… The tough get going!
Two weeks ago, when we found out that it would be better to NOT get a Neulasta (Growth Factor) shot for my white blood cells, the doctor implied it would be okay since my neutrophils were at 6,800. Today, we were looking at a much different picture with only 800 neutrophils.
The following table is taken from Wikipedia’s Absolute Neutrophil Count page. It shows the varying NCI categories of neutrophils:
| NCI Risk Category |
ANC |
| 0 |
Within normal limits |
| 1 |
>1500 – <2000/mm³ |
| 2 |
>1000 – <1500/mm³ |
| 3 |
>500 – <1000/mm³ |
| 4 |
<500/mm³ |
According to the table, my count of 800 neutrophils equals Grade 3 neutropenia. We are not going to get a Neulasta shot anymore (but we are still getting chemo which will keep pushing things lower), so I will need to be very careful to not get any new infections…
There is a little bit of bad news (going getting tough). Monday night I had a sore throat, which was worse today. We’re hoping that I will get better very quickly so I can focus on the main goal of killing the cancer (the tough are getting going!).
That being said, life is great! Aside from generally having to be careful about exposure to infections etc., we were able to go hiking at House Mountain Natural Area yesterday. We hiked about 5 miles, and it felt great! Haven’t been out on the trail in East TN since Memorial Day. (We did have some WONDERFUL hikes in Glacier National Park back in June, though.)
Afterwards, we went to Stanley’s Greenhouse and bought several houseplants and pots to plant them in. They look great in our house. We will have to post some pictures of them soon. It’s wonderful to have a huge greenhouse with lots of selection 5 blocks from our house.
So hiking House Mountain was awesome, and then we did chemo today. I am ONE-THIRD of the way through my chemo treatment!!! Woo-hoo!
Tomorrow is going to be a special day for us. But first, let me tell you about yesterday. We did hike House Mountain yesterday, but something even more amazing happened. Yesterday on September 6th, I celebrated 11 amazing and wonderful months with a girl who is very special to me, Jacqui Whittemore. It was a very good day, and we are looking forward to celebrating our one year anniversary next month on Wednesday, Oct. 6.
Alright, now I can tell you about tomorrow. Tomorrow at the Knoxville Civic Auditorium, there is going to a live radio show hosted by Garrison Keillor called A Prairie Home Companion.
I bought tickets for this show back in March or April the day they went on sale. Jacqui and I are going to take her parents (from Nashville) and my parents (from Knoxville) to this show. We got 6 really GOOD tickets (2nd row)! We are going to go have dinner at the newly renovated S&W Grand Cafeteria, and then go to the show afterwards. Aside from dinner and the awesome show, I am really looking forward to the opportunity to be out in public again.
That’s all for now. Stay tuned for pictures tomorrow, and the story of Doc Waldo!
Comments