Today I got the call from the Infusion center and I am starting treatment on June 30th. This treatment plan will take all week, so we will be down there all 5 days, including 4th of July. As I previously posted, the treatment we agreed on was Rituxan + High Dose Methylprednisolone (HDMP). I get a low dose of Rituxan on the first day, then the remainder of the dose on the second day, then the full dose on the 3rd and 5th day. I get HDMP all five days. Somewhere in that week I am also supposed to get my bi-weekly IVIG, but I will let the nurses figure out when they can do that. How this treatment actually works is described in the previous post. This treatment is then given two more times at a 28 day cycle. So with no complications, I should be done the last week of August.
My blood test from this week is good, hemoglobin is holding steady at 12.4, and my white count is down to 95,000. So after a week completely off of steroids, I am hanging in there. This is good news because they want to make sure that they can start the treatment while I am still in a decent range. They don't think there will be a significant change by next week, so unless something crazy happens, it is all systems go.
Today, Donna and I listened to a program put on by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society talking about CLL. Dr. Kipps was the only speaker for an hour and in the course of that program one of the treatment options he mentioned was the one that he recommended for me. So we feel pretty good about the plan that has been put in place for me.
I will report more as next week progresses.
Terry
1 comment:
Good man, Terry.
Now, get down to the serious business of getting completely well. We're all praying for you.
Kevin
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