Today did not go as planned. I was suppose to get Taxol & Herceptin, but my blood counts were not high enough. All of the cells in the blood, red blood cells, all types of white blood cells, and platelets are made in the bone marrow. Since these are fast dividing cells, the chemo drugs attack them. My bone marrow has worked really hard to overcome these attacks, but it's getting sluggish now that I'm near the end of my treatment. This is common. My white & red blood counts were acceptable; however, my platelets were too low (Thrombocytopenia). Mine are 85 and they need to be at 100 or above. Platelets are the smallest cell-like structures in the blood and are important for blood clotting and plugging damaged blood vessels. I have an increased risk of bleeding & bruising easily while my platelets are low. More time will give my bone marrow a chance to catch up, so I had to skip Taxol today and we'll try again next Thursday. This was disappointing because it will push out my finish date to September 3. I have to remind myself that 1 week is no big deal. I'm so close to the finish line and I will cross. I also need to remind myself that I've chose a "dose dense" aggressive treatment that is designed to allow only 1 week between chemo treatments instead of the typical two weeks. So, when I have little setbacks like hospital stays & low blood counts that push my schedule out a week, it is defaulting me back to a typical treatment schedule. This is not what I planned but I'm learning to roll with it. The frustrating part is that I feel really good......I'm not tired or sick. Oh, well....it is what it is and I have to wait another week. I did get Herceptin today.
I like this quote I recently read. Thought I would share with you.
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams!
Live the life you've imagined. ---Henry David Thoreau
Love, srb
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