08/30/08 – Third Round Complete

I am pleased to report that the Third Round of treatment went as planned.  My White count is down to 13,600 which is the lowest it has been since around 2000.  My hemoglobin is at 13.6 which is within the normal range for me.  It seems that the Rituxan and HDMP (high dose steroids) treatment seems to be getting the CLL under control, and also controlling the Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA). The problem is that my counts are bouncing around a little, and there was mention of a fourth round of treatment if the numbers didn't look good at my next appointment on September 23^rd. I am generally feeling pretty good, just having the normal reaction from the high dose steroids (tired and cranky). End of Short Report!

 

There always seems to be some sort of hitch associated with medical issues.  On August 12th I had my monthly appt with Dr. Kipps and he said I was on the right path, and my lymph nodes and spleen had both shrunk substantially, which is good.  On the down side, my white count at the beginning of the second round was at 23,000. Two weeks later when I had my appointment with Dr. Kipps it had gone up to 30,000 and my platelets were a little low.  He said he would have liked to have seen a more definite decrease after the second round, but he also said it could just be part of the cycle. For the first time he mentioned that we might want to consider a FOURTH round of treatment.  This was the first time we had heard of this, and so we were a little surprised.  He indicated that if we were almost there it would be better to have one more treatment to get rid of any residual cells in the bone marrow and try to have a more complete response.  Unfortunately it makes it difficult to plan much of anything when you don't know what is going on. He will not be able to determine if I need a fourth round until my Sept 23rd appointment with him.  At that time he will determine if I need another week of treatments which would start on Sept 29^th (which we have already scheduled, just in case).  So for now all of that is up in the air. 

 

While I was down there for the infusion the good doctor stopped by and chatted with me for a while going over the results of my blood test on Monday (the first day of treatment). He once again said he thought things were going well and we would just have to wait until after the 23^rd to make the decision about another round. If you ask me what my 'gut' feel is about a fourth round, I would say I will need it.  I am hoping not, but the fact that Dr. Kipps has already brought it up means that he is seriously considering it. So just when you think you may have a breather for a while, things change.

 
 

Once again we stayed down in La Jolla for the week.  We cooked in two nights, went out to La Jolla for dinner at a GREAT Italian restaurant recommended by my friend Kevin.  We also went out with Lisette and Angelo one night, so it was a nice relaxing getaway.  Speaking of getaways, we are going over to Catalina on Tuesday or Wed for 5 or 6 days (depending on how I feel).  We will be staying in a cabin in one of the coves with our friends John and Toni, and meeting Ro & Sue and Bruce and Connie who are coming over on the Orfila's new sail boat.   

 
 

I am generally feeling pretty good, a little tired and having some residual steroid after effects, but I now know that those will taper off and I will be back to my normal cheery self. 

 
 

All for now.

 
 

Terry