10 days and no facial or pedicure yet!

I do have to say that the Juravinski Cancer Centre is a great place to be sick. The nursing staff is top notch and either a doctor or nurse practitioner is in every day to see how I am doing and to answer questions.

I have just come through a difficult bout and I am not sure it is over yet, but this morning I am feeling pretty good so I thought I should write a bit.

For the past 7 days I have maintained my sanity through regular gravol drips around the clock. This was augmented by a variety of other anti-nausea drugs that had minimal effect. The nausea was overwhelming. I just wanted to sleep the entire time so that I would not feel so sick.

The way this procedure works is that the melphalan chemo kills off the bone marrow and the stem cells eventually make their way to the bones and start making new marrow. It takes about 10 days for the new marrow to begin producing blood cells. During this time my cell count levels slowly drop and then suddenly crash or bottom out at near zero. After this happens my body starts to create that bone marrow and the numbers will start to rise again. I am at day 2 of bottoming out. It should be clear sailing ahead.(Haha)

My day nurse did not bring anti nausea meds, nor did she hang a gravol drip. I am only mildly nauseated, so I think I will ride it out for a bit today and see how things go.

I cannot wait to get home, sleeping in my own bed with my sweetie curled up behind me. I dream of being outside and of eating fresh juicy fruit.Seriously! Juicy summer peaches, cool crisp watermelon, blueberries, plums, concord grapes......mmmmm......so much to look forward to during my recovery.

I should rest now. Nitey nite!

good bye bone marrow and hello stem cells

Yesterday I had the nasty chemo, Melphalan, which will - or maybe already has - eradicated my bone marrow. Capitol punishment for producing cancerous blood, I guess. Later today, around 2:30 a rescue mission of my own stem cells will be reinfused into my blood and will migrate to my hip bones, ribs, long bones in arms and legs and will begin to set up their little bone marrow factories. It will take about 10 days for the new marrow to begin making new blood cells. This is called engraftment. Once I start to make my own blood consisting of platelets and antibodies, we will determine when I can safely go home to continue my recovery.

The Melphalan left me tired, but it waits about 3 to 5 days to release its wrath. I am expecting nausea and vomiting and diarrhea. Additionally it will cause mucositis which is canker type sores throughout my mucous membranes. I chewed on ice for about 2 hours yesterday before, during, and after the Melphalan infusion. This will reduce the chances of forming mouth sores, but nothing can be done about the sores that will develop from my throat down through my stomach, intestines and bowel. NICE!!

Did I mention that I need to lose about 50 pounds? LOL! This was not the weight-loss program of choice, but it will do. :)

Going to have a nap now. I did not sleep well at all last night. Not sure why...was not worrying...just could not fall asleep. (even with painkillers and sleeping pill)

Thanks again for all the positive thoughts.

I you are not a Google Plus Member you cannot leave a message or comment on this blog. You can email directly at lcampbell103@cogeco.ca  or on Facebook under Linda Paul Campbell. My dear friend, Nicole is developing a web-site for me to move this blog to...I just have to give her some info before she can get it done. I will keep you in the loop.

Talk to you later. Big Hugs!

Getting ready

I am starting to put my hospital bag together and it really hits me that I am going into the hospital next week for 2-3 weeks...and this is MAJOR!

People ask me if I am scared or anxious about the procedure. I am surprisingly calm about everything that is happening...and I have been from the beginning of my treatment. I am confident that the stem cell transplant will work, so I guess that is why I am not afraid.

I know I will be very sick in the next few weeks. I know that I will be very weak in the coming months. No going out to the mall, or for DQ or Menchies (dispensaries of anything are a no-no), no Friday night Johnny Rocco's calzone...no casino or movie theatre evenings...not for a long while. :(

I am sad and frustrated that this is happening to me at this point in my life, but I am not afraid. I have so many friends and I have wonderful family around me that I feel so strong - physically, mentally, emotionally. I can and will do this. :)

I will have my Ipad and laptop at the hospital and will be subscribing to the Internet package (rip-off) so I will be in contact with all of you in some form or another.

I love you all for caring about me. Caring enough to read my blog and check in on me. I am truly blessed for each and every one of you.

BALD

I had enough of the shedding and the patchiness of my head, so I shaved it all off. It was more emotional than I thought it would be, but I think it was more the realization that I did not have control of it all any more.

Being bald is not the issue...that it was not on MY terms is the issue.

Cancer sucks. Enough said.

I am finally shedding....

Before I started chemo I had my hair cut short. I was not allowed to colour it so I had to have most of the highlights cut out. The chemo I would be on for the first 4 months did not necessarily cause hair loss -- thinning -- but not full chrome dome. Once I realized how the chemo affected me physically, I decided to have it cut short as I wanted to reduce the work I needed to put into keeping it looking nice. Just before I had the high dose chemo 2 weeks ago I buzzed it off. (number 3) Total freedom! I waited for my hair to fall out...nothing...so I needed a haircut and buzzed it on Wednesday night to a number 2. Today, exactly 2 weeks from the chemo infusion, my hair has started to fall out.

Now, I have been waiting for this to happen. Looked forward to it...to the ease of getting all put together in the morning. I knew that it would come out in clumps and not all at once...but this is really starting to annoy me.

I am shedding all over...and yet when I washed my hair, it did not all come out. About once every couple of hours I take the sticky paper lint roller to it. (I can hear you laughing!) I fill up two or three sheets, then wait for more to become loose. Why doesn't it just go "sproing" and all fall out. Then you just have to sweep it up and you are done! So many aspects of cancer are just not fair!

Stem Cell Harvest

Since I started this journey all of my efforts have been leading up to my body producing its own stem cells for my transplant. 

It started with 4 months of induction chemotherapy, which beat down my cancerous blood and bone marrow. 

This was followed by one high dose of mobilization chemo to persuade my bone marrow to cooperate during the pre-harvest stage. 

Next I received 2 shots of neupogen a day for 9 days which told my bone marrow to over-produce white blood cells. On day 10, I went to the hospital for "harvest". There were 2 days blocked off for the collection process. I was hooked up to a machine that cycles my blood through a centrifuge that separates the stem cells and plasma. The doctor needs 5 million stem cells for each of 2 transplants, so I had tall orders. I went at this with gusto and produced 12 million stem cells in the first day. Not only did get a pass on the last 2 shots of neupogen, but I did not have to go back for another day of harvest. :)

This did not come easy though. I was warned that on or about day 7 of the neupogen shots my bones would become stressed with the over-abundance of blood cells and it would be quite painful until the bone marrow decided to push the cells into my blood stream (approximately 24 hours later). I was given a prescription for synthetic morphine. Friday around noon I developed severe pain in my lower back. I started on the morphine regimen (2 pills every 2 hours) and still endured considerable pain for the next 24 hours. After that a more general bone and joint ache set in and Tylenol 3's were able to tackle that pain for me for the next few days.

The next step begins on May 20th. I will be admitted to the hospital and begin the process of destroying my bone marrow and immune system then transplanting those stem cells back in to rebuild it all. I can't wait to get it started so that it gets finished. :)