The bra still works, but no chemo this week

There was a replacement receptionist in the chemo area this morning, so I had to go in after waiting 30 minutes for my blood draw to find out what was going on. Thank goodness it hadn't gotten busy yet and a nurse was still available. After a little dance, some deep breathing, and a slight needle adjustment by Karen, my chemo nurse, we got a great blood draw. Out to the waiting room I went to while away the usual 30-40 minutes while my blood is tested. After I had been waiting an hour, I went back in to find out what was going on. Long story short, the receptionist failed to inform me that my labs needed to be reviewed by Dr. K because my ANCs were below 1.0 (they were 0.9). This was what I feared would happen since they don't bounce back as much during my week off, and last week they were 2.5 before treatment.

After a total of 90 minutes of waiting, I was told my treatment was cancelled and to contact Dr. K's office next week. I don't know at this point whether she is going to have me come in on Friday to do bloodwork, see if I "pass" and then give me a treatment, or if she will give me two weeks off to recover and then do my remaining cycle prior to vacation. I will let you know as soon as I find out.

The ANCs are important because they are, in Karen the chemo nurse's terminology, the baby white cells. They are an indicator of where my white cell count would be in five days. Usually the limit set by oncologists is either 1.5 or 1.2. Dr. K set it at 1.0 (I don't know if that's for me or all LMS patients on Gemcitabine). If I had treatment, my ANCs would drop even further, leaving me highly susceptible to infection and every illness within five miles. Okay, maybe not five miles, but I would have to be very careful not to catch anything because I wouldn't have enough white cells to fight off the infection.

So, it was the right call on Dr. K's part, but I'm disappointed because I expected to have the second cycle done and was anticipating the usual quiet weekend and having next Friday off. On the other hand, since I'm tired but not as tired as I would be following treatment, I've been doing some more work in the garden before the rain and cooler weather arrives tomorrow. It feels good to be out there again. I'm also planning to have pizza tonight, which we haven't had in a while.

Another lesson learned: When an opportunity presents itself, seize it! Have a great weekend!