It feels soooo good to come out of a round of chemo. Especially knowing you have two full weeks of feeling good before the next whallup.

I did have round 4 last week. The extra week off was nice, but went quick. I was in for blood again on Monday the 13th, then chemo the 15th. I struggled with my water only fast this time. I was weak, tired and was also suffering from diarrhea. I wasn’t sure if the diarrhea was chemo related or just a stomach bug, but I carried it into chemo with me. This was not good. It caused some pretty bad cramping (the pass out kind of variety) and eating was a challenge. It can be a very serious side effect, but I was able to manage through it without having to call in the “medical system”. …if the quotes left you with an impression of frustration – good. I have been irritated with the lack of communication from my Oncologist these days. Back to positive – thanks Jason for sticking through on the fast with me. Definitely a big help!

But yes, the week delay brought my liver enzymes down enough. Actually quite a bit. A very positive sign that it was due to the chemo and not the cancer per se.
The two they were concerned about were my ALT and AST. Before I started chemo my ALT numbers went as follows – 25, 114, 235, 393(delay), 122(current). Normal is 1-60. So I am still high, but it came down a lot. My AST numbers are 19, 53, 101, 181(delay), 31(current). Normal for AST is 8-40. So this also came down significantly and the lowest I have been since before first round!
I was also asked about my GGT (Gamma Glutamyl Transferase http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11563810) which went 37, 86, no reading, 224(delay), 198(current). They didn’t seem as concerned for me on this, but still good to see it came down after the delay. The rest of my bloodwork looked really good as well. WBC (white blood cell) was at the highest its been (good thing) since before chemo (mine 7.1 – normal is 4-11). Platelets too at 294 – normal is 150-400.

Because of the delay we also had to delay the CT scan. It was supposed to be Monday, but now switched to Thursday. I lot of emotion surrounding this, but I am okay, it hasn’t been distracting. Yet.

The next blog will be some news. Till then, its a bit like looking over the edge of cliff and wondering what would happen if you fell. Its also looking over that same ledge and feeling that quick panicked rush, then stepping back and breathing a sigh of relief that was not your reality.

To stepping back…
Dan