Andrew has been recovering well from the second round of ICE. He hasn't had any infections, and knock wood, it's looking like we might make it through without any hospitalizations! He did have a pretty good blood count dive though, and Dr. W said platelet transfusion was necessary, but that we could do it as outpatient -- hooray! So Andrew had a transfusion on Tuesday night, and another one today, and he'll also get one every day for the next 4 days. But before you freak out at how intense that seems, being able to do it as an outpatient is a huge achievement -- it means he's actually fairly well, just low in his counts. The counts should start climbing back up tomorrow or the next day.
Tomorrow, Andrew heads into the city for the next PET scan. This is the scan to determine how well the cancer is responding to the ICE regimen. Dr. W (our local oncologist) said it doesn't have to show that all of the cancer is gone, just that it's moving in the right direction. If it's not having a positive impact, we move to the next chemo mix called GEMOX. Obviously, we're hoping the ICE is working, but we try not to get too attached to any particular outcomes anymore. We just listen to our doctors, try to keep our life as normal as possible, and cross each bridge as it arrives. We're due to see Dr. Z on the 4th for the results. If the ICE is working, Andrew will have at least one more round (possibly two) before the transplant. The goal is remission. My wonderful friends, Melissa and Heidi (and their lovely husbands) pitched in this week to help with the kids during all of the transfusions -- a huge shout of love to them for all of the support. And a big thanks to Bia and Kristi for all of the treats! Everyone continues to be so lovely and generous in their support of my little family, and we only hope we can return the favor someday -- under better circumstances, of course!
xo
L
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