09/19/09 – Round 2 Completed & Off to NYC

On Friday I completed Round 2 of my treatment (Rituxan + High Dose Methylprednisolone). There were a couple of positive things that happened this time as compared to last month. First of all we were only down there for 3 days instead of 4. Secondly, we stayed down there for the two nights, which made the whole process a lot less stressful. Thirdly, my White count has dropped by more than 50% since last month, and my Red count is slowly getting better, so that is all pointing in the right direction. And lastly, the side effects seem to be less than last time, and I think my recovery time will be much quicker. The last one is important because we are leaving for New York on Tuesday and I was hoping to feel well enough to travel by then. End of Short Report.

Going into these treatments there is always a concern that it is not going to work and even though it is too early to tell how well this round of treatment will work, it looks like we are moving in the right direction. The most important thing of course is to get the Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia under control, and it appears that is happening. Along with the AIHA getting under control, it is also having an effect on the CLL, by dropping the white count, which was rising quite rapidly. I think that the fact that I seem to feeling better after this treatment is a good sign. As usual I have lost my sense of taste and I feel a little swollen (from the IV's), but that will probably subside in a couple of days. I felt pretty good all day today, but started feeling a little tired and run down late this afternoon, so maybe the steroids are wearing off. If the treatment follows last year's schedule, I recover quicker after each treatment, so I hope that is the case this time as well.

After a lot of questions, contract issues (yes, contracts), and travel arrangements, we are going to New York for a photo shoot. As you might remember I mentioned the possibility in my last post that we might be going to NYC to participate in a photo shoot for one of the drugs I am taking. I had previously participated in a focus group for that drug and they are apparently putting together a marketing campaign for it and may want to use me, and perhaps Donna. We are not sure if the pictures will be used in ads, brochures or what, but the contracts covered just about everything. They might not even use the pictures, but at least we get a trip to The Big Apple out of it. We are leaving Tuesday and they are paying for 3 nights and we are adding two additional days to do some more sightseeing. I haven't been to NY in over 40 years and Donna has been there two times since we have been married. So at least there is something positive coming out of this mess.

Terry